Collector’s Choice Football debuted in 1994 as a fun and inexpensive new brand. I recall it being one of my common rips as a kid back then, as the price was right. I could grab those retail boxes for cheap money at K-Mart. They always had fun inserts to find.

1996 Collector’s Choice Football features a 375-card base checklist. It definitely has some of those fun inserts. Crash the Game cards were contest cards, redeemable if your player scored a touchdown. The MVP inserts were foil-covered, and look nice, even if they are common. Lastly, the Stick-ums. Back in the ’90s it was a safe bet that my school folders were covered in these. 

1996 had a good crop of rookies including Tedy Bruschi, Eddie George, Terry Glenn, Marvin Harrison, Keyshawn Johnson, Ray Lewis, and Lawyer Milloy all made the checklist. 

1996 Collector’s Choice Football Box Break

Cards per pack: 14
Packs per box: 40
Price paid: $15

Shop for 1996 Collector’s Choice Football boxes on eBay.

Pack 1 highlights:

Stephen Davis RC, Darren Woodson, Jerry Rice & Dan Marino MVP (one in each pack)

Pack 2:

Errict Rhett, Kevin Hardy RC, Michael Irvin, Rashaan Salaam MVP & John Elway Crash the Game (1:5 packs)

Crash the Game inserts could be redeemed for Winner cards if the pictured player scored or threw for a touchdown on the printed date. 

Elway threw for two touchdowns on November 24.

Pack 3:

Marcus Allen, Junior Seau, Irving Fryar & Brett Favre MVP

Pack 4:

Lawyer Milloy RC, Jerry Rice, Jason Elam, Tim Brown MVP, Brett Favre Stick-ums (1:3 packs) & Leeland McElroy Crash the Game (1:5 packs)

McElroy did not find the endzone on October 27 and wouldn’t have been eligible to redeem.

 

Pack 5:

Kordell Stewart, Morten Andersen, Danny Kanell RC & Steve Young MVP

Pack 6:

Marshall Faulk, Robert Brooks & Mark Brunell MVP

Pack 7:

Michael Irvin, Hugh Douglas, Desmond Howard, Tony Martin MVP & Anthony Smith Stick-ums (1:3 packs)

Pack 8:

Tim Brown, Bobby Engram RC, Ty Law, Antonio Freeman & Jim Harbaugh MVP

Pack 9:

Ray Lewis RC, Barry Sanders, Craig Heyward, Drew Bledsoe, Curtis Martin MVP & Rashaan Salaam Crash the Game (1:5 packs)

Rashaan Salaam would have been a winner, rushing for 36 yards and one touchdown on October 28.

Pack 10:

Yancey Thigpen, Ricky Watters, Kerry Collins, Derrick Brooks, Steve Young, Jerry Rice CL, Drew Bledsoe Stick-ums (1:3 packs) & Cris Carter MVP

Pack 11:

Troy Aikman, Isaac Bruce & Ricky Watters MVP

Pack 12:

Trent Dilfer, Shannon Sharpe, Bam Morris, Dan Marino CL & Chris Warren MVP

Remember the creamsicle colored Bucs uniforms? Those need to make a comeback.

Pack 13:

Carl Pickens, Jerry Rice, Ricky Watters, Carl Pickens MVP & Michael Irvin Stick-ums (1:3 packs)

Pack 14:

Curtis Martin, Antonio Freeman, Kordell Stewart & Larry Centers MVP

Pack 15:

Kerry Collins, Errict Rhett, Ricky Watters, Isaac Bruce, Terance Mathis, Tim Biakabutuka RC & Michael Irvin MVP

Pack 16:

Rodney Hampton, Marvin Harrison RC, Brett Favre, Jim Kelly MVP, Jerry Rice Stick-ums (1:3 packs) & Dan Marino Crash the Game (1:5 packs)

Marino threw for just one touchdown on November 25, but that would have been enough to redeem for a Winner card.

