Card of the Day: Barry Sanders 1999 Score 10th Anniversary 1989 Rookie Reprint Auto

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Starting Lineup 10th Season Pin

Starting Lineup figures ruled the hobby from 1988 to 2001.  First they were made by Kenner, and then Hasbro.  Collectors had never seen such highly detailed action figures of their favorite sports stars before.  They were the brainchild of former Bengals punter/wide receiver Pat McInally.  Before Starting Lineup, most of the sports action figures were very generic looking.  Collectors went crazy for them.  A lot of the figures went on to be worth a lot.  The ones you think would be in high demand aren’t.  Many times the figures that hold the most value are of people you may have never heard of.  Figures can range in price from a few dollars well into the thousands.

Like a lot of card companies at the time, Starting Lineup had a Collector’s Club.  Members would receive exclusive figures and all sorts of fun stuff.  In 1997 or 1998 members were given special pins to commemorate Starting Lineup’s 10th season.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: eBay – 1995 A Community Is Born – 10th Anniversary Pin

eBay is one of the major places to go for cards.  Sports card collecting would be pretty dull if it wasn’t around.  Thanks to eBay, book value means little to nothing in today’s hobby.  If you want to know the real value of a card, just look it up on eBay.

If you haven’t noticed yet, eBay unleashed their new logo this week.  They had been using the old one for years.  I kinda like it.

2011-2012 ITG Between The Pipes 10th Anniversary Edition Box Break & Review

Design: 

If you had to make an entire product based on one position, the goalie would be the best way to go.  This is exactly what In The Game discovered when they started producing the Between The Pipes brand 10 years ago.  Goalie masks are some of the most artistically appealing pieces of sports equipment, right up there next to catcher’s masks.

The 200-card base set covers future stars and legendary goalies of the past.  The design of the base set is pretty basic, and nothing to get overly excited about.  The inserts however are a much different story.  Masked Men 4 inserts have been a staple within this product.  This 50-card insert set pictures zoomed-in shots of some of hockey’s best goalies wearing really cool looking masks.  Each card has three different versions – ruby, silver (limited to 90), and gold (limited to 10).

Price:  

Boxes are currently selling for $90.00.

“Hit” Quality:  

Each (18) pack box should contain (4) “hits” – (2) autographs and (2) memorabilia cards.  I pulled the following:

Autos

• Michael Leighton Future Stars Auto
• Mathias Niederberger Future Stars Auto
• Greg Millen Decades Auto

Relics

• Scott Stajcer/Henrik Lundqvist Aspire Dual Jersey Silver Version
• Dan Cloutier Game-Used Jersey/2-Color Patch Gold Version

Inserts

• Curtis Joseph 10th Anniversary #32
• Pekka Rinne 10th Anniversary #15
• Bernie Parent Masked Men 4 Ruby #33
• Henrik Lundqvist Masked Men 4 Ruby #27
• Mike Smith Masked Men 4 Ruby #43

Overall:  

Overall, I give 2011-2012 ITG Between The Pipes 10th Anniversary Edition 3.5 goalie masks out of 5 (1=poor & 5=perfect).  The goalie masks are very fun to look at, and its an exciting product to open.  The Masked Men 4 inserts are fantastic looking.  If your favorite player isn’t a goalie, then this product isn’t for you.  That’s the only problem with a product that is dedicated to one position.