Set Appreciation Post #22 - 2001 Donruss Classics

Upper Deck had Century Legends and Fleer had Greats of the Game. Donruss Classics was not quite as good as either, but it's still had solid product. The largest fault being the inclusion of rookie cards on the checklist, but we will get into those details later in the post.  

Here is the base card design....

Lots of gray. I do not always love card designs that are overrun by neutral colors, but I really like the looks of these cards with the color photo offering contrast. I also like the Donruss Classics logo on the top of the card with the player name, jersey number, and player position on the front. It seems like a lot, but all the different design elements are well-placed and spaced out on the front. My only qualm is the team name being split across the top on both sides of the Classics logo.  

Very well done. Here is the back of the card.  

Nice write-up with easy-to-read stats and biographical information. I find it interesting that write-ups on these cards reference events from within the 2001 season even though they are a 2001 release. Not a usual practice in the baseball card biz, but really cool to see considering that the majority of baseball cards are released later in the season.  

Donruss Classics is a product supposedly focused on veteran and Hall of Fame players, but the base set also includes 50 rookie cards, which do not really seem to fit with this product. The rookie cards are serial numbered to 585 copies. Two biggest rookie cards are Pujols and Ichiro.  

This might seem silly to complain about a Pujols rookie, but Playoff/Donruss made a ton of different baseball card products during the 2001 calendar year. There were plenty of opportunities to make cards of Pujols and Ichiro, including them here seems off-brand. The inclusion of the rookie cards diminish the overall checklist of Donruss Classics. I understand that rookie cards can be all the craze, but the equivalent Upper Deck, Fleer, and Topps products to Donruss Classics all were able to do just fine without having a bunch of Triple A players in the set.  

Wait. 

There are even more cards on the checklist, but they actually fit the product.   

There are another 48 cards after the rookie cards that are "Legend" cards. The Legends cards came one per box, or one per two mini boxes. Yes, this had boxes inside of boxes. The Legends cards have a cult following. There are plenty people who love these cards and collect them. Actually fairly affordable if you can track down all 48 of them. They are serial numbered to 1,755 copies, but a few of them can be hard to find. I like the gold/sepia color on these cards. The player photos are a mix between black and white, sepia, and color depending on the age of the player. 

Good looking cards.  

So, let's do a few favorites.  

My favorite Cardinals cards are the Pujols shown above, along with the Rick Ankiel.  

I love the red and white home uniforms against the gray background of the card.  

Favorite former Durham Bulls player is Ryan Klesko with his lamb chop sideburns.  

 

My favorite odd card is Hideo Nomo on the Red Sox.......

Hideo Nomo played on the Red Sox???  

Apparently, Hideo Nomo was on four different teams in four years, but that included a no-hitter with the Red Sox. I remember him with the Mets and Brewers, not so much with the Tigers and Red Sox. I need to start using him when I play Immaculate Grid.  

There are also autographs.  

The Hall of Famers are one of the big highlights of Donruss Classics.  

The checklist for the autograph set is deep with good names and they are on-card autographs.    

There are also rookie autographs, but.......

They have ugly silver stickers and are players like Brandon Larson. 

Just stick with the old guys.  

One last thing. Let me tell you about the benches from the dugout in Three Rivers Stadium.

Playoff/Donruss bought one of them at some point in the late 1990s and used it to create a insert set.   

Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell have cards in the set, which is cool, but Vlad Guerrero in Three Rivers Pack? I don't care if he hit two home runs in a game against the Pirates, this is a reach.  

So, how does Donruss Classics rate? 

Out of 5 Wool E. Bull's?  

Solid set, but not as good as its competitors.