Cheap Wax Wednesday Box Breaks: 1991 Pro Line Portraits Football
1991 Pro Line Portraits Football is….different. The most obvious difference compared to other sets of the time is the photography. No in-game action shots were used in the set. Remember high school senior portraits? Kind of like that. The photography features everything from Starter jackets and saxophones to belt buckles and Zubaz.
There’s also the inclusion of some of the players’ wives in a seven-card insert set called Spirit.
The last, and most innovative, difference is the inclusion of certified autographed cards. The cards were signed on the back, with an embossing that can be seen on both sides of the card.
The 1991 Pro Line Portraits base set consists of 300 cards including 24 rookies. The base cards are borderless, with the card fronts showcasing just the release’s logo on top of the player photo. No names are on the fronts, though.
The set also features a 302-card autograph checklist. Some of the game’s biggest names signed for the set including Troy Aikman, Dan Marino, Walter Payton, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith are on it.
1991 Pro Line Portraits Football Box Break
Cards per pack: 12
Packs per box: 36
Price paid: $22
Shop for 1991 Pro Line Portraits Football boxes on eBay.
Pack 1 highlights:
Thurman Thomas & Jeff Hostetler
Pack 2:
Eric Dickerson & Jim Everett
Pack 3:
Jack Kemp, Lawrence Taylor, Chuck Noll, Steve Largent & Boomer Esiason
Pack 4:
O.J. Simpson & Michelle Oates Spirit (wife of Bart Oates)
Pack 5:
Steve DeBerg & Junior Seau
Pack 6:
Jim Kelly, Steve Tasker & Ed McCaffrey RC
Pack 7:
Kevin Greene & Pat Swilling
Pack 8:
Marty Schottenheimer, Roger Craig & Ahmad Rashad
Pack 9:
Jackie Slater & Dick Macpherson. Can you imagine Belichick wearing this Patriots sweater on the sidelines today? Cut off sleeves, of course.
Pack 10:
Dan Reeves, John Riggins, Brian Blades & Jimmy Johnson
Pack 11:
Troy Aikman & Andre Rison
Pack 12:
Gale Sayers, Thurman Thomas & Phylicia Rashad Spirit (wife of Ahmad)
Pack 13:
John Elway & Steve Young
Pack 14:
Joe Gibbs & Walter Payton
Pack 15:
Bernie Kosar, Roger Staubach, Mike Singletary & Jennifer Montana Spirit
Pack 16:
Franco Harris, Babette Kosar Spirit (Bernie’s wife) & Bruce Smith
Pack 17:
Warren Moon, Dan Marino, Ickey “Shuffle” Woods & Rod Woodson
Pack 18:
Dave Krieg, Irving Fryar & Herman Moore
Pack 19:
Bruce Smith & Eugene Robinson
Pack 20:
Roger Staubach, James Lofton & Warren Moon
Pack 21:
Dan Marino & Rod Woodson
Pack 22:
Mark Clayton, Franco Harris & Jim Harbaugh. No doubt Jim is trying to decide if he wants to coach in the NFL or college ranks after his career here.
Pack 23:
Derrick Thomas, Mike Ditka & Howie Long. How many of you had a Starter jacket as a kid? I proudly wore my Patriots Starter jacket for years!
Pack 24:
Phil Simms, Joe Theismann, Jerry Rice & Janet Elway Spirit
Pack 25:
Don Shula, Darryl Talley & Toni Lipps Spirit (wife of Louis Lipps)
Pack 26:
William “Refrigerator” Perry, Bill Belichick (considered Bill’s RC), Michael Irvin, Stacey O’Brien Spirit & Ken O’Brien
Pack 27:
Mel Blount, Ronnie Lott & Vinny Testaverde
Pack 28:
Chuck Noll & Eric Dickerson
Pack 29:
Lawrence Taylor & Boomer Esiason. Is anyone else seeing Gary Busey here? No? Just me?
Pack 30:
Brent Jones & O.J. Simpson
Pack 31:
Jerry Glanville, Steve Tasker & Junior Seau
Pack 32:
Marty Schottenheimer & Jim Kelly
Pack 33:
Andre Reed & Kevin Greene
Pack 34:
Cornelius Bennett & Ahmad Rashad
Pack 35:
Jeff George & Joe Theismann
Pack 36:
Morten Anderson & Jim McMahon
Lastly, the card back. No stats on these backs, just a quote from the player.
So I didn’t pull an autograph. Bummer. This set is definitely different. As a player sorter, I don’t mind adding some variety into my player binders. This set absolutely fits that bill, as it is so far out there, even by early ’90s standards.
It certainly would have made the box to pull an autograph. Autographs do fall typically a couple per case, so you have about a 1 in 6 chance of pulling one from a single box. Considering how cheaply these boxes can be found, it is well worth the risk to chase an autograph.
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Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.
