1995 Fleer Ultra Football was split into two releases, Series 1 and Extra, which is essentially Series 2. The Series 1 checklist features 350 base cards while Extra holds just 200. Series 1 stays true to the mid ’90s Fleer brand and has an insert per pack. Packs also hold a Gold Medallion parallel card. This release features one of my favorite Gold Medallion designs.

The rookie checklist for Series 1 features a trio of Hall of Famers: Derrick Brooks, Ty Law and Warren Sapp. 

1995 Fleer Ultra Series 1 Football Box Break

Cards per pack: 12
Packs per box: 36
Price paid: $28

Shop for 1995 Fleer Ultra Series 1 Football boxes on eBay.

Pack 1 highlights:

Jerry Rice, Steve Atwater, Johnny Johnson Gold Medallion (one per pack) & Dan Marino Award Winner Gold Medallion 

The regular Award Winner inserts are found once in every five packs. Unfortunately, there are no reported odds for the Gold Medallion insert parallels.

Pack 2:

Troy Aikman, Kordell Stewart RC, Herman Moore, Ty Law RC, Marcus Allen, Derrick Brooks RC, Billy Milner Gold Medallion & Mel Gray Ultra Achievements (1:7 packs)

Pack 3:

Barry Sanders, Kordell Stewart Gold Medallion RC & Tim Bowens Award Winners (1:5 packs)

Pack 4:

Aaron Glenn, Ty Law Gold Medallion RC & Ben Coates Ultra Achievements (1:7 packs)

Pack 5:

Daryl “Moose” Johnston, Marcus Robertson Gold Medallion & Marshall Faulk 2nd Year Standout (1:5 packs)

Faulk burst onto the NFL scene in 1994 with 12 touchdowns his rookie season. He didn’t slow down in 1995, finding the end zone another 14 times.

Pack 6:

Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie White, Leonard Russell Gold Medallion & Dan Marino Award Winners (1:5 packs)

Pack 7:

Jeff Blake RC, Bobby Houston Gold Medallion & Mel Gray Ultra Achievements (1:7 packs)

Pack 8:

Charles Haley, Warren Sapp RC, Steve Atwater, O.J. McDuffie Gold Medallion & Mark Bruener 1st Rounders Gold Medallion

Pack 9:

Trent Dilfer, Michael Irvin, Marshall Faulk, Robert Brooks, Chris Slade Gold Medallion & Bert Emanuel 2nd Year Standouts (1:5 packs)

Emanuel isn’t exactly a household name but he did put up 1,000+ receiving yards in 1995, his second season. That was the only time he did so in his career. 

Pack 10:

Cris Carter, Randall Cunningham, Charles Haley, our third Steve Atwater, Darryl Williams Gold Medallion & Kyle Brady 1st Rounders (1:7 packs)

Pack 11:

Ken Norton, Bryan Cox Gold Medallion & Natrone Means Touchdown Kings (1:7 packs)

Pack 12:

Ben Coates, Bam Morris, John Elway, Matt Darby Gold Medallion & Mark Bruener 1st Rounders (1:7 packs)

Pack 13:

Drew Bledsoe, Rodney Hampton, Jim Kelly, Shannon Sharpe, James Francis Gold Medallion & Bert Emanuel 2nd Year Standouts (1:5 packs)

Two Hall of Famers (Kelly & Sharpe) in a single pack!

Pack 14:

Deion Sanders, Marion Butts Gold Medallion & Herman Moore Touchdown Kings (1:7 packs)

Pack 15:

Isaac Bruce, Bruce Smith Gold Medallion & Kyle Brady 1st Rounders (1:7 packs)

Pack 16:

Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Darryl Williams Gold Medallion & William Floyd 2nd Year Standouts (1:5 packs)

Pack 17:

Qadry Ismail, Brian Blades, Gene Atkins Gold Medallion & Andre Rison Touchdown Kings Gold Medallion

Andre “Bad Moon” Rison hauled in 743 receptions during his career, topping the 10,000 yard mark with 10,205.

