I Told You It Was Coming

Sports Card Info is the Magic 8-Ball of the card industry.  On May 18th I wrote a piece called Is 2020 Bowman Sapphire Edition Baseball On The Way? after some Lency Delgado 2020 Bowman Chrome Atomic Orange Refractor Autographs popped-up on Instagram.  Well… it looks like my prediction has come true.

Available next week as an online-exclusive, 2020 Bowman Sapphire Edition Baseball will contain (1) prospect autograph per box.  Expect them to go fast.  I can already hear people complaining that they weren’t able to get a box, the secondary market prices are too expensive, only certain people were able to buy them, etc…  GET OVER IT!

Is Topps Returning To Basketball? – Sure Looks Like It

Athletes and celebrities showing off cards on social media that they recently signed for upcoming products isn’t anything new.  But one image has been floating around the internet this week which has a lot of collectors talking.

Former Kentucky Wildcats guard Tyler Herro posted a video which shows three stacks of cards he signed.  What has people all in a buzz is that they seem to be Topps cards.  Topps Chrome to be exact.

Topps hasn’t produced a basketball product since 2009-10.  Panini currently has an exclusive NBA and CLC license.  These cards obviously don’t have any licensed team names and/or logos.

By the looks of it, Topps is working on an unlicensed basketball draft picks Topps Chrome set that features autographs.  With all of the hype around Zion Williamson, Topps seems to have decided to get back into the basketball card business.

Its very possible that a company like Topps could sign Zion Williamson to an exclusive autograph agreement even though they currently don’t have an NBA and/or CLC license.  Upper Deck has done this with Ben Simmons and Michael Jordan in the past.

When the Topps Industry Conference was held earlier this year, rumors were flying around that Panini is deathly afraid that something like this might happen with Zion Williamson.  It doesn’t look good when the exclusive NBA licensed card manufacturer (Panini) can’t strike a deal with the #1 draft pick.

We don’t have any specific details yet.  These cards could be distributed in a number of ways.

COME TO TOPPS ZION!!!

Manny Machado In A Padres Uniform – Baseball Authenticated Masterpieces Has It!

Two major MLB free agents have been on constant watch this winter to see which teams they decide to sign with.  Its no secret that I’m talking about Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.  Every single day the rumors would change as to who might be in the lead to land each superstar.

As of this writing, Bryce Harper is still up for grabs.  I hope he goes to the Phillies.  Manny Machado on the other hand has signed a 10-year deal with the Padres worth $300 million.  That’s a lot of cheddar.

One of his earliest Padres collectibles will come from Piece of the Game’s Baseball Authenticated Masterpieces.  Each player in the main set will have (3) game-used, hand-painted, and autographed baseballs.  The artist, Monty Sheldon, saved a few Manny Machado and Bryce Harper balls to paint until each player signed with their new team.

Baseball Authenticated Masterpieces is scheduled to be released this spring.

Checkout my latest write-up on this product with an updated sales sheet.

What Is It? – Pete Rose “3000” Hits Commemorative Metal Object

I get e-mails all the time from people usually asking common questions about cards that can easily be answered.  The other day I received a question from a reader about an item I’ve never seen before.  I’m not too sure what it is or how it was distributed, so I thought it would make for an interesting post.  Does anyone have an idea of what this is?

Here is the e-mail that goes along with it:

My brother and I ran across this Pete Rose desk paper weight.  It has a coin that we cannot find any information on.  We think it may have belonged to the person who ran the Riverfront Stadium in 1978 and may have been custom made for him.  Judging by the aged color of the resin it’s enclosed in it maybe about that old.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  We have no idea what it is or what it may be worth.  I have attached two pictures of the item and feel free to forward the email to anyone who may be able to help.

Less Is Truly More When It Comes To 2012 Prime Signatures

Hypothetically speaking, if Panini were a character from Batman’s world, I think they would make a good Two-Face.  Some of their products look like cookie cutter brands from year to year, but then they bring out a product like Prime Signatures which looks amazing.  Its almost like they have dual design team disorder.

The on-card autographs found in Prime Signatures are some of the nicest cards Panini has released, along with those silhouette autographed patches found in Crown Royale.  Less is truly more when it comes to Prime Signatures.  Just by looking at them, you can tell they aren’t overly designed.  They basically let the photo and signature do all the work.  I love the use of white when it comes to card design.  It doesn’t always have to be white either.  Sticking with mainly one color for the overall design can work well too.  Just watch out for those dreaded white boxes if the background isn’t all white.

