Still haven't bookmarked APADTV? What the hell are you waiting for? Go to apackadaytv.blogspot.com right now!
And now, here's an APADTV sneak preview of Chris Harris busting two Hobby packs of 2008 Upper Deck X
When I think of "X," this is the first thing that comes to my mind:
Apparently, Upper Deck has different thoughts: A mediocre baseball card set. Besides, baseball cards and rape are two things that just don't go together.
When you watch this video of two packs of Upper Deck X, I want you to think about this: Upper Deck got rid of Fleer Ultra for this.
Just remember, we could have had another year of Fleer Ultra.
Hey kids! Have you checked out APADTV yet? What's APADTV? It's APAD's new spin-off blog that has nothing but video pack and video box breaks.
All of your favorite APAD video contributors now have a new home. Check it out at: apackadaytv.blogspot.com
And now, here's an APADTV sneak preview of Chris Harris busting a pack of 2008 Bowman Chrome.
I bet Thorzul on the outcome of the Phillies/Brewers playoff series, and my winnings arrived today. The first pack is a retail pack of 2008 Bowman Chrome.
As many of you know, I do not get the whole concept behind Chrome. I already have Topps and Bowman, so why do I need to collect these same cards again? Anyway, this is the first pack of BowChro I've ever opened in my life. It's a retail pack which means that I only get three cards (as opposed to four in Hobby)
In the goodie-bag he sent me last week, Dave in Michigan sent me six cut-up rack packs. (He says that this is how he received them in a trade with someone else.) I've never seen, or heard of any dealer cutting up rack packs and selling the individual compartments. But hey, you see something new everyday.
Each full '88 Score rack contained 50 base cards, one rack-exclusive Young Superstar insert (which was inserted in the middle compartment), and three of those Magic Motion Trivia cards.
This third of a rack pack I will bust is from the top. It has 17 cards and I'm not certain if it will yield a Magic Motion.
So check this, one of my YouTube fans sent me (unsolicited) two packs of the greatest baseball card set of the 1990s: 1994 Fleer. (I love my fans!)
1994 Fleer is everything a base-level baseball card product should be, but sadly, is no more. 720 cards, all in one series. That's, 720 cards all without a short-print, gimmick card, or unnecessary subset to be found.
But 1994 Fleer isn't just about a classy-looking, and comprehensive, base set. Each pack contained one of over 200 different inserts; all of which are collectible, none of which will break the bank.
Take a look at the video and you'll see what I mean.
Aww yeah! 2005 Topps Total, or as I like to call it, the "real" 2005 Topps base set. This was the final year for this beloved product, and at 770 cards, it was the smallest.
The fact that Topps continues to produce garbage like Opening Day and discontinued Total is a crime against collecting. Here's four packs I found for a buck each last weekend in Reading.
"Fighting out of the orange corner, weighing in at 27 cards; he features an exclusive "Home Run Heroes" insert in each pack, and a base set with a Manny Ramirez RC. It's ...
NINE-TEEN! NINETY-TWO! UPPER! DECK!
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"And in this corner, in the silver foil, also weighing in at 27 cards. He features a Jumbo exclusive "On Deck" insert in each pack, and a base set that has a Derek Jeter RC. It's ...
NINE-TEEN! NINETY-THREE! UPPER! DECK! SERIES TWO!
RRRRRRRRRR-ETAIL!!!!!!!!
Let's get it on!
And now, Stale Gum.com presents "The Tale of the Tape."
1992
1993
Printed Price Tag:
$2.19
$2.79
Price Paid:
$1
$5
Base Set:
700 cards
420 cards
Pack Exclusive Insert:
Home Run Heroes
On Deck
Star Rookie:
ManRam
Derek Jeter
The pack battle is being scored on the ten-point must system.
The winner, by a split 13-12 decision, and still Jumboweight champion of the woorrrrrrrrld....
Next up, a Jumbo pack from a time when Bowman baseball truly was "The Home of the Rookie Card," 1993. There are 22 cards in this pack, and the "money card" is a Derek Jeter RC; which after the SP RC, is probably his "best." There's also the only true RC of Andy Pettitte.
I have had a sixteen-year long hard-on for the 1992 Fleer Jumbo Packs. A big, raging, Peter North sized boner for this stuff. I mean, it was the first trading card product where the collector had a realistic shot at pulling a card worth $100.
