Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
Upper Deck Series One Hockey came out earlier this month, so it’s time once again to see which of these hot dogs come off looking like weenies — thanks to some intrepid hockey photographers and Upper Deck’s editors!
Continue reading “Best of the Worst: 2015-16 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey”
Whenever a company makes a set of retired greats, the likelihood is high that a photo used on a card many years ago may find its way back on a card again. Take for instance this photograph of Mike Gartner on his 2000-01 Upper Deck Legends card. I knew I saw it on another card before. You just don’t forget a menacing, pissed-off glare like the one Gartner is giving here — even if it isn’t directed at you.
It turns out, I was right…from a certain point of view, as Obi-Wan Kenobi would say.
This year, the NHL Draft was held in my home state of Florida, and I was lucky enough to be able to make the trip down to the BB&T Center in Sunrise to attend. On day two of the Draft, Upper Deck was sponsoring a free autograph signing with Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. He went first overall in the 2014 draft, and at the time of the 2015 draft was only days removed from claiming the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. So the fact that he was scheduled to sign autographs — and sign them at no cost — was a pretty big deal to me.
After getting in line and waiting a few minutes, the Upper Deck staff, as well as arena staff, came over to the line and informed us that Ekblad would only be signing a card provided by Upper Deck, Continue reading “Aaron Ekblad, Supersized!”
Upper Deck’s policy on replacing damaged cards has changed. They will still replace damaged cards up to a year from the date of the card’s manufacture, but you can no longer just drop the cards in the mail; the process is a bit more involved.
I’ve documented my most-recent return of defective cards to Upper Deck, so you know what to do — and how long it will take – if you get damaged cards in your latest box break.
I love cards that use paintings instead of photos. Sets like the Hall of Fame postcards from the 1980s, Donruss Ice Kings from the 1990s and 2010s, and even the Upper Deck Hockey checklists from the early 1990s were all “must haves” for my collection. There’s just something awesome about seeing your favorite player rendered as a painting; it makes them seem even more iconic. So when Upper Deck announced that they were making a new set of Masterpieces Hockey, I knew I had to buy a box. It took me a while, but I finally got my mitts on one.
A box of 2014-15 Masterpieces costs around $100 and consists of 15 five-card packs. You are guaranteed three hits per box, with at least one (read: probably just one) hit being an autograph. Here is what I got in my most recent box break.
This 2014-15 Upper Deck hockey card of Martin St. Louis does not have an autograph on it, nor does it have a piece of jersey embedded in it. And you know what? It doesn’t need any of those gimmicks to be the best hockey card of the season. All it needed was this amazing photograph that, coincidentally, was taken exactly one year ago today.
Player not working? Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.
In Puck Junk Podcast #3, Sal and Tim (a.k.a. The Real DFG) talk about:
Trigger Warning: We mention Mike Keenan twice in this podcast. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Pictures of some of the cards we discuss are after the jump. Continue reading “Puck Junk Podcast #3 – May 27, 2015”
Player not working? Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.
In Puck Junk Podcast #2, Sal and Tim discuss:
Card images, as well as a map of the NHL teams, after the jump. Continue reading “Puck Junk Podcast #2 – May 20, 2015”
When sports card collecting became huge in the 1980s and 1990s, many comic book stores tried to get in on the action. Often, it was just a few wax boxes and display cases with singles to cash in on the trend without investing too much into it. But at the end of the day, most comic book dealers knew Wolverine better than they knew Wayne Gretzky. Sometimes, you could take advantage of that.
Continue reading “Buying Cards in the 1990s, Memory #2: The Comic Book Store”
Player not working? Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.
This is the first in what will hopefully become a regular podcast series on this website, hosted by Sal Barry and Tim Parish. For those who don’t know, Tim maintains a sports card blog called The Real DFG and hangs out on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Today, Sal and Tim talk about:
Total running time is 28:17. Images of some of the cards we talk about are after the jump. Continue reading “Puck Junk Podcast #1 – May 12, 2015”