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Tim TroutFiled under: BSCM, Beckett Baseball, MLB, Memorabilia, Political memorabilia, Topps | Tags: baseball, baseball cards, Boston Red Sox, Democrats, eTopps, Massachusetts, MLB, Political memorabilia, Ted Kennedy, Ted Kennedy Boston Red Sox, Ted Kennedy Topps, Ted Kennedy trading card, Topps
Topps announced on Monday that the late Ted Kennedy will have an eTopps card as part of the company’s Allen & Ginter Moments set found on the online trading card platform.
A maximum of 999 cards will be made featuring the former Massachusetts Senator who died last week. He is shown throwing out the first pitch at a past Boston Red Sox game, wearing a Sox warmup jacket on the card.
The cards will be allocated after Sept. 7. Collectors who receive one of the cards styled after the 1880s tobacco cards of the same name (printed on holographic stock, though) in their eTopps account will be charged $7.50.
Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. Before coming to Beckett Media, he wrote about the hobby for the Orlando Sentinel on his blog, SportsStuff, and for the San Antonio Express-News and The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News. Do you have a comment, question or idea? Send e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.
Filed under: Autographs, BSCM, Beckett Football, Donruss, NFL, Panini | Tags: Bill Belichick, Bruschi retires, Donruss/Playoff, football cards, New England Patriots, NFL, Panini America, Press Pass, Tedy Bruschi, Tedy Bruschi autographs, Upper Deck
Tedy Bruschi retired from the NFL on Monday at age 36 after 13 seasons with the New England Patriots — a career known for three Super Bowl championships, his recovery from a stroke in 2005 and one other thing that’s very, very important to football card collectors.
His lack of certified autograph cards.
Bruschi appeared on more than 550 different football cards made during his career — 556 to be exact — but a mere 36 of them included an autograph. That’s a relatively scarce amount for a player of his notable stature on such a prominent team.
Panini America Acquisitions Manager Joe White, who oversaw Donruss’ deal with Bruschi, discussed the linebacker’s autographing habits.
“I believe [to date] we are the only company to produce a live Bruschi
certified autograph trading card. I’m constantly searching to see if any
others go live, but all I’ve seen is ours,” White said. “We did a deal with him in 2006, but his first autograph card was one we did for the Unsung Heroes banquet. We produced a limited edition set of all the winners and each player signed a handful of cards, which we included in a later set.”
“Our deal in 2006 was a big hit with collectors as he appeared in
Absolute and Limited.”
Filed under: Beckett Media | Tags: 2009 TRISTAR TNA IMPACT, Bobby Lashley, Matt Morgan, MMA, new york yankees, Pro wrestling, TNA, TNA Impact, TriStar
Question: What does a chiseled, massive, mountain of a man who stands 7-feet tall, weighs 305 pounds and can kick your head off collect?
Answer: Anything he wants.
Luckily for the “cool” image of our industry, Total Nonstop Action wrestling superstar Matt Morgan collects sports trading cards. Old ones. New ones. Baseball ones. Wrestling ones. You name it.
In an exclusive interview Monday to promote the release of TRISTAR’s new 2009 TNA Impact set, Morgan unabashedly revealed that he’s been a collector since 1982 (when he was 6) and that he counts his 1969 Topps Mickey Mantle among his most cherished cards.
Filed under: Autographs, BSCM, Memorabilia, Topps, non-sports sets | Tags: 2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes Edition, American Heritage, Apollo memorabilia, Erin Brockovich, Frank Serpico, NASA memorabilia, non-sports sets, NYPD memorabilia, Political memorabilia, Space memorabilia, Space Shuttle, Spacelab, Topps
The latest installment of Topps‘ American Hertiage non-sports line, Heroes Edition, has arrived and it’s packing unusual Relics and autographs as expected.
There are Relics (pieces of items) from historic figures and events, cut autographs of names you might recognize, autographs from people you might not recognize (along with others you will) and an extensive lineup of Relic cards featuring pieces of NASA memorabilia. (See more on the set here, here and here.)
Sure, the hardened sports collector might not see the value here beyond dollar signs, but don’t underestimate the buying power of non-sports fans. (Sure, not every card will be a home run — to use a familiar term — but some will be.)
But there are some interesting sports inclusions as well…
The most interesting cards aren’t always the most expensive ones, but some of the American Heritage Heroes Edition cards are certainly rich in their stories.
Here’s a small sampling of what’s out there after the jump …
Filed under: Autographs, BSCM, Beckett Football, Memorabilia, NFL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2009 Ultimate Collection football, Autographs, football, football cards, Memorabilia, NFL, Upper Deck
Upper Deck released basic product information and preview images for its 2009 Ultimate Collection Football set on Monday.
It’s scheduled to arrive in December with one autograph or memorabilia card per four-card box. Each case will include a 1997 Legends Autograph and one autographed memorabilia card.
The base set consists of 100 standard cards, 50 Ultimate Legends, 50 Ultimate Rookies and 20 Ultimate Rookie Signatures cards.
