I was recently featured on Phungo's site in his
Phungo 5 feature where he asked about my current obsession with 1998 cards. I recommended the 1998 Collector's Choice as a set to collect. This was a 530 card set issued by Upper Deck for several years in the mid-1990s. You old timers may remember that Upper Deck's slogan in 1989 was "The Collector's Choice". 1998 was the last year for Collector's Choice. In 1999, they issued UD Choice and after that branched out into a number of lower priced sets. The 1998 version was available in 14-card packs for $1.29, a pretty reasonable price. There were a number of inserts which weren't too difficult to obtain at that price. Here are some of the base cards.
The base cards had either a white or gray border. I could never figure out a pattern. The backs featured another photo and player stats. The cards are glossy front and back with no foil.
The first 10 cards were the Cover Glory subset. These were also available in a 5"x7" version. I've got 9 of the 10 of the large versions but I can't remember how they were distributed. I think they were a mail order item. I wonder what happened to the other one?
Rookie Class was another subset. The circular thing in the bottom left was also featured on the regular Upper Deck set in 1998, only in silver foil. This subset was also available as a serial-numbered (to 500) insert in Series 2 packs with "Prime Choice Reserve" foil stamped on the card.
Another subset featured catchers.
You Crash The Game was a contest. Note the date range (August 27-30). If Travis Lee hit a home run during those date you could send in the card along with $2.00 and get a "Special high quality redemption card". I've never seen one of those.
Evolution Revolution was a 28-card insert in Series 1 (inserted 1:13). The front featured a full-bleed photo with no text.
The back of the card features a player jersey. The card opens up along the buttons. Inside is another player photo and some player information.
Mini-Bobbing Heads were inserted at a rate of 1:3. You'd think I'd have one of these but I never pulled one from a pack. I just got this on eBay. You punch out the body and head and put it together. I have some of these from previous years but I've never assembled one.
Remember how much you like the Star Quest inserts in 2009 and 2010 Upper Deck. Here's where this concept got it's start. There were 4 tiers (Special Delivery, Student of the Game, Super Powers, and Superstar Domain). This Todd Hundley card is the Super Powers version. Each tier was harder to get. Special Deliver was 1:1, Student 1:21, Super Powers 1:71 and Superstar 1:145. I had each of the first 3 tiers. These were a Series 1 insert. The Super Powers version was also available as a 3.5x5 inch version in special blister packs.
The Series 2 version of Star Quest had a different design and the 4 tiers were Single, Double, Triple and Home Run. I didn't buy many Series 2 packs and had to buy this Rolen card and a Chipper Jones Single on eBay. Triples and Home Runs aren't too available.
Stick 'Ems were inserted 1:3 in packs. Hey kids, peel off the stickers and stick them to the furniture. Your Mom will love it!
The base cards had either a white or gray border. I could never figure out a pattern. The backs featured another photo and player stats. The cards are glossy front and back with no foil.
The first 10 cards were the Cover Glory subset. These were also available in a 5"x7" version. I've got 9 of the 10 of the large versions but I can't remember how they were distributed. I think they were a mail order item. I wonder what happened to the other one?
Rookie Class was another subset. The circular thing in the bottom left was also featured on the regular Upper Deck set in 1998, only in silver foil. This subset was also available as a serial-numbered (to 500) insert in Series 2 packs with "Prime Choice Reserve" foil stamped on the card.
Another subset featured catchers.
You Crash The Game was a contest. Note the date range (August 27-30). If Travis Lee hit a home run during those date you could send in the card along with $2.00 and get a "Special high quality redemption card". I've never seen one of those.
Evolution Revolution was a 28-card insert in Series 1 (inserted 1:13). The front featured a full-bleed photo with no text.
The back of the card features a player jersey. The card opens up along the buttons. Inside is another player photo and some player information.
Mini-Bobbing Heads were inserted at a rate of 1:3. You'd think I'd have one of these but I never pulled one from a pack. I just got this on eBay. You punch out the body and head and put it together. I have some of these from previous years but I've never assembled one.
Remember how much you like the Star Quest inserts in 2009 and 2010 Upper Deck. Here's where this concept got it's start. There were 4 tiers (Special Delivery, Student of the Game, Super Powers, and Superstar Domain). This Todd Hundley card is the Super Powers version. Each tier was harder to get. Special Deliver was 1:1, Student 1:21, Super Powers 1:71 and Superstar 1:145. I had each of the first 3 tiers. These were a Series 1 insert. The Super Powers version was also available as a 3.5x5 inch version in special blister packs.
The Series 2 version of Star Quest had a different design and the 4 tiers were Single, Double, Triple and Home Run. I didn't buy many Series 2 packs and had to buy this Rolen card and a Chipper Jones Single on eBay. Triples and Home Runs aren't too available.
Stick 'Ems were inserted 1:3 in packs. Hey kids, peel off the stickers and stick them to the furniture. Your Mom will love it!
1 comment:
I recently took a trip back to 1998 as well. A friend and I busted a box of Leaf Update in search of a Donruss Crusade card. I'm going to post the box break in the near future.
I'm also trying to complete the 1997 and 1998 Topps sets.
I remember Collector's Choice, but I didn't find any of these cards in my collection.
Thanks for posting, I've got a thing for the late 90s as well.
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