Enforcers from In The Game will be the toughest set to collect in the history of hockey trading cards.
Just the thought of Schultz, McSorley, Twist, Brashear in action scares the heck out of me.
Fighting in hockey is as old and important as the blueline. It’s the one event in a game that always brings the crowd to its feet and Enforcers will celebrate the blue-collar players who toil in the trenches and work to give the stars more skating room.
How many goals would Gretzky have without Semenko?
Each box of Enforcers will feature 5 autograph cards, that’s right 5 autograph cards of some very tough customers.
Also included in each box will be 2 game-used memorabilia cards. Featuring the following insert sets; Instigator, Combatants (Dual), Fight Strap (1/8) Fight Strap (1/1 – big surprise), Tough Franchise (Quad).
Each box of Enforcers also will contain 5 limited base cards. Subsets of the base card set include; Record Holders, Tale of the Tape, Bloody Battles and Tough Franchise.
That’s right 12 cards per box. This product will be hand-packed by In The Game to insure that each box contains the exact number of cards noted above. There are no redemptions to wait for or substitutions to accept, just the toughest hockey card set ever.
This product will be limited and allocations to distributors will be based on pre-orders. Contact your distributor or your local card shop to let them know that you have dropped your gloves and will be collecting Enforcers by In The Game.
Coming early 2012.
In The Game – The history of hockey on trading cards. Licensed by collectors.
Brian Price
The Boys Are Back In UM-11
The hockey world was buzzing this summer with the return of NHL hockey to the city of Winnipeg and while the new club is reborn from the ashes of the Atlanta Thrashers, there is certainly enough of a long-standing tradition there that dates back almost 40 years.
In 1972, the World Hockey Association was formed as a rival to the NHL and its first group of franchises included the Winnipeg Jets. The team signed some great talents like Joe Daley and Ab McDonald early on, but the biggest name of them all was Bobby Hull – a figure that gave the new league instant credibility. The Golden Jet flew into Winnipeg that summer and was presented with an over-sized check which signified that the WHA meant business and was ready to help players get the wages they deserved. The team had a great inaugural season and went to the Avco Cup Final but lost to the New England Whalers.
The 1974-75 saw the team act as ground-breakers as they began to bring in top European talents such as Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson and Lars-Erik Sjoberg. This gave them a solid nucleus which helped them win their first of three Avco Cup titles the following year. As many of the other teams in the league suffered great financial losses, the Jets remained a powerhouse and even absorbed top talent like Morris Lukowich and Terry Ruskowski once the Houston Aeros folded.
A merger with the NHL loomed at the end of the 1978-79 campaign and Winnipeg won the final Avco Cup tournament over the Edmonton Oilers, who had a young Wayne Gretzky in their lineup at the time. They were welcomed into the NHL for the 1979-80 season but had to pay a heavy price as the senior loop reclaimed players whose rights they held. The Jets were temporarily grounded, and things went from bad to worse as they had a horrible 1980-81 campaign where they won just nine games and finished last in the league.
Their reward for ineptitude helped them get the biggest prize in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft – a hot prospect named Dale Hawerchuk. He was an instant hit and helped turn their fortunes around alongside up-and-comers like Dave Babych, Doug Smail, Paul MacLean and Thomas Steen. For the rest of the 1980s, they remained contenders and had some great seasons together.
At the dawn of the 1990s, the winds of change began to blow in Winnipeg and new stars were rising like Keith Tkachuk, Bob Essensa and Alexei Zhamnov. The brightest of them all, however, was Teemu Selanne, who set NHL standards for most goals and points by a rookie in 1992-93.
In 1995-96, things were starting to look grim for Jets fans as it was becoming apparent that the team could not survive there. Factors like a weak Canadian dollar and skyrocketing salaries didn’t help and despite an outporing of public support, the team ended up moving to Phoenix to become the Coyotes. An era had ended, but the city never forgot their team.
Over the years, these same fans kept the home fires burning and rumors often circulated that the NHL would come back again. Those dreams became reality in 2011 and In The Game has created a special collection in the Ultimate Memorabilia 11th edition celebrating some of the greatest players to ever skate in Winnipeg. With two, three or four pieces of game-used memorabilia, these cards are sure to be appreciated by hockey fans everywhere!
The Boys Are Back in UM-11. The only Ultimate.
Brian Price
Lucky number 11, collectors opening UM-11 are going to find some real treasures in the Ultimate Game-Used cards.
Vintage memorabilia at its very best, only from In The Game.
