1996 Donruss Football 5 Packs

1996 Donruss:  These packs were a recent eBay purchase.  Jerry Rice is the GOAT receiver, right?  And until Tom Brady came along you could have had him as the GOAT, period.  No matter what you think this guy is nothing short of great.  Watched him shred so many teams in the day.

I like this design.  I think the logo and lettering could maybe do better in one of the corners but really it probably doesn't matter.  The player's name at the top feels different but it isn't so obtrusive that I'm concerned about it.  It's a bit muted and it could be bolder in its colors.  Photos are pretty good too.

The backs are a win for me.  We see all of the player's stats, a brand-new photo and even a bit of a write-up.  Solid for sure.

I'm really happy with my rookie pull which was highlighted by these three.  None are in the Hall of Fame but there are 13 Pro Bowl and 5 All-Pro selections amongst them with Mike Alstott being the most decorated.

I'm a big fan of the creamsicle unis as well as Alstott.  These backs are another win.

Three really good receivers all wearing number 81 on their jerseys.  Tony Martin led this group with 593 career receptions, just over 9,000 yards, and 56 touchdowns.

Checklist cards are sweet.  More greats of the games, some stats and on the back is a second photo of the player in black and white with the checklist printed over it.

Selected #1 overall out of Penn State, Ki-Jana Carter injured his knee in the first preseason game prior to his rookie season.  I would have loved to see what he could have done if he hadn't been injured.  He rushed for 1100 yards in his career.

I've been looking for some older football and I enjoyed these cards which I'd never seen before.  These were only $16 shipped and I'm on the hunt for some more cards from years past.  

Greatness.  'nuff said.

We get to see those great Rams unis on a nice Jerome Bettis (HOF) card.  As you can see, this was the year he was traded to Pittsburgh.  Brent Jones would make the Pro Bowl four times while winning three championships with the 49ers.  Mark Carrier was a stud too.

I was always a fan of those Cowboys unis.

I still can't believe how good my pull was in these packs.  The set is 240 cards so it's not small.  This was so much fun.  Can't wait to find some more fun cards to show off.  We'll end it with my all-time favorite player, John Elway, who somehow was never named an All-Pro.  A big part of that is the crazy good quarterbacks of the era, but still.

BREAKDOWN:

50 – Total Cards

6 – Rookie

2 – Checklist

1 – Rated Rookie

1991 Impel Marvel Universe Series II

1991 Marvel Universe:  Should have shared this one when Deadpool Wolverine was released but it's still relevant.  

I don't know if I've seen these in hand before but the design seemed familiar.  It's not bad and growing more on me.  Firestar is my favorite here.  Always thought she'd get more play as guys my age fondly remember the 1981 to 1985 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.  Not many superhero offering back then.  I know she's not a big part of the Marvel Universe but I did think she'd get more opportunities.  I like Nightcrawler as well.  The character, powers and costume are something I like.

Some horizonal offerings on Arch-Enemies cards.

The backs are good.  Sometimes wondered about the ratings but that is part of the fun.

I never really read Fantastic Four so the backs do a good job of filling in some gaps of comic knowledge.

I do like that they do a card that explains the ratings.  I really like the Archangel design when I first saw way back when.  Not as excited about it now but I do like it.  

I like the art they used for these.  Mostly classic representations but I thought they did a good job choosing each.

That is a Hulk hologram insert.  These cards are fun and it's hard to pass up opportunities to see comic characters on cardboard.  I just wish older comic wax packs were cheaper.

BREAKDOWN:

12 – Total Cards

1 – Hologram

Random Wax: 2024 Topps Baseball

2024 Topps:  The Kid was an amazing player and has his own insert set, Celebration of the Kid, in 2024 Topps.  I like this set, and he makes this 1989 design look good.

Jacob DeGrom is finally healthy but it's too little too late for the Rangers.

I really like this card.  The photo, design, colors and that cap really work for me.

Mariners Team Card.

RC representation.  Gavin Williams has a 4.12 ERA across 29 starts while the others are still working to make a mark in the majors.

Backs of the Team Cards are good but the lack of totals in the Team Leaders section is a head scratcher.

With 20'ish games left it's that time of the year where we talk playoffs.  The Braves have struggled of late and let the surging Mets takeover the final NL Wild Card spot.  Plenty of baseball to play but I'm still worried Atlanta could be on the outside looking in come October.

Love League Leader cards.  Not only because a couple of Braves highlight the card.  Also hurts to see as that offense isn't there this season in Atlanta.

I always think I'll do those Home Run Challenge but I don't do it.  Enjoy seeing retired greats in the set but I do think seeing more of them would be better.  Nice stars of MLB Goldy insert.

