The Baseball Card Clubhouse gives children the opportunity to learn more about baseball cards, while having lots of fun. Participants receive free baseball cards at the events, courtesy of the MLBPA. The following video explains what the Baseball Card Clubhouse is all about:
For more information about the MLB Players Association's Baseball Card Clubhouse, check out their website.
Donruss released a statement early Tuesday regarding their illicit inclusion of Wade Miley cards inside boxes of their recently released 2008 Prime Cuts IV Baseball Card Product. Miley signed an exclusive 3 year contract with industry newcommer Razor Entertainment in 2008 which expressively forbade Miley's inclusion in any products not produced by Razor.
Donruss explained their side of the situation via their written press release:
"Due to a production error at the time of pack-out, some 31 copies of a Wade Miley card mistakenly were inserted into packs of 2008 Playoff Prime Cuts Baseball.
Donruss officials believed they had a deal with Miley during the production cycle of Prime Cuts, but when it became apparent Miley was exclusive property of another manufacturer, Donruss pulled Miley cards before pack-out. "These few just slipped by," a Donruss representative said. "It's an honest mistake, and one we regret."
There are no Miley autograph redemption cards."
Topps has announced that New England Patriot's WR Wes Welker has been selected as the final autograph subject for the 2008 etopps Football Card Set. A total of 50 etopps cards will be signed by Welker. Wes Welker has only appeared on one etopps card to date - card #30 from the 2007 etopps Football Set. Etopps account holders who possess this card can pay to have it autographed during Welker's etopps autograph session starting this Thursday, January 08, 2009 at 3:00 PM EST until Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 3:00 AM EST. Autographs will be allocated on a first come / first serve basis.
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2007 Wes Welker Autographed etopps Card New England Patriots WR Quantity: 50 Retail Price: $29.99 |
Please be aware of the following information regarding autographed etopps cards:
1984 ROGER CLEMENS eTopps uncirculated auto GEM MINT
US $189.95
TIM LINCECUM 2007 eTopps uncirculated auto GEM MINT
US $199.95
07 Topps Etopps Adrian Peterson Auto RC SP 195 BGS 95
US $599.00
2007 Etopps Cleveland National Bob Feller Auto 15 19
US $32.08
2007 Topps Etopps Autographed auto JOHN BECK ROOKIE
US $29.99
BO JACKSON Etopps JSA AUTO SIGNED BGS 9 w 10 6 50 Pop1
US $179.00
Etopps Classic Paul Hornung Auto Autograph 1 of 199
US $24.99
2002 eTOPPS BRIAN WESTBROOK AUTO w COA ROOKIE RC 143
US $65.99
2006 etopps Chris Paul auto 2003 McDonalds All American
US $18.50
Donruss has released a flurry of never-before-seen images of cards from their upcoming release of 2008 Playoff Contenders Football. 2008 Playoff Contenders Football, Donruss' final football card release of the 2008 NFL Season, has already been released in select markets and is scheduled for nationwide release on Wednesday (January 7th).
The full assortment of newly released Playoff Contenders images can be found here.
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 2008 PLAYOFF CONTENDERS CHRIS JOHNSON AUTOGRAPH TITANS US $299.99 |
 2008 Playoff Contenders ANDRE CALDWELL Bengals RC 99 US $.99 |
 2008 Playoff Contenders DEVIN THOMAS RC Roll Call 500 US $.99 |
 2008 Playoff Contenders DOMINIQUE CROMARTIE ROY 100 US $.99 |
 2008 Playoff Contenders G DORSEY VERNON GHOLSTON 500 US $.99 |
 2008 Playoff Contenders GLENN DORSEY 140 Chiefs RC 99 US $.99 |
 2008 Playoff Contenders GLENN DORSEY Chiefs ROY RC 500 US $.99 |
 2008 Playoff Contenders JAMAAL CHARLES STEVE SLATON 100 US $.99 |
 2008 Playoff Contenders JEROD MAYO Patriots ROY RC 500 US $.99 |
Topps has announced the latest set of 2008 etopps football cards to be released via the etopps website. This week's (1/5/09) releases are as follows:
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2008 Etopps Colt Brennan Rookie Card Washington Redskins QBCard ID #: 53 Price: $7.00 Max Issue Qty: 699 On Sale Until: 1/12/09 3:00 AM EST |
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2008 Etopps John David Booty Rookie Card Minnesota Vikings QBCard ID #: 51 Price: $4.00 Max Issue Qty: 599 On Sale Until: 1/3/09 3:00 AM EST |
These cards are available on a limited basis and can be purchased directly from the etopps website.
