Fleer Ultra was one of the premier baseball card products released in 2006. The set celebrated the long history of baseball and showcased the modern game through inserts, parallels, short prints and star rookies. Fleer Ultra offered collectors multiple tiers at various price points to find the cards they wanted. The 2006 release built on the success of previous years and offered the perfect mix of retro design with modern bonuses to appeal to both casual and dedicated card enthusiasts.
The base set featured 259 cards including all 30 MLB teams. Short prints were inserted throughout the set at a rate of about 1 per pack or box. Some of the sought after short prints included Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens. The designs paid homage to vintage Fleer styles while still feeling fresh. Players were shown in crisp action shots on a white or gray background. Team logos wrapped around each image creating a classic rectangular shape. The borders remained simple in color to allow the photography and players to stand out.
In addition to the base roster, Fleer Ultra included over 80 future and past legends of the game. Rookies like Justin Verlander, Jon Lester and Brandon McCarthy were spotlighted in the “Next Big Thing” subset. Legends of the past like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Stan Musial received tribute cards marking their place in history. Fleer Ultra perfectly blended present day superstars like David Ortiz, Derek Jeter and Roy Oswalt into the same product as stars from previous eras. This gave collectors perspective on how the game has progressed while also establishing connections between generations of players.
In 2006, Fleer Ultra introduced two exciting new parallels beyond the base cards. The “Ultra Premium Parallels” featured bright color backgrounds like purple, orange or teal instead of the traditional white. Players included parallels of short prints like Clemens and Pujols making these rarer and more desirable. Additionally, “Ultra Green Parallels” on foil board with green borders numbered to just 99 copies highlighted the rarest cards in the set. Landmark rookie cards like Ryan Howard’s emerged in the precious parallel formats.
While the base cards and inserts provided the backbone of the set, Fleer Ultra was best known for hit cards that drove collector interest. Two of the most coveted chase cards were booklets that combined patches and autographs. The dual “Patch Autograph Booklet” featured swatches of game worn jerseys paired with signatures from elite MLB players. An even rarer “Triple Booklet” presented 3 cards in one premium package with patches, autos and a 1/1 serial number. These booklets immediately became some of the most valuable modern baseball cards on the collector market.
For fans seeking autographs outside of booklets, Fleer Ultra included three exciting autograph subsets. The “Autograph Cuts” featured cleanly cut swatches of jersey material alongside signatures. “Prime Performers Autographs” highlighted stars at the peak of their careers with on-card autographs. Meanwhile, the “Rookie Signature Materials” subset commemorated first year players by pairing autographs with relics. Ultra-short printed autographs of future Hall of Famers like Chipper Jones emerged at extremely low print runs.
Beyond the chase cards, Fleer Ultra constructed interesting storylines and narratives through various inserts. “Franchise Four” highlights the top players throughout team history on decorative cards with throwback photography. Heritage “Then & Now” placed classic stars next to modern day equivalents on the same card to draw links between eras. A “Record Breakers” insert series celebrated individual and team milestones being achieved that season.
The grand finale each year came in the form of the 1/1 “Diamond Duos” insert. These hand-cut dual relic and autograph cards brought together two titans of the game in a one-of-a-kind pairing with treasures from their storied careers. 2006 saw legends like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig unite along with modern aces Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez in the extraordinary Diamond Duos cards.
In conclusion, Fleer Ultra 2006 was a true collector’s set at the high-end of the market. From recognizable base designs to intricate inserts and unprecedented hits, the product celebrated baseball both past and present. After over a decade, the set still holds up thanks to enduring player selection and creative storytelling within the cardboard. For dedicated collectors, finding that pivotal rookie parallel or 1/1 booklet made all the cost and effort worthwhile in completing this beloved release. To this day, the 2006 Fleer Ultra set remains a widely desired vintage release that defined the modern baseball card boom.
