Saturday Nov 07, 2009

The Brill Report: The NFL; Less is Good?

By Bob Brill

  First off, let me thank you the readers for the overwhelming response to last week's column! Wow. We've never had so much response to any column we've ever written and the amazing thing is it ran 9-1 in favor of the position we outlined.


  While some of the faithful were a bit surprised the column took a political tone (Meg Whitman former eBay chief running for California governor) they none the less responded and with fervor. A couple of readers were not even hobby folks but rather people who ran across the column for one reason or another and threw in their opinion. The California primaries are next year so we'll have to see where it goes and what the voters do. Oh, by the way, those opinions expressed here were totally that of the author and not Sportsbuy.com. Thought we'd throw that in just for grins.


  Now on to this week's topic; The NFL and when the next shoe drops. Any day now we expect to hear something from the football licensors regarding the number of licenses they will have regarding NFL football cards. Will it be down to one? Will there be three as there are now? Will it be only two? Let's delve into a little history.


  It was 1989 when Pro Set (the official card of the NFL) came into being with Lud Denny leading the way. He got himself tied to a couple of John's working for the NFL (under the old NFL Properties division) which handled merchandising. Eventually those two John's were fired in disgrace as the NFL allegedly found them dipping into the perverbial cookie jar. Now to this date no one has been convicted and no charges have been filed but there is some good circumstantial evidence basically showing a couple of guys making lots of money on the back end supporting Pro Set, while their bosses were kicking in money to a company heading into bankruptcy. It's not that the owners were clean either but we will leave it at this for the moment.


  In a previous column years ago I wrote and got comment from at least three card makers that they basically had their arms twisted to kick back some "extra" product to certain inviduals in return for these licenses. No names were given but the same people were targeted. Only the then-Fleer VP we spoke to called me a "muck raker" for reporting the story. Of course he was the guy who got the license for the then "Official NFL Trading Card; GameDay." Wow! No conflict there, huh?


  Well the real life story is the NFL and the NFLPA (the Players Union) were battling each other in court over lots of things and while the owners had lots of money to burn, the players did not. They figured out if they licensed trading cards they could basically finance their lawsuit against the owners. So they did. They gave a license to every Tom, