Entire 55 card set of 2013 Archives Fan Fave Autos & Unknown/Unreleased Redemption
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 10:09 pm
Retail Pack & Hobby Pack from my pack collection pictured:
In 2013 I bought a few blaster boxes of 2013 Topps Archives and fell in love with the set.
It used the 1959, 1976, 1985, and 1986 designs for the base set, and had great inserts like 1000 Yard Club that looked like the original 1986 1000yc inserts, 1984 Topps booklets with 2012 rookies, 1988 design mini framed autos and much more.
Whomever helped do the designs and year selection knew what they were doing. The base Jerry Rice was 1985 (which was his rookie year, but of course rookies weren't released till the players 2nd year so we know the classic 1986 Rice RC) and there were a ton more examples of smart design/year choices. There were also a few oddball selections, like 1950s-1970s QB Len Dawson in 1985 design and such, but it was FUN!
But the coolest and most fun part of the set were the autos that could be pulled of retired players called the "Fan Favorite Autos", and when released, was made up of 56 cards of all guys who weren't in the HoF, but were literally just as the set described were "Fan Favorites". Now two of the players who had cards in the set are HoFers, with perhaps (but unlikely) more in the future. It included designs from 1972 to 2003 and I wanted them all, so I started picking them up.
Three cards were redemptions. Mercury Morris in 1972 design, Eric Allen in 1989 design, and William "The Refrigerator" Perry in 1986 design.
The issue though, is that I've never seen the William Perry. I've never seen a photo surface. Not on eBay, not on COMC, not on TCDB, not anywhere on the web etc.
Turns out at one point a card blogger "DubMentality" had a blog website where he ranted at Topps for sending him replacement cards for this William Perry. This is where we got the first hint that perhaps the William Perry was never distributed.
Every few years, I tag Topps all over social media trying to get them to give me some type of direct answer on if the card exists. I kinda already know since I've been trying to find one for a decade and can't find one, but getting an official statement would bring some closure. They've never replied (of course. Why would you reply to someone who is a huge Topps fan who's been collecting Topps for 30 years who's collection is 99% Topps and is somewhat a historian of Topps Football when you could get celebrities to open packs for social media)
Oh well. Now I've finally completed the set as of last year (without the Perry of course) and it's likely one of the best/coolest card achievements I've ever done.
I did a video on this collection, as well as provided a history on the set with some info which I've listed in this post, provided a comparison to each original card of that player in the design they used (example: Original 1986 Al Toon RC shown alongside the 1986 design Fan Fave Auto with diff photo), and I blab and give general historian type info as I do.
Hopefully you enjoy, and see the magic of this set like I did.
In 2013 I bought a few blaster boxes of 2013 Topps Archives and fell in love with the set.
It used the 1959, 1976, 1985, and 1986 designs for the base set, and had great inserts like 1000 Yard Club that looked like the original 1986 1000yc inserts, 1984 Topps booklets with 2012 rookies, 1988 design mini framed autos and much more.
Whomever helped do the designs and year selection knew what they were doing. The base Jerry Rice was 1985 (which was his rookie year, but of course rookies weren't released till the players 2nd year so we know the classic 1986 Rice RC) and there were a ton more examples of smart design/year choices. There were also a few oddball selections, like 1950s-1970s QB Len Dawson in 1985 design and such, but it was FUN!
But the coolest and most fun part of the set were the autos that could be pulled of retired players called the "Fan Favorite Autos", and when released, was made up of 56 cards of all guys who weren't in the HoF, but were literally just as the set described were "Fan Favorites". Now two of the players who had cards in the set are HoFers, with perhaps (but unlikely) more in the future. It included designs from 1972 to 2003 and I wanted them all, so I started picking them up.
Three cards were redemptions. Mercury Morris in 1972 design, Eric Allen in 1989 design, and William "The Refrigerator" Perry in 1986 design.
The issue though, is that I've never seen the William Perry. I've never seen a photo surface. Not on eBay, not on COMC, not on TCDB, not anywhere on the web etc.
Turns out at one point a card blogger "DubMentality" had a blog website where he ranted at Topps for sending him replacement cards for this William Perry. This is where we got the first hint that perhaps the William Perry was never distributed.
Every few years, I tag Topps all over social media trying to get them to give me some type of direct answer on if the card exists. I kinda already know since I've been trying to find one for a decade and can't find one, but getting an official statement would bring some closure. They've never replied (of course. Why would you reply to someone who is a huge Topps fan who's been collecting Topps for 30 years who's collection is 99% Topps and is somewhat a historian of Topps Football when you could get celebrities to open packs for social media)
Oh well. Now I've finally completed the set as of last year (without the Perry of course) and it's likely one of the best/coolest card achievements I've ever done.
I did a video on this collection, as well as provided a history on the set with some info which I've listed in this post, provided a comparison to each original card of that player in the design they used (example: Original 1986 Al Toon RC shown alongside the 1986 design Fan Fave Auto with diff photo), and I blab and give general historian type info as I do.
Hopefully you enjoy, and see the magic of this set like I did.