That card was, of course, the 1992 Fleer Frank Thomas Rookie Sensations. Last year, I wrote a feature on the Jumbo pack exclusive '92 Fleer Rookie Sens and I invite you to check it out, here.
So when Scott and I eyed a box full of junk $1 packs at the Reading Show, and found three '92 Fleer Jumbos, I just had to video bust them.
It's been 16 years since I've busted a Jumbo of '92 Fleer, here's they are. Enjoy!
At Reading, I picked up about $25 worth of loose junkpacks -- all of which I'll be video reviewing over the next weeks. Seven of these are early-90s Jumbo packs, and the first of which is a 1991 Upper Deck Hi-Series.
The last time I saw an unopened Jumbo pack of 1991 Upper Deck, might have been, well, 1991. Each pack contains 27 cards, and since this is a Hi-Series pack, half the cards are from the Lo-Series (Cards #1-700). You also get a Jumbo exclusive "Silver Sluggers" insert, and a shot at one of the 2500 Hank Aaron Baseball Heroes autographs.
Wrapping up my grab bag are five packets of 2007/08 Topps Match Attax Extra. TMAE was an 83 card update series featuring new signings and new players. There are two inserts: Club Captains (4:5/packs) and Rainbow Foil (1:5)
Like I mentioned before, The Hobby in Europe consists mainly of cheap base sets (which double as CCGs) and stickers. I loved the old Panini baseball stickers from the 80s and if there's one thing from the 80s I wish the powers that be would bring back, it's stickers.
It's been about 20 years since I've opened a pack of stickers, so imagine my excitement when John in the UK sent me five packets of 2007/08 Merlin EPL stickers.
The set consists of 648 stickers, and like the sticker sets of the 80s, it came with a matching album for you to paste the stickers in. Each packet comes with six stickers (one of which is oversized).
APAD cintributor, John in the UK, sent me another (unsolicited) goodie bag full of football cards to bust here. First packet up is from Panini: 2007/08 UEFA Champions League Update.
For those of you who don't follow football, the UEFA Champions League is a competition that crowns the club champions of Europe. When it was first devised in the 1950s (as simply The European Cup) it literally was a "Champions League" -- only those clubs that had won the championship of their domestic league the previous season were allowed to participate. Since then, the competition -- which runs concurrently with the domestic leagues -- has been expanded to include more clubs, most of whom come from the larger and stronger countries.
Of the 51 winners of the Euro Cup/Champions League, 33 have hailed from the "Big 3:" England, Italy, and Spain. Not surprisingly, all three of these countries send up to four clubs into the Champions League. Despite this, the champions of the smaller nations also are invited; however they are, for the most part, eliminated before the group phase (the "real" start of the competition) begins.
The group phase of the 2008-09 Champions League begins later this week. In addition to the usual suspects, (Chelsea, ManU, Fc Barcelona, Inter, et al) for the first time teams from Belarus and Cyprus have advanced to the group phase.
For those of us in the States, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic will be showing games this Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. If you have a chance, take a late lunch and check 'em out.
2007/08 Panini UEFA Champions League is 250 cards, followed up with a 100-card Update set. This packet is from the Update series, which was released only seven weeks after the first. It features players who changed teams, or "transferred," before the start of group play.
John of the excellent blog Old School Breaks sent me (unsolicited) three packs for me to video review on YouTube and APAD. (1989 Fleer, 1990 Donruss, and 1990 Score.)
I've decided to have a little fun with this one by consuming one pint-can of Guinness for each pack ripped.
Three junk packs, three pints of Guinness, one video pack break; what could possibly go wrong?
In 1989 the football card Hobby was beginning to change. For much of the 80s Topps was the only game in town. But in '89 the NFL granted licenses to three companies. Fresh off their success in baseball, the NFL gave Score a license. The other two went to two start up companies: Pro Set and Action Packed.
While Score and Pro Set produced traditional card card sets, Action Packed put out what could best be described as a test issue to demonstrate their bas relief printing process to The Hobby. It featured 30 cards from only three NFL teams: the Bears, Giants, and Redskins. (The first "Real" AP card set would not be released until 1990)
This was NOT Action Packed's first trading card set. A year earlier, they applied for an MLB/MLBPA license and created a six-card baseball test set. Ultimately, both MLB and MLBPA rejected Action Packed's effort and awarded the licenses to another start-up called "Upper Deck."
Each pack contained six cards (two from each team) and one of three stadium hologram stickers.
