What was the first factory autograph insert set?
rtimmer
Posts: 1,347 ✭✭✭✭
Trying to figure out which was the first factory autographed insert set? These days with so many insert auto sets I was wondering which one actually started it all placing auto cards in packs as part of the set. If you know first overall or the first for a particular sport I'd be interested in knowing. Thanks!
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SCAregalia.com - Masonic Regalia & Supply
SCAregalia.com - Masonic Regalia & Supply
<< <i>1991 Upper Deck had more autographs. Nolan Ryan, Aaron, and the Heroes of Baseball inserts. >>
I actually pulled a Ryan back in the day. Traded it to the local card shop for a ton of junk wax boxes
My brother pulled a Namith outta football. As far as I know he still has it.
And to answer the question, 1991 is the first one I remember.
1990 Star Pics Autographs
Randomly inserted in boxes, this set paralled the regular set. Each card contained the player's autograph on the front and a sticker of authenticity on the back.
<< <i>
<< <i>1991 Upper Deck had more autographs. Nolan Ryan, Aaron, and the Heroes of Baseball inserts. >>
I actually pulled a Ryan back in the day. Traded it to the local card shop for a ton of junk wax boxes
My brother pulled a Namith outta football. As far as I know he still has it.
And to answer the question, 1991 is the first one I remember. >>
I don't know anyone who pulled autographs back then. I think it was easier to find bigfoot than an autograph in a pack.
SCAregalia.com - Masonic Regalia & Supply
I always loved those 1990 Score Mantles.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>1991 Upper Deck had more autographs. Nolan Ryan, Aaron, and the Heroes of Baseball inserts. >>
I actually pulled a Ryan back in the day. Traded it to the local card shop for a ton of junk wax boxes
My brother pulled a Namith outta football. As far as I know he still has it.
And to answer the question, 1991 is the first one I remember. >>
I don't know anyone who pulled autographs back then. I think it was easier to find bigfoot than an autograph in a pack. >>
I could probably write up a 3 page response to that day, but I wont
I saved up alumium cans to buy the box at Sams Club. 1 box, 1 N.Ryan auto. I just wished I would of been smart enough to pay
attention to the number (they were numbered to 250 if memory serves). I know it was pretty low, cause the dealer mentioned it.
Of course, I also wish I would of been smart enough to know 90 Pro Set was gonna be junk
Jimmy
Mantle was in '91 Score, there were no autos in 1990 Score baseball. The 'Bo' card was rumored at the time to be a 'short print', but it was not.
The 1991 Score Bobby Orr auto cards were pretty early in the game as well.
<< <i>With all of the unopened early 90's junk wax still out there, do you guys think there is still ample opportunity to pull some of these auto's? I'm talking 1990 Score baseball Mickey Mantle's ...1991 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan's and Hank Aaron's..1991 Score Joe Dimaggio's. Though some of these auto's were numbered super low, I'd be hard pressed to think they've all been discovered. Do any of you still buy any of this stuff to this day for the sole purpose of finding some of these early autographs?
Jimmy >>
A while back I won an auction which was described as "100 unopened packs, football, baseball, other sports", or something along those lines. The vast majority of it was pure junk. A lot of it was oddball stuff like some 1991 racing cards that were centered around Indy 500 and Rick Mears. The packs advertised "look for Rick Mears auto cards". There were about a dozen packs in the lot and none had autos. There were some other sports and series in this lot like that and I got almost nothing worth keeping, let alone autos or inserts.
Of course this is just a small sampling and much of what I ripped was not from mainstream sets/series. I could see a slight interest in ripping some of the stuff you mentioned because even without autos, there would still be a chance to get star cards and perhaps even some of them that might grade 9 or 10.
Currently collecting 1934 Butterfinger, 1969 Nabisco, 1991 Topps Desert Shield (in PSA 9 or 10), and 1990 Donruss Learning Series (in PSA 10).
As the OP was asking about first auto insert set, not first auto insert, I think what we've got is while the 1990 UD Reggie Jackson might qualify as first auto insert, the 1991 Score Bobby Orr Auto cards are a solid choice for first factory auto insert set.
<< <i>Didn't Topps do some kind of Pete Rose boxed set around 1986 with random inserted autographs? >>
It wasn't Topps, although there were a slew of cards with the photos used for his Rose's Topps cards. It was produced in 1985 by P.R.E. (Pete Rose Enterprises). Card #1 (sans border) was issued in an addition of 1,000 autographed cards.
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
There were also lots of autographed cards inserted in the 1991 Classic Draft Picks which was basically a parallel set, as well as the 1991 Classic Best Mike Schmidt autos. Hockey had the 4 different 1991 ProSet auto Patrick Roy cards (English & French versions for Series 1 and Series 2), in addition to the full 1991 Score Orr auto set mentioned earlier.