Pin Highlight: 2002 U.S. Open Bethpage Black, New York Golf Tournament Logo Pin

The 2002 U.S. Open Golf Tournament was played in Farmingdale, New York on the Bethpage State Park, Black Course.  Logo pins for the event began to surface well in advance (a good 9+ months prior).  A major change was made that make earlier versions of the pin much more desirable.

At first, the pins initially released featured the skyline of New York City in the background.  Both of the World Trade Center Twin Towers can be seen.

After the events of September 11, 2001 the decision to stop selling this pin was made.  A new pin emerged which lacked the city skyline.

Earlier pins that contain both World Trade Center Twin Towers carry a hefty premium.

Pin Highlight: 2019 American Alliance of Football Arizona Hotshots #19 Retirement Logo Pin

In case you haven’t heard, the AAF or American Alliance of Football is shutting it’s doors.  They couldn’t even make it through their first full season.  A whole hodgepodge of reasons are to blame for it’s demise.  In an announcement, they stated a small staff will stay on in an attempt to restructure the league.  This leaves a very tiny opening for there to be a second season.  Its going to take an Oscar-winning dog-and-pony show to win over new investors.

The AAF and it’s teams had lots of merchandise to buy.  Unfortunately, officially licensed pins were not on the menu.  As tight as their budget seems to have been, I’m guessing pins were out of the question.

Members of the media and high-ranking league executives were seen on television wearing AAF logo pins.  But these were not sold to the public.  I inquired about them to the AAF, but never heard back.

The only AAF team to issue a pin was the Arizona Hotshots.  You could not buy it online.  In order to obtain one, you needed to attend their home game on 3/3/19.  During that game they retired the #19 in honor of the 19 firefighters lost in the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire.  In-person, and only at that game could you purchase this pin.  As expected, a few have shown-up on the secondary market.  $35 seems to be the going rate… for now.

2019 LLWS Logo Announced + Franco’s Pin

Little League has officially announced what the logo for the 2019 Little League World Series plans to look like.  Each year it changes.  I like the look of it this year as the colors are brighter.  The 2019 Little League World Series takes place August 15-25.

For years I’ve been collecting Little League pins.  I’ve said on numerous occasions that its incredibly difficult to locate pins given out by ESPN.  One pin with ESPN’s name on it was made specifically for sale in Little League’s gift shop.  That’s the easiest one to find.  Other than that I can only find them on eBay.  These things are like Bigfoot, Yeti, or that Panini redemption you’ve been waiting on.  You never know if they’ll show up.

During the Little League World Series last year, I saw an ESPN pin popup which I think is really cool.  Franco’s Lounge is an Italian restaurant in downtown Williamsport.  It has been around for decades.  Apparently someone from ESPN must really enjoy eating there because they featured the restaurant on their pin last summer.  Its a two-piece puzzle pin.  A sign that says “Gone To Franco’s” hangs off of a Robo-Cam on the top part.  The bottom looks just like the front entrance to Franco’s Lounge.  Red crab and all.

Someone that works for ESPN hands these pins out.  Who that individual(s) might be is a complete mystery.  The name “Fletcher HD” can be read on a lot of these Robo-Cam pins.  I highly doubt that’s the name of whoever is distributing them.  Fletcher is a company that ESPN leases cameras from for certain events.

When this pin set hits the secondary market, be ready to spend $50-$60.

Card of the Day: Los Angeles Rams Logo 1967 Philadelphia #96

Card of the Day: Hank Blalock 2004 Upper Deck SP Game-Used Patch Logo Threads

Astros ’18 Topps Update Patch Contest! – NOW CLOSED

This contest is for a Carlos Correa 2018 Topps Update Series MLB Postseason Logo Manufactured Patch Gold Parallel #’ed/99.  Good luck!!!

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, November 30, 2018 @ 8:00 p.m. EST.
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post.
• You can enter once per day.
• The winner will be selected at random.
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering.
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over.
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again.
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2017 Little League World Series Logo Pin

Officially this pin doesn’t exist yet, but its coming very soon.  Little League recently showed off what the logo will look like for the World Series this year.  We’re only about six months away until Williamsport is flooded with baseball fans from all over the world.  The 2017 Little League World Series takes place 8/17 to 8/27.

Little League pins are highly sought after.  Its around those ten days when the games are being played that new pins surface.  Local businesses throughout Williamsport produce tons of pins.  They’re either sold or given away.  4th Street was a goldmine last year.

