By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor

The Ginter Code was a tough one this year. Unlike year’s past when it took days or even just a few short weeks to figure out the puzzle, the 2011 code took seven months to finally get cracked.

Topps is closer to the release of 2012 Allen & Ginter than it is of the release that had this crazy puzzle.

Finally, a group of three men broke through.

The grand prize is a full set of framed autographs from the 2011 Allen & Ginter set. Also, in the past the codebreaker got a card in next year’s product.

Ryan McCabe, Guillaume Robert and Frank Lattuca spent late nights and early mornings working on the code. And when it seemed as though they were ready to give up after months of an exhausting search, the Codemaster got on Twitter and pulled them back.

“Once the Codemaster started tweeting again, this time giving us slightly more “obvious” hints, then the race was back on,” Robert said. “Even during Thanksgiving and Christmas. No one got too concerned whenever I would “phase out” though because my wife would explain people that [he is] working on a baseball puzzle.”

Twitter played a big role in cracking the code. In fact, Twitter was the only way to solve the puzzle.

They used the social media site to get clues, but that’s also how they found each other. They tweeted about the code and eventually realized they were all pretty close, but not close enough to solve it. They banded together to get it done.

The first thing needed were the promo cards because the clocks reflected in the mirror were important.  The promo cards had 10 different times on them.

Soon, they discovered how the times corresponded to a number of the Mysterious Figures cards. But eventually, it wasn’t just the Mysterious Figures, but they needed the master set to find words that corresponded to websites.

Only the words had to be written backwards in the browser. The first page they found was gnidnal.topps.com (that’s ‘landing’ backwards). Landing was the last word on the Nostradamus card.

The group found 30 webpages Topps created – but only 10 were needed. They also received a map, which was later determined to be a star map. Through angles, a computer script and the number 13, the final clue was revealed.

That led them on a chase for several cards in the set, which included Andrew Bailey‘s Hometown Heroes card, a New Jersey/Pennsylvania relic card, the Battle of Gettysburg and Abraham Lincoln.

The President’s card then led them to the Twitter account @TheLincolnFFF1. They signed into the account using the 11-character clue from the Nostradamus landing page and tweeted the Codemaster.

After a return message, which gave instructions on where to call to solve the puzzle, the Ginter code had been cracked.

Finally.

To read more about the entire process from the three men, check out the blog they created First Point of Aries and note the address, which is a play on Topps’ use of reverse images.

The three used email, Skype and Twitter’s direct message feature to stay in contact with each other. When one made a breakthrough, they all found out within minutes.

It took some time for the three men to get together, though. When they talked about they knew – or rather avoided talking about it – they danced around what they had. Finally, after some time, they decided to get together and the collective mind finally solved the puzzle.

“I probably averaged about four to five hours a week working on the code from start to finish,” McCabe said. “There were some weeks I did nothing with it and other weeks I was spending 35 to40 hours on it. … I cannot say enough for how much my wife (Jessica) supported this effort. Frank, G, and I have been pretty public with how much our wives were part of making this happen for us with all the “putting up with” they did.

“Having said all that, it was easy to put in those hours because I knew my teammates were working just as hard, if not harder, than me to solve it for us.”

Even after all this time was spent on searching for clues, reading words backwards and following a Twitter account, will they do it again?

“Oh yeah,” Lattuca said. “Clearly, we must defend the crown.”

Just don’t tell their wives yet.

Susan Lulgjuraj is a contributing editor for Beckett Media. You can email Susan here. Follow her on Twitter here.

Join Beckett Baseball’s Chris Olds and Brian Fleischer as they rip into a pair of 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter boxes in this latest episode of Box Busters.

What will they find inside? Well, one box over-delivers … but you’ll have to watch to find out how.

Newsworthy card of the week

MEGA-HUGE, IMPORTANT thing to know of the week

• July is customer appreciation month on Beckett.com (Hint: It’s still July.)

Box Busters and other videos

• Box Busters (Warm-up) 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter
• 2010-11 Totally Certified Basketball
• 2010-11 Zenith Hockey (Contest closes on Monday)
• 2011 Goodwin Champions

Possibly groundbreaking news of the week

• Panini announces production of Elite Extra Edition

First looks and sneak peeks of the week

• Panini’s Gold Standard Basketball shines through
• Box Busters Preview Gallery: 2010-11 Zenith Hockey
• The retail rundown on 2011-12 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey

This week in National Sports Collectors Convention news

• In The Game announces VIP program, other NSCC redemptions
• Panini previews VIP pulls for The National

This week in Commander-in-Chief Ink

• Let’s get this straight: There are plenty of firsts when it comes to presidential penmanship
• George W. Bush becomes first U.S. President to sign for Topps

Auction action

• 2010 Topps Sterling Honus Wagner cut auto Relic 1/1 (Starting at: $2,999.99)
• 2008-09 UD Black Michael Jordan Trophy patch auto 1/1 (Now up to $3,383)
• 2005 Donruss Signature Stamp Paul Daffy Dean Cut auto 1/1 (Starting at: $499.99)
• DEREK JETER GALORE

