The True Meaning Behind Panini’s Jousting Knight Logo

Maybe the joust is used to poke you in the eyes so you don’t have to look at the long list of unfulfilled redemption cards?

Its coming. We all know it. Any day now an official announcement will be made stating that Fanatics will be purchasing Panini America. I thought perhaps something would be announced during the 2022 Industry Summit. But nothing of importance came out of that event. All I saw there were people giving awards to each other.

Upper Deck would be Fanatics next target as I believe they would love to add the NHL, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods to their portfolio. People will complain about a monopoly. They will even threaten to never open another Fanatics-made product again. But they will. The boycotts and threats rarely last. I remember people saying the exact same things about products such as Prizm, and we all know how that went.

Have you ever wondered why Panini’s logo features a jousting cartoon knight? Panini’s origins go back to Modena, Italy. The company was founded by two brothers Benito and Giuseppe Panini in the early 1960s. Giuseppe Panini, who loved riddles and puzzles, invented his own crossword puzzles under the pseudonym “The Knight”. In the 1970s there was a magazine for Panini sticker collectors whose mascot was Pipino The Knight.

Looking closer you’ll see the letters “EPM”. They stand for “Edizioni Panini Modena”. “Edizioni” is Italian for “Editions”, “Panini” is obviously for the founders, and “Modena” is the city in Italy where the company was first established.

Usually overlooked, this little dude continues to appear on Panini packaging for now.

Just for fun, here are a few other images of Pipino The Knight found on pins/buttons from the 1970s. These were made for promotional purposes and club members.

Baseball’s True Rookie Card

When it comes to researching the origins of the game of baseball, your most likely going to come across some grey areas.  This is common among a lot of things that don’t seem historically important in the beginning, especially a long time ago.

One of the most historical cards to be made this year comes from 2010 TRISTAR OBAK (no surprise).  What surprised me is that its not included in the Game Changers portion of the set.  The card I’m referring to is of Col. John Stevens III.  This is the man who first owned Elysian Fields where on June 19, 1846 the Knickerbockers played the New York Nine in the first organized game between two clubs.  To me, this is the true rookie card of the game of baseball.

On the reverse side, there is a picture of Elysian Fields.

A True “Mystery” Cut

If the card gods asked me what cut signature would make a good addition to my collection, I’d have to say Connie Mack.  I’ve been watching a lot of Mack cut autos pop-up for sale, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet on any of them.  Tonight I came across this 2008 Upper Deck SP Mystery Cuts Mack auto which features the partial signature of someone else.  Upper Deck doesn’t mention who the other person is, but I’m guessing they had to be important if they signed the photo too.  On the other hand, that person could’ve just been a fan and wanted to put their signature next to Mack’s.

So who is this mystery person on the right?

Ryan’s True Rookie?

The debate about what is and is not a true rookie card has been going on for a lot longer than you think.  One of the most popular vintage cards has to be the Nolan Ryan / Jerry Koosman 1968 Topps RC.  But did you know that Ryan actually appears on an earlier card?  Ryan played for a short time with the Mets in 1966 and has is name on the back of the 1967 Topps Mets Team card.  This doesn’t seem to influence collectors very much because the ’68 Topps gets a lot more attention.  I just think its funny that in today’s hobby the first cards to feature a player are consider true rookies (at least by collectors and not the MLBPA) and the second year cards usually aren’t worth as much.  In the case of Nolan Ryan, its totally opposite.

The ’68 Topps is heavly counterfeited.  Be sure you know what to look for with those Rookie Stars.

True or False?

2008 Upper Deck is more like the original Topps Stadium Club than 2008 Topps Stadium Club?

2008 Upper Deck

2008 Topps Stadium Club