the First Hockey Product of the 2011-12 Season Today!
Be the first to own official NHL® rookie cards of top prospects Cody Hodgson, Joe Colborne, Jonathan Blum and Matt Frattin
Carlsbad, CA (August 2, 2011) – Even as Boston Bruin fans were celebrating their victory over the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup™ Finals several weeks back, Upper Deck was hard at work putting the finishing touches on the first NHL trading card release of the 2011-12 season: Victory Hockey. This comprehensive 250-card collection hits store shelves today and provides collectors with the very first rookie cards of any players who made their debuts at the end of the 2010-11 NHL campaign. This is the first opportunity for fans to add NHL licensed rookie cards of standouts like Cody Hodgson (Vancouver Canucks), Joe Colborne (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jonathan Blum (Nashville Predators) and Matt Frattin (Toronto Maple Leafs) to their collections.
“Collecting hockey cards has really become a year-round pursuit for a lot of puck fans” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck’s hockey brand manager. “We are thrilled to start the season off with 2011-12 NHL Victory, as it has a lot of great content that is affordable to every level of collector, especially kids. And we are thrilled to resuscitate the MVP brand by including both base and rookie cards as inserts in the NHL Victory packs for this season.”
That’s right, 2011-12 NHL Victory will include regular MVP branded cards that can be found in every other pack, and MVP branded rookie cards will be a tougher pull, appearing one in every 18 packs. MVP returns with a sleek design and the facsimile signatures fans have come to enjoy with a 100-card set.
Other insert cards that can be discovered in packs of 2011-12 Victory Hockey include “Stars of the Game” and “Game Breakers” which feature top NHL stars. The “Victory Black” parallels return to provide an element of chase for fans with regular cards appearing 1:720 packs on average and rookie cards only surfacing 1:1440 packs on average. Collectors lucky enough to pull one of those cards will definitely feel a rush of excitement. Another parallel to be on the lookout for are “Victory Red” parallels that can be found exclusively in retail fat packs.
Upper Deck’s 2011-12 Victory Hockey includes six cards per pack with 36 packs per box. It can be found now on hobby and retail store shelves throughout North America.
Carlsbad, CA (August 2, 2011) – Pigskin fans are rejoicing as we are getting closer to the start of a new season. Upper Deck has pulled out all the stops to make sure 2011 NCAA Sweet Spot Football delivers all the hard-hitting rookie cards and autograph inserts these fans cherish. Collectors will feel like they are scoring a touchdown as they open 2011 NCAA Sweet Spot Football because this year every pack has an autograph card inside!
The rookie autograph checklist features all the top draft picks like Cam Newton, Mark Ingram, A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker, Colin Kaepernick, Christian Ponder and many more signing in the set. Upper Deck has come up with some new NCAA Sweet Spot Signature helmet logo variations as well to add a heightened level of collectability to autographs of these future stars. Additionally, the hard-signed “Ultimate Rookie Signatures” set that started in 2011 Upper Deck Football, continues in 2011 NCAA Sweet Spot Football.
“The main driver for the Sweet Spot brand has always been autograph cards and we really worked to revamp this product to give collectors more of what they love,” said Brandon Miller, Upper Deck’s collegiate sports brand manager. “The collectability of the signed helmet cards always has a major ‘wow’ factor and with some of the big names we have included in this product, there will be a lot of collectors ecstatic about the autograph cards they pull.”
Beyond the rookies, fans can find autograph cards of gridiron greats like Jerry Rice, Adrian Peterson, Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, Drew Brees, Dan Marino, Gale Sayers, John Elway, Steve Young, Troy Aikman and others.
New to the playbook this year are the “Sweet Spot Rivalry Booklet” cards that feature Sweet Spot helmet autographs of two players who squared off on opposite sidelines in some of the most storied rivalries in college football history. These limited cards will fall one per case on average. Additionally, Upper Deck called on football analysts Todd McShay and Chris Mortensen to add their expertise to the mix with “Scouting Report” inserts that give collectors the inside scoop on stars of the 2011 rookie class and a retro look at scouting reports on legends as if they were being drafted again today. Look for rare autograph parallel versions of those cards inserted randomly into packs.
Upper Deck’s 2011 NCAA Sweet Spot Football packs contain eight cards with one of those cards being autographed. Each box will contain four packs and football fans can find these boxes in stores today!
Nationals manager Davey Johnson said that Stephen Strasburg (elbow) topped out at 95 mph in a simulated game Monday.And that was "a little tentative," according to Johnson. We'll sign up for that. Strasburg's rehab from Tommy John surgery is moving along quite nicely, though he'll likely need several more simulated games and sessions of live batting practice before going out on a minor league rehab assignment. There's still a chance he'll pitch with the Nats in September.
