The Origins Of A Cardboard Addict: Against All Odds

How can I just let you walk away
Just let you leave without a trace?
When I stand here staring right at you, ooh ooh
You're the only product I really wanted to open that day

It was 1995 and my peek of collecting was soaring. Most of what I collected was football at the time, but I slowly took a dive into some baseball occasionally.

When I bought products they were normally from the grocery store and usually Fleer, Fleer Ultra, Score and Collectors Choice til they were gone and the next one came out. One of the products I ignored when I was buying football was the baseball version of Collectors Choice.

I loved the Collectors Choice line with it's fun photography,kid appealing designs and it's really cheap price tag. I mean, I was 12. So one day I decided I would stop ignoring the baseball version sitting there and snag a pack. Except, they were all gone. ALL GONE. How could have I ignored it for so long and not have at least busted a pack?!?

How can you just walk away from me
When all I can do is watch you leave?
'Cause now you have caused me pain
And even made me shed the tears
You're the only product I really wanted to open that day

Unexpectedly a few days later, I stumbled upon some packs at the local pharmacy and was able to bust a few before watching them disappear. But, at least I accomplished what I had set out to do.

 

Recently, I was also able to bust a pack I got from eBay in a lot of packs to bring back that nostalgia. This was actually much better pack than the ones I opened back then. Against All Odds I did well in a single pack.

Each pack of 1995 Collectors Choice baseball comes with 12 cards with one of those cards being a "silver signature" parallel.

Here is what the back of the pack looks like.

The card fronts featured player focused photography with a border and minimal writing at the bottom. The border is almost un-noticable because the photograph is so appealing. Which is why I was always a fan of Upper Deck products. They knew how to make a base card worthwhile.

Where else can you find Gregg Jefferies stare you down?

A ball in mid air with a throw by Alan Trammell

Sandy Alomar Jr in the sand dust of tagging out a player at the plate.

How about Andy Ashby winding up to let one unload.

Even John Jaha knocking the socks off a pitch

And Wally Joyner...well...

And even a stare down at first base by Zane Smith. This card was also my silver signature parallel.

My pack also had a couple of "Rookies." I put parenthesis around the word because baseball is evil when it comes to rookie cards. They will produce multiple years of one guy but only one card with the rookie logo is actually his true rookie card. So confusing and it was for me then as I filed these away as rookie cards. Later on I found out they were not.

 

So take a look at me now
Well there was a pack to break
And there's lots of cards here to remind me
The memory of my last break
Ooh, take a look at me now
Well there's just two more cards to face
And them being something good is against the odds
And that's what I've got to face

 

This pack had a surprise for me. When I busted the ones back in 1995, my best pull was a silver version of You Crash The Game that fell at 1:7 pack,but, but, this pack went Against All Odds with a gold version that fell 1:35 packs. Considered to be a big pull for back then.

 

I am not sure if this would have been a winner back then or not. But, great pull and I would had been even more stoked in 1995 to had hit such a card. And if he had hit a home run, I could have redeemed this for a Gold Set of Crash The Game cards. Pretty rad to be included in a kids product.

And you pulling this card is against the odds
And that put a smile on my face

And I can honestly say this next card, I have never seen before or knew existed.

 

I am not even sure what the odds are to hit a card like this as I can't even find info on this card or how many redemption cards like this were made.

This pack was by far better than any of the packs from 1995 I opened. However, the experience trying to find the pack back then was better than this. Today, you can just hit up eBay and almost any site that sells cards to find packs you want to open from your childhood. In your childhood days, you could only open what was available to you. I think that made the experience so much better.

So that day I couldn't get a pack at the grocery store made me upset, but, Against All Odds a few days later finding more packs available at a different location brought me joy. The joy of the chase is what it's all about.

Speaking of joy, Collectors Choice always brought me lots of it. Upper Deck knew how to create a wonderful kid product and it's too bad today we don't have Collectors Choice or even Upper Deck in the baseball card collecting game. Collectors Choice only got better with age and you will see that when I post even more about it on here. Affordable, creative and fun is what it brought. It was even interactive with the sport of baseball with the Crash The Game redemption cards.

Thanks for taking a trip back to 1995 with me. It's still my overall favorite year of the hobby with the products that came out and the memories I have because of it.

I also gotta toss in that Against All Odds was released in 1984, at my ripe age of 1, by Phil Collins. It was a song I enjoyed when I started listening to music and still listen to today. More on Phil Collins on here as well.

Take a good look at me now
'Cause I'll still be collecting here
And collectors choice coming back to the hobby is against all odds
but at least I have the memories