Nostalgic Box Break: 1994 Stadium Club Series 3 (Part One)

Hey, remember last year when I made a proclamation to attempt to complete every Stadium Club set ever?

Remember when halfway through the year I sort of..stopped?

Well, I'm back home now, and ready to post another box of Stadium Club, this one from 1994. I'd broke open a box of 1994 Series 2 last year, to start this whole madness off. Now, I'm back in 1994.

The one thing I recalled from 1994's set was that the cards stuck together something fierce, and pulling them apart resulted in little marks all over the cards, which kind of sucked.

The other thing I remember about the 1994 set was that the collation wasn't great. And yeah, you can say that about any set from the 90's, but still.

We've got 24 packs, so I can knock this out in two posts. Let's dive in.

Cards I needed: 12/13
First Day Issue Inserts: 1/13
Hall of Famers: 2/13
Future Hall of Famers: 1/13
Guys who have the same name as Hall of Famers: 1/13 (sorry, other Pedro Martinez!)

Three guys that were at various levels of relevance in 1994:
David Wells was on his way up.
Will Clark was still at his peak.
Shawon Dunston was on his way down.

Fun fact: Years before Michael Sam was drafted, Billy Bean was one of the first MLB players to come out as gay. Also, Bean was one of the first MLB players to spend a season playing for a Japanese team.

Onto the 'Hall of Fame Showcase' portion of Pack 1. Chipper Jones isn't there yet, but everyone knows he will be eventually. Rickey is one of the most beloved baseball players of the past three decades. Saying you don't like Rickey Henderson is like saying you hate puppies and ice cream.
Greg Maddux, this time last year, was announced as an inductee into Cooperstown.

Man, this guy must hate being confused for the other Pedro Martinez.
Oh, and this is a 1st Day Issue insert, which is 1-per-box.

Pack 2-
Cards I needed: 12/13
Inserts of awesome Phillies legends: 1/13
Hall of Famers: 1/13

Three stars of the 90's. David Segui was building up to his power years in Baltimore. Heathcliff Slocumb was in his lone season as a Phillie before being traded everywhere else in the league. And speaking of ex-Phillies, Juan Samuel was a few years away from retirement here on the Tigers.

Two rookie cards of two guys that did alright. But again, you're here for the photography. So get a load of those.

Darren Daulton is pulling off a pretty nice play at the plate. Glavine is pitching another beaut, I imagine.
Daulton's is a Dugout Dirt insert, which means there's an ultra-fun drawing on the back.

LOOK AT THAT! HE'S LIFTING WEIGHTS! THAT'S PRETTY FREAKING AWESOME!

Pack 3-
Doubles: 10/13. So if you loved pack 2, then Pack 3 is for you.
Cards I need: 3/13
Borderline Hall of Famers: 1/13

The three salvageable cards. Curt Schilling, Brian Hunter and some Astros guy practicing bunting.

Pack 4-
Doubles: 0/13
Cards I needed: 13/13 (!)
Hall of Famers: 1/13
Hall of Refusing to Retire members: 2/13 (Palmeiro and Denny)

Pat Mahomes looks either focused or hypnotized.
Rafael Palmeiro is in mid-warmup, in his brand new Orioles uniform.
Junior Felix is playing the "I dunno? You want it? I don't want it!" game with the offscreen infielders.

One of the bazillion awesome catcher shots in 1994 Stadium Club.
Bret Boone, before he inexplicably became amazing.

Rick Helling was evidently a Rookie Rocker. ...right.
Paul Molitor is having a grand old time in Toronto, though he'll be taking over for Ron Gardenhire next year in Minnesota.
Denny Martinez is seen pitching into his roughly 90th season on the mound.

Pack 5-
Doubles: 2/13
Cards I need: 11/13
People on the Hall of Fame Ballot: 2/13

Just in case you forgot that Tom Brunansky was a Brewer. Also, those uniforms have not aged well.

Dave Henderson is most famous for his role in the 1986 World Series, as a Red Sox. Chris Sabo is most famous for his role in the 1990 World Series, as a Cincinnati Red. Look what they amounted to.

Roger Clemens is best known for his role in 1996's Kingpin. Just kidding- he has more Cy Youngs than brain cells.
Lee Smith was crowned the All Time Saves leader in 1994. And yet you people have yet to elect him into the Hall of Fame.