I’ll let the pictures do the talking:
When There Were Six – Team
Shooters
Idols
All-Stars
Lord Stanley’s Mug
Goalie Generations
I think the pictures speak for themselves. UM-11 is a very special product.
Releases November 10, 2011.
Brian Price
The Ultimate Autograph Cards in UM-11 should be a hit with collectors. Rather than go on and on about the different insert sets, let me preview some of them for you. You be the judge.
Ultimate Patch/Auto Card
Future Star Auto
Triple Auto
Ultimate Goalie Legend
Dual Auto
Auto Stick/Jersey
Goalie Auto/Jersey
So what do you think? Excited as we are?
Ultimate Memorabilia 11th Edition releases November 10, 2011.
Brian Price
Yes, you have correctly read the title of this Blog. The Base Card set for UM-11 is truly loaded.
UM-11 Base Cards feature the art of well-known sports artist Mike James. There are 100 cards in the Base Card checklist. Each card will have silver and gold versions. The silver version will be out of 63 or 64, the gold version will be out of 9.
There will also be 1/1 original art Base Cards featuring the original art of Mike James. These cards will have a black border.
For the first time in ITG history, we are inserting in a product our press plates. Randomly inserted into packs will be 1/1 Silver and Gold Press Plates. They look stunning.
If that was not enough, inserted random packs of UM-11, a silver Base Card will be replaced by an Ultimate Giveaway card.
There are ten different Ultimate Giveaway cards. Each Ultimate Giveaway card depicts a different piece of game-used memorabilia on the front of the card. There are six of each of these cards inserted into the product, each one is a different color.
For example there are six different Ultimate Giveaway cards depicting a game-used Brett Hull San Jose All-Star game-used jersey, each one of the six cards is a different color.
Each Ultimate Giveaway card qualifies you to win an authentic piece of game-used memorabilia from In The Game.
Feel free to go to the In The Game Website (www.itgtradingcards.com) to see the 10 Game-Used pieces of memorabilia that we are going to give away.
Yes, the Base is loaded in UM-11. Order your box of UM-11 while they are still available, don’t get shutout.
Brian Price
I am thrilled to show off some more great cards from Ultimate Memorabilia 11th Edition.
I would like to show you three impressive insert sets. PaperCuts, PaperCuts and Memorabilia and Lumbergraphs.
The first insert set is PaperCuts featuring autographs of Ace Bailey, Aurel Joliat, Bill Barilko, Bill Mosienko, Busher Jackson, Charlie Conacher, Chuck Rayner, Cyclone Taylor, Dit Clapper, Doug Harvey. Eddie Shore, Frank Brimsek, George Hainsworth, Hap Day, Howie Morenz, Jack Adams. Jacques Plante, Joe Primeau, King Clancy, Nels Stewart, Paddy Moran, Rocket Richard, Roger Crozier, Syl Apps, Ted Kennedy, Terry Sawchuk, Tim Horton, Tiny Thompson, Toe Blake, Turk Broda. Impressive list!
The second insert set is PaperCuts and Memorabilia. A combination of a cut signature and vintage game-used memorabilia. Only from In The Game.
The checklist includes; Bill Barilko, Busher Jackson, Charlie Conacher, Chuck Rayner
Cyclone Taylor, Doug Harvey, Eddie Shore, Frank Brimsek, Hap Day, Howie Morenz, King Clancy, Maurice Richard, Roger Crozier, Ted Kennedy, Terry Sawchuk, Tim Horton, Toe Blake, Turk Broda, Bill Durnan, Ken Dryden.
The last insert set to show off is Lumbergraphs. Vintage autographs from vintage hockey sticks. Only from In The Game.
Checklist includes; Lester Patrick/Bun Cook, Murray Murdock/Bill Cook, Frank Boucher/Ott Heller, Andy Aikenhead, Babe Siebert/Gordon Pettinger, Art Sommers, Boom Boom Geoffrion, Doug Harvey, Toe Blake, Jacques Plante, Hap Day, Bill Barilko, Turk Broda, Ted Kennedy, Dit Clapper, Woody Dumart, Tiny Thompson, Bobby Bauer/Art Jackson, Eddie Shore, Bill Cowley/Milt Schmidt.
Ultimate Memorabilia 11th Edition releases November 10, 2011. Order yours today, don’t get shut out.
I have been very busy this last few weeks preparing for UM-11.
