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Monthly Archives: August 2010
New York Giants legend Bobby Thomson dies at 86
08.17
Bobby Thomson, whose dramatic home run gave the New York Giants the NL pennant in 1951 and inspired one of the most memorable calls in baseball history, has died. He was 86.
“The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” came off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca in a playoff game to determine who would face the New York Yankees in the World Series, forever linking the duo in baseball lore and on baseball memorabilia.
Thomson, who also played for the Milwaukee Braves, Cubs, Red Sox and Orioles, played 15 seasons in the bigs, hitting .270 with 264 home runs and 1,026 RBI.
The three-time All-Star appeared on just 219 baseball cards during his career, just 25 of those certified autographs and 17 of them featuring memorabilia swatches. His Rookie Card appears in the 1948 Bowman set, which can be found for $100 or less.
Thomson was a prolific signer for baseball fans through the mail over the years and his autograph can often be found in tandem with Branca.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
Beckett On Location: The 2010 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot
08.17
Beckett correspondent Michael Eisner (no, not that Michael Eisner) is on location today inside the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, N.Y., covering the 2010 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot and Panini America‘s cardmaking exploits there.
The big news of the day so far: Panini America President Mark Warsop confirmed to MSNBC’s Darren Rovell that the company has signed No. 1 overall pick John Wall to a one-year exclusive.
Eisner’s got his hands full attempting to track down, interview and photograph more than 40 of the NBA’s brightest young players, but he managed to file a few quick snapshots during a harried lunch break.
His task this afternoon is to get as many close-up card pics as possible. So stay tuned . . .
Round 5 Readies New-Line Sneak Peek for UFC Fan Expo
08.17
Renowned UFC figure-maker Round 5 has a surprise for those MMA fans attending the UFC Fan Expo in conjunction with UFC 118 later this month in Boston: A sneak peek at the company’s Ultimate Collector Series 4 line.
Due out in time for the 2010 holiday shopping season, the new lineup incorporates one legendary fighter (UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie), two current champions (heavyweight Brock Lesnar, light heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua), one former champion (light heavyweight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson), one up-and-comer (heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez) and two larger-than-life UFC personalities (president Dana White and “Veteran Voice of the Octagon” Bruce Buffer).
“We are pleased to be introducing our latest series of new figurines to fans at UFC Fan Expo,” said Damon Lau, Round 5 president and co-founder. “There are some completely new athletes, including Royce Gracie and Cain Velasquez, and our first ‘Ultimate Collector’ non-fighters in Dana White and Bruce Buffer.”
In the Minors: But will they get baseball cards?
08.16
This one’s definitely from the “kids, don’t try this at home” category.
You might know the Savannah Sand Gnats for having one of the coolest logos in baseball, but it was pretty hot on the basepaths Saturday night in Georgia.
That’s because stuntman Ted Batchelor rounded the bases … on fire.
I’m not going to even try to make sense of this minor league publicity stunt … but all I can say is if this doesn’t get him a baseball card in the Sand Gnats’ team set, I don’t know what would.
But we’re not done there …
First look: 2010 Bowman Sterling football cards
08.16
Topps unveiled its latest football offering, 2010 Bowman Sterling, on Monday, a rookie-loaded high-end product chock-full of autographs and memorabilia cards.
Set to arrive in mid-December, Sterling will include 12 Rookie Cards, four autographs, two autographed Relics and a dozen more Relics in every six-pack box. Also included will be a dual Relic box-topper card.
Every five-card pack will include two RCs, one autograph and two Relics, while every eight-box case includes one dual autograph.
As with most Topps products, and past editions of Bowman Sterling, there are several parallels of each card to be found — SuperFractors and printing plates as well as Refractors (Gold, Black, Blue and standard).
Among the notable rookies on the autograph checklist are Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, C.J. Spiller, Ndamukong Suh and others, while the veteran autograph lineup includes Eli Manning, Percy Harvin, Chris “Beanie” Wells, Ray Rice, Drew Brees and others.