Pack 6-
Doubles: 1/13
Cards I needed: 12/13
Subsets: 2/13
Fat Guys past their prime: 2/13 (Incaviglia and Jackson)
Hall of Famers: 2/13

Tuffy. Someone actually asked people to call him Tuffy. One of the many reasons why I'll never fully understand the 90's.
Bad Brewers uniforms and bad Astros uniforms. But the Cubs ones, admittedly, are kind of cool.

Catcher Shot #1,000,000
Pete Incaviglia, in mid-fall.

Eddie Murray, pictured as a Cleveland Indian, is the subject of another Leaders card. Man, he's awesome.
Ryan Klesko is another Rookie Rocker. I say leave John Rocker out of this.
Bo Jackson sullenly blows a bubble in batting practice. Poor guy.

Pack 7-
Cards I needed: 3/13
Doubles: 10/13
Hall of Famers: 1/13
Hannibal Lecter wannabes: 1/13
Stars of the 1990 World Series: 2/13 (Sabo and Rijo)

Ryne Sandberg, as part of a Fantastic Finishes subset. This would look like a Fantastic Finish to Sandberg's career, until he returned a season or two later.
Bobby Ayala was left alone with the masking tape.
Jose Rijo was once one of the most powerful pitchers in baseball. Think about that.

Pack 8-
Doubles: 1/13 (just Clemens)
Cards I needed: 12/13
Hall of Famers: 1/13

Harold Reynolds, post-career-going-downhill, pre-getting-sued-for-sexual-harassment.
Okay, to be fair, this is a pretty nice shot.

This technically counts as a Jim Edmonds rookie, so I guess that's cool.
Yet another Leaders card of Ozzie Smith, which is pretty awesome.
Bernie Williams, who was pretty fun to watch as a Yankee.

Pack 9-
Doubles: 3/13
Cards I needed: 10/13
Hall of Famers (as of three days ago): 1/13 (2/13 if you count the Sandberg double)
Hall of Very Good-ers: 3/13 (Viola, Williams and Hampton)
Cards of people traded to bring Rickey Henderson back to Oakland: 1/13 (Luis Polonia, who did better than the other two guys)

Here's a Mike Hampton rookie. Mike Hampton will be on the Hall of Fame ballot next year. No, he won't make it, but won't it be fun to watch?

Pedro Martinez pitched for one team I despise, one team I love, and two team I should hate but really don't. And also Le Expos. He's awesome, and I'm glad he made the Hall.
Sweet Music, aka Frank Viola, was a pretty solid closer, but not solid enough to make it out of the 80's with his career intact.

Matt Williams did indeed have a Fantastic Finish, hitting a career high 54 home runs, and going on a tear before being halted by the dreaded '94 strike.
Luis Polonia...the less said, the better.

Pack 10-
Cards I needed: 11/13
Doubles: 2/13
Other Members of the Rickey Henderson trade: 1/13 (Greg Cadaret, the pissant)
Borderline Hall of Famers: 2/13 (Smith and Vizquel)

Andy Van Slyke ponders exactly what went wrong. Cheer up, buddy. Your kid'll be a regular outfielder for the Dodgers in 20 years.
Kevin Bass and Otis Nixon run and bat.

Alex Cole straddles in the batter's box.
See? Greg Cadaret looks like he's taunting me.

Omar Vizquel is one of the best defensive players of the 90's, and deserves at least some Hall of Fame recognition.
Lee Smith deserves to be in the damn Hall of Fame. What the hell does it take?

Pack 11-
Cards I need: 1/13
Inserts I need: 1/13
Doubles: 11/13 (!)

I do not know the name of this insert set. All I know is that it looks really cool, and looks like a variation of Topps Finest. I think it might have been Stadium Club's Finest or something. Anyway, Mike Piazza looks awesome here.
Ellis Burks takes a stroll.

Pack 12-
Doubles: 5/13
Cards I need: 7/13
Inserts: 1/13
People who will be in Cooperstown next year: 1/13 (Griffey)

Walt Weiss played for both 1993-era expansion teams, one after the other. Here he is on the one he's most famous for.

Ricky Bones has some of the best cards of the 1990's, and 75% of them come from Stadium Club.
Brian Johnson is not, as previously assumed, the lead singer for AC/DC.

Ken Griffey Jr. will be hounded next year by those same sportswriters who will yell "But what could have been". The ones that vote him through will talk about what did happen, and what Ken Griffey Jr. did was pretty spectacular.
Javy Lopez had a few good seasons, but belongs more in the Braves HOF than the Baseball HOF.

Tomorrow (?) I'll post the rest of these. And then I'll move on to the next box.