Panini America’s 2018 Classics Football lives up to its name, with a great cross-section of legendary NFL players mixed in with veterans and rookies. A 300-card base set offers set chasers a chance to build a set of big names from the past and present. There are 100 veteran, 100 legends and 100 rookies in the base set.
As has been my pattern lately, I bought a blaster box to get a taste of the set. A blaster contains eight packs, with eight cards to a box. Each blaster also offers an exclusive Saturday Swatches card.
The box I opened yielded 33 legends, 24 veterans and three rookies. I really enjoyed this breakdown because it was fun to find cards of legends like Barry Sanders, Mike Ditka, Ken Stabler, Charlie Joiner and Fred Biletnikoff, to name a few. Legends are not limited to skill positions, either. Guards Larry Little and Larry Allen, center Mike Webster and tackle Jonathan Ogden also have places in the set.
As has been my pattern lately, I bought a blaster box to get a taste of the set. A blaster contains eight packs, with eight cards to a box. Each blaster also offers an exclusive Saturday Swatches card.
The box I opened yielded 33 legends, 24 veterans and three rookies. I really enjoyed this breakdown because it was fun to find cards of legends like Barry Sanders, Mike Ditka, Ken Stabler, Charlie Joiner and Fred Biletnikoff, to name a few. Legends are not limited to skill positions, either. Guards Larry Little and Larry Allen, center Mike Webster and tackle Jonathan Ogden also have places in the set.
The design is horizontal, with mostly color action shots; the Ditka card sports a black-and-white photo of the Bears’ tight end in action. The Classics logo is in the upper left-hand corner of the card front, with the player’s name in black block letters in the lower right-hand corner.
The team name appears above the player’s name, with smaller white block letters set against a black strip. A pennant is placed in the lower left-hand corner of the front, with Legends and Rookies inside. For veterans, the team name is placed inside the pennant and not above the player’s name.
The design for the card backs are horizontal, with the player’s name in golden letters set against a black background that strips across the top of the card. The player’s number and the team logo are directly beneath his name, with a biographical sketch included. Statistical boxes are included for veterans and rookies. The card number is in the upper right-hand corner of the card, placed inside a football helmet icon.
The set does have parallels, although I did not find any in the blaster box. But for collectors who buy hobby boxes, there are parallels in red (numbered to 299), blue (175), blank back (50), green (40), no name (10) and full name (5). There are Timeless Tributes parallels in gold (numbered to 99), orange (25), blue (10) and black (1/1).
The team name appears above the player’s name, with smaller white block letters set against a black strip. A pennant is placed in the lower left-hand corner of the front, with Legends and Rookies inside. For veterans, the team name is placed inside the pennant and not above the player’s name.
The design for the card backs are horizontal, with the player’s name in golden letters set against a black background that strips across the top of the card. The player’s number and the team logo are directly beneath his name, with a biographical sketch included. Statistical boxes are included for veterans and rookies. The card number is in the upper right-hand corner of the card, placed inside a football helmet icon.
The set does have parallels, although I did not find any in the blaster box. But for collectors who buy hobby boxes, there are parallels in red (numbered to 299), blue (175), blank back (50), green (40), no name (10) and full name (5). There are Timeless Tributes parallels in gold (numbered to 99), orange (25), blue (10) and black (1/1).
The prime hit in the blaster box I opened was the Saturday Swatches insert. I pulled one of Rams running back Todd Gurley, with a red swatch from his days at the University of Georgia. The swatch is a square on the card front, with a photo of Gurley during his college days. The same photo graces the back of the card.
There were several inserts in the blaster box. Composers is part of a 30-card subset that pays tribute to those quarterbacks — past and present — who orchestrate drives for their teams. The card I pulled was Rams quarterback Jared Goff. Instant Classics is a 10-card set that recalls iconic moments in NFL history. The card I pulled was Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception” from the 1972 AFC playoffs.
The final insert I pulled was a Classic Clashes card that featured tight ends Kellen Winslow and Tony Gonzalez. The horizontally designed card is part of a 15-card set.
Panini Classics Football gives collectors a nostalgic look at the past and a glimpse into the future. The present is well-represented, too. For me, the Legends cards are what make this set special, because it scratches my itch for collecting great names from the past.
There were several inserts in the blaster box. Composers is part of a 30-card subset that pays tribute to those quarterbacks — past and present — who orchestrate drives for their teams. The card I pulled was Rams quarterback Jared Goff. Instant Classics is a 10-card set that recalls iconic moments in NFL history. The card I pulled was Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception” from the 1972 AFC playoffs.
The final insert I pulled was a Classic Clashes card that featured tight ends Kellen Winslow and Tony Gonzalez. The horizontally designed card is part of a 15-card set.
Panini Classics Football gives collectors a nostalgic look at the past and a glimpse into the future. The present is well-represented, too. For me, the Legends cards are what make this set special, because it scratches my itch for collecting great names from the past.
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