The Rookie Extreme Prime Materials Jumbo cards contain the perfect sized patch along with an on-card signature.  Not every card will be hard signed.  There will be plenty of stickers, but at least the backgrounds are white and they won’t stick out like a sore thumb.  I’m hoping 2012 Prime Signatures is printed on thick card stock again.

Trade Cards Highlight 2012 Upper Deck Football – Who’s It Going To Be?

Oh I might as well jump on the bandwagon and talk about these trade cards too.  Lucky collectors have been pulling these from their boxes of 2012 Upper Deck Football.  Its the first licensed college football product that contains rookies of the 2012 Draft Class, and collectors are eating it up like mom’s meatloaf 🙂  One of the best things a manufacturer can do is slip something totally unexpected into a product without announcing it to the public.  Letting the collector make the discovery is a great marketing strategy.  That’s exactly what Upper Deck has done with their trade cards.

The back of the card states that Upper Deck will trade you this card for an Upper Deck Football card of a 1st Round Draft Pick Quarterback.  There are unsigned (silver) and signed versions (gold).  I hope you don’t mind waiting awhile for your card to arrive, because Upper Deck won’t start filling these mystery redemptions until June, 2013.  I have a feeling it could be Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III.  Upper Deck may have decided not to fill them until next year so it allows Luck’s exclusive with Press Pass to pass by.

Then again, it doesn’t state that it would be a card of a 2012 1st Round Draft Pick Quarterback.  Perhaps it could be someone from another Draft Class.  For all we know it could be Ryan Leaf.  Either way, slipping in a card such as this gets collectors talking, and that’s what Upper Deck wants.  This isn’t the first time Upper Deck has gone the sneaky route.  In 1992, Upper Deck offered a trade card which could be redeemed for a Shaq variation.

Go For It! Roadshow Mystery Signature Solved

Last month I blogged about the Go For It! Roadshow that was put together by the HealthSouth Corporation.  During the show, I was given an autographed T-shirt by some of the professional athletes that took part in the show.  I had recently rediscovered this shirt after it had been packed away.  All of the signatures were clear to me except for one.

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The signature on the right had puzzled me for years…. until today.  One of Sports Card Info’s readers stumbled across that post and made it clear that it was Steve DeOssie’s signature.  DeOssie was a linebacker for the Cowboys, Giants, Jets, and Patriots from 1984 to 1995.  He has a total of 11 cards including one autograph found in 1992 Pro Line Portraits.  DeOssie was actively involved with the Go For It! Roadshow and his name sounds very familiar from that day.

DeOssie’s 1989 Topps Traded #79T RC

Go For It! Roadshow – Rediscovered Relic With Mystery Signature

When I was in 6^th grade at Cedar Crest Middle School my class went on a field trip to Hershey, PA to see the Go For It! Roadshow.  This was around 1997 or 1998.  The Go For It! Roadshow was an interactive educational health event for kids and was operated by the HealthSouth Corporation.  It was meant to promote healthy living and exercise.  The show ran from 1995 to 2003.  In 2003, a major accounting scandal unfolded at the HealthSouth Corporation and the show was canceled.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I found out we were going.  All I knew was that I didn’t have to sit in the class room for a good portion of the day.  When the show started, I quickly discovered that professional athletes were involved in it.  During the show, Bo Jackson walked by where I was sitting and handed me a t-shirt signed by all the athletes involved with this particular show.

Recently I rediscovered this shirt hanging in my closet.  It’s been in there for the last ten years.  I recognize three signatures – Bo Jackson, Matt Bahr, and Jennifer Chandler.  Bahr was a kicker for Penn State, played professional soccer, and went on to play with numerous NFL teams such as the Steelers, 49ers, Browns, Giants, Eagles, and Patriots.  Chandler received a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics for diving.  As for Jackson, well if you don’t know who Bo Jackson is stop reading this and go open a box of ’87 Topps in hopes of pulling an autograph 🙂

Here are a couple of photos.  Does anyone have an idea whose signature that is next to Bo Jackson?  I’ve never known.

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Bo Jackson / ???

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Matt Bahr / Jennifer Chandler

**Update**

The mystery signature is of former NY Giants linebacker Steve DeOssie.