In the Game Poised to Celebrate the 100th Year of Hockey Cards With a New C56 Set

The first known set of hockey cards is known today by its catalog index C56. Put out by Imperial Tobacco in 1910, the set is celebrating its centennial anniversary. A couple days ago In the Game announced they're going to be honoring the set with their own modern spin on C56, announcing that the design will be the basis for the tenth edition of In the Game Ultimate Memorabilia. The pair of images they passed along are drool-inducing.

The company also announced that they'll be inserting redemption cards good for graded versions of original cards.

A New Player in Baseball Cards - In the Game

Today, In the Game announced they're entering the baseball market. Like they've been doing with hockey for years, it looks like they'll be doing it without a major license.

They'll be kicking things off with 2010 In the Game Heroes and Prospects Hits that will offer a mix of up-and-comers and old-timers. Why the emphasis on "hits" you ask? Because there's no base cards, just hits (the press release's language, not mine). Four hits per four-card box, to be exact.

Another statement from the press release that made me chuckle:

On average, there will be 3.5 Prospect Autographs per box and every other box will contain one Heroes Cut Signature or Heroes Game-Used Memorabilia card featuring some of the greatest players to step out onto the diamond.

If I read that literally, you're going to get half a signature so people can make up their own imaginary prospects using a first name on one card and a last name on another. Of course, the statement is meant to offer an explanation of how things will be seeded.

There's little other info available at this time other than names like Jason Heyward and Tim Beckham being the headline prospects and cut signatures of Joe Dimaggio, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron covering the heroes portion. The mock-ups of the cut signatures show pictures of the players, which could signal a shift in exclusive contracts. A few months ago I recall Upper Deck had an exclusive with the Dimaggio estate. But that was before the lawsuits started flying. So whatever the case, at least one Joltin' Joe autograph will lurk in boxes.

In the Game has been working around licenses for many years and they know how to make a card that looks great without infringing on rights. So while these cards might be missing a logo here and there, I'm still very interested to see where the company goes with baseball.

2010 In the Game Heroes and Prospects Hits is scheduled for release on November 1.

In the Game Gets in the Olympic Spirit With a Hockey Set Sold Directly to Collectors

In the Game is offering a hockey set direct to collectors connected to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Starting Friday, Vancouver 2010 will be available at the company's online store. Those who are interested in cards from the set will have to submit a request, which will be filled in the order they're received. The print run: 10 of each card. The set is comprised of autographs, game-used jersey, game-used patch and autographed game-used cards.

Here's the checklist:

Autographs

1	Martin Brodeur	Canada	$99.95
2	Roberto Luongo	Canada	$79.95
3	Joe Thornton	Canada	$49.95
4	Dany Heatley	Canada	$49.95
5	Patrick Marleau	Canada	$39.95
6	MA Fleury	Canada	$79.95
7	Ryan Getzlaf	Canada	$39.95
8	Patrice Bergeron	Canada	$39.95
9	Eric Staal	Canada	$49.95
10	Jaromir Jagr	Czech Republic	$89.95
11	Miikka Kiprusoff	Finland	$69.95
12	Niklas Backstrom	Finland	$49.95
13	Teemu Selanne	Finland	$69.95
14	Saku Koivu	Finland	$49.95
15	Semyon Varlamov	Russia	$59.95
16	Evgeni Nabokov	Russia	$49.95
17	Ilya Kovalchuk	Russia	$69.95
18	Sergei Fedorov	Russia	$49.95
19	Marian Gaborik	Slovakia	$69.95
20	Nicklas Lidstrom	Sweden	$69.95
21	Ryan Whitney	USA	$39.95
22	Zach Parise	USA	$39.95
23	Tim Thomas	USA	$39.95
24	Scott Niedermayer	Canada	$49.95
25	Mikko Koivu	Finland	$49.95
26	Vladislav Tretiak	1980 Lake Placid	$69.95
27	Igor Larionov	1984 Sarajevo	$49.95
28	Borje Salming	1992 Albertville	$39.95
29	Mats Naslund	1994 Lillehammer	$49.95
30	Mike Modano	1998 Nagano	$49.95
31	Mario Lemieux	2002 Salt Lake City	$129.95
32	Mats Sundin	2006 Turin	$49.95
33	Joe Sakic	2006 Turin	$69.95

