MLB settles with Upper Deck

If you are an active reader of other sports collector blogs then this is old news. Today, it was announced that MLB Properties has settled their lawsuit with Upper Deck, and it appears that Upper Deck took a big whack to their business. As has been reported already on other blogs, below is a rundown of some of the known elements of the settlement.

• Upper Deck will pay MLB Properties $2.4Mil that it is due from past royalties that were not paid
• Additionally, UD will pay MLB a unspecified sum for the cards made in violation of their trademarks. This amount is thought to be substantial.
• UD agrees not to produce anymore Baseball cards/set in violation of MLB's trademarks- MLB logos, uniforms, trade dress, or club color combinations.
• UD will also not airbrush, alter or block MLB trademarks on any future product.
• UD must receive approval from MLB to use baseball jerseys, pants, jackets, caps, helmets or catcher’s equipment in future products featuring players. (I wonder if this means no more game-used uniform cut pieces in card products?)
  
• According to UD, they have canceled all 2010 Baseball products in the pipeline, but will be allowed to continue selling the products that have already come to market that were found to be in violation- 2009 Signature Stars, 2009 Ultimate Collection and 2010 Upper Deck Series 1.
  

Overall, I think this means no more Baseball cards from Upper Deck. I can't imagine how they can make a set were they can't even do a little bit of photo-shopping.

Cards of ball players not in uniform, but in street clothes? I can't imagine that being a big seller.

Frankly, I'm not shedding a tear. Obviously, the lack of competition in the Baseball card hobby is not good news, but cheaters cannot be allowed to prosper. And as many collectors know, Upper Deck has done a lot of cheating over its history.

Legendary Auctions: Rare Jackie Ad Pieces

I'm back with a post featuring some great Dodger memorabilia from Legendary Auctions. In fact, there is so much to look at I decided to break it up into a few different post. As you might expect from a large auction house there are plenty of Jackie Robinson items. So, naturally, I'll start there.

In 1947 Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Baseball. Soon thereafter, Bond Bread made him their spokesman. They advertised heavily within African-American communities with signs and a very rare 10 card set (Go here to see a previous post about this set) placed in loafs of their bread. The rarest of the items they made are the ad pieces created to pitch their products.

Below is a nearly 4 inch in diameter drink coaster of Jackie Robinson that advertises Bond Bread. This particular item is the only one known to exist.

Auction Link:

This is a great advertising window sign featuring Jackie Robinson pitching Bond Bread. Only about a dozen have survived for collectors to enjoy.

Life inside the Jackie Robinson household was picture-perfect, judging from this fabulous 1947 Bond Bread window advertising sign. In its presentation, Robinson is seen showing his one-year-old son "how to become a future batting star" while other inscriptions declare that "Mrs. Robinson always puts Homogenized Bond Bread" at the top of her shopping list.

(click pic to enlarge)
Auction Link:

Here is a large Jackie Robinson Bond Bread (10" x 14") counter advertising display. These are extremely scarce and highly sought after by Jackie Robinson collectors. For that reason, they have been reproduced/faked and can be found on eBay all the time. So be careful if you run into one. This piece is one of the few real ones you'll see and I expect it to sell for a nice premium. A nice bonus is that it is the only known blank-back version known to exist.

(click pic to enlarge)
Auction Link:

Check Out Sal LaRocca's Dodger Collection

Evan from a Albuquerque Isotopes/ Dodgers blog called "I Love This Game" passed along a great link to me recently that featured the collection of Chattanooga based Dodger Collector Sal LaRocca. I am quite envious. See it here. It starts at about 1:40 into the video.

Below are a couple of screen grabs.

My First 2010 Topps Cards

I've been so preoccupied with watching and enjoying the competition of Olympic hockey lately I've found myself neglecting this blog. Fortunately, the tournament ends this weekend, so I'll be able to focus my attention over here, come Monday. In the meantime, I did a little bit of shopping at my local Target recently, and found myself staring at the aisle filled with new 2010 Baseball card product. So, I grabbed a couple of rack packs of 2010 Topps. See what I found below.