Filed under: BSCM, Beckett Baseball, Beckett Media, MLB, Topps | Tags: baseball cards, Colorado Rockies, Jhoulys Chacin, Julio Borbon, MLB, Texas Rangers, Topps, Topps Red Hot Rookies
Topps announced its eighth and ninth Red Hot Rookies for 2009, and they are the Texas Rangers’ Julio Borbon (No. 8) and the Colorado Rockies’ Jhoulys Chacin (No.9).
Topps will announce the final Red Hot Rookies later this season. The redemption cards can be found one per Topps Series 2 hobby box and can be redeemed at www.topps.com/redemption.
The previous rookies in the program were:
1. Fernando Martinez, Mets
2. Gordon Beckham, White Sox (10 percent of cards autographed)
3. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
4. Tommy Hanson, Braves
5. Nolan Reimold, Orioles
6. Neftali Feliz, Rangers
7. Mat Latos, Padres
Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. Before coming to Beckett Media, he wrote about the hobby for the Orlando Sentinel on his blog, SportsStuff, and for the San Antonio Express-News and The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News. Do you have a comment, question or idea? Send e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.
Filed under: Autographs, BSCM, Beckett Blog, Beckett Media, Beckett.com, Card gallery, MMA, Topps, UFC | Tags: 2009 Topps UFC, 2009 Topps UFC Round 1, Allen & Ginter, Kimbo Slice, MMA, MMA cards, Roy Nelson, The Ultimate Fighter
Topps officials recently unveiled a handful of new images from the forthcoming 2009 Topps UFC, the once-delayed, heavily anticipated heavyweight of a product now slated to ship in late September.
Those collectors waiting patiently — as well as those of us who’ve turned into white-knuckled nail-biters in an impatient fit — will be happy to know that the images released this week are the just-secured autographs from the cast of the Spike TV reality show “The Ultimate Fighter 10,” which premieres Sept. 16
Filed under: Autographs, BSCM, Beckett Blog, Beckett Media, Beckett.com, Card gallery, College sports, Donruss, MMA, Memorabilia, Topps, UFC, Upper Deck | Tags: 2009 Topps UFC, 2009 Topps UFC Round 1, Allen & Ginter, MMA, MMA cards, Randy Couture, UFC 102
Ultimate Fighting Championship icon Randy Couture enters Saturday night’s UFC 102 main event against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as one of the most influential mixed martial artists in the world.
Couture made his Octagon debut at UFC 13 in 1997 and has built a career record of 16-9 by headlining some of the most important fights in MMA history. His grittily inspiring performances in most of them made him a superstar and helped the UFC gain mainstream acceptance.
It’s only natural, then, that the UFC Hall of Famer and former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion commands similar status in the trading card arena, where he ranks as an unparalleled trailblazer, a ground-and-pound granddaddy.
Filed under: Autographs, BSCM, Beckett Baseball, Hall of Fame, MLB, Memorabilia, Topps | Tags: 2009 Topps Tribute, Autographs, baseball cards, baseball memorabilia, Hall of Fame, high-end Topps, Memorabilia, MLB, Topps, Topps Tribute
Topps announced on Friday that its past high-end Tribute baseball line will return in 2009 after a five-year break.
Every pack will include an autograph or Relic card in addition to three base cards and a parallel card when it arrives in November. Every six-pack box will include three autographed Relic cards and three Relics numbered to 99 or fewer copies. Each box also will include six parallel cards numbered to 199 or less. Cases will include eight boxes split into two mini cartons of four apiece.
The base set consists of 100 cards — 83 retired legends of the game, 14 veterans and just three rookies. The set will include Refractor parallels — Reds (1/1s), Golds (/50), Black (/99) and Blue (/199). It also will include Framed Printing Plates.
See more images and get more information after the jump.
Filed under: Autographs, BSCM, Beckett Blog, Beckett Football, Beckett Media, Box busters, Card gallery, Memorabilia, NFL, Sports Cards, Upper Deck, just for fun | Tags: Upper Deck, Beckett Media, NFL, Autographs, memorabilia cards, football cards, 2009 Upper Deck Football
I just spent quality time with an early box of 2009 Upper Deck Football – that’s 16 20-card fat packs for those counting at home – and all I’ll say is this: If that doesn’t get you fired up for the rapidly approaching NFL season, you need to check your pulse.
Due out everywhere Sept. 1, the product is punctuated by the brilliant, full-bleed photography and accommodating design that are the cornerstones of most base-brand Upper Deck releases.
(Find a sweet first-look gallery after the jump.)
Filed under: Autographs, Memorabilia, NFL, Upper Deck, just for fun | Tags: Blowout cards, Blowoutcards.com, football cards, just for fun, Sports Cards, Thomas Fish, Upper Deck Philadelphia
In case you missed it recently, Blowout Cards‘ Thomas Fish recently gave Rocky Balboa a run for his money …
Filed under: Autographs, BSCM, Beckett Baseball, Beckett Basketball, Beckett Football, Beckett Hockey, Golf, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL, Pro wrestling, just for fun | Tags: Autographs, baseball, Basketball, Beckett Media, football, Golf, Hockey, MMA, NASCAR, wrestling
It seems everyone has an autograph that they’d want — one swirl of ink that they’d cherish more than the next.
And that got us thinking … of the current big-name athletes in each major sport — and a few others — who would be most in-demand?