Game-Used Jersey Cards

1	Martin Brodeur	Canada	$59.95
2	Roberto Luongo	Canada	$49.95
3	Joe Thornton	Canada	$39.95
4	Dany Heatley	Canada	$39.95
5	Patrick Marleau	Canada	$39.95
6	MA Fleury	Canada	$49.95
7	Ryan Getzlaf	Canada	$39.95
8	Patrice Bergeron	Canada	$39.95
9	Eric Staal	Canada	$39.95
10	Jaromir Jagr	Czech Republic	$59.95
11	Miikka Kiprusoff	Finland	$39.95
12	Teemu Selanne	Finland	$39.95
13	Saku Koivu	Finland	$39.95
14	Semyon Varlamov	Russia	$39.95
15	Evgeni Nabokov	Russia	$39.95
16	Ilya Kovalchuk	Russia	$49.95
17	Sergei Fedorov	Russia	$39.95
18	Marian Gaborik	Slovakia	$49.95
19	Nicklas Lidstrom	Sweden	$49.95
20	Ryan Whitney	USA	$39.95
21	Zach Parise	USA	$39.95
22	Tim Thomas	USA	$39.95
23	Scott Niedermayer	Canada	$39.95
24	Mikko Koivu	Finland	$39.95
25	Vladislav Tretiak	1980 Lake Placid	$49.95
26	Igor Larionov	1984 Sarajevo	$39.95
27	Borje Salming	1992 Albertville	$39.95
28	Mats Naslund	1994 Lillehammer	$39.95
29	Mike Modano	1998 Nagano	$49.95
30	Mario Lemieux	2002 Salt Lake City	$69.95
31	Mats Sundin	2006 Turin	$39.95
32	Joe Sakic	2006 Turin	$49.95

Game-Used Patch Cards

1	Martin Brodeur	Canada	$89.95
2	Roberto Luongo	Canada	$69.95
3	Joe Thornton	Canada	$59.95
4	Dany Heatley	Canada	$59.95
5	Patrick Marleau	Canada	$49.95
6	MA Fleury	Canada	$79.95
7	Ryan Getzlaf	Canada	$49.95
8	Patrice Bergeron	Canada	$49.95
9	Eric Staal	Canada	$49.95
10	Jaromir Jagr	Czech Republic	$79.95
11	Miikka Kiprusoff	Finland	$49.95
12	Teemu Selanne	Finland	$49.95
13	Saku Koivu	Finland	$49.95
14	Semyon Varlamov	Russia	$49.95
15	Evgeni Nabokov	Russia	$49.95
16	Ilya Kovalchuk	Russia	$69.95
17	Sergei Fedorov	Russia	$49.95
18	Marian Gaborik	Slovakia	$79.95
19	Nicklas Lidstrom	Sweden	$79.95
20	Ryan Whitney	USA	$49.95
21	Zach Parise	USA	$49.95
22	Tim Thomas	USA	$49.95
23	Scott Niedermayer	Canada	$49.95
24	Mikko Koivu	Finland	$49.95
25	Vladislav Tretiak	1980 Lake Placid	$69.95
26	Igor Larionov	1984 Sarajevo	$49.95
27	Borje Salming	1992 Albertville	$49.95
28	Mats Naslund	1994 Lillehammer	$49.95
29	Mike Modano	1998 Nagano	$49.95
30	Mario Lemieux	2002 Salt Lake City	$89.95
31	Mats Sundin	2006 Turin	$49.95
32	Joe Sakic	2006 Turin	$69.95

