We started building this 1993 Action Packed Hall of Fame basketball card set which is unusual in that it begins with a ten-card subset called “One on One,” a really neat subset featuring pairs of players highlighting great matchups and rivalries. This #4 Earl Monroe pairs up with #3 Dave Bing, a card we already looked at. We’ve talked about how Action Packed clearly put some thought into this subset. No exception here, stick with me and look at what a great matchup this is. The pairs in this “One on One” have the same color in the subset logo, for Dave Bing and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe (he didn’t like that nickname by the way) we have a light blue logo. Look at the details of this matchup! Monroe was the 1967-69 Rookie of the Year, Bing had those honors a year before. The similarities continued another season. During their second year of playing, both were second in the league in points per game. And there were great on-court matchups as well. Let me repeat the story I told when we looked at the Dave Bing card, a game on December 26, 1974…Bing and the Pistons are winning with less than 30 seconds in the game. Earl Monroe hits a shot with 22 seconds left and the Knicks lead 83-82. Sixteen seconds pass and Dave Bing hits a game-winning shot with 6 seconds remaining on the clock. Bing’s Pistons win, 84-83. Earl Monroe and Dave Bing, another great pair in this “One-on-One” subset, and coincidentally, another pair of guards. We looked at the first pair, cards #1 and #2, Walt Frazier and Jerry West. That’s a great rivalry to start the set! Frazier and West met up in the NBA Finals three times with Frazier and the Knicks winning twice. So this “One on One” is a really cool, overlooked subset. Action Packed could’ve did a better job communicating why they picked the matchups they did, but for those willing to go back in time on their own, it’s a really fun ten-card subset.
If you’re not familiar with this 1993 Action Packed set, it’s hard to find a better set for the price. The cards are a much higher quality than most early ’90’s cards. They have thick stock with these rounded corners distinctive of Action Packed. They’re embossed, the player is glossy against a matte finish on the background. Action Packed was trying to innovate here, and they even filed their own patent for the design seen in fine print on the back, “Pat. #315,364.” And, although not true vintage, the set is still full of great Hall-of-Famers and loaded with information. It’s really a must for collectors who enjoy delving into the history of the game. There are nice subsets dedicated to Larry Bird and Julius Erving as well. Since the set honors the 25th anniversary of the Hall of Fame (as displayed in the gold foil on the front), each card mentions when the player was inducted. Earl Monroe was 1990. Really a neat set of cards for the history, and because it’s overlooked, complete sets can be found for under $20 if you look hard enough.
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