04.30
The folks from Creative Cardboard Concepts (largely the same trading card force that brings you In The Game and Sport Kings) pulled the curtain back considerably today on their June-releasing Ringside Boxing Round One product with a wealth of revealing images and checklist information.
Savoring the gallery that follows might leave you punch drunk, but it’s worth it.
Ringside is the first stand-alone boxing product in almost 15 years and features a 100-card base set that includes 50 fighter cards and four different subsets (Weigh In, Victorious, Tale of the Tape, In My Corner).
But the main events of this product clearly are the autograph and memorabilia cards (checklists below). More than 30 of the greatest fighters of all time – including Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Larry Holmes, Jake LaMotta and Roy Jones Jr. – are featured on a completely-on-card autographed insert that includes two different cards of every fighter (three in the case of Ali) and gold and silver versions of each.
As you might imagine, Ali’s signatures will be hard to find (he signed just 90 cards total); other toughies include Tyson (100 total autographs) and Lewis (80 total autographs).
The product’s 34 Cut Signatures (all 1/1s) are simply spectacular and represent the greatest names in boxing history. Some of the highlights include Floyd Patterson, Jack Dempsey, James Braddock, Joe Louis and Max Schmeling.
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04.30
Where were you on May 1, 1970?
For many of us, that’s a question that we can’t answer because we didn’t exist, but if you’re a collector today that date undoubtedly is important to your collection.
It essentially marks the birth of the baseball card shop.
Forty years ago tomorrow is when Larry Fritsch became the first full-time dealer of baseball cards in the world when he opened his family-run business in Stevens Point, Wisc., where it’s still at today.
Countless others have lived the dream and opened their own card shops or mail-order companies — and countless others have tried.
Sure, times have changed, but there will most certainly always be someone who is in business on a full-time basis selling cardboard.
04.30
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
The Denver Post’s Mike Klis is reporting that Tim Tebow completed his first 21 passes (albeit to Broncos equipment manager Mike Harrington) on Friday during the opening day of the Denver Broncos’ three-day mini camp.
Not to add fuel to the blazing Tebow fire . . . I’m just saying.
That is all.
Weekend Update: Mike Fruitman, owner of Mike’s Stadium Sportscards in Denver, on Friday stacked his weekend inventory with more than 70 Tim Tebow Press Pass trading cards. Fruitman expected to be sold out by Monday morning.
Tracy Hackler is the editorial director for Beckett Media. Have a comment or question? Send an e-mail to him at thackler@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
04.30
Topps officials on Friday released preliminary product information and images for the company’s fourth stand-alone UFC product, simply dubbed 2010 Topps UFC.
As has been the case since Topps launched its exclusive agreement with the UFC in February of 2009, preliminary information seems to indicate another bar-raiser for the franchise.
For the first time, Topps is bringing its popular book-card concept to the Octagon with hobby-exclusive 2009 UFC Champs Books Cards, numbered to just three and including two pieces of memorabilia and an autograph. The checklist includes BJ Penn, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and Brock Lesnar.
In addition, the company is bringing fight-worn fist tape to the product for the first time with the revolutionary Tale of the Tape insert numbered to just 25.
Despite the inclusion of more than 20 first-time signers (including Matt Hughes), perhaps the most alluring addition to the line for diehard UFC fans will be the Thoughts From the Boss dual-autographed insert that pairs UFC president Dana White with one of 15 top fighters, including Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz and Royce Gracie.
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04.29
“They’re toast.”
Many a baseball fan has said that about their team when they face the likes of a Tim Lincecum or Roy Halladay.
But this? It might be considered one that’s half-baked … or perhaps it’s just one that will burn a few fans leaving them feeling a bit crusty.
The latest creation from Pangea Brands isn’t quite on the level as the famed “toaster toaster” that sci-fi fans loved a couple of years ago, but its new line of Pro Toast toasters literally lets baseball fans show their team pride in yet another way and takes team branding to new culinary heights.
Available for all 30 big-league teams, the Pro Toast toasters are officially licensed by Major League Baseball and carry a suggested retail price of $34.99.
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04.29
The famed No. 3 will return to the NASCAR track — and to Press Pass wrappers, too — later this summer as Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive a No. 3 Wrangler Chevy in a Nationwide race at Daytona.
