(2005 Upper Deck Portraits football – enter stage left)
Thanks to a strong retro-market, Upper Deck has revived the formerly successful 8x10 autographed box-topper concept that fueled some of the mid-1990s Donruss football products.
This time, however, Upper Deck has taken the concept a step or two further by including oversized dual and triple autographs. Bravo!
As a matter of fact, this entire product was tremendously impressive right from the start. The box reminds me of the package I received from my photographer containing my wedding pictures. Needless to say, I paid a lot more money to my photographer than to my local hobby dealer for a box of Portraits.
In addition to the 8x10 autograph per box, you are also guaranteed an average of three game-used memorabilia cards and three serial-numbered cards, including two rookie cards.
Our box yielded some impressive pulls including an oversized autograph box-topper of Roy Williams (Lions), as well as memorabilia cards of Alex Smith and Eli Manning, among others.
Hobby boxes retail for approximately $125 and have been a hot commodity since its release last week.
Kudos to Upper Deck for offering the hobby a tremendous product with good value and substance!