For the First Time Ever, Topps Issues Autographed Trading Cards of a Former President in 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter Set
NEW YORK (July 13, 2011) – The Topps Company, Inc. today announced that its 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter product will include 200 limited edition autographed cards of President George W. Bush, marking the first time a United States President has signed an actual baseball card.
The limited edition autograph cards feature an image of President Bush throwing out the first pitch at Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium. The special moment helped strengthen the American people in the wake of 9/11. Also included are ten special cards signed in red ink, some with inscriptions next to the former president’s autograph, including “#43” and “U.S.A.”
2011 Topps Allen & Ginter is a 440 card set featuring Major League Baseball players and champions from other sports. This year’s set includes 40 World Champion autograph subjects including Mickey Ward, Manny Pacquiao, Lou Holtz, John McEnroe, Kristi Yamaguchi and Annika Sorenstam.
“Our 2011 Allen & Ginter product will continue Topps’ historic tradition of chronicling heroes both on and off the playing field,” said Topps VP, Mark Sapir. “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.”
While recognized for its presence in sports, Topps has long chronicled history through trading cards. Over the years, Topps has offered cards based on man's first landing on the Moon in 1969, the Operation Desert Storm military conflict, the story of President Barack Obama, the life of President John F. Kennedy and the Royal Wedding.
The Topps Allen & Ginter brand is based on the original late 1800’s Allen & Ginter tobacco cards that featured the likes of sports and cultural icons.
Hand-painted ‘Presidential Masterpieces’ short prints and wondrous entomology set
featuring all new butterflies, bugs and beetles highlight sought-after collection!
Carlsbad, CA (July 1, 2011) – As the 2011 professional baseball season readies itself for its annual Mid-Summer Classic later this month, the Upper Deck Company is excited to release its second baseball-themed trading card set of the year: 2011 Goodwin Champions! The 231-card regular set features an impressive array of baseball legends and prospects plus memorable champions and standouts from many other sports as well!
“This release will really make an impact,” said Grant Sandground, Upper Deck’s product manager. “The combination of signatures, hand-painted images, animal kingdom patches and museum collection relics, not to mention the continuation of the Entomology bugs cards, truly provide something for every level of collector!”
The box break summary is enticing to say the least, with three of the following four categories guaranteed (on average): hard-signed autograph cards; single- or dual-swatch memorabilia cards; embroidered animal patch cards; and 1-of-1 printing plates! In addition, on average, collectors can expect to yield 10 Goodwin Champions Minis per box; one “Figures of Sport” die-cut insert; one “World Traveler (5” x 7”) box topper; and one “Goodwin Citizen” insert card consisting of notable historical figures including Louie Pasteur, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Jules Vern, Louis Vuitton and Vincent Van Gogh.
Outstanding best describes the phenomenal lineup of hard-signed autograph cards found inside 2011 Goodwin Champions. A total of 84 sports stars have signature cards including Alex Ovechkin, Annika Sorenstam, Bode Miller, Chris Paul, Nolan Ryan, Bill Walton, Steve Carlton, Carlton Fisk, Candace Parker, David Robinson, Walt Frazier, Greg Louganis, Mia Hamm, Bo Jackson, Johnny Bench, Janet Evans, Jim Rice, Larry Bird, Bubba Watson, Landon Donovan, LeBron James, Johnny Miller, Michael Jordan, Michelle Wie, Mark Spitz, Wayne Gretzky, Ryne Sandberg, Bobby Orr and Tiger Woods. This release marks the first time that both Watson and Wie will have autograph cards appearing in a trading card set.
The base set alone features 150 regular cards, 40 short prints, 20 super short prints, and 21 high series minis short prints. A brand new element to this year’s release is an impressive array of hand-painted “Goodwin Masterpieces Presidential Series” cards showcasing all 43 U.S. Presidents. Each President has a total of 10 hand-painted cards which allows collectors the opportunity to build a full set. Another new addition to the 2011 version is an insert collection entitled “Museum Collections Relics” which includes extraordinary rarities from historical icons like Abraham Lincoln, Annie Oakley, Napoleon, The White House and even the Spirit of St. Louis!
But wait, there’s more; “Animal Kingdom” patch cards make their Goodwin Champions debut as well. Seek out cool patch cards spotlighting the likes of such incredible animals and mammals like the salt water crocodile, the red-eyed tree frog, the North American Moose, the King Cobra, the humpback whale, the great white shark and the African elephant. The Animal Kingdom cards are all seeded at different rations based upon the featured animal’s actual endangered species status. Finally, rare Thoroughbred Hair Cuts cards return to the mix featuring Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and 2007 Preakness winner Curlin.
Upper Deck’s 2011 Goodwin Champions Baseball set boasts five cards per pack, 20 packs per box, and is available on store shelves now.
The key elements (and seeding ratios) within 2011 Goodwin Champions are as follows:
The checklist for this ground-breaking 100-card set is structured upon the actual endangered species status of each animal provided on the back of the card (ranging from Least Concern to Extinct).
