COMC order Part 3 - 1995 and 1996

Continuing on with my last COMC order, here are the Browns cards that I added to my collection from 1995, when the NFL allowed Art Modell to punch me in the stomach from a distance, and from 1996, when I might have watched a cumulative total of ten minutes of NFL football.

Top: 1995 Bowman's Best - Refractors #84

Bottom (l-r): 1995 Classic NFL Experience - Gold #21; 1995 Collector's Choice - Platinum Players Club #85

Some more parallels for my collection.

The Eric Zeier card was the last of the refractor parallels that I needed for my team set. I was happy with Zeier's first start with the Browns, when he passed for over 300 yards in a Browns win. Then, the following week, I heard the rumors on the television that the Browns would be moving to Baltimore. Art Modell's announcement came the next day. Sadly, my memories tend to associate that with Zeier's beginnings with the Browns, and needless to say, I have mixed feelings now whenever I see Zeier's cards.

I don't have really have the same feelings when I see other 1995 cards like the Pepper Johnson and Derrick Alexander cards. Johnson completed my gold parallel team set for the Classic NFL Experience set, while the Alexander card is the fourth of thirteen that I need for the Platinum Players Club team set.

Top (l-r): 1995 Collector's Edge - 22K Gold #45 (#/500); - EdgeTech 22K Gold #13

Bottom: 1995 Collector's Edge Excalibur - 22K Prism #12

Here are three Antonio Langham parallels from Collector's Edge sets. They averaged out to just over fifty cents each in my order. The 22K Gold parallel is the first I own of the eight cards for its parallel team set. The EdgeTech card is the only Brown from its set, and there is still an Eric Metcalf card to find in the Excalibur 22K Prism set.

Top (l-r): 1995 Pacific - Young Warrior #4; 1995 Pro Line - Printer's Proof #189

Bottom: 1995 Score - Red Siege Artist's Proof #175

Of course, the other player that brings negative feelings towards the 1995 Browns, and the move is Andre Rison, but I do need to collect his cards if I want to get all Browns cards.

I like the Pacific Derrick Alexander insert. I hadn't seen any of the Young Warrior insert cards before. The back is pretty cool.

A funny thing about the back - it is easier to read in this scan than it is in hand. It may be because the scan is bigger, or it may be that the lighting in the room that I'm scanning in isn't good enough, or it may be because I'm getting older, and just can't pick up the writing on the card as easy. I guess it really doesn't matter.

Top (l-r): 1995 Select Certified - Gold Mirror #116; - Gold Mirror #77

Bottom (l-r): 1995 Select Certified - Gold Mirror #53; - Gold Mirror #42

These gold mirror parallels really pop in these scans. These cards completed the team set for me.

1995 Summit - Ground Zero #19 

This Leroy Hoard Ground Zero parallel is only my second of the seven that I need for the team set.

The card does a good job of featuring the player, but I like backgrounds on my cards. The base card doesn't even have a great background, just a bit of a blurred image behind him, and a white background in front of him.

That was the last of the 1995 cards that I bought. On to the 1996 cards.

I wonder why there are 1996 Cleveland Browns cards. The move was announced in November 1995. You would think that all the sets would have labelled the cards as Baltimore Ravens, even if the players were going to be shown in the previous season's Browns uniforms.

I'm glad these say Cleveland Browns. They just seem more right than seeing the Ravens name or logo on a Browns uniform card, but I always know that the Browns didn't exist for this year.

Top (l-r): 1996 Collector's Edge - Holofoil #48 (#/500); - Holofoil #49 (#/500)

Bottom (l-r): 1996 Collector's Edge - Holofoil #50 (#/500); - Holofoil #51 (#/500)

Aren't these Holofoil parallels pretty funky? I didn't own any of them before my COMC purchase. With the eight that I bought, I'm only short an Eric Zeier card to complete the team set.

Did Earnest Hunter just toss the Edge logo into the air, or is he waiting for it to drop?

Top (l-r): 1996 Collector's Edge - Holofoil #52 (#/500); - Holofoil #53 (#/500)

Bottom (l-r): 1996 Collector's Edge - Holofoil #54 (#/500); - Holofoil #55 (#/500)

I don't know if I would label that block/hold as pleasant...

1996 Score - Footsteps #8

I found this card funny. The pairing of quarterbacks is interesting, as I can't see anything that really ties them together. Does the back give us any reason?

I would say, not really. I mean, I think you would have been able to describe many quarterbacks as smart leaders and fiery competitors who prefer to stay in the pocket.

No matter, I like Drew Bledsoe, and it is a good way to have one of his cards added to my collection.

That is it for the 1996 cards that I picked up, and the last of the pre-expansion team cards that I picked up. It was nice to add so many cards to my collection from the old team. The next few COMC posts that I do will cover cards starting with the 1999 expansion team.