pro-line

 
 

In 1991 Pro-Line became the first brand to have and all-auto base set with its 1991 Pro-Line Portraits Autographs set.  Pro-Line gets a mix of praise and criticism from me.  I will start off by saying that the idea behind the card design was fantastic.  A card set based not on stats or action shots, but modeling a clothing line.  The idea seems a bit funny, but the final product was superb and adding an Insert set with the wives was a stroke of genius.  Wow!!  If you wanted an autograph from one of your favorite players from that era Pro-Line was your brand.  Collectors and hobbyists are still vying for those cards a good 10 years after their release.

The Pro-Line autograph set did have one major flaw, when it released the 1991 Portraits Autograph and 1992 Profiles Autograph sets, (See the 1992 Pro-Line Profiles "Pat Swilling" #373 below).  It didn't give the player a proper place to sign, therefore, many of your signatures are on the back or across areas where it might be tough to see.  Nothing worse than having an autograph and not being able to display it.

In 1993 Pro-Line did away with their embossed seal of authenticity. From 1994 on most of their cards had a “Congratulations” notice on front or on back. The 1996 Pro-Line, had a Blue or Gold mark of Authenticity on the front, (See the 1996 Pro-Line of Blaine Bishop below).

In 2008 I had the opportunity to purchase the the complete autograph set of the 1992 Proline Profiles Mark Rypien Autograph set, (See the 1992 Proline Profiles Mark Rypien 2/9 autograph below). Now the significance behind this is that the Mark Rypien auto set was not supposed to exist. The story behind this is that Mark was in the middle of a contract dispute at the time when the new cards were being designed. Proline sent Mark cards to be autographed. Now Mark signed them with the thought of sending them back once his contract was settled, but never did.  As it turns out, I bought them from his son, Dave, 16 years later. I asked Dave, how many of these cards they have left and he told me about 12 dozen or so sets. I also bought the 1992 Proline Portraits auto from him about a year earlier.

My Photos

September 5, 2009