1 Carolina Panthers 2008 etopps
US $5.06
1 Indianapolis Colts 2008 etopps
US $1.83
1 Pittsburgh Steelers 2008 etopps
US $3.95
1 Peyton Hillis 2008 etopps
US $9.99
1 Tony Romo 2008 etopps
US $3.11
1 Brett Favre 2008 etopps
US $11.10
1 Peyton Manning 2008 etopps
US $7.50
1 Matt Cassel 2008 etopps
US $7.55
1 James Hardy 2008 etopps
US $.46
Bernice Gallego, 72, and her husband, Al Gallego, 80, have been in the business of selling collectibles since 1974. Their Fresno, CA antique store, Collectique, has been the staging area for their collectibles business for almost as long.
Bernice Gallego sat down one day this summer, as she does pretty much every day, and began listing items on eBay. She dug into a box and pulled out a baseball card. She stopped for a moment and admired the picture. "Red Stocking B.B. Club of Cincinnati," the card read, under which stood a photograph of 10 men with their socks pulled up to their knees. The card itself was dirty and wrinkled in a few places. This, she thought, has potential. As a collector and seller, it's her job to spot old items that might have value today, to find the gems among the junk. This card, she thought to herself, was worth selling on eBay.
She originally listed the card on ebay for $10, but due to a flurry of responces to her listing she quickly reevaluated the pricing of the item. Based on the large amount of interest in the baseball card, she felt that it could be worth $50, maybe even $100. Or, as Bernice Gallego came to find out in the following weeks, it could be worth a lot more.
The card is actually 139 years old. It, and a handful of others like it, are considered the first baseball cards. Experts say that Bernice's 1869 Cincinnati Red Stocking Card could fetch up to six figures at the right Sports Collectibles Auction.
Bernice told , "I didn't even know baseball existed that far back. I don't think that I've ever been to a baseball game."
And where, you ask, did the Gallegos make such a fantastic vintage baseball card find?
"We really don't know where we got it," Gallego says. "We don't even know how long we owned this thing."
The theory is that the card came out of a storage space they bought a few years back. It's not uncommon in their line of work to buy the entire contents of storage units, usually from a relative of a recently deceased person, for about $200.
Upon discovering the incredible history behind their find, the Gallegos headed south to Los Angeles, bound for the headquarters of PSA. They chose not to have the card graded, deciding that authentication would be enough given the card's extreme scarcity.
"It does have some pretty significant discoloration and creasing," says Joe Orlando, the president of PSA. "The good news is that the sepia tone photo that is mounted on the front is, relatively speaking, unscathed. The clarity of the photo is still there. If this were graded, it would be near the bottom. But even for a card that low on the grading scale, it does have some eye appeal to it. It still presents fairly well, and that's the more important thing."
Before the Cincinnati Red Stockings, there were no professional baseball teams. Formed in 1868, the team set the foundation for what we know today as Major League Baseball. They were the best of the best, winning games by as many as 30, 40 and 50 runs.
In 1869, the team's picture ended up on the front of a card advertising Peck & Snyder, a company that sold baseball equipment. Unlike modern baseball cards, the Peck & Snyder card was larger and focused on the whole team, not individual players.
"It really provides a time capsule for the game," says Orlando of PSA. "You look at the picture and the guys are wearing boots. They don't use gloves at that point. The classic uniforms. It was a completely different game at that time."
"Because I love history, the thing that really got to me was that it's a photo, a real photo of real people, basically taken right after the Civil War," Gallego says. "That's what got to me. I don't know much about them. Who are they? What are they thinking? Those kind of questions go through my mind."
Next is the big question: How much is this card worth? The Gallegos are content to put it on eBay and "let it fly."
Orlando offers: "The last one that I'm aware, it sold about a year to a year and a half ago, and it sold for well into five figures. You have to let the market decide what it's worth when you're dealing with something this scarce, because there's just not the market history to determine it."
Plans are to put the card back on eBay, though the auction is expected to draw a little more attention this time, thanks to the couple's longtime friend (and baseball card expert) Rick Mirigian, who is already plotting marketing and sales strategies for the rare item.
One firefighter was seriously hurt and three others suffered minor injuries after a brick wall collapsed on them while they were in the process of fighting a raging three alarm fire that had engulfed a local sports card shop.
An official with the New York City Fire Department told reporters that the fire had started just before 11 a.m. in the first floor of Collector's Fantasy, a sports card and memorabilia shop located on Kings Highway in Brooklyn. Fed by the massive quantity of paper and cardboard based trading cards and memorabilia located inside the hobby shop, the fire quickly grew out of control. In no time at all the raging inferno had not only consumed Collector's Fantasy, but the entire three story building in which it was located. It took 130 firefighters over two hours to get the fire under control.
