2005 Bowman Heritage
What I pulled--
Inserts and Parallels:
'51 Topps Heritage - Jeremy Bonderman, Adam Dunn, Aubrey Huff, Andrew McCutchen
Relic Cards and Autographs:
Future Greatness Relic - Andy Marte black Futures Game jersey
Pieces of Greatness - Pedro Martinez bat
Signs of Greatness - Jason Jaramillo
Review:
You will never hear me complain about any of the Heritage sets. Why? Because they are easily at
the top of the Topps brands. And this set is yet another in a long line of winners.
Everything about this set is retro, right down to the box it comes in. So, let's start there...the box is
great, with '51 Baseball logos, and a note touting a "New Large Size" for the cards. For a product
that begs you to pay attention to the details, it starts at a high level. And it stays there.
The cards, as if you can't tell already, are patterned after the classic 1951 Bowman set. The
coloring of the pictures, the backgrounds, the white names in the black box, the white borders -
they are all there. It is a trip down memory lane for older collectors, a way to reminisce with fathers
for collectors whose father's collected, and a trip in the wayback machine for the young collectors
of today. No frills, no flashy backs, just pictures, names and a few notes about each player on the
back.
There are eight cards in each pack, including both a miniature parallel and a mahogany parallel
(the Mahogany was included in 2004 Bowman Heritage as a parallel #ed to 25).
The inserts are there, but not plentiful, although you don't buy a product like this for the inserts. There are the mini '51 Topps
Heritage cards, which are miniature versions of the Red Backs and Blue Backs Topps reproduced a couple years ago. There
are also two relics and an autograph (a player touched auto in my, and many, cases). Each box also comes with a box lader
pack containing five Draft Pick variation cards.
This is a box that you just need to open to appreciate. It is a set for set builders to piece together (did I mention the 50 short
prints and 25 variations?) and for newer collectors to use as a look back at old-school collecting. There is nothing at all to
dislike here.......................
A
