Everybody loves a classic. Donruss Classics Football has been catering to that love for years with cards of current and former NFL stars plus the incoming rookie class. The 2008 set stays in that tradition with base and insert cards that cover all eras of NFL history.
Hobby boxes of 2008 Donruss Classics Football hold 18 five-card packs and carry a suggested retail price of $6 per pack. On average, each box should contain three autographs or memorabilia cards, with at least one autograph guaranteed.
Base Cards and Parallels
As in previous seasons, the 2008 Classics base set includes veterans, retired NFL stars and rookies. All three types of cards share a common design, with silver borders that fade out to white and shield-shaped frames that hold the player photos and information. It's straightforward and classy, a good match for the set's theme.
After the usual player selection among the 100 veterans comes 50 legends numbered to 999. These retired stars really run the whole range of football history, from Knute Rockne to John Elway. It might be nice to see them fall more than one per box, but that's a minor nitpick and is consistent with previous years.
Rounding out the base set are 100 2008 rookie cards which are split right down the middle between 50 regular cards numbered to 999 and 50 autographed cards numbered to 499 or less. Most of the big names from this year's draft are regular cards, but there are some intriguing autographs, including quarterback Joe Flacco, running back Matt Forte and very limited signatures from Kevin Smith and Steve Slaton.
Timeless Tributes is the main parallel, with Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum levels of varied print runs. Returning favorite Significant Signatures is a partial parallel to the entire base set that features autographed stickers and numbering to 125 or less.
A random hobby box opened for this review unveiled 70 of the 100 veterans (plus one duplicate), a Charlie Joiner Legends card and one regular RC. Also inside were autographed rookie cards of Brandon Flowers and Ryan Torain and three Timeless Tributes cards.
Memorabilia Cards and Autographs
Fittingly, the memorabilia and singed inserts in Classics also cover all eras of NFL players. Fans of the old school will appreciate Classic Singles Jerseys, a 30-card set featuring game-worn swatches from players ranging from Jim Thorpe to Emmitt Smith. There are also Classic Combos, Triples and Quads Jerseys with two, three and four players respectively. Autograph collectors can look for Classic Cuts, cut signature cards of football legends numbered to 100 or less.
Current NFL players are well covered by VIP Membership Jerseys, Sunday's Best Jerseys and Monday Night Heroes Jerseys, which can be found in regular, prime and prime autographed versions.
Newcomers get their due on Saturday Stars Jerseys alongside pieces of game-worn college gear. School Colors has memorabilia and autographed parallels of the 2008 rookie class.
With two autographed rookies already found, the About.com sample box had just a single memorabilia card: a Saturday Stars Jerseys card of former USC linebacker Keith Rivers numbered to 250.
Insert Cards
Like other Donruss football sets, Classics throws a regular insert card in just about every pack that doesn't hold an autograph, parallel or memorabilia card. The most common inserts for 2008 are Timeless Tributes and School Colors, with the latter cards really standing out thanks to their focus on college photos and their corresponding colors. Regular versions of all of the memorabilia and autographed inserts are also in the mix, most of which have several parallel levels.
My sample box produced 12 insert cards in all: three School Colors, two each of Timeless Tributes, Saturday Stars and Monday Night Heroes and one each of Membership, Classic Singles and Classic Combos.
The Last Word
Donruss Classics retains a similar product mix from the previous season but looks better and holds the line on price, which usually leads to happy hobbyists. It shares Donruss' line-wide sense of history while perhaps shining an even bigger light on football's past and present than the company's other products. The 2008 set should be popular with a range of fans, with college and old school collectors taking special interest.