Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Three Packs of 1995 Flair Series 1

Hey blogosphere! If you don't follow @VFTSB on Twitter, then you probably think I went into witness protection or something. No, I'm still doing well, just separated from my cards while I continue balancing a job hunt with the most upside-down summer of my life.  Anyone know of anyone looking to hire an old-soul millennial with an MBA? I'm open to anything other than sales. Need a toilet-scrubber? I'm your man. Need a door-to-door sleazebag? Not me. 

I am a sleaze for some Flair though! (worst tie-in yet?) I picked up a box of '95 Flair Series 1 & Series 2. Nobody collected in 1995 (as in zero people nationwide) so there's still plenty of this revolutionary product out there to be ripped. The cards are shiny, foily, glossy and grand! Without further ado...


Flair is considered to be Fleer's answer to Topps Finest. The two sets are consistently different, but they both focused heavily on "quality" cards. In other words, cards that were well-built. 


To protect such quality cards, Fleer provided quality security.


Each 9 card pack had its own individual mini box wrapped in cellophane.


One the cellophane was torn away, you slide the top off the fancy little box.


Pull out the cards and you find even more cellophane. No costs were spared, this is high-end '95 style.

PACK 1



No Onslaught, just one Don Slaught


Bobby-Dobby Fo Fobby Billa-Nilla Fo Filla, Fee Fy Fo Dilla - Bobby Bonilla!


RIP Darryl Kile


It's kind of "Ruff" to read Bruce's name



Before you Puigs, Abreus and Cespedesesss, there was a Rene Arocha



Tony Tarasco isn't sliding, he's doing girl pushups



Even the cardbacks were quality

PACK 2



Lindeman liked to strike out, which is probably why he only got into 351 games in 9 big league seasons.


Most teams cycle through backup catchers every couple of years, but Eusebio was a mainstay off the bench for Houston for most of the 90's.


Here's a nice throwback. 17 years, 1904 hits, 11 teams. Royce portrayed Miguel Tejada in Moneyball.


Best #42's: Jackie, Mariano, Dave Henderson, Jeremy Hernandez then everyone else


With a name like William Van Landingham, his card should be jewel-encrusted


Tom Pagnozzi don't need no helmet.


Worrell's comeback was on fire in '95 and '96 with back-to-back ASG's and a 5th place CYA finish in '96.


As far as inserts go, this is about as prestigious as it got in '95. 



'95 Flair had all the big names. #sarcasm

PACK 3






So old


Alright, nice little star run.



Don't adjust your screen, yes that is Charles Johnson and yes he was a black man playing catcher. That automatically makes him a badass. Baseball has long had an issue with funneling black players away from playing catcher. Johnson was an elite defensive backstop. Despite retiring in 2005, he's still the last African American catcher to play in the bigs. Somewhere Elston Howard is rolling over in his grave.



Hey Joe, you sure look a lot like Francis from Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

I know you are but what am I?


A nice looking insert to finish things off.


Thanks for reading, let me know if you want me to share more!





10 comments:

  1. That looks like a really fun rip! I might have to pick some boxes up myself.

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  2. This post took me back. I was unimpressed with the base cards, but those inserts! Great pulls. Let's trade....

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  3. You can share that Piazza insert with me.

    I love the Hot Numbers inserts. I almost wrote "Hot Numberz". But that would be Skybox.

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  4. Great cards. I had a bunch of those as I was one of the 10 people who collected cards during this time.

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    1. It's an honor to know you then! If I were you, I'd get a tattooed serial # 1/10 in '95 to commemorate.

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  5. I like those cards a lot. It may be that they are still pretty new to me and all, but it takes me back to my first decade of fantasy baseball...when everyone thought Rene Arocha would be the next stud starter. It's hard to believe, though, that the Luis Gonzalez above is the same guy who played for the Diamondbacks. He looked, well, a LOT bigger in 2001.

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  6. I remember these well...and remember my mom saying "NO!" when I'd approach her at CVS about buying a pack. So then I'd end up with Topps flagship or Score.

    Once in awhile, after the season, I'd be able to grab a few packs on clearance. That was nice.

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  7. Huge fan of mid 90's Flair and Flair Showcase products. I remember busting into this packs and thinking the mini slide boxes were the coolest invention ever. Great stuff! Thanks for sharing.

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