Sports Card Info Celebrates 14 Years!

On December 27, 2007 Sports Card Info was launched. 14 years later it is still going strong. Countless box breaks and contests have taken place. Thousands of posts covering a wide range of topics.

Thanks to everyone who stops by here everyday!

The Shadow (1994 film) Celebrates It’s 25th Anniversary

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

What’s the problem?  Isn’t this movie jogging any memories?  That’s alright.  Many people have forgotten about this one.

The Shadow is a superhero created by Walter B. Gibson in 1931.  He’s actually older than both Batman and Superman.  When placed side-by-side you can clearly tell that The Shadow was used as a heavy influence on the creation of Batman.

In 1994, Universal Pictures gave The Shadow his very own feature film simply titled – The Shadow.  It starred Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston a.k.a The Shadow.  Other supporting characters in the film were played by John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Boyle, Ian McKellen, Jonathan Winters, and Tim Curry.

The film follows wealthy playboy Lamont Cranston over in Tibet shortly after World War I.  He decides to stay in Tibet, change his name to Yin-Ko, and sets himself up as a drug warlord.  While running his empire, he is kidnapped by servants who work for Tulku.  Tulku knows Cranston’s true identity, and shows off his otherworldly powers.  Cranston is offered a chance to change his life and be an agent of good.  The offer is refused, and he stays under Tulku’s watch for the next seven years.  In that time, Cranston undergoes massive amounts of physical training, learns how to hypnotize others, read minds, and warp the perception of others so he cannot be seen, besides his shadow.  Once the seven years were up, Cranston moved back to New York and resumed his old life.  At night though, he fights the criminal underworld as the vigilante called The Shadow.

Every superhero needs a villain.  That’s where Shiwan Khan comes in.  He’s a former student of Tulku, and a descendant of Genghis Khan.  Of course Khan wants to fulfill the destiny of his ancestor, and dominate the world.  I won’t spoil how it ends.

Released on July 1, The Shadow was planned to be a big summer blockbuster.  Unfortunately it faced tough competition among other movies like The Lion King and The Mask.  It never made it passed #2 at the box office.  It started off strongly, but quickly lost momentum.  Since it’s release on VHS and DVD, The Shadow has gained quite the cult following among fans.

Universal Pictures had plans for The Shadow to be the start of a new franchise.  Once it didn’t make enough money, that went out the window.  Despite that, merchandise for The Shadow was all over the place.  I distinctly remember owning four action figures.

Guess what else The Shadow had?  You got it.  Trading cards.  Topps created a 90-card set for this movie.  A majority of the set consists of photos from the film.  These cards have a very Stadium Club-like look to them.  Other than The Shadow logo in the corner and two green lines going across the bottom, the main focus is on the photographs.

In addition to the movie photo cards, there are (10) Shadow Legend art inserts.  (4) Topps Finest inserts are by far the most difficult cards to pull.

Not a whole lot of value can be found here.  It was mass produced, and even the “rare” cards aren’t in demand.  Alec Baldwin autographs should’ve been included.

I was eight when The Shadow came out.  At the time I wasn’t old enough to see it in the theater.  I had to wait for it on VHS.  The toys stick in my memory more than the actual movie itself.  The hype for it was unbelievable.  I think I watched it a few times, and moved on.

The Shadow drew me in because he reminded me so much of my favorite superhero Batman.  It wasn’t until years later that I discovered Batman was actually inspired by him.

Ephrata Lions Club Sports Card Show Celebrates 40 Years

One of the longest running sports card shows in the country is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary next year.  Since 1980 the Ephrata Lions Club has held it’s annual sports card show.  Its been going for as long as the National Sports Collectors Convention.  The 2019 show will be held at the Ephrata Recreation Center Saturday, March 30.

40 years is a tremendous accomplishment for a card show.  In honor of this momentous occasion, there will be (2) autograph guests instead of the normal (1).  Signing from 11:00-1:00 will be former Phillies manager, and 2008 World Series Champion Charlie Manuel.  The second guest will be former Eagles tight end, and Super Bowl LII Champion Brent Celek signing from 11:30-1:30.  Only (250) tickets will be sold for each guest.  You better get there early, the show opens at 8:30.

The show itself consists of (70) tables, and takes up about two basketball courts.  There usually is a good supply of both vintage and modern cards.  Someone almost always has current wax boxes.  Especially if VSM Sports Card Outlet decides to setup.

I haven’t been to this show since 2015.  Jim Palmer was the guest in 2016, and Brooks Robinson was there in 2017.  Both of whom I already had autographs of.  Last March Tony Perez was there, but I wasn’t able to attend.  I’m going to try and make it this time.  Card shows with signers like this don’t popup in my area as much as they once did.

