AN ILLUSTRATED PCC HISTORY · 2016—2026
From mystery baseballs to 1/1 art.
How Fanatics Under Wraps evolved from a 2,400-baseball mystery release into a multi-sport collectible chase built around checklists, rarity, game-used pieces and artist-created one-of-ones.
For collectors who discovered Fanatics Under Wraps through recent memorabilia breaks, artist-designed 1/1s, autographed helmets, jerseys, bats and soccer balls, it can feel like a relatively new product line.
It isn’t. The roots of Under Wraps reach back to 2016, when Fanatics Authentic introduced a concept that helped bring the mystery-box experience into officially licensed sports memorabilia. What began with 2,400 autographed baseballs has grown into a broader collectible ecosystem spanning multiple sports, memorabilia types and chase categories.
Five milestones in a growing chase.
Product imagery is shown as historical reference. Each milestone links to the most precise PCC or official record currently available.
2016Under Wraps Series 1 Baseballs
2,400 authenticated baseballs, seven chase categories and a $99.95 suggested retail price established the original formula.
2023NFL Draft Mini Helmets
Fanatics organized the checklist into Year One, Unique, One of One and Inscribed categories—a clear shift toward a defined chase product.
2024Under Wraps NFL Emanate
Autographed photographs gained color-coded numbered variants from Green /99 through Iridescent 1/1, bringing card-style parallel collecting into memorabilia.
2025MLB Baseballs Vol. I
Art, Game Used, Kanji and Vintage joined Single Signed, Inscribed and Multi-Signed baseballs in what Fanatics called its most ambitious Under Wraps release yet.
2026MLB Bats Vol. I
The first Under Wraps release built around autographed mystery bats added game-used bats, one-of-a-kind Art Editions and vintage pieces to the chase.
Swipe to explore the timeline →
It started with a baseball.
On May 16, 2016, Fanatics Authentic announced Under Wraps Series 1 as the first officially licensed MLB hidden product. Collectors purchased a sealed box without knowing which autographed baseball was inside.
The 2,400-ball production was divided into Fan Favorites, Inscribed, Hall of Famers, Hall of Famer Inscribed, Multi-Signed, 24kt Gold and Game-Used categories. The checklist included stars and legends such as Derek Jeter, Kris Bryant, David Ortiz and Cal Ripken Jr.
Every baseball was authenticated through the MLB Authentication Program. Different categories also carried different rarity: common Fan Favorites formed the base while 24kt Gold and Game-Used baseballs became meaningful chases. The DNA of today’s Under Wraps products was already there.
One sealed box. One authenticated autographed item. A published checklist. Multiple collectible tiers. And the possibility of finding something significantly rarer than a standard autograph.
Trading-card mechanics meet memorabilia.
Over the following years, Under Wraps expanded beyond baseballs into jerseys, helmets and other formats across major sports. Its releases increasingly gave the object a set identity: a player, inscription, specialty variation or artist edition tied to a specific checklist.
That is an important change. Traditional memorabilia can stand alone, but trading-card collectors are accustomed to finite sets, short prints, parallels and 1/1s. Under Wraps began combining those systems. The memorabilia remained the centerpiece while the release, category and rarity became part of its identity.
Live breaking added another dimension. Collectors could buy a player or another defined spot, then watch the memorabilia reveal unfold live. With 2024 NFL Emanate, the connection became unmistakable: Green /99, Gold /50, Orange /25, Blue /10, Red /5 and Iridescent 1/1 variants resembled a premium card parallel structure on a much larger canvas.
When the item becomes the canvas.
Artist-created memorabilia transformed the chase again. A helmet, jersey, baseball, bat or ball could become a unique canvas combining original artwork with an athlete’s autograph. There is only one.
Unlike a standard signed item, each Art Edition may be tied directly to a release, checklist, athlete and artist. One player can also have several distinct 1/1s across different artists, item types and releases. That makes the artist’s identity—and even the appearance of the signature on the finished artwork—part of the historical record.
FANATICS & UNDER WRAPS FEATURED ARTISTSMeet the artists behind the chase.Browse verified artist profiles, known works and tracked 1/1 hits →The mystery box becomes a collecting universe.
In 2025, MLB Baseballs Vol. I expanded the format into seven categories: Single Signed, Inscribed, Multi-Signed, Art, Game Used, Kanji and Vintage. Art, Game Used, Kanji and Vintage were all new categories for that release.
By 2026, collectors could encounter baseballs, bats, jerseys, helmets, basketballs, soccer balls and other memorabilia across multiple releases and volumes. A current checklist might include single-signed, inscribed, multi-signed, numbered, game-used, vintage, specialty and artist-created pieces.
A standard signed helmet is memorabilia. An Under Wraps Art 1/1 helmet from a named release is also a defined collectible from a finite product. Its release matters. Its checklist matters. Its variation matters. Its artist may matter. And whether that particular 1/1 has surfaced matters.
That is where PointClickCards comes in.
As collectors, we kept asking the same questions: What was included in this release? What variations does this player have? What were the odds? Has the 1/1 been pulled? What did it look like? Who pulled it? Which pieces might still be out there?
PCC is building the Under Wraps Collector Database and 1/1 Tracker to document releases, checklists, chase categories, variations and confirmed pulls. We are also working backward, separating verified official checklist data from discovery-only historical research so collectors can see what is confirmed and what is still being built.
Under Wraps began in 2016 with 2,400 mystery autographed baseballs. Nearly a decade later, the formats have changed, the checklists have grown and the chase is considerably bigger. But the original idea remains remarkably similar:
You don’t know what’s inside until you unwrap it.
Explore the Under Wraps database.
Search tracked releases, player checklists, variations and known 1/1 pulls—or submit a rare piece that PCC has not documented yet.