The Wave of the Future?

Will this make cardboard obsolete? Or is it one of Upper Deck's last gasps at relevance?

I have to wonder what the price point of something like this will be, and if the card companies have once again missed the target if they're trying to hit in terms of audience by forcing something on them they weren't necessarily asking for nor can they afford.

Also, with the trend in technology moving toward smaller and smaller devices, the "cards" look awfully big and cumbersome to be something collected in quantity and long term.

Upper Deck unveils video trading cards

Card companies finally catch up to a man ahead of his time

As Roy Halladay was making history with a no-hitter in Game 1 of this year's Phillies/Reds NLDS, we mentioned that it took 5 years for Don Larsen's perfect game to be given its own card by Topps.  While most sports fans are at least casually familiar with this story thanks to the silver screen, it is interesting to note that it has taken 38 YEARS for a card of any kind to come to fruition, and it's good to see a man whose life ended rather abruptly get his due on cardboard.  Kudos to Panini for taking care of that..........

Football pioneer Ernie Davis has first card made

 

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One of us

I think part of the reason the country is in the economic shape it's in at the moment has a lot to do with the CEOs who run most major corporations never spent a day consuming the product they're now in charge of.  Case in point.....the man named CEO of US Airways several years ago came from the same post at..........FREAKIN' BURGER KING!!  Guy probably never spent a day taking flying lessons OR flipping burgers, and once he landed the gig at both companies, he probably flew private jets.  Assuming he ever ate the food of the peasants like a hamburger, I'm sure it was prepared by a personal chef. 

Regardless of how you feel about the direction of the sports card hobby at the moment, you have to feel good about the fact that the guy calling the shots at Topps is a guy who knows the product he's selling and marketing.  That can only be a positive. 

He’s Back to Baseball Cards

For the anti-Beckett crowd.......

For this blogger's money, the Babe Waxpak column is about as good as it gets for the casual collector or "layman" to find out just how collectible or "limited edition" their cards or other memorabilia pieces really are.  And since it is readily available online, and for free, there really isn't any of this blogger's money involved.  He also goes beyond baseball most weeks.  This week covers NASCAR and vintage football tickets.  And, alas, one collector's dream of sending his kids to college w/ a collection of Panini football stickers are dashed.......as at least one reader's dream normally is in every column..........

Babe Waxpak: Signed Earnhardt card valuable, Redskins stickers not so much

Bridging the gap between Strasburg Mania and Bryce Harper Mania

Before you click through to read the story, you should keep a few things in mind.  First and foremost, the source is the owner of a card shop in the player's home state, where he might as well be Governor.  Second, his alma mater, while still a Top 10 team, isn't playing quite up to par yet, so there's the nostalgia of times gone by probably driving the market in his back yard.  Only in college football can the "glory days" be a mere 9-ish months ago :-)  Third, he's not a starting QB yet, and who knows whether he'll ever be? 

Is it nice to see the sports card market thriving after the Tommy John Express claimed yet another phenom poised to carry it on his back?  Is it slightly hyperbolic for a brick and mortar store owner and "homer" to indicate that a guy who has picked up a total of 2 yards in his professional career will singlehandedly resuscitate the hobby?  Yes, and yes. 

Tim Tebow's Rookie Cards Top Industry

Down, and now very possibly out......

Recently, I talked about Upper Deck's recent woes involving the loss of their license with Major League Baseball and the subsequent lawsuits filed when they brazenly released several 2010 sets complete with team logos and uniforms. At the time, I truly felt like the company would be OK as long as they were somehow able to keep a license with the NFL and the NFLPA. Things seemed to headed in that direction when the NFLPA marketing arm announced a 2-year renewal of Upper Deck's license through 2011.

Today, however, brings a much different story. While Upper Deck's PR shill tried to his best to make it sound like there could be some sort of NFL-related release for 2010, I can't believe the company would touch any sort of pro football product with a 10 foot pole given the baseball legal mess and the millions it cost them.

So now it's down to the NHL and NCAA collegiate cards for Upper Deck in the Sports category. Time will tell if that is enough to sustain the company, but in the short term, things definitely don't look good. Upper Deck and Topps are the two card companies whose name transcends the product they sell and has penetrated the mainstream. At the moment, they seem headed in opposite directions. Topps, under the leadership of former CEO Michael Eisner, has a hot product with Topps Attax, which seems to be having some inital success at luring kids back from collecting mostly non-sports related cards since the boom of the early 90's. Upper Deck might find themselves on a far more dubious list if their losing streak continues.

Down, but not out......

As David Letterman often says, I wouldn't give Upper Deck's troubles to a monkey on a rock. If you're an avid card collector or dealer, their troubles are well-documented. I'm just beginning to plug back into the hobby, but based on the blogs and message board posts of those who have remained close to the hobby over the past decade, I can come to two conclusions about Upper Deck.

First, most collectors seem to be pretty passionate about Upper Deck's product across multiple sports, with a few exceptions. Second, the company's CEO, Richard McWilliam, seems to be portrayed as a incurable egomaniac......a trait you rarely ever see in a big corporate CEO :-)

The past year has been brutal for the company with multiple lawsuits and ultimate settlements costing tens of millions of dollars, but a silver lining seems to be on the horizon.

Just as it appeared Upper Deck might be in danger of losing licensing for producing cards for the second major sport in as many years, the NFL Players Association's marketing arm announced yesterday that they would renew Upper Deck's license for two more years through 2011.

The loss of the Major League Baseball license and subsequent settlement with Topps over the alleged breach of the MLBPA agreement certainly knocked Upper Deck to the canvas, but the fact that football will still be part of the equation is welcome news to those in the hobby.

If this were a heavyweight fight, Upper Deck is still certainly down, but as of yesterday, any cries of "no mas" are definitely premature.