Pack 18:

Barry Sanders, Cris Carter, Jim Harbaugh, Darren Woodson, Cornelius Bennett Gold Medallion & Tim Bowens Award Winners (1:5 packs)

Pack 19:

Pepper Johnson, Irving Fryar, Kordell Stewart Gold Medallion RC & Chris Warren Touchdown Kings (1:7 packs)

Pack 20:

Warren Moon, Charles Haley, Warren Sapp RC, Brett Favre, Ty Law Gold Medallion RC & Jerry Rice Touchdown Kings (1:7 packs)

Pack 21:

Errict Rhett, Marcus Robertson Gold Medallion & Steve Young Ultra Achievements (1:7 packs)

Young had a monster 1994 season, winning his second MVP award. He led the league with 35 touchdown passes while putting up a career-best 70.3% completion percentage. 

Pack 22:

Leonard Russell Gold Medallion & Byron “ Bam” Morris 2nd Year Standouts (1:5 packs)

Pack 23:

Jeff George, Carl Pickens, Dan Marino, Bobby Houston Gold Medallion & Steve Young Award Winners Gold Medallion

Pack 24:

O.J. McDuffie, McDuffie Gold Medallion & Barry Sanders Ultra Achievements (1:7 packs)

Pack 25:

Steve McNair RC, Rod Woodson Gold Medallion & Bam Morris Rising Stars Gold Medallion

The base Rising Stars inserts are found just once in every 37 packs. One would assume that the Gold Medallion parallels would be even tougher.

Pack 26:

Aeneas Williams, Chris Slade Gold Medallion & Bryant Young 2nd Year Standouts (1:5 packs)

Pack 27:

Steve Atwater, Warren Sapp RC, Al Smith Gold Medallion & Chris Warren Touchdown Kings (1:7 packs)

Pack 28:

Deion Sanders, Michael Strahan, Webster Slaughter Gold Medallion & Natrone Means Touchdown Kings (1:7 packs)

Pack 29:

Kerry Collins RC, Warren Sapp RC, Shannon Sharpe Gold Medallion & Warren Sapp 1st Rounders (1:7 packs)

Sapp was the 12th overall selection of the 1995 NFL draft. He proved more than worthy of the high draft pick, racking up 96 1/2 sacks during his Hall of Fame career. 

Pack 30:

Joey Galloway RC, Johnny Johnson Gold Medallion & Bryant Young 2nd Year Standouts (1:5 packs)

Pack 31:

Billy Milner Gold Medallion RC & Deion Sanders Award Winners (1:5 packs)

Pack 32:

Rashaan Salaam RC, Charles Johnson Gold Medallion & Rashaan Salaam 1st Rounders (1:7 packs)

Pack 33:

Rick Mirer, Bill Romanowski, Leslie O’Neal Gold Medallion & Emmitt Smith Touchdown Kings Gold Medallion

I certainly have a knack for pulling Emmitt inserts. That is definitely not a bad thing.

Pack 34:

Cris Carter, Kerry Collins RC, Randall Cunningham, Barry Sanders, James Stewart Gold Medallion RC & Warren Sapp 1st Rounders (1:7 packs)

Pack 35:

Dana Stubblefield, the third Leonard Russell Gold Medallion of the box & Barry Sanders Award Winners (1:5 packs)

Pack 36:

Bobby Houston Gold Medallion & Steve Young Ultra Achievements (1:7 packs)

Lastly, the Barry Sanders card back. Even though I prefer to see more stat lines I always found these backs classy. The three additional player pictures doesn’t hurt. 

1990s Ultra boxes are always loaded with inserts, and obviously this one was no different. I wish I knew how tough the Gold Medallion insert parallels were, as I found quite a few in this one. The tough Rising Stars Gold Medallion particularly has my interest. Bam Morris definitely isn’t the best of the bunch from the Rising Stars checklist, as Jerome Bettis, Drew Bledsoe, Brett Favre and Marshall Faulk are on the list, but it is still a tough pull. 

I do appreciate the thicker card stock on these. It definitely makes them feel like a more premium product. Hopefully I am able to track down a Series 2 (“Extra”) box that I can feature here as well.

Shop for 1995 Fleer Ultra Football on:

• Beckett Marketplace
• eBay

Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.