Pack 17:

Raghib Ismail, Eric Metcalf & John Elway MVP

Pack 18:

Tim Brown, Brown again, Curtis Martin, Drew Bledsoe & Kerry Collins MVP

Pack 19:

Shannon Sharpe, Simeon Rice RC, Brian Mitchell MVP, Erik Kramer Stick-ums (1:3 packs) & Adrian Murrell MVP Gold (1:35 packs)

Pack 20:

Rodney Hampton, Bruce Smith & Tim Brown MVP

Pack 21:

Troy Aikman, Cris Carter, Robert Brooks & Bryan Cox MVP

Pack 22:

Keyshawn Johnson RC, Steve Young, Rodney Peete MVP & Lawrence Phillips Crash the Game (1:5 packs)

Phillips scored five touchdowns in 1996, his rookie season. Unfortunately, he didn’t find the endzone on October 20. 

Pack 23:

Warren Moon, Dan Marino CL & Jerry Rice MVP

Pack 24:

Derrick Thomas dupes, Andre Reed & Steve Bono MVP

Pack 25:

Isaac Bruce, Boomer Esiason, Jerry Rice CL, Warren Sapp & Rodney Hampton MVP

Pack 26:

Junior Seau, Barry Sanders, Jim Harbaugh, Marshall Faulk MVP & Deion Sanders Stick-ums (1:3 packs)

Pack 27:

Tedy Bruschi RC, Drew Bledsoe MVP & Tim Biakabutuka Crash the Game (1:5 packs)

Biakabutuka was on the injured reserve by October 13 and had no shot of scoring a touchdown. 

Pack 28:

Jake Reed, Boomer Esiason, Kordell Stewart, Michael Irvin & Greg Lloyd MVP

Pack 29:

Marshall Faulk, Jerome Bettis, Yancey Thigpen MVP & Morten Andersen Stick-ums (1:3 packs)

Pack 30:

Kordell Stewart & Errict Rhett MVP

Pack 31:

John Elway, John Randle, Ray Lewis RC, Erik Kramer MVP, Natrone Means Stick-ums (1:3 packs) & Drew Bledsoe Crash the Game (1:5 packs)

Bledsoe threw four touchdown passes in a 45-7 win on December 1.

Pack 32:

Emmitt Smith, another Emmitt & Barry Sanders MVP

Pack 33:

Vinny Testaverde, Eric Moulds RC, Bruce Smith, Jim Kelly, Mark Brunell & Jeff Blake MVP

Pack 34:

Rashaan Salaam, Kerry Collins, Carl Pickens, Edgar Bennett MVP & Ken Norton Stick-ums (1:3 packs)

Pack 35:

Terry Glenn RC & Vinny Testaverde MVP

Pack 36:

Warren Moon, Lawyer Milloy RC, Steve McNair, Jeff George MVP & Jeff Blake Crash the Game (1:5 packs)

Blake threw three of his 24 1996 touchdown passes on December 1. 

Pack 37:

Lawrence Phillips RC, Herman Moore, Brett Favre, Emmitt Smith MVP & Cris Carter Stick-ums (1:3 packs)

Pack 38:

Willie McGinest, Marcus Allen, Warren Moon, Mark Brunell & Bryce Paup MVP

Pack 39:

Jonathan Ogden RC, Joey Galloway, Terrell Davis & Terrell MVP

Pack 40:

Eddie George RC, Ben Coates, Jeff Blake, Herman Moore MVP & Greg Lloyd Stick-ums (1:3 packs)

Lastly, the Marcus Allen card back. Something about the full career stat lines — I love them!

I would have done really well with the Crash the Game winners in this one. Five of my eight inserts would have been eligible to redeem for Winner cards. Unfortunately, those redemption deadlines have long passed. It’s funny, as a kid I don’t ever recall ever checking to see if the Crash the Game inserts were potential winners. I just remember thinking that they were cool looking cards.

This was a fun rip, and brought me back. Collector’s Choice was a go-to for me back then and it is still a fun one.

Shop for 1996 Collector’s Choice Football on:

• Beckett Marketplace
• eBay

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