Buzz 8 in 8: Busting 2002 Topps American Pie Spirit of America Baseball Edition (Hour 5)

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 5.

The box: 2002 Topps American Pie Spirit of America Baseball Edition cards
The cost: About original price ... see newer MLB boxes here

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

Packs per box: 11
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 55
Base set completion: 
38 of 150 (25 percent)
Duplicates: 6

Notables on base cards – Fergie Jenkins, Dave Winfield, Tom Seaver, Minnie Minoso, Jim Abbott, Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, Monte Irvin, Bo Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Space Race, Sandra Day O'Connor, Battle of Midway, Warren Spahn, Reggie Jackson, Carl Yastrzemski, Rosa Parks, George S. Patton, Edward R. Murrow, Hank Greenberg, Jackie Robinson, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Frank Robinson, Rollie Fingers, Ernie Banks, Gaylord Perry, Jack Kerouac, Henry Ford, Wright Brothers, Don McLean

Inserts: 11 (all in gallery with a bunch of base cards)
Red American Sluggers (3) – Reggie Jackson, Ted Kluszewski, Brooks Robinson
White American Sluggers (3) – Duke Snider, Rod Carew, Cecil Cooper
Blue American Sluggers (3) – George Brett, George Foster, Andre Dawson
Gold American Sluggers (2) – Brooks Robinson, Willie Mays

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

What's Buzz-worthy: In the wake of Topps' 50th anniversary retro push back in 2001 that gave us brands like Topps Heritage and Topps Archives, this second American Pie release dropped. I bought a bunch of the first-year version and a moderate amount of this one (but not as much as it wasn't as strong as the first) ... but there's still plenty to be found here. I landed this box for about the same price as it was way back then -- not the greatest value then or now -- with the idea that there's a hit in every other box. In this case, it was the other box. (¯\_(ツ)_/¯) This one has some Topps Team Legends autos to be found (cards in several brands as needed throughout the year) but the main Pie checklist is only about Relics here and they are one in 18 packs for all versions combined. This one was a dud on that front and overall not great as the only retail inserts are thick-stock filler cards that are repeated in a few colors. The base set here includes a lot of non-baseball people as well as a lot of legends. It also includes a lot of icons -- people, places and things -- in history. The set includes cards for wars, vaccines and medicines, technology, space achievements, the Teddy Bear, Mount Rushmore, Buzz Aldrin ... so many oddities ... like, crayons have a card. Not enough of those were in this box ... and that's just the way stuff dropped this time. Among the celebs and notables here I'd have wanted to land? Ernest Hemingway, Elvis Presley, George Burns, Judy Garland, Buddy Holly, Marilyn Monroe, Jim Thorpe and Gary Cooper who is seen in a New York Yankees jersey. A lot of the Relics here were MLB players of note (big names and some key to moments in the past), then one set was for presidential first pitches and then another set for celebs. That one includes Humphrey Bogart, Cooper, Presley, Monroe, Burns, Garland, Ronald Reagan, Jayne Mansfield and Bette Davis cards ... a lot of them had stuff in other releases after this but at the time these were something very different. Hobby boxes of this, if you can find them, have guaranteed hits but all formats are risky as these high-gloss soft-stock cards can stick together. This box wasn't bad on that front but you can see some cards with lifted ink, rough cuts and top-edge issues. What was I looking for here? Variety ... it was cheap(ish) and not a box you see often right now. Ultimately it was pretty lean/dull. Do some searches for this set and its inclusions ... odds are there's some stuff you might like. I like it (and have a number of the cards I mentioned) from past breaks ... this one was a bummer because I like it and was hoping to find some crisp copies that might be grading candidates at some point.

Product Grade: B+
Box Grade: C (no hit -- every other box per the odds -- and it was lean on good celeb cards)
Fun Grade: C

What's next? Be back in an hour ...

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