First, I am going to start with a non-Dodger, Omar Vizquel. Not because he's a great player- he is. Not because he's a future Hall of Famer- he is. I am starting with his card because it uses such a great photo. Omar is doing what he does best- leaping into the sky to complete a double play. This card, of all the ones I picked up, makes me yearn more deeply for Baseball to begin anew.
A Jackie card! Below is a Tales of the Game insert card of Jackie Robinson stealing home during the 1955 World Series. This is a play Yogi Berra still claims was called wrong. Of course, we all know that Jackie was safe- even some retired umpires I saw on the MLB network recently said so!
Here is the back of the card with a helpful explanation of the event.The first Dodger I pulled in my rack pack was Andre Ethier. I thought the photo above was a little bland, but the back of the card is great. It brings back some great memories about Andre's clutch hitting last season.
Here are some more Dodgers I pulled, including the Dodger franchise card of a colorized Ebbets Field facade. Below is the back of that card.
Here are some Peak Performance insert cards of a couple of Hall of Famers. Walter Johnson was a local boy who once pitched for Fullerton High School in his youth.
This Nolan Ryan insert below brings back some memories. It is a "The Cards Your Mom Threw Out" subset, and I can honestly say that my Mom did throw out this card. How funny is that?
I was also fortunate enough to pull one of those Topps Million Card Give-Away inserts to unlock the below card online. Unfortunately, it's a damn Yankee. Anyone want to trade for a Dodger?

Be A Honarary Bat Girl

This sounds like a great opportunity to share your story about supporting the fight against breast cancer. Submit your story (or submit on behalf of another) of someone who has or had breast cancer, or is an advocate/supporter of the cause. One person per ballclub is chosen to be honored with that person receiving two free tickets and some Mothers Day Pink memorabilia. Check out some more about it below.

Major League Baseball® (MLB) and Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world’s largest breast cancer organization, today launched the 2010 Honorary Bat Girl Contest, a campaign developed to recognize MLB fans who are Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer in their daily lives. Men and women 18 and older can go online at www.mlb.com/honorarybatgirl to vote and enter to win a chance at becoming an Honorary Bat Girl during scheduled Mother’s Day celebrations. Each Honorary Bat Girl will have an opportunity to take part in pre-game activities, be honored during an on-field ceremony and receive two tickets to the game and pink MLB merchandise. MLB.com, the official web site of MLB, has begun accepting fan submissions for the online contest that ends April 13.

During the six-week online submission period, baseball fans can share their stories of inspiration and hope of how they are supporting the fight against breast cancer and why they want to be an Honorary Bat Girl for their favorite MLB Club. Testimonials can be submitted by breast cancer survivors, advocates and supporters of the cause. A celebrity panel of judges will select the winning submissions, based on the following criteria: originality, quality of writing, demonstration of commitment to breast cancer awareness and public appeal as determined by online fan votes.

“Major League Baseball is very proud of the partnership we have forged with Susan G. Komen for the Cure,” said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President, Business, Major League Baseball. “The launch of the Honorary Bat Girl campaign last year was a successful complement to our Mother’s Day Celebration, and helped put a face on the millions of fans affected by breast cancer and further helped raise awareness for the cause.”

Gagne Galore

This past Thursday I wrote about Eric Gagne and his recent signing with the Dodgers. As I said previously, those handful of years when he came out of the bullpen to raukous applause and a flashing "Game OVer" sign will forever resonate in my mind. I know his past accomplishments have been sullied by the HGH revelations, but I cannot help but reminisce about how great those days were.

As promised (a few days late, though), below are some scans of Gagne cards in my collection. As you'll notice, all of the cards below are certified autographed cards. The bulk of my modern era Dodger collection consist of cards like these.