This week in Derek Jeter hitting 3,000

• Derek Jeter hits 3,00 … and then we rank his Rookie Cards
• Steiner Sports launches DJ3K memorabilia line, R2D2 does a jig
• Steiner Sports signs David Price to DJ3k autograph deal

This week in Olds’ exploration of 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter

• Card Gallery: 2011 Allen & Ginter Baseball (with a picture of a guy dressed as a moose!)
• Jack LaLanne debuts in 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter
• Tampa Bay Ray’s Relics: Mad about plaid
• First two Allen & Ginter Manny Pacquio autograph sales pack a punch

This week in Women’s soccer, video cards,  items commanding cash and other news

• U.S. Women’s National Team tearing it up on cardboard
• Panini HRX video card redemptions command cash (with commentary)
• Bryce Harper’s Futures game items heat up auction
• Charles Woodson to appear in Panini NFL products

Just for fun

Click here to view the embedded video.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor

Former President George W. Bush has done something no other president has done before.

Bush became the first living president to sign for Topps when 200 autographs were included in 2011 Allen & Ginter, released this week.

Presidents’ autographs have been in baseball cards as cut autographs, but this is the first time a former president has actually signed a card for the company, according to Topps.

Ten short-print red autograph versions are also available, some even have an inscription of “#43″ or “USA.”

“Our 2011 Allen & Ginter product will continue Topps’ historic tradition of chronicling heroes both on and off the playing field,” Topps vice president Mark Sapir said in a release. “We’re thrilled to announce that this year’s set will include limited edition autographs of our country’s 43rd President, George W. Bush – marking the first time ever that a living President has made their autographs available in a trading card product.”

Bush is a huge baseball fan and even owned the Texas Rangers at one point.

His Allen & Ginter card portrays him throwing out the first pitch before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, weeks after 9/11.

One of the red autographs has already been pulled by a collector on Twitter, who posted the card Wednesday night in his feed.

In other baseball news, the man who caught Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit is apparently getting his own baseball card. Christian Lopez gave the ball back for Jeter while not asking for much in return. But that didn’t stop others from giving to the 23-year-old.

Miller Brewing Co., and Modell’s Sporting Goods have both pledged to give Lopez money to cover taxes and his student loans.

And now Topps told him he is getting his own baseball card in an upcoming product and will be a Topps employee for the day. He’ll get to pick the image for Jeter’s 2012 card as well.

“Christian Lopez is the perfect role model and embodies everything that is right in baseball,” said Mark Sapir, Topps VP.  “Topps is proud to be able to help support this young man and place his rookie card right next to all of today’s legends.”

Susan Lulgjuraj is a contributing editor for Beckett Media. You can email Susan here. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

While this year’s Allen & Ginter baseball card set from Topps isn’t set to hit until Wednesday, that hasn’t stopped the cards from already appearing on eBay as of Saturday morning.

While no “big” cards have yet been found (the only top autograph card is a redemption), here’s a selection of cards that will give you a better idea of what’s in store …

We’ll have more on this one when it arrives.

See images after the jump.

(Click on the image for a full view of the card.)

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

With the arrival of one of its most-popular baseball card lines a week away, Topps took the time Wednesday to tout Allen & Ginter‘s ecclectic autograph checklist comprised of everyone but baseball players.

As it turns out, it’s added some new names to the list, too.

New inclusions not previously announced on the preliminary checklist include WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, Bullpen Gospels author and MiLB journeyman Dirk Hayhurst, Jackass stuntman Wee Man, boxing trainer Angelo Dundee, BMX champ Mat Hoffman and a dual-autograph card of Al Gore and Keith Olbermann among others.

A few of those cards had been teased in recent months but hadn’t appeared on any final lists.

See the list of non-baseball signers after the jump.

Aimee  Mullins    paralympic champion / world record holder
Ana Julaton    women’s boxing champion
Annika  Sorenstam    women’s golf champion
Cheryl  Burke    two-time champion, Dancing with the Stars
Chrissie  Wellington    champion triathlete and Iron Man world record holder
Chuck  Woolery    game show host
Daniel  Boulud    award-winning French chef
Diana  Taurasi    champion women’s basketball player
Dick  Vitale    basketball broadcaster
Evan  Lysacek    Olympic figure skating gold medalist
Geno  Auriemma    basketball coach
Guy Fieri    Food Network star and host of Minute to Win It
Heather  Mitts    women’s soccer star
Hope  Solo    women’s soccer star
Jim  Nantz    broadcaster
Jo Frost    host of Supernanny

John  McEnroe   tennis legend
Kristi  Yamaguchi    Olympic figure skating gold medalist
Kyle  Petty    NASCAR driver
Lou  Holtz    college football coach and broadcaster
Manny Pacquiao   champion boxer
Marc Forgione    restauranteur & winner of The Next Iron Chef
Micky Ward    Boxer and subject of The Fighter
Nancy  Lopez   golf champion
Peter Gammons    baseball writer/broadcaster
Picabo  Street    Olympic skiing gold medalist
Rudy  Ruettiger    College football player and speaker
Sanya  Richards    Olympic track and field Gold medalist
Stan Lee    Marvel Comics icon
Sue  Bird    women’s basketball star
Tim  Howard    soccer star
Timothy Shieff    freerunning  and Parkour champion
Eric Jackson   freestyle kayaking champion