In the Game celebrates a century of hockey cards
08.16
In The Game teased its latest forthcoming hockey card set during the weekend, Ultimate Memorabilia Series 10th Edition, which will include a C-56-style base set and redemption cards for original cards from the famed first hockey set.
The original C56 checklist includes 36 cards — 20 of those players in the Hall of Fame — and In The Game will hope to capture some of that retro magic with its 2010 set.
Panini America Inks T-Wolves' Wesley Johnson to Exclusive Deal
08.16
Bright and early Monday morning, Panini America officials tipped off what promises to be a busy week by announcing that they have reached an exclusive trading card agreement with No. 4 overall pick Wesley Johnson.
To launch the relationship, Panini has arranged for Johnson to visit ESPN headquarters for an extensive media tour Monday that will include stints on seemingly every ESPN platform.
Johnson, drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves out of the University of Syracuse, last season earned Big East Player of the Year honors and was a First Team Associated Press All-American. His first mainstream NBA trading cards will be available late next month in Panini’s 2010 NBA Prestige product.
“We are excited to add Wesley Johnson as an exclusive Panini athlete,” said Scott Prusha, Panini America’s Director of Marketing. “Wesley excited Syracuse fans in college and we expect him to do the same for the Timberwolves fans. We look forward to introducing Wesley to NBA trading card collectors.”
Stay tuned to Beckett.com for additional information on this story, including an exclusive interview with Johnson.
Tim Tebow Justifies Early Collector Interest in Preseason Debut
08.16
OK, so Tim Tebow‘s unbelievably ballyhooed NFL debut during the second half of Denver’s preseason opener in Cincinnati on Sunday night wasn’t necessarily Phil Simms in Super Bowl XXI.
Still, the polarizing project passer from the University of Florida did provide a few highly improbable outcomes: He made an NFL preseason game legitimate must-see TV, he outperformed fellow rookie classmates Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy, and he gave all those collectors throwing crazy cash at his Rookie Cards the right to say “I told you so” — if only for one week.
Granted, Tebow wasn’t exactly facing the Steel Curtain, the Purple People Eaters, the Monsters of the Midway or Doomsday, but neither were Clausen, McCoy and Bradford. Tebow threw for more yards than the other three first-year QBs, and was the only one of the four to complete better than 60 percent of his passes and produce a touchdown.
Here’s how the four stacked up statistically during their respective NFL preseason debuts:
Gallery: 2010 Aflac All-American Classic baseball cards
08.15
This year’s Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic is just a few hours away, starting at 5 p.m. at PETCO Park in San Diego, but the annual favorites are already prepped and ready for collectors’ hands.
The Topps Aflac All-American baseball cards, which were produced in just the last couple of days.
While attendees will receive three cards selected at random, there’s no doubt that there will be collectors trying to scoop up all 38 cards — and perhaps get some of them signed — well before the cards ever appear in Topps packs.
See all 38 cards from this year’s set after the jump.
Aflac baseball card set a quick turnaround for Topps
08.15
The West squad's Christian Montgomery works away at his stack of cards to sign on Saturday in advance of today's Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic.
By Theo Chen | for Beckett Baseball
Hurry up and wait. That’s the name of the game for Topps each year when the company produces its highly sought after Bowman cards featuring players in the Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic.
The Classic is today at Petco Park in San Diego.
Jim McKenna, Topps’ assistant brand manager for baseball, has helped plan the company’s Aflac effort for the past four years and said it starts with coordinating the player schedules with the event’s organizers. And then, after that, there’s one key aspect — finding a printer in San Diego who can turn around the entire job on a lightning-fast schedule.
“We get bids from printers weeks in advance – they like the notoriety of saying they worked with Topps,” McKenna said. “Then we have our photographer set up at the hotel to take photos of the players as they arrive on Thursday and are fitted for their uniforms. We choose the best pose to fit the card design and do color correction.”
Topps is one of several corporate sponsors of the game, but Aflac runs the show, and the players have a busy four days once they arrive in San Diego including meetings, practices, a children’s hospital visit, an awards dinner and other events.