No complaints here.

Fun cards and I do like this year's design.  Looking forward to the stretch run in baseball.  Good luck to your team...unless you're Met's fan.

BREAKDOWN:
36 – Total Cards
7 – RC
2 – Team Cards
2 – Stars of MLB
1 – Grand Gamers
1 – League Leaders
1 – Celebration of the Kid
1 – Home Run Challenge

Random Wax: 2022-2023 Hoops Blaster

22-23 Hoops: Jayson Tatum pumped for his gold medal with Team USA.  I know there's lots of churn about Tatum's lack of playing time but I think too much is made of it.  Someone always ends up on the short end of the stick on these teams.  Not saying he should be excited but he didn't play that well when he was on the court and it was Steve Kerr's decision.

Solid pull in this blaster and I like this Hoops design.  Picked up this box last June.

Jabari Smtih Jr. and Chet Holmgren have had really good starts to their careers.

Everyone likes the Hoops Tibute cards which have a nice retro feel to them.  And more great players on these.

Arriving Now is probably my favorite of these inserts and I can't figure out if I like Skyview or not.  I'm out on Pure Players.

I'm good with Frequent Flyers.  Great players always help too.

AJ Griffin had a solid rookie season but injury derailed his 2023-2024 performance.  That blank background is such lost opportunity on these Rookie Greeting inserts.

Plenty of Team USA players in this box.  Tatum, Edwards, Davis, Durant.  Not to mention many who played for other contries.

Love all four of these photos as we finish off the post.  Good job Panini.  I really enjoyed Olympic basketball and boxes like this keep my basketball high going.  KD is feeling it too.

BREAKDOWN:

90 – Total Cards

13 – RC

5 – Hoops Tribute

3 – Blue Parallel

3 – Purple Parallel

2 – Frequent Flyers

1 – Skyview

1 – Pure Players

1 – Arriving Now

1 – Retired Great

1 – Rookie Greetings

 

1994 Press Pass NASCAR Optima XL Estate Auction Lot

1994 Optima XL:  NASCAR playoffs start today!  We'll kick off this estate auction pickup with Dale Earnhardt.  Seven championships and 57 wins are impressive enough.  But even better was his persona - a hero to every fan who wanted to see a hardnosed, no-nonsense driver who was willing to do whatever it took to win every week.  Probably the most popular driver of all-time.

This was a local estate auction that worked like eBay.  I'd never seen this set before and was able to snag the lot for $2.  There were also some open wheel racers as part of the lot which I may show off some day.  What I didn't know was these are widevision sized.  No issues with that and I was very happy with the cards.  The Spotlight cards were the first 30 cards with some drivers having multiple cards.

This is a promo/prototype.  I wish there were more like this one.  I like having the driver and car so prominent on the card.  "Valvoline" is distracting but I can live with it.

I love the backs.  Nice write-up and all the stats I want.  Plenty of color, photo and even car graphics in the background.  1994 was Jeff Burton's first full season in Cup racing.  In 2000 he would finshed a career high third in the standings.  Now an announcer for NBC, he was announcing two weeks ago when his son Harrison won his first Cup race.  

A Winston Cup Scene card.  I like the vertical look.

More Winston Cup Scene cards.  I like the out of the box photos.  The first and last are Red Parallels. Jeff Gordon would go on to win his first championship in 1995.  Jimmy Spencer put in a hard day's which net him a win in the Pepsi 400.  

Trophy Case celebrates driver victories.  This one is Sterlin Marlin winning the Daytona 500.

Ken Schrader, Ernie Ervan, the back of Mark Martin's head and Rusty Wallace.

A couple of Newsmaker cards as well a Ernie Irvan Double Duty card highlighting his roles as both a driver and an owner.  I had some doubles, and they'll work well as bookmarks.  I'll keep some favorites but I'm not sure what I'll do with the rest.

A couple of Racing Families cards as well as the back of trophy case card.

Kelley Earnhardt, daughter of Dale, brother of Dale Jr. is the Chief Executive Officer of JR Motorsports.

I'm really glad I won this auction.  The cards sharp, have really good photos and there's a great variety of stars from that time frame.  The Michael Waltrip and the Kyle Petty are two my favorite photos from this set.  That Kyle Petty is a prototype.  Only difference is the backs from his standard Spotlight card in the set.

BREAKDOWN:
84 – Total Cards
12 – Winston Cup Scene
11 – News Maker
7 – Trophy Case
7 – Double Duty
7 – NASCAR Families
4 – Red Parallel
1 – Promo 
1 - Prototype