It’s not very often that card companies come together to form a single set. In the rare instances that they do, it’s usually for special events. Such is the case with the set of 2004 Houston Astros FanFest Baseball cards. Donruss/Playoff, Fleer, Topps and Upper Deck each contributed three cards including one memorabilia card.
Cards were given out in Houston during the multi-day All-Star event at each company’s corporate booth as an incentive for buying packs. Entry-level packs brought basic cards while high-end releases yielded the memorabilia cards.
Each base card has 10,000 copies. Relics are limited to 1,000 each.
What’s interesting about the 2004 Houston Astros FanFest cards is that they’re all numbered together as one set. The checklist kicks off with the four game-used cards. Four Astros follow, each with their own base card — one from each manufacturer. The set wraps up with four different cards featuring two of the most famous Astros pitchers of all-time, Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens.
2004 Houston Astros FanFest Baseball Checklist
1 Roger Clemens Game-Used – Fleer
2 Andy Pettitte Game-Used – Upper Deck
3 Jeff Bagwell Game-Used – Donruss/Playoff
4 Lance Berkman Game-Used – Topps
5 Roy Oswalt – Topps
6 Craig Biggio – Donruss/Playoff
7 Jeff Kent – Upper Deck
8 Adam Everett – Fleer
9 Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan – Fleer
10 Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan – Upper Deck
11 Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan – Donruss/Playoff
12 Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan – Topps
Ryan: As a Houston native, I miss the recognition the Astrodome used to get…it was an awesome, massive stadium that we passed by constantly in the car. (We also used to go to Cub Scout functions in the AstroHall, and go to AstroWorld.) But, we never won a World Series, and maybe that’s the “bad luck” talking…
I love these cards, though–very neat looking!