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Monthly Archives: June 2011
Upper Deck’s next stop for collectors – this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft
06.22
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
Upper Deck is making its way around the hockey world, popping up at a number of NHL events.
UD’s latest getaway is to St. Paul, Minn., for the 49th NHL Entry Draft this weekend. Upper Deck will have a booth set up at Xcel Energy Center on June 24 and 25 with an autograph guest.
Minnesota Wild’s Brent Burns will there from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday only. The Wild defenseman will only be signing an oversized 5×7 Upper Deck trading card at the booth. No other items are allowed.
But Upper Deck has more planned for the weekend even if fans can’t make it out for Burns’ signing. Collectors can pick up an exclusive six-card set in a wrapper redemption.
Stephen Strasburg SuperFractor Raffle site is live
06.21
By Chris Olds | Baseball Editor
The hard part is over with — and now you can have a chance to own one of the most talked-about baseball cards ever made while helping raise money for a charity and some Little League and softball organizations.
The card? The $21,403 Stephen Strasburg SuperFractor from 2010 Bowman.
The benefactors of collector Devin Grant‘s generosity? The Bryan Stow Fund — the San Francisco Giants fan who was nearly beaten to death by two men after a Dodgers game on Opening Day — two California Little League organizations and two softball leagues near where Grant lives.
The website? That’s www.strasburgsuperfractorraffle.org.
The raffle tickets are $10 with a third of the proceeds going to the Stow fund and 30 percent going to the Half Moon Bay Little League, 30 percent to the West Sacramento Little League and five percent each to the Half Moon Bay Softball League and the West Sacramento Softball League.
Grant, who found the card in a pack of Razor Rookie Retro at Peninsula Sports Cards in Belmont, Calif., recently decided that he’d rather have the card do some good than sit in his collection.
“It took about two days to know that this was something bigger than me,” Grant told Beckett Baseball before the site’s launch. “I mean the act of pulling the card was phenomenal, but a card like this has some firepower and I felt that it could be used in a more powerful way.”
The card has, indeed, been a powerful force in the hobby initially selling for $16,403 before the Washington Nationals pitcher made his debut last summer and then re-selling for $21,403. It was sold the second time after its owner, Robert J. Power, received several negative and harassing messages after the publicity about his buying the card. The card was purchased by Leaf’s Brian Gray, who placed it into packs of his repackaged product that launched last year — but the card had never been found until now.
Now, though, the card, which has generated plenty of publicity — and money — on its own, can help generate more and benefit kids and a baseball fan who was the victim of a senseless crime.
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.
The National: Plans are starting to come together
06.21
By Chris Olds | BSCM Editor
“I love it when a plan comes together.”
With apologies to George Peppard — or is it Liam Neeson? — the famed A-Team line just seemed apropos for the nuggets of news coming in regarding plans for this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, which runs from Aug. 3-7.
While The Show Issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly is still in production, an A-List autograph guest was announced by TRISTAR on Tuesday — one that prompted an immediate re-write of the five autographs to get rundown of guests at the show.
The new signer? Mike Tyson.
His autographs will start at $119 — Hangover not included.
In other news for the show …
UD partners with Marvel for Captain America card set
06.21
By Andrew Tolentino | BSCM Editor
While the summer blockbuster isn’t scheduled to premiere until July 22, Captain America: The First Avenger — on cardboard — arrived this week at comic book stores and other superhero-conscious retailers.
Propelled by a partnership with Marvel Entertainment LLC. — one that most recently brought us both THOR and Marvel Beginnings sets — Upper Deck revealed the bells and whistles in its latest debut. “Just like we did with our THOR movie trading card set from earlier this year, this effort will include memorabilia directly from the costumes featured in the movie, and autographs from some of the actors in the movie,” explained Upper Deck’s vice president of marketing, Jason Masherah.
According to the manufacturer, the base set will be comprised of 86 “movie plot” cards, 12 character cards and one “movie poster header” card. Also included are autographed inserts from actors Kenneth Choi (as “Jim Morita), Stanley Tucci (as “Dr. Erskine”), Toby Jones (as “Arnim Zola) and Neal McDonough (as “Dum Dum Dugan”).
Headlined by the film’s main characters, memorabilia inclusions arguably offer more premium appeal. Collectors can expect to pull costume pieces from both “Steve Rogers” and “Captain America,” “Peggy Carter,” “The Red Skull” and other key players at a rate of one in 48 packs. Read More
New USA Baseball event gets prospects more exposure
06.20
By Chris Olds | Baseball Editor
It’s no secret that prospectors pay close attention to showcase events where they can get a glimpse at how future superstars will perform.