When I first got into collecting, the Ephrata Lions Club Sports Card Show in my mind was the biggest show in the world.  I didn’t think they got any larger than that.  The National put that into perspective.  So did the Philly Show when it was held in Fort Washington and Reading.  Of all the ups and downs this industry has had, to keep this going strong for 40 years is amazing.  I’m already craving one of those 10:00 a.m. hot dogs they serve up.

More details about the show can be viewed on their website and in this press release.

Sports Card Info Celebrates 10 Years!

On this date in 2007 Sports Card Info was born.  Blogs pertaining to sports cards were really taking off at that time.  While some are still around, many have burned out.  But Sports Card Info continues to move forward.

I’d like to thank everyone who takes time to visit each day.  As a token of my appreciation, I’ve got some 10th anniversary contests in the works.  Be sure to keep an eye out for them.

In the meantime, leave a comment on this post with a valid e-mail address by 11:59 p.m. EST on 12/27/17 for your chance to win an official Sports Card Info collectible pin.  Only (150) pins have been made.  That’s not a lot when it comes to pins.  I’ll announce who the winner is in the comment section on 12/28/17 and contact them by e-mail.  Good luck!!!

Professional Football Celebrates It’s 125th Anniversary

On Sunday, professional football celebrated it’s 125th anniversary.  According to a November 12, 1892 expense accounting sheet from the Allegheny Athletic Association, a W. Heffelfinger was paid to play.  The official entry on the sheet reads “game performance bonus to W. Heffelfinger for playing (cash) $500.00”.  This is the earliest known evidence of an individual being paid to play football.  Historians consider this document to be professional football’s birth certificate.  $500.00 was a lot of money back then.  He must have been worth it, because the Allegheny Athletic Club beat the Pittsburgh Athletic Club that day 4-0.  Heffelfinger recovered a fumble to score the only touchdown.  In those days a touchdown was only worth four points.

You would think someone as historically significant as William “Pudge” Heffelfinger would have lots of cards.  That is far from the case.  I’d say his 1955 Topps All-American SP #18 is his most important card.  He also has a handful of cards in 2011 TRISTAR Obak, and a cut signature in 2014 Panini National Treasures.

Sports Card Info Celebrates 9 Years!

Today Sports Card Info celebrates it’s 9th birthday.  My blogging career began way back when eBay first introduced their guides.  I remember compiling a lot of information for my first eBay guide called How To Spot Fake Sports Cards That Are For Sale.  Looking back now it seems kind of generic, but it gained traction.  That led me to create my own blog.  Many blogs have come and gone in the last nine years, but I’m still around.

Thanks to everyone who visits on a regular basis.  Let us make it another great year!!!  #10 is coming in 2017!!!

Sports Card Info Celebrates It’s 8th Anniversary

Happy Birthday!

Thanks for all your support!!!

Little League Celebrates 75 Years

This year Little League Baseball celebrates it’s 75th anniversary.  Ya know what that means?  Commemorative stuff!  Little League recently unveiled their official 75th anniversary logo which has already begun to show up on merchandise including pins.  Pins are a big deal when it comes to the Little League World Series.  Almost every sponsor and many of the businesses in Williamsport issue some type of commemorative pin during the Little League World Series.  With this being their 75th anniversary, I’m sure collectors can look for even more pins this year.

As of right now, there are two 75th anniversary pins available.  The first one (pictured above) is your standard $5.00 pin that can be picked up in their gift shop.  The other is a special version that comes in their 75th anniversary membership package that runs for $50.00.

Sports Card Info Celebrates 6 Years!

Today is Sports Card Info’s 6th anniversary.  A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I guess you could say it all started when eBay allowed users to write guides covering all kinds of topics.  How To Spot Fake Sports Cards That Are For Sale was the first guide I put together.  That spawned a bunch of other sports card related guides, and then I decided to start my own blog.  I would like to thank Panini, Press Pass, In The Game, Atlanta Sports Cards, Lil’ Teammates, Sports Card Album, and OYO Sportstoys for supporting Sports Card Info.  I would also like to thank everyone that stops by here everyday to check out the Card of the Day and/or enter the latest contest(s).  Six years ago the hobby saw a surge in sports memorabilia blogs.  Over time many of them flamed out, but a few still remain.  Blogging on a regular basis takes dedication, and not everyone is able to do it.

THANKS EVERYONE!!!

ITG Celebrates Chi-Town With Their 2013 National VIP Set

ITG has unveiled their 9-card set that will be made available to VIPs that attend this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention.  As you can see, this set celebrates Chi-Town.  Players in this set include: Tony Esposito, Bobby Hull, Glenn Hall, Stan Mikita, Roy Conacher, Charlie Gardiner, Bill Mosienko, Max Bentley and Pierre Pilote.  I think these are nicer than those puzzles ITG has made for past VIP packages.