Autographed Game-Used Jersey Cards

1	Martin Brodeur	Canada	$129.95
2	Roberto Luongo	Canada	$99.95
3	Joe Thornton	Canada	$79.95
4	Dany Heatley	Canada	$79.95
5	Patrick Marleau	Canada	$69.95
6	MA Fleury	Canada	$99.95
7	Ryan Getzlaf	Canada	$79.95
8	Patrice Bergeron	Canada	$69.95
9	Eric Staal	Canada	$79.95
10	Jaromir Jagr	Czech Republic	$109.95
11	Miikka Kiprusoff	Finland	$89.95
12	Teemu Selanne	Finland	$89.95
13	Saku Koivu	Finland	$89.95
14	Semyon Varlamov	Russia	$79.95
15	Evgeni Nabokov	Russia	$69.95
16	Ilya Kovalchuk	Russia	$89.95
17	Sergei Fedorov	Russia	$89.95
18	Marian Gaborik	Slovakia	$99.95
19	Nicklas Lidstrom	Sweden	$99.95
20	Ryan Whitney	USA	$69.95
21	Zach Parise	USA	$69.95
22	Tim Thomas	USA	$69.95
23	Scott Niedermayer	Canada	$79.95
24	Mikko Koivu	Finland	$79.95
25	Vladislav Tretiak	1980 Lake Placid	$99.95
26	Igor Larionov	1984 Sarajevo	$79.95
27	Borje Salming	1992 Albertville	$69.95
28	Mats Naslund	1994 Lillehammer	$69.95
29	Mike Modano	1998 Nagano	$69.95
30	Mario Lemieux	2002 Salt Lake City	$149.95
31	Mats Sundin	2006 Turin	$69.95
32	Joe Sakic	2006 Turin	$99.95

Who Are These Masked Men?

A couple of days ago, I received an email from In the Game containing a brief peek at the upcoming goalie-centric 2009-10 In the Game Between the Pipes set and four of its subsets:

What I find so fascinating is that In the Game continues to produce excellent-looking products despite the face that they don't have an NHL license. You wouldn't even no it by looking at these. And they don't even do it by seeing what they can get away with, going to court and reaching a settlement later. 

No date for Between the Pipes has been announced.

In the Game Offers Interactive Upgrades for Draft Hopefuls

I see one of the trends we're going to see more of in the next year or two is more interactive products. I believe much of this is going to center around online initiatives like Topps Town and Upper Deck U, but there's bound to be other programs as well.

A couple days back In the Game unveiled some interactive plans for their upcoming 2009-10 In the Game Heroes and Prospects set. Each card in their Class of 2010 insert set will come with a serial number on the back ranging from 1 through 30. If the player depicted on the card is drafted at that position in the June draft, collectors will be able to send in and upgrade their card to a memorabilia version. Upgraded versions will be limited to 10 copies.

So if the serial number on the back of your Taylor Hall says 1 and he's drafted first overall, you qualify for the memorabilia version. From a dealer's standpoint, I think this is a great idea as now there's going to be people chasing down multiple copies of the same card as they try to predict the spot in which they're picked.

This program reminds me a lot of Upper Deck's old Predictor and Crash the Game inserts where if the player won an award or hit a homerun on a certain date, then you'd get an upgraded version of the card or even a small set.

The preliminary checklist for the Class of 2010 cards is:
C-01    Taylor Hall
C-02    Kirill Kabanov
C-03    John McFarland
C-04    Cam Fowler
C-05    Tyler Seguin
C-06    Joey Hishon
C-07    Erik Gudbranson
C-08    Brett Connolly
C-09    Brandon Gormley
C-10    Stanislav Galiev
C-11    Quinton Howden
C-12    Jeffery Skinner
C-13    Mark Pysyk
C-14    Alexander Burmistrov
C-15    Vladimir Tarasenko

2009-10 In the Game Heroes and Prospects is scheduled for release on January 27.

That Didn't Take Long - ITG Announces Ted Kennedy Tribute Autograph

Like the instantaneous biographies that come up within minutes of a celebrity passing, In the Game has announced a Ted Kennedy tribute card that will be autographed (thanks to the magic of sticker autographs and cut signatures).

The card will be inserted in Ultimate Memorabilia 9th Edition Hockey, which releases in November. No word on how many copies of the tribute will be made, although the brand is known for its limited availability.