Now, USA Baseball has yet another date for them to mark on the calendar — July 1-2 for the Prospect Classic.
The Classic, which will air on the MLB Network, will consist of a two-game series between the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and the 18U National Team at a pair of North Carolina sites.
Some of the biggest names in the game today played for USA Baseball before heading to college or the pros with Topps (the present USA card licensee) and Upper Deck (the former licensee) producing the only cards of many players sometimes years before their actual MLB arrivals.
For more on the event, watch the video above.
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.
Win original Diamond Kings art! Did you miss this contest in Beckett Sports Card Monthly’s Art Issue?
06.20
By Chris Olds | Baseball Editor
The Art Issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly has perhaps been replaced on shelves already by the latest issue, but we wanted to make sure that everyone has a chance at this one.
It’s a framed piece of original art used to make the 2003 Diamond Kings card of Jim Edmonds of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The piece was donated by Panini America specifically to get into the hands of one lucky reader of the issue.
How can you win?
Find an issue and read the instructions on Page 21. (No purchase necessary.) The deadline for entering is July 1.
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.
Onyx Authenticated readies two more Preferred Players Collection baseball products
06.20
By Chris Olds | Baseball Editor
Onyx Authenticated‘s debut release of Preferred Players Collection, a boxed memorabilia product, has been well-received — so much so it’s now getting the Ernie Banks treatment.
As in “let’s play two.”
The first PPC arrived in May with an autographed baseball in every tamper-proof box, and now the Riverview, Fla.-based company is preparing two more PPC products — PPC Special Limited Edition and PPC Game-used Edition.
The Special Limited Edition will be, well, limited to just 100 three-box cases with each box including an autographed baseball inside and they will be available for sale only through Blowout Cards and Dave & Adam’s Card World during the 2011 National Sports Collectors Convention Aug. 3-7 in Chicago.
Weekly Highlights (June 13 – June 17)
06.17
Box Busters
Weekend Wonder of the week
First looks and sneak peeks of the week
- 2011 Topps Gridiron Legends Football
- 2011 Timeless Treasures Football
- Marshall Faulk’s Autograph lands in Madden 12
- Onyx Authenticated readies two more products
They are the champions of the week
- Stanley Cup coaches inscribe for 2010-11 Zenith Hockey
- Upper Deck commemorates Bru-win with 31-’cahd’ set
- Show off the best of Beantown in your collection
- Panini prepares Dallas Mavericks Championship Set
- Dirk a hobby bargain?
Auction action
This week in questionable fashion, Shaq-signed cookies & more
- One Shaq fan can win a signed pack of Oreos
- MLB stars design their own shirts
- The impact of Justin Verlander’s second no-no
- Topps lets YOU decide who makes the diamond cut
- Panini sums up SPs in 2010-11 Contenders Hockey
Just for fun
http://www.beckett.com/news/2011/06/box-busters-2011-sp-legendary-cuts-baseball-cards/2011
Weekend Wonder: The Looming Lockout
06.17
It’s been a good while since we prompted the hobby audience with a Weekend Wonder to pontificate. It’s also been a good while since the NFL Lockout started baffling football fans, collectors and casual spectators.
The prompt to ponder (and actually respond to) this weekend is of course the lockout and its impact (potential or real) on the hobby.
Here are a few questions to get the ball rolling:
- Will the lockout affect the way you collect or how much product you buy this season?
- Will the lockout help or hurt the rookies in the hobby?
- What are your concerns about the lockout?
- Will you focus more on college football collectibles/cards if the lockout continues?
And … go!
First Look: 2011 Topps Gridiron Legends Football
06.17
By Andrew Tolentino | Football Editor
If we can’t look forward to a season this year, we can certainly look back.
Wait, what’s this? Did we happen upon Doc’s flux capacitor?
Unfortunately not, but we did happen upon what could be the next best thing — an announcement from Topps detailing the release of its all-new 2011 Topps Gridiron Legends line.
Slated to hit shelves in mid October, Gridiron Legends will stand as a blast from the past, even if there isn’t a present by then. According to the manufacturer, the new brand “salutes the NFL’s cherished past heroes, vibrant stars and this year’s freshmen.”
The eight-card-per-pack product appears to be a nod to the greats and a commitment to the contemporaries with the company’s signature features. Collectors can expect to land four hits per 18-card box, falling in the forms of multiple-autograph cards, jumbo patches, and combo and Stamp Relics.
Among the autograph cards 1956 Topps Reprint Autograph Cards — featuring NFL stars who appeared in the original 1956 Topps Football set — stand out as the most interesting historical hits from the product. Read More