Thursday, June 05, 2008

1993 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes


While cataloging a rather large stack of Tribe cards I have received via trades or online purchases, I came across two 1993 UD All-Time Heroes cards. A quick search through my database, and I realized there were a bunch of Tribers to be had in this set. So, while trolling through eBay, I found a seller willing to part with an unopened box of the cards. I took the bait. Each pack (shown above) has 12 cards in it.



The cards feature pictures of "All-Time" baseball heroes. Some cards, like one above, have two players bookending a middle photo. There is information on the back of the card for each 'section.' The card itself is scored, such that one could fold the 'bookends' and make card stand, though I am not sure just why anyone would want to display their cards in such a manner. Some cards (I did not pull any in this pack) feature T-202 reprint cards of players long ago...



Hey, I pulled a Triber that I needed! Cards like Doby's feature the player on one end, a larger picture in the middle, and the "B.A.T." insignia on the other end. The BAT program supports players, families, umpires, grounds crew, etc in times of need.



I did pull a Braves card, which would have served as a trap card had I been playing "Tribe or No Tribe!" :-)



The information you find on the back tells a little bit about the player, mainly about what makes him so unique in the first place. Are you familiar with Mr. Hunt here? I'll give you a hint - the picture in the middle could have been taken at just about any time during his career... Still stumped? Answer will be below...



Some of the cards feature the truly all-time great players, as seen above!


As I said, I bought a full, unopened box of these and my daughter and I had fun opening the packs to see which (if any) of the cards inside served to increase my collection. As it turns out, I managed to score (no pun intended... well, okay, a little one) all but ONE of the Indians from this set! Not too shabby at all, I'd say!

Oh, the answer to what makes Hunt so unique? He purposely wore his uniform baggy so as to be 'hit' by pitches. In fact, "he led the NL in hit-by-pitches SEVEN consecutive seasons and retired with three ML records." He was hit 3 times IN ONE GAME, was hit FIFTY times in 1971, and was hit 243 times in his career (Don Baylor later broke this record)! Talk about taking one (or 243) for the team....

3 comments:

dayf said...

There's a box of this stuff at my local card shop for 35 bucks. I have been sorely tempted many times.

What indian do you need, anyway? I have a small pile of these cards that I can look through for you.

--David said...

To me, it was worth what I paid on theBay. I think it was close to $35. They are very cool cards! I'll send ya some Braves. :-) I ned card #161, though right now I can't remember who is on it.. LOL

Dinged Corners said...

Very nifty. We like those tri-fold cards.