Buzz Break: 1994 Action Packed football cards (three packs)

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The lot: 1994 Action Packed football cards (three packs)
Where to buy: Check junk bins ... hit BlowoutCards.com for newer football cards

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

Packs per lot: 3
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this lot: 18
Base set completion: 13 of 120 (11 percent)
Duplicates: 1

Notables on base cards – Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Andre Reed, John Randle, Eric Allen, Clyde Simmons, Keith Jackson, Eric Martin, Eric Metcalf, Ray Childress, Leslie O'Neal, Ben Coates, Michael Haynes (2)

Rookie Cards – None ... imagine that happening these days. (All new draft picks are in Series 2.)

Insert/short-prints cards: 4
Quarterback Club (2) – John Elway, Bernie Kosar
Fantasy Forecast (1) – Steve Young
Warp Speed (1) – Thurman Thomas

Autographs/Memorabilia: None.

What's Buzz-worthy: This #TBT trio of packs was cheap but it's a brand you probably won't see as often as others from this year of football cards as, well, these are just a little more complicated and costly to make. The set isn't huge but there is a whole lot of simplicity here with some simple touches on chase cards and then a few different insert cards to mix things up among a simple mix. One of my favorite parallels of all time is right here -- a simple addition of a gold-foil facsimile auto across the front of a few cards -- and the Sanders and Smith cards are nice. Landing both of them here on regular cards made this a solid trio of packs along with some inserts that are nearly all Hall of Famers. Other chases here are 24K Gold cards where the foil is replaced with gold leaf and Braille cards for some players where the backs have embossed messages on them to take Action Packed's approach a step further. Maybe I like this one more than others as I wasn't able to amass boatloads of the cards I like -- that volume part could also lead to higher costs back in the day -- but you can find most stuff here relatively easily save for maybe the golds. The packaging here is also unique with the cards in a tray and then with a piece of cardboard on top and bottom inside a clear wrapper and those wrapper fronts could be collected with a few names possible while the backs could be traded in for huge Mammoth cards that are also impressive. This one is simple but it still has plenty going on and the embossing is still cool all these years later ... imagine what these cards could have done with chase elements like autographs and memorabilia in play.

Product Grade: A
Lot Grade: A+ (Sanders and Smith in just two packs is a win here ... and my inserts are nearly all Hall of Famers)
Fun Grade: B

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