Pack Break: 1995 Topps Traded and Rookies
Written by Steve on August 22nd, 2009After 1990 and 1991, Topps decided to stop issuing their Traded sets in wax pack form. Maybe they weren’t selling well. In 1995, they gave it another shot, issuing a sleek modern-looking box with shiny red packs called Topps Traded and Rookies. My guess is that 1995 Topps Traded didn’t work either, because 1995 was the last year they issued the Traded wax boxes until 2001.
Notable rookies in 1995 Topps Traded include Carlos Beltran, Hideo Nomo, Bronson Arroyo, and Richie Sexson. Each hobby box includes one Power Booster insert card, of which Cal Ripken and Barry Bonds are the best cards to look for.
A hobby box comes with 36 packs with 11 cards each. Here’s what I got in the inaugural pack:
- #140T Charlie Hayes
- #82T Chad Fonville (Rookie)
- #90T Dave Gallagher
- Power Boosters #10 Matt Williams (At the Break)
- #9 Mo Vaughn (At the Break)
- #14T Kevin Gross
- #93T Kevin Jarvis
- #46T Dave Mlicki
- #147T Roberto Petagine
- #102T Mark Whiten
Hey look, it’s the one-per-box Power Booster! It’s not Barry Bonds or Cal Ripken, but Matt Williams is pretty good. It’s hard to see from the scan, but it’s got some refraction action going. From the back:
“For the second straight year, Williams’ assault on the HR record books was interrupted. A broken foot kept him out of half of the pre-All Star action in 1995, but not before he chalked up some gaudy numbers. In 36 games, he batted .381 with 13 HR’s and 35 RBI. His longball rate projected to a Maris-menacing 59 over 162 games.“