1996 SkyBox Impact Football includes a 200-card base checklist. This includes a massive list of rookies, 41 in all. There are some good names including Mike Alstott, Eddie George, Terry Glenn, Marvin Harrison and Keyshawn Johnson.

The big chase can be found in the inserts. While a few insert sets are common enough to find in a single box break, there are some tough ones as well. 

SkyBox kicked off their Impact brand in football in 1992. There were a couple of huge chase cards that collectors went crazy for including a Jim Kelly autograph and a dual autograph with Kelly and NBA legend Magic Johnson. Holograms were also included in the original release.

Unfortunately, breaking 20-plus-year-old packs is not always rainbows and unicorns. You can encounter boxes that are “bricked” with all the cards in each pack sticking together. Sometimes you can carefully peel them apart without damage. Other times, not so much. If you are sensitive to surface damage, you may want to turn away now.

1996 Skybox Impact Football Box Break

Cards per pack: 10
Packs per box: 24
Price paid: $40

Shop for 1996 SkyBox Impact Football boxes on eBay.

Pack 1 highlights:

Simeon Rice RC, Keyshawn Johnson RC & Joey Galloway Excelerators (1:12 packs)

Pack 2:

Rod Woodson, Bruce Smith, Marvin Harrison RC & Errict Rhett No Surrender (1:40 packs)

Rhett is one of the less desirable players on the 20-card No Surrender checklist. 

Pack 3:

Terance Mathis, Eric Moulds RC, Willie McGinest & DeRon Jenkins NFL on FOX (1:3 packs)

Pack 4:

Jim Kelly, Derrick Thomas, Reggie White, Kerry Collins, Jeff George, Jerry Rice, Kordell Stewart & Steve McNair

One thing this set definitely has going for it is strong photography. 

Pack 5:

Robert Brooks, Vinny Testaverde, Ricky Watters & Marcus Allen

Pack 6:

Troy Aikman, Brett Favre, Rocket Ismail, Steve Young & Marvin Harrison NFL on FOX (1:3 packs)

Favre has five different base cards celebrating his 1995 MVP season. 

Pack 7:

Mark Brunell & Ben Coates

Pack 8:

Warren Moon, Edgar Bennett & Cris Carter

Check out the photos on the Bennett and Carter cards. This is some Stadium Club-worthy stuff here.

Pack 9:

Michael Westbrook, Rodney Hampton, Brett Favre & Jevon Langford NFL on FOX (1:3 packs)

That’s quite the angle on the Westbrook photo. A beauty!

Pack 10:

Marshall Faulk, Jim Harbaugh, Errict Rhett & Shannon Sharpe

Pack 11:

Anthony Miller, Dan Marino, Jerome Bettis & Bobby Engram RC

Another great shot on this Marino card.

Pack 12:

Andre Rison, Jeff Blake, Herman Moore & Cedric Jones NFL on FOX (1:3 packs)

Pack 13:

Emmitt Smith & Brett Favre Lenticular Exchange Card (1:72 packs)

This is exchange card A. Cards A & B could be exchanged for a Favre MVP Lenticular card. Card B was found only in 1996 Skybox Premium. 

Pack 14:

Daryl Johnston, Brett Favre x2, Terry Glenn RC & Tamarick Vanover Excelerators (1:12 packs)

Pack 15:

Brett Favre, Barry Sanders, Mike Alstott RC, Carl Pickens & Michael Irvin

Do you think Irvin caught this one? I am willing to bet he did. 

Pack 16:

Amani Toomer RC, Brett Favre, Jake Reed & Terry Glenn NFL on FOX (1:3 packs)

Pack 17:

Joey Galloway, John Elway & Irving Fryar

If you can ignore the snow, this Galloway is another good looking card.

Pack 18:

Jeff Blake & Drew Bledsoe

Pack 19:

Brett Favre, Terry Glenn RC & Daryl Gardener NFL on Fox (1:3 packs)

Pack 20:

Charles Haley, Drew Bledsoe & Irving Fryar

Pack 21:

Eric Matcalf, Jeff George & Lawrence Phillips NFL on Fox (1:3 packs)

Pack 22:

Herschel Walker, Tim Biakabutuka RC & Jonathan Ogden RC

Pack 23:

Thurman Thomas

Pack 24:

Vinny Testaverde, Terrell Davis, Brett Favre, Deion Sanders & Johnny McWilliams NFL on FOX (1:3 packs)

Here he is, the new Colorado head coach, Prime Time Sanders.

Lastly, the Terrell Davis card back. There’s nothing wrong with an additional action shot on the card back.

Unfortunately, this box was doomed from the start. I couldn’t have pulled anything to save this one unless, somehow, a rare insert made it out of the pack unscathed. As far as inserts go, I did find what you would expect to find in a single box.

There are a couple Favre insert cards that are found just once in every 20 boxes. It is possible that one of those would have survived the damage because it’s acrylic. I also missed out on the VersaTeam insert that falls just once in every five boxes. 

This isn’t a box I would try again, for obvious reasons. Though, it wouldn’t shock me for someone to open one and have everything come out clean, either.

Shop for 1996 SkyBox Impact Football on:

• Beckett Marketplace
• eBay

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