By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

We all know that the collecting world has changed immensely in the last 20 years with explosive growth and massive shrinkage for the mainstay types of sports — baseball, football, basketball and hockey — at varying times as card companies came and went and as labor strife took its toll on fans’ heartstrings.

But, at the same time, one could argue that the “other” sports out there have seen plenty of growth, too, as more and more sports — and some sort-of sports — have made their appearances on cards. You may not find them in every shop or every card aisle at retail every day, but they are out there and they have their passionate collecting bases that keep those products coming back year after year.

In the next issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly, we’ll take a look at those sports that don’t normally get as much attention — racing, MMA, soccer, boxing, Olympic sports, wrestling, tennis, rodeo and more. Here are 20 questions that we hope you’ll take the time to answer to appear in this next issue.

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See the rest of the questions … after the jump. 

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Join Beckett Media’s Chris Olds and Bryan Hornbeck as they rip into a pair of 2012 SP Authentic golf boxes from Upper Deck in this latest edition of Box Busters.

What will they find inside? Watch and find out …

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

Golfer Rory McIlroy is joining Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tiger Woods.

Golf’s current sensation has signed to be an exclusive spokesperson with Upper Deck.

Upper Deck will offer autographed memorabilia of McIlroy through its Upper Deck Authenticated program. Items will include pin flags, photos, lithographs, game-used items and more. His items will begin to appear with UDA in October.

His trading cards will appear in Upper Deck products in 2013.

This announcement comes as McIlroy is one of the most popular golfers in the world. He’s currently ranked No. 1 after winning the 2012 PGA Championship.

However, even with McIlroy’s success, the Irish player has never been featured on any licensed trading cards other than a Sports Illustrated for Kids set.

“At Upper Deck we have always prided ourselves on bringing our worldwide customers closer to the world’s most iconic athletes,” said Richard McWilliam, Upper Deck’s founder and CEO. “We have been targeting Rory for some time now and are thrilled to have him be a part of the Upper Deck team. Our golf collectibles provide fans with not only a premium talking piece for their home or office, but more importantly an authentic collectible to cherish forever.”

At 23 years old, McIlroy already has a decent resume. He won the U.S. Open in 2011 and this year’s PGA Championship, both my record margins. He’s won more than $10 million on the PGA Tour

Susan Lulgjuraj is the editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly magazine. You can email Susan here with ideas, comments and questions. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor

Ernie Els is one of the world’s top professional golfers, but for years and years of golf sets, no card company has been able to land “The Big Easy” to an autograph deal.

Until now.

Upper Deck announced Els is going to have trading cards, including his first licensed autographs in its upcoming 2012 SP Authentic Golf in July.

Els turned pro in 1989 and has played on the European and PGA Tours since the early 1990s.

The South African golfer has won three major championships including the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1997 and The Open Championship in 2002. He also took second in the Masters in 2000 and 2004.

Els has been extremely limited on trading cards appearing on just one card, according to the Beckett database. Els’ one card was in an offbeat set sold in England in 1996.

In addition to Els, Upper Deck is including other athletes who are big fans of golf in a subset entitled Parade of Stars, which comes in autograph and non-autograph form. While UD is bit tight-lipped on which celebrities are going to appear on the set, two athletes include football star Drew Brees and hockey great Wayne Gretzky.

The Parade of Stars subset is a way to get added value into the set while also drawing collectors from sports as well.

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