Jake  LaMotta    champion boxer and subject of Raging Bull
Wee Man    world’s smallest stuntman
Mat Hoffman    champion of BMX and extreme sports
Matt Guy    2011 ACO World Championships “King of Cornhole” tournament winner
Dirk Hayhurst    author of The Bullpen Gospels
Al Gore & Keith Olbermann

Ron Turcotte    champion race horse jockey
Larry Holmes    champion boxer
Rafer Johnson    champion decathlete
Shawn Michaels    professional wrestler
Angelo Dundee    boxing trainer and cornerman

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Editor

It’s back, and it looks to be packing more punch than ever.

Well, at least with an autograph card of boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Topps unveiled on Monday evening the first look at 2011 Allen & Ginter, the sixth installment of the popular baseball card series with the retro tobacco card design and the world’s greatest athletes in several sports.

Set to arrive in mid-July, Ginter will include what Topps is touting as the “most-exciting and wide-ranging autograph list in its history.” Each 24-pack hobby box will include three hits — a selection of framed mini autographs, Relics and more that has been found in recent years. The base set will consist of 350 cards (six cards per pack) with 270 veterans, 30 rookies, 15 historic fugures and 35 world’s champions — the staple of the “other sport” inclusions since 2006.

A new line of inserts will be included, featuring such things as “Animals in Peril,” Uninvited Guests” and “Flora of the World” along with diecut cabinet cards that form a map of the United States.

Also back will be the Ginter Code.

But, as with its debut set in 2006, the real power of Ginter comes via its autograph checklist. Among this year’s inclusions?

Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz.

“Raging Bull” boxer Jake LaMotta.

Tennis mouthpiece John McEnroe.

LPGA great Annika Sorenstam.

That’s just for starters.

See more — including images — after the jump.

The non-baseball autograph checklist (preliminary, so subject to change) includes NASCAR star Kyle Petty, Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster Peter Gammons, Olympic skier Picabo Street, comic book icon Stan Lee, WNBA stars Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, LPGA star Nancy Lopez, broadcasters Jim Nantz and Dick Vitale, TV host Chuck Woolery, famed Notre Dame walk-on Rudy Ruettiger, UConn basketball coach Geno Auriemma and many more.

Who are some of the “other” inclusions? Boxer Micky Ward of “The Fighter”, Cheryl Burke of Dancing With The Stars and for the culinary-inclined chef Daniel Boulud, Food Network’s Guy Fieri and Iron Chef’s Marc Fargione.

And the baseball autographs? It’s a lineup that includes Albert Pujols, Roy Halladay, Ryan Howard, Jason Heyward, Aroldis Chapman, Joe Mauer and more.

Among the other eclectic insert card inclusions in Ginter are “Step Right Up” — what Topps bills as “all the stars, freaks and attractions of a carnival sideshow” — Uninvited Guests (spooky tales and other paranormal things), Floating Fortresses (famed battleships), Minds that Made the Future (smart people such as Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton), The Ascent of Man, Hometown Heroes and a new batch of baseball highlight sketches.

The box loader lineup appears to be similar to recent years — N43s, N43 Relics, N43 autographs — along with cabinet box loaders featuring baseball players as well.  The jumbo Relic cards will include over-sized swatches once again this year, something that was introduced last year. Players with autographed Relic cards this year tentatively include Buster Posey, Felix Hernandez, Jason Heyward, Chase Utley and Evan Longoria.

Also back — one of the possible hits in a box — are Rip Cards (one per 12-box case), which will include original Allen & Ginter tobacco cards from the 1800s, mini paintings from artist Jeff Zachowski, red-ink autographs, mini SPs and 1/1 mini wood cards.

The mini card lineup also appears to not have changed as there are wood, cloth (not a parallel as just 150 cards are featured), Bazooka, -no-number, black border, Allen & Ginter back and standard minis will be found. They will land one per pack.

The Relic lineup will include printing plates, framed Relics, DNA Relics and book cards as also introduced last year. Subjects with DNA Relics include Geronimo, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Edgar Allen Poe, Richard Nixon, Dwight Eisenhower, King George III, Jefferson Davis, John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Among the notable Relic card inclusions on a rather extensive checklist are some of the big names you might expect but also a few who haven’t made a lot of memorabilia appearances of late: Kosuke Fukudome, Ichiro Suzuki, Pujols, Howard, Longoria, Cody Ross, Ike Davis, Prince Fielder, Alex Rodriguez, Kurt Suzuki, Derek Jeter, Tim Wakefield, Brennan Boesch, Joe Maddon, Nick Swisher (!) and all of the non-baseball inclusions above. There are also TBDs listed on that checklist.

We’ll have more on Ginter in the coming months before its arrival. Until then, feast on the preview images below.

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.