Richard Catricone, a neighbor who witnessed the fire, told The New York Daily News, "You couldn't even see across the street. It smelled like burned rubber."
As firefighters worked to stabilize the rear of the burning building, the blaze's intense heat caused a brick wall to collapse, partially burying a member of Ladder 148 under the rubble. The firefighter was taken to Kings County Hospital with serious, but non life threatening injuries. Additionally, three more firefighters and 13 nearby residents were treated for smoke inhalation.
Officials told reporters that the cause of the fire is still being investigated, but at this point they have found no indication that the fire was a result of foul play.
Topps has announced the latest set of 2008 etopps football cards to be released via the etopps website. This week's (12/29/08) releases are as follows:
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2008 Atlanta Falcons Team Card Card ID #: 47 Price: $4.00 Max Issue Qty: 699 On Sale Until: 1/3/09 3:00 AM EST |
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2008 Minnesota Vikings Team Card Card ID #: 51 Price: $4.00 Max Issue Qty: 599 On Sale Until: 1/3/09 3:00 AM EST |
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2008 Baltimore Ravens Team Card Card ID #: 52 Price: $4.00 Max Issue Qty: 699 On Sale Until: 1/3/09 3:00 AM EST |
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2008 Philadelphia Eagles Team Card Card ID #: 49 Price: $4.00 Max Issue Qty: 699 On Sale Until: 1/3/09 3:00 AM EST |
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2008 Miami Dolphins Team Card Card ID #: 50 Price: $4.00 Max Issue Qty: 699 On Sale Until: 1/3/09 3:00 AM EST |
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2008 San Diego Chargers Team Card Card ID #: 48 Price: $4.00 Max Issue Qty: 599 On Sale Until: 1/3/09 3:00 AM EST |
These cards are available on a limited basis and can be purchased directly from the etopps website.
1 Carolina Panthers 2008 etopps
US $5.06
1 Indianapolis Colts 2008 etopps
US $1.83
1 Pittsburgh Steelers 2008 etopps
US $3.95
1 Peyton Hillis 2008 etopps
US $9.99
1 Tony Romo 2008 etopps
US $3.11
1 Brett Favre 2008 etopps
US $11.10
1 Peyton Manning 2008 etopps
US $7.50
1 Matt Cassel 2008 etopps
US $7.55
1 James Hardy 2008 etopps
US $.46
Police in Schaumburg, Illinois allege that a local 20 year old man stole the Christmas presents from under his family's tree. Investigators believe the crime took place Christmas Morning.
David Olson Jr. was formally charged on Friday with residential burglary as a result of his Grinch-like criminal endeavor the day before. He was arrested Christmas Day when his father, David Olson Sr., returned home to find the presents missing from under the tree, along with two Brett Favre rookie cards, a laptop computer, an X-Box 360, 270 pesos and a roll of $2 bills worth about $300, police said.
Nothing was torn up, so the suspect knew where to look for the rookie cards and apparently had no trouble dealing with the family's sometimes cantankerous dogs, Olson told police.
Olson surmised the thief could be his estranged son and called police, who allegedly found the computer, the football cards, the Mexican currency and the $2 bills in the son's home. The Christmas presents were not recovered.
"I'm destroyed," Olson said of turning in his son. "But at least I know he's not out causing harm to other people."
Olson Jr. is currently being held on a $30,000 bond.
A California Court has denied a request from Konami to temporarily ban Upper Deck from selling and shipping Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Product. The ruling essentially removes the possibility that Upper Deck will be restricted from marketing, selling, distributing and providing game support for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game within the United States.
Halfway across the world, Upper Deck received more good news related to their Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Rights. A Dutch court overruled Konami’s alleged termination of its contract with Upper Deck. As a result, Upper Deck will retain its role as the exclusive distributor of the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game in all Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Both victories clear the way for Upper Deck to continue distributing, marketing and selling Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Products in any market they please, provided it is outside of Konami's Asian Territory.
“Upper Deck is very pleased with today’s rulings”, said Upper Deck executive Bernd Becker. “We look forward to continuing the superior game support that we’ve been delivering to worldwide Yu-Gi-Oh! players for the last seven years. This is as much a victory for the Yu-Gi-Oh! players as it is for Upper Deck," said Becker.
Nico Blauw, CEO of Upper Deck International, echoed the sentiments of his coworker, "In these hectic economic times, this is a great Christmas present for our employees, our customers and the player base."
