Old School Hits: 1999 UD Retro Inkredible
In the late 1990’s, Upper Deck produced a retro-style set called (appropriately enough) Upper Deck Retro. Unlike other retro sets like Topps Heritage, Allen and Ginter, T206/5, and others, the base design was original and not influenced by a past set. Another characteristic that made Retro stand out was its packaging. The twenty-four packs from each hobby box were not contained by your standard cardboard display but rather a collectible lunch box (link). Each lunchbox contained one of nine different players or a combination of two of the nine.
Anyway, back to the point of this post. In every box of 1999 UD Retro was a hard signed Inkredible autographed card. This set boasts an impressive checklist featuring Nolan Ryan, Ken Griffey, Jr., George Brett, Don Mattingly, Tony Gwynn, Harmon Killebrew, Robin Yount, Chipper Jones, and a very, very elusive signer, Bernie Williams. A second level parallel mirrors the entire set and features a gold coloring instead of the red you see above. The print runs on the second level parallels are based on the player’s jersey number. Here’s an example of a Nolan Ryan currently on eBay.
Posted on March 13, 2009, in Old School Hits and tagged 1999, Inkredible, Paul O'Neill, Upper Deck, Upper Deck Retro. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
Old School Breaks 
Man, that is cool! I have never seen those. I’ll have to find out what Tribers are in that set!
I love this set! Late 90’s autograph sets rule. Anyone who enjoys these, might also look into UD’s Century Legends Epic Signature set and Donruss’ Significant Signatures set. All three sets featured classic players and on card autos.