Update: It's been pointed out that this is not the politician Ted Kennedy who passed away today but the former Maple Leafs captain who died less than two weeks ago. It's probably not the best day to announce the card.

Here's How You Do a Cut Signature Card

The following cut signature autographs will be released in In the Game's upcoming 1972: The Year in Hockey:

First off, notice how there's a picture of the person. It might make licensing and permissions a little tougher but it goes a long way in increasing the visual appeal.

Second - the autograph window fits the entire signature. Yes, this is only three cards from a set, but here's hoping that the trend sticks true throughout all of the cards.

Third - the set has a theme that actually makes sense and isn't totally vague. The checklist is an impressive sight and includes several cards connected to The Godfather: author Mario Puzo, director Francis Ford Coppola, and stars Marlon Brando (whose signature is extremely rare), Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duval and ABE VIGODA!

Fourth - Canadiana, baby! While there's been countless Amnerican Presidents getting their own cards and cut signatures, we've got ourselves our first Prime Minister cut signature from what I can gather.

Yeah, I know that I never pull one of these but a handful of collectors will. And they're legitimately sweet cards from the subjects to the signatures to the overall design. Now I just wish the same care would be taken in all cut signature cards.

1972: The Year in Hockey is scheduled for release on September 9.

In the Game Pays Tribute to 1972 with 1972 - The Year in Hockey

A few months back, hockey manufacturer In the Game offered collector's a unique opportunity to pick a future set. An online vote was conducted where participants selected the year they thought was most important for hockey history. The winning year was 1972, synonymous with Canadians for the dramatic Summit Series victory versus the USSR. While the USA and USSR were embroiled in the Cold War over Nuclear weapons and such at the time, for Canadians the real cold war was played on the ice with pucks and sticks replacing bombs and tanks.

Today ITG offered a first look at 1972 - The Year in Hockey, which will combined old school set building with plenty of hard-signed autographs.

1972 also marked the first year in which the rival WHA set up shop and began play. It was a new era of expansion and global recognition for the sport.1972 - The Year in Hockey will consist of a 200-card base set featuring players from the NHL, WHA and international play.

Autographs will all be done on-card and the checklist is extensive. ITG plans to have around 150 signers for the set and judging by the preview you can expect two find a mix of superstars as well as lesser-known fan favorites. ITG also promised some signers from the USSR team, which one would expect to be relatively tough to find. Autographs will be inserted at a rate of 1:7 packs (two or three per box).

ITG also plans for several game-used inserts: Game-Used Number, Forever Linked, Scoring Leaders, Trophy Winners, First All Star Team, Second All Star Team and Quest For The Cup.

Slow Sales Lead In the Game to Cut Production

I just received an email blast from In the Game that openly speaks of poor sales for their upcoming goalie-centric 2008-09 Between the Pipes Hockey set. Rather than cancelling the set entirely or delaying it, production was cut resulting in better insertion rates for autograph, memorabilia and Masked Men inserts. So if you are busting boxes, you're going to get better value than what the packaging tells you. Exactly how much more wasn't announced, though.

This announcement says a couple of things about the current state of the hobby. The first is that these are tough times for the manufacturers. In the last two weeks we've had Inkworks go under and Donruss sold to Panini. Coming out and publicly saying sales stink shows that others are hurting too.

That leads into my second point. By letting the cat out of the bag about better than originally stated insertion rates, In the Game is giving collectors a sales pitch. That's when it was said in advance. Now those that might have been on the fence before might be swayed by something a little extra. That's what happened with me a few months back with Topps' Indiana Jones Masterpieces. At first it was one sketch card per box. When the product hit everyone was getting two. Yet Topps didn't advertise the obvious slash in production. However, it was enough to sway me into getting a box.

The production slash will also give the appearance of a short run. But isn't it more with supply meeting demand? I'm sure there will be a bit of a sales blip for In the Game. Maybe it'll be big. But in the bigger scheme of things, if these are the new sales tactics, I can't help but wonder if there's bigger issues on the horizon for another manufacturer.

In the Game Loves the Devil

In the Game hasn't wasted any time celebrating New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur's fete of becoming the winningest goalie in NHL history. Moments after his historic victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, ITG announced an online offering for the 2008-09 Martin Brodeur Record Breaking Super Box. 