In turn, Press Pass will note this “Salute to Dale” with both Earnhardts on the packaging in the famed yellow and blue for its forthcoming Press Pass Stealth product that will arrive in June not long before the July 2 event.
“We are excited to bring collectors a sneak peak at the new Dale Jr. Wrangler Chevy paint scheme which will no doubt be wildly popular,” said Tom Farrell, VP of Brand Management for Press Pass. “Collectors will also find Dale Jr. pictured in the classic blue and yellow uniform on his Nationwide base card in Stealth.”
See more after the jump.
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04.29
That didn’t take long.
Shoot, Topps was without a football license for such a short time it was like the company never left. Truth be told, it didn’t. Sure, it may have missed out on an early draft picks-focused product in 2010, but that’s about it.
Thursday’s announcement – after many weeks of speculation – that Topps was returning to football with licenses from NFL Properties and NFL Players means the granddaddy of sports cards will produce a football product for the 55th consecutive season.
Having Topps in football along with Panini absolutely is a good thing. Collectors – who universally jeered last November’s announcement from NFL Players that it was not renewing Topps for 2010 – are universally cheering the move to bring the company back (again, provided you believe they ever really left in the first place).
Despite the reason for this decision, or the seeming in-one-minute, out-the-next nature of it, NFL Players at least deserves credit for giving collectors what they want in this case. You’ll just have to excuse collectors if they’re all still a little bewildered by the ever-changing football landscape. Here’s a wild, woolly and unofficial account of the great football card licensing shuffle:
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04.29
Update: Deadline extended to JULY 1.
If you follow Beckett Baseball‘s Chris Olds on Twitter, you got a sneak peak at one of these baseballs earlier this week, but we’re here with a very different episode of Box Busters with Olds, Tracy Hackler and Brian Fleischer that also doubles as a unique contest for our readers.
The 2010 World Stars edition of TRISTAR Hidden Treasures includes a baseball in every box and autographs from Japanese baseball greats like Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui. But what makes the product really unique?
Thirty Japanese artists and manga-ka stars have created works of art also to be found in the product, one being the TokyoGuns-created Frankenstein-style baseball seen here.
We want to see what kind of artistic skills you have — and we’re going to award the three baseballs found in the boxes above — one being a Motoki Yoshihara artball (they’ve sold for as much as $1,000 apiece) — to winners.
What do you need to do? Watch the video above for the inspiration and decorate a baseball in any way you want and send it to us at the address below by July 1.
Beckett Baseball Artball Contest
4635 McEwen Road
Dallas, TX 75244
Curious about finding these boxes? Try here.
04.29
After a few estranged months, Topps and the NFL are back together again.
The company announced on Thursday morning that the long-running football card manufacturer that had been stripped of its NFL card license back in November is back on the gridiron.
The pact is a multi-year agreement with both the NFL and NFL PLAYERS.
“We are excited to continue our deep, long standing partnership with the NFL and the NFLPA,” said Ryan O’Hara, Topps’ CEO. “Topps will bring innovative, exciting and fun products to the marketplace to serve consumers and customers well.”
The first product will be the standard Topps set, which will arrive just before the start of the season. After that, it will release Platinum, Finest and Triple Threads.
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04.28
You may recall that last September on Beckett.com (and on The Beckett Blog and in Beckett Football), we solicited submissions for a special 2009 NFL Season Preview card-investment contest. Essentially, we asked Beckett visitors how they would invest an imaginary $1,000 in at least five football cards for the 2009 season.
We selected 10 lucky respondents at random and announced that the one whose collection appreciates the most in value from the start of the season to the end of the Super Bowl would be crowned the winner and would receive a pigskin potpourri prize pack that includes an array of 2009 football products.
Well, at long last, the contest is over and the winner is . . . Arlington, Texas, collector David Sharp, who rode the 2009 value-increasing exploits of Ray Rice and Cedric Benson to victory. His hypothetical collection finished at a combined value of $1,130.
Sharp’s 2008 SP Authentic Ray Rice RC (#285) started the season at $60 and ended at $120; his 2005 SP Authentic Cedric Benson RC (#251) started at $60 and ended at $150.
Sharp’s reaction: “That’s awesome! Thanks to Ray Rice and Cedric Benson.”
For his value-minded prognostication, Sharp will receive a star-studded prize pack that looks a little something like . . .
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