[zeprock]

Just for fun today I am featuring nine cards from a set. The set literally has "fun" in the title. In 1993 Upper Deck released their debut Fun Pack set targeted primarily toward kids and includes a variety of clever designs and subsets. I had never seen any of the cards from the set until I found packs and packs of them at a Marden's store in Brewer, Maine in 1997. Marden's is a resale store that basically sells a wide variety of goods from overstocks, closeouts, and natural disasters. Their merchandise comes in limited quantities, and once it sells, it’s gone for good. Their saying is, "I should have bought it when I saw it at Marden's." They sell clothing, furniture, mattresses, hardware, food, flooring, footwear, fabric and seasonal stuff. My wife loves to browse there and it was on one of these occasions that I noticed packs of 1997 Score Team Sets and 1993 and 1994 Fun Pack cards for a quarter per pack. Naturally I picked up several packs and took them home and opened them. A few of the cards were stuck together but most of them were just fine and I was surprised at how colorful they were and how many "star" players were in each pack, players that I collect. So, I went back without my wife and bought all of the packs I could find for about $40 and I came to within 10 cards of completing both Fun Pack sets. Here are nine cards from the 1993 Fun Pack set that I pulled that day.

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1993 Fun Pack #6 Mike Piazza (Key rookies in the set were designated as "Stars of Tomorrow" and pictured over a stadium with a background of stars.)
1993 Fun Pack #11 Barry Bonds HS (The Hot Shots subset are actually heat activated cards. If you press your hand on the dark background for a moment or hold a hair dryer to the card, the dark background disappears leaving a colorful background in it's place. Very unique.)
1993 Fun Pack #35 Ozzie Smith HERO (The Heroes subset features artwork. Here's Ozzie Smith in his bathrobe and nightcap unleashing the power of the Wizard on an unsuspecting baseball.)

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1993 Fun Pack #111 Ken Griffey Jr. GS (The Glow Stars are stickers that actually glow in the dark. They are meant for kids to peel off and affix to their wall. Mom will not be happy.)
1993 Fun Pack #160 Nolan Ryan (Here's the design of the typical base card this one depicting the King of K's in a throwback uni.)
1993 Fun Pack #212 Rickey Henderson ASA (The All-Star Advice subset teaches you how the pros achieve their success on the ballfield. This card teaches kids how to run and steal bases like Rickey Henderson. R-i-g-h-t.)

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1993 Fun Pack #218 Cal Ripken FOLD (Foldout cards open up to display a wide action photo of the featured player.)
1993 Fun Pack All-Stars #AS3 M.McGwire/W.Clark (All-Star Scratch-offs feature opposing All-stars and are fold-outs that were randomly inserted into packs. There is a scratch-off game in the center where you and an opponent can select a lineup and play a 9-inning game.)
1993 Fun Pack Mascots #1 Phillie Phanatic (The five Mascot Madness inserts were also randomly inserted into packs and feature two photos of the mascot, one on holographic foil.)