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Monthly Archives: March 2011
Topps Touts 2011 Topps Football
03.16
By Andrew Tolentino | Assistant Editor
Topps just revealed detailed information on its foundational football set for next season — 2011 Topps Football.
Not trailing far behind the release of other early-season gridiron lines — including the company’s May unveiling of 2011 Topps Rising Rookies — 2011 Topps Football is scheduled to arrive late this summer with familiar bells, whistles and a few new attractions.
Beyond the 440-card base set, largely defined by veterans and sought-after one-per-pack Rookie Cards, the set will include limited parallels, sketch cards, Ring of Honor inserts (featuring Aaron Rodgers) and Rookie Premiere autographs. New to the set are full-color 1950 Bowman cards, team-themed Faces of the Franchise cards, rivalry-based Game Day cards, Super Bowl MVP-honoring Super Bowl Legends cards and other newfangled rookie-centric exclusives including In Name Rookie Letter Patch and on-patch rookie autographs. Read More
Dick Perez discusses Diamond Kings, the hobby & more in upcoming issues of Beckett Sports Card Monthly
03.16
By Chris Olds | Editor
A collector might best remember Dick Perez from his Diamond Kings cards made by Donruss in the 1980s — and that’s what we recently hooked up with him to discuss for the next issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly. It’s an issue that will be dedicated solely to the decade where the hobby exploded into the mainstream and started to become what it is today.
For those perhaps too young to remember, Perez’s paintings appeared on Diamond Kings cards annually from 1982 to 1996, and before that, he created postcards of Hall of Fame baseball players with Perez-Steele Galleries beginning in 1980. After the Diamond Kings run, card collectors have seen him on cards from Topps — the inaugural Allen & Ginter release in 2006 and on Turkey Red and Topps Heritage creations in later years. In fact, Perez created original artwork that was found inside packs (inside Rip Cards) in that landmark Ginter release — showing just how much the hobby has changed in roughly a decade.
Here’s a small selection of comments from our first discussion with the legendary artist …
On the heyday of Diamond Kings: “The Donruss people of those years were great to me, though I never got a lot of company feedback. In fact, my best memory is that after the first couple of years, they left me alone to paint and experiment with different styles. I never had to get approval.”
On the end of Diamond Kings: “Those years flew by. I guess it was an indication of how busy I was during those years painting for Donruss, the Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Phillies, private commissions and various other projects. By 1996, I believe I was ready to move on.”
Teasing 2011 Topps Heritage …
03.15
By Chris Olds | Editor
We should have our hands on some 2011 Topps Heritage baseball cards soon — it officially arrives in hobby shops on Wednesday — but here are some observations about the set modeled after the 1962 Topps release that you should be looking for.
Tinted windows
The 1962 set had several cards that had an odd green tint to them and that anomaly is back with “green tint” variations where the photos are slightly greenish. Not to be outdone, it appears that those same cards found in Walmart retail packs have blue tints and Target cards have red tints. This has not been confirmed by Topps, but early breaks online indicate this to be the case. The reds are rather jarring, while the blues and greens are somewhat mellow — may not be as easily noticed. It also appears that cards with variations in this stretch of the set also have tinted variations, adding to the collecting challenge.
Back in black?
There also are black-border variant cards — a new creation found on the standard cards. They arrive three per retail three-pack packages. In the past, Chrome inserts had black variations … so not sure what’s going on here. Confirmed so far, however, are Green Refractors …
Variations like in 1962 …
The 1962 set had three versions of card No. 139 — a Babe Ruth Special and two Hal Reniffs. Looks like Joba Chamberlain plays Reniff this year … do we need more Yankees cards — much less more Jobas?
The short report
The standard set consists of 425 cards, so the high-numbers from 426-500 are SPs. (Not confirmed by Topps, but is very, very likely.)
Hats off
The hatless look that was common in older Topps sets — and last year’s Heritage and T206 releases — is back in some instances here. While I wasn’t a fan of those cards at all — still not — there are a few highlights. Find Brian Wilson‘s card to marvel at the ‘do … and wonder why The Beard isn’t there.
We’ll have more on Heritage in the coming days.
First look: 2011 Topps Triple Threads Baseball
03.12
By Chris Olds | Editor
Topps released the basic product information and preview images for 2011 Triple Threads on Saturday, the sixth installment of the high-end line that will pack a bit more inside this year when it arrives in late-July.
How much more? Two hits per pack.
That’s right, each pack will now include an autographed Relic and an additional Relic inside — the equivalent of a full box in past years. Each box will include one single Unity Relic (more on that in a second), one Autographed Unity Relic, one Autographed Triple Relic and one Triple Relic.