I am in charge of all the 1/1s. The Lumbergraphs, PaperCuts, PaperCuts and Memorabilia, Auto/Tags, Ultimate Emblems, Ultimate Numbers, Ultimate Tags, Ultimate Gloves and Ultimate Pads.
For the Ultimate Emblems (60), Ultimate Numbers (50), Ultimate Tags (40), Ultimate Gloves (30) and Ultimate Pads (20) the task is now complete. The pieces have been personally cut and the checklists are now on our website. 200 cards in all.
I would like to showoff one of each insert set. Remember these are 1/1s and personally cut by yours truly.
Have a look.
These are some of the best cards we have ever made, even if I say so myself. That’s why I have my own blog, so I can say so.
Ultimate Memorabilia 11th Edition releases November 10, 2011.
Eleven years! Seems like yesterday Ultimate was unveiled at the National in Anaheim, California.
Brian Price
I am pleased to announce that I have signed an exclusive agreement with well-known artist Jared Kelley to paint for Sport Kings and In The Game on trading cards.
I have been admiring Jared’s work for some time now and felt that his work would be an awesome addition to my trading card companies. His painting directly on trading cards brings another dimension to the hobby and I know collectors of my products are going to enjoy collecting his work.
Most recently, Kelley painted twenty-two of the forty-two US Presidents for Upper Deck’s Goodwin Champions product. The cards Kelley painted currently sell for upwards of $700 in the hobby.
Jared will be painting his first cards for Sportkings Series E, which will be released in the spring of 2012. We will be adding a couple of new wrinkles in the painting of these cards to make them even better than the ones Jared has done before. I am excited to have Jared join our family as we are all dedicated to make trading cards that collectors want to collect.
Jared is an illustrator and portraitist living in rural Alabama. He received a BFA from Auburn University Montgomery in Studio Painting and taught visual art to grades 6-12 for three years after graduating college. He is also the Executive Assistant for the Alabama Alliance for Arts Education. Part of his time is also spent hosting yearly paint classes at Camp Smile-A-Mile for children and teens fighting cancer, as well as for their families. Some of Jared’s past clients have been Alabama Governor Don Seigleman, Fredrick G. Levin, the Upper Deck Company, Baptist Medical Centers, and talk radio host Greg Budell.
Visit http://www.jaredkelley.com to see artwork by Jared Kelley.
I am thrilled to announce that Ultimate Memorabilia 11th Edition will feature Hot Packs.
Each Hot Pack will contain three Hot Patch cards. There will be one Hot Pack in each 10-box case of UM-11. 150 Hot Packs in all. Therefore there will be 450 Hot Patch cards in the product.
Each Hot Patch card will be numbered to either four (Vintage Players) or nine (non-Vintage Players).
A complete checklist of Hot Patches will be posted shortly.
Thanks to a couple of the hobby’s best who gave me this idea in Las Vegas.
Brian Price
With all the hobby love that Upper Deck is getting with The Cup and Panini with Dominion, our marketing staff has been holding off the promotion and marketing of Ultimate Memorabilia 11th Edition. They want want to wait a couple of weeks and then unveil some of the nicest cards that In The Game has ever made.
Unfortunately, I am not as patient as they are. Some of the ideas, designs and execution are beyond belief and I can’t stay quiet any longer.
The first card I want to show off is from the PaperCuts-Memorabilia insert set. Only ITG can combine authentic vintage memorabilia with cut signatures. I just love this insert set. Here is the Charlie Conacher card.
Now that’s one fine card. A vintage cut along with a great piece of vintage game-used memorabilia. there are more where that came from.
Now I am also proud of some of our authentic game-used memorabilia cards. The card below is from the Rivalry insert set, check it out.
Some of the classic rivalries are so strong, they will never die. Rocket Richard once told me that if he saw Leo Labine (Boston Bruin who broke his brother Henri’s kneecap) that day, he would kick his teeth in (Rocket was well over seventy years old when he told me this story). Remember in those days they played in one team’s arena one night and then traveled on the same train to play the next night in the other team’s arena.
How about the Stanley Cup Finals insert set. Each card commemorates a Stanley Cup final.
How about a couple of our authentic autograph cards. the first insert set I want to show off is the AutoMates insert set.
Messier and Fuhr, great teammates from a great Edmonton Oilers team. There are more where this came from.
And from the Triple Auto insert set comes autographs from the Triple Crown Line of Dionne-Taylor-Simmer.
These great cards along with a game-used memorabilia giveaway, 1/1 sketch cards, hot packs…… UM-11 will be our best yet.
Releases November 10th.
Brian Price
According To Dr. Price 