Barry Larkin Collection 974: 1994 Stadium Club - #414 - First Day Issue

Barry Larkin

Year:  1994

Brand:  Stadium Club

Parallel set:  First Day Issue

Card number:  414

By the time 1994 rolled around, card companies were fully embracing the concept of multiple parallels.  Sure, parallels had existed prior to 1994 (Topps Gold, for example) but by '94 the parallel train had left the station and was quickly gaining steam.  Case in point:  Today's card from 1994 Stadium Club.

Topps produced five different versions of today's card.  The full list:

• #414 (base)
• #414 First Day Issue
• #414 Golden Rainbow
• #414 Members Only
• #414 Superstar Samplers

As you can see, the concept of collecting a "rainbow" of a single card goes back to at least 1994!  For me, I've already shown off Larkin's 1994 Stadium Club base card (here) as well as his Superstar Sampler card (here).  I also own the remaining Larkin cards from the 1994 set and I'll hopefully show those off on the blog in not-so-distant future Larkin Collection posts!

Turning our attention back to today's card, there's only one main difference between the First Day Issue parallel and a regular base card - a rather ugly stamp thrown haphazardly on the front of the card.  Seriously Topps, you couldn't have placed the stamp in such a way to not cover up the image?  Isn't Stadium Club the set that's designed around the images?!  I think Topps missed the boat here...and if I'm being honest, I don't get the point (or need) for the First Day Issue parallels (a mainstay of Stadium Club sets throughout history).  All that said, as a crazy Larkin collector I'm certainly pleased to have this particular parallel in my collection, even if it won't go down as my favorite of the 1994 Stadium Club cards I own!