New this year will be Unity Relics where the background images for a group of players are shared and can be joined to gether to form a larger image. They will be found one per pack in standard and autographed forms. Since they only have one Relic piece, the “triple threads” theme only holds true if collectors complete a trio. The Unity Relic checklist alone will include 243 players with 27 different backgrounds. The cards will be limited to just 36 copies with rarer Sapphire (/10), Gold (/25) and Emerald (/50) parallels.
Also new are Flashback Relic cards, which show players in the past as a rookie and also in the present … oh, and two new faces in the Topps lineup appear here too — Hank Aaron and Sandy Koufax.
Every 18-box case will include one 1/1 Autograph Triple Relic and a Triple Autograph Triple Relic card.
See a preview gallery — and more — after the jump.
We’re headed back to the 1980s … we want to hear what YOU think
03.11
By Chris Olds | Editor
In an upcoming issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly, we’re going to explore the cardboard of the 1980s — you know, the decade that brought us the start of much of what we see today in the hobby.
We want to know what collectors think of the 1980s when it comes to cardboard — for all sports — so, if you would, please reply to the questions below in a comment. A selection of the best and most interesting answers just might appear in the issue … please include your name and location with your comment.
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1. When did you start collecting — and was there one set or card that you keyed upon early on during the 80s?
2. What card — any sport — do you think says “1980s” the most?
3. Is there anything you miss about the 1980s card landscape as a collector?
4. Is there anything that you miss about the 1980s products that you’d like to see revived?
Hee-Hee Hits: Panini Previews 2011 Michael Jackson
03.11
By Andrew Tolentino | Assistant Editor
Shamone!
Earlier this week, Panini America revealed a look at awaited trading card thriller 2011 Michael Jackson.
Set for a June 8 release date, the company’s homage to the King of Pop will moonwalk into the market with a $2.99-per-pack price tag and an array of Jackson-inspired cardboard. Each 24-pack box promises a breadth of inserts themed after the icon’s legendary career. According to early odds, adventurous collectors can expect to pull 12 Decades, eight Top Tens, six Number Ones, five Gold Parallels, one Platinum Parallel and one Number Ones Deluxe card per box.
The real chase comes in the 20-box case. Read More
It’s not a first for Joe Namath in National Treasures … but it’s darn close
03.11
By Chris Olds | Editor
One card in the newly released 2010 National Treasures features a guy we’ve seen on football cards plenty of times — in fact, we’ve seen him on 1,669 different cards through the years according to his player page in the Beckett.com database.
But we really haven’t seen him on a card like this.
You see, Joe Willie Namath — aka “Broadway Joe” — appears on an autographed game-used jersey card in National Treasures as a Los Angeles Ram.
If you’re a long-time Namath fan, the sight of it should make your knees buckle — and not as a tribute.
First look: 2011 Panini Americana
03.10
By Chris Olds | Editor
The stars of the big screen (and the small screen) are back on cardboard.
Panini America unveiled its plans for 2011 Panini Americana on Thursday, the latest installment of the long-running non-sport brand that began in 2007.
Each $25 hobby pack will include one autograph or memorabilia card inside with boxes containing four packs when it arrives in June. Each box will include inserts from the Screen Gems, Prime Time Stars and the Matinee Legends sets as well as a parallel insert.
Among this year’s autograph subjects are Justin Bieber, Pamela Anderson, Selma Blair, Linda Hamilton and the late Jane Russell. As with past Americana releases, one can expect to find memorabilia cards for icons such as John Wayne, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin.
It appears that autograph cards from at least three sets in the product will be limited to 99 or fewer copies, while the memorabilia cards will be limited to 225 or fewer copies.
See more images after the jump.
MLB Players Association restructures business group
03.10
By Chris Olds | Editor
The Major League Baseball Players Association announced Thursday a reorganization of its business-side staffing.
Evan Kaplan, the former category director for trading cards, collectibles and new business development is now the Director of Licensing and Business Development. He will oversee licensing for trading cards, apparel and other areas. The long-time Director of Business Affairs and Licensing, Judy Heeter, left the post last year.
Other moves announced Thursday include:
Upper Deck teases return of Exquisite Collection
03.09
By Chris Olds | Editor
Fear not high-end football card collectors, your season is not over.
Upper Deck teased the return of Exquisite Collection football on Wednesday evening with a sampling of images from the brand that brought the ultra-expensive trading card to the masses in basketball for the 2003-04 season.
This time, though, it’s arriving fresh on the heels of two high-end football card releases — Topps Five Star and National Treasures from Panini America — and it’s NCAA-only as Upper Deck has a Collegiate Licensing Company exclusive.
Set to arrive soon — on March 29 — it will include some new features such as triple-booklet cards.
We’ll have more details on this product as soon as it’s available.
See more after the jump.