Each Super Box will have ten packs of each of the following sets: 2006-07 Between the Pipes, 2007-08 Between the Pipes and 2008-09 Between the Pipes. Each will also have a specially stamped 1-of-1 autograph or memorabilia card.

Just 80 BrodeurSuper Boxes will be made. Forty will contain stamped versions of previously released ITG Brodeur chase cards, while the other half of the run will have one of 40 new memorabilia cards celebrating various Brodeur milestones. This will be the only place to find these milestone cards.

Each Super Box carries a price tag of $159.95. For a complete checklist of the special inserts and ordering information, click here.

Lord Stanley is Noble and Shiny

This is a pick-up from a few weeks back that I grabbed while looking for something a little different. I believe I grabbed something I was looking for initially but I'm a sucker for combined shipping deals and often end up grabbing a couple of extras.

The card in question is a 2007-08 In the Game Ultimate Memorabilia 8th Edition base card (I think) of Lord Stanley, aka the guy the Stanley Cup's named after. And while I love the old-time photo mixing with the silver dufex-ish finish, there's a lot to be desired by the overall package:

1. First off, there's no number. What's a base set without a number?
2. Next, why slab a modern base card fresh out of the "pack"?
3. So the slab is serial numbered but not the card itself. Grrrr.

If you're not familiar with In the Game, they're a lot like the Donruss equivilent of hockey. They had a license, lost it went Upper Deck got the exclusive rights yet they've continued to produce cards and survive. Note this card shows how not to get sued: it shows a picture, no logos and a bowtie. No confusion there. In the Game also gets around the rights issue with minor league and international league deals.

In the Game's Special Offer With a Handful of Autographs From Canada's World Junior Champs

In the Game has announced a special "Super Box" offer to coincide with Canada's five-peat at the World Junior Hockey Championships on Monday.

For $79.95 you get 30 packs of 2008-09 Heroes & Prospects Hockey and one of nine specially stamped autographed cards from Canada's gold medal-winning roster. Here's the autograph breakdown:

• John Tavares (30)
• Thomas Hickey (50)
• Alex Pietrangeo (50)
• P.K. Subban (50)
• Jordan Eberle (40)
• Tyler Ennis (50)
• Angelo Esposito (50)
• Zack Boychuk (50)
• Cody Hodgson (30)
  

A rundown of the math shows a total of 400 Super Boxes will be produced.

Here's a link to the order form.

Is a Set a Set Without the Set?

I received a promotional email from hockey card manufacturer In the Game a week or two ago hyping their upcoming Superlative "set". Actually they'd been sending the hype in separate emails for a week before that, each with a reason to buy the set (Beckett posted each of these as they were sent). However it wasn't until reason seven that Superlative caught my attention:

"Reason #7: Seven Cards per Pack-- All Inserts, No Base Cards"

It has finally happened. There's a set without a set. This frightens me to no end. Call me a dated purist, but it's the base cards that make this hobby great. Sure, I like sparkly inserts and there's base cards that are nicer than a lot of low-end inserts, but there's still a component of building the set. Even super-duper high-end brands like Exquisite give you a token base set alongside all of the sweet inserts. But this is simply taking it too far. In In the Game's own words, they offered seven reasons to collect Superlative hockey. How can you collect when there's nothing to collect. There's things to chase, but in my books without the set you can't collect it.

Taking a page out of In the Game's book, I present to you seven reasons not to collect Superlative hockey.

1. There's no set.
2. It's not licensed by the NHL so you get players in uniforms but no logos.
3. Over $400 per pack.
4. Although nice, there's no new concepts (I don't consider "all inserts" to be an innovation).
5. It sets a horrible precedent for the hobby.
6. Lack of an advance checklist. Sure the website offers up some choice names, but who else is going to be lurking in packs.
7. There's no set!


Looking at the pictures on Superlative's product page, there's some nice cards. And with the success of Exquisite, Sterling and the like, there's an audience out there for such a set. But are they collectors?