Pack Rip - 2005 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants

If you read this blog at all, you're probably already aware that I'm a sucker for vintage baseball cards. This is the main focus of my collection, and the most prized cards in my collection are my 1950s-1970s baseball cards, but it's not exactly easy (or within my budget) to find packs to rip from this era. S0, when I get a craving to rip a pack, sometimes I settle for the next best thing, modern day sets featuring players from the past.

This pack is from one such set, Upper Deck's 2005 Past Time Pennants. The selling point behind this set is that every box contained a felt pennant signifying either a historic team or event in baseball history made by throwback jersey manufacturers Mitchell & Ness. As with a lot of products, the value of these cards has depreciated significantly over time. Hobby boxes were selling for between $80 and $90 when the product hit the shelves, but you can pick one up now for around $40. I bought a bunch of loose packs though for $2 a piece rather than a hobby box, so no pennant for me. Let's see what I got in my final pack...

#19. Don Larsen - New York Yankees

#30. Frank Robinson - Cincinnati Reds

#13. Cal Ripken Jr. - Baltimore Orioles

#32. Gary Carter - New York Mets

#40. Jim Bunning - Philadelphia Phillies

Well, most of the time you'd be thrilled to get players of this caliber in a pack, but in a set that features greats such as Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, and Babe Ruth, this is a pretty weak pack, probably the worst of the 10 or so packs I opened.

The cards themselves look great though. As usual, Upper Deck hits a home run with a sleek, elegant card design that looks great with both the black and white photos (which don't scan quite so well) and the color photos. Combine this with a small checklist chock full of hall-of-famers and this is a set I might be interested in trying to complete...