I’ll probably find my way up their again this summer.  If I have anymore Sports Card Info pins left I’ll take them with me.  By then, I might need to order some more from Wilson Trophy.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Arnold Palmer’s Multi-Colored Golf Umbrella Logo Pin

Arnold Palmer’s multi-colored golf umbrella is one of the most recognized logos in the world.  Throughout the 50’s and 60’s his golf career really began to take off.  From a business point of view, it made sense to setup Arnold Palmer Enterprises, Inc.  After much discussion and legal consultation, they landed on using a multi-colored golf umbrella as the company’s logo.  You could easily say that Arnold Palmer was the first globally known golfer.  His brand stands for pure excellence.

You can find the classic umbrella logo on all kinds of merchandise.  Among all of the items, simple lapel pins are the most popular.  Its not uncommon for employees of ‘APE’ to carry pins in their pockets to hand out during events.  Even Arnold Palmer himself use to throw a few in his golf bag to giveaway.  You would think that his official shop would have pins for sale, but I don’t see any.  I believe the pins are used for promotional purposes.  They usually come affixed to a black piece of cardboard.  Underneath the pin it says “With Compliments” followed by an Arnold Palmer facsimile signature.

Mr. Palmer was a true classy guy.  He enjoyed interacting with his fans “Arnie’s Army” as much as possible.  When signing his autograph, he always made sure it was legible.  Many other professional athletes could learn a lesson or two from him.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Topps Pro Debut MiLB Logo Pin

The National Sports Collectors Convention is filled with all kinds of little Easter eggs for you to discover.  On Day #2 this year, I decided to try my luck opening a box of 2016 Bowman Baseball over at the Topps booth.  As soon as I got up to the counter, I handed the Topps employee one of my Sports Card Info pins.  Right away, he reached to the shelf below and handed me a small plastic container.  Inside, attached to a piece of foam was this Pro Debut pin.  I had no idea that these even existed.  Topps wasn’t even advertising that they had them.

For those who are unfamiliar, Pro Debut is a Minor League Baseball product produced by Topps.  Its been around since 2010, and the design mirrors that of the main flagship set.  The 2010 and 2011 sets contain cards of Mike Trout.  I’m impressed at how those Mike Trout Pro Debut cards have held up in value.  Cards picturing players in their MLB uniforms will always be more desirable than ones from MiLB.  The Trout from 2010 sells for $75, and the 2011 brings about $20.  I think the price collectors are willing to spend on the 2011 card shocks me the most.  $20 is a lot considering its a second year Pro Debut card.  Plus its two years after his 2009 Bowman Chrome and Bowman Sterling stuff.

This pin was not specially made for the NSCC.  When and why Topps had these made is still unknown to me.  A good guess would be that they arrived after 2010.  They existed in 2015, because a collector over on the Blowout Cards forums received one in the mail out of the blue directly from Topps.  Back in the 90’s, it wasn’t uncommon for card companies to issue pins to their collector club members.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Oakmont 2016 U.S. Open Logo Pin

The 2016 U.S. Open Golf Tournament got off to a rocky start on Thursday no thanks to the weather.  From now on the weather doesn’t look like it will be much of a problem.  This is the 116th U.S. Open, which takes place at the very prestigious Oakmont Country Club.

Horace Rawlins was the first person to win the U.S. Open in 1895.  It would be the only major he would win during his professional playing career.  The purse for the first U.S. Open was $335.  For winning, Rawlins received $150, a $50 gold medal, and his club got the Open Championship Cup trophy.  I guess you could say the prize money has really gone up since then.  The 2016 winner will get around $2 million.

Golf is one of the oldest sports in the world.  It has such a rich history.  I’d like to see a golf card product that dives into that history.  Golfers like Horace Rawlins deserve to be remembered on cardboard.  Imagine that product containing relic cards housing blades of grass and sand from some of the most famous golf courses in the world.  Topps could put an Archives spin on it and have cast members from the movie Caddyshack sign autographs.  Even though golf has had it’s share of products over the years, there is still a lot that hasn’t been done with that brand.  The odds of this coming true are extremely slim.  I don’t think there’s been a standalone golf product since 2014 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection.  Golfers have really only been appearing in multi-sport products recently.  Popular young talents like Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler have yet to receive true golf rookie cards outside of some promos/baseball inserts and Sports Illustrated for Kids stuff.

The pin pictured above is what you’ll find for sale in the gift shops.  They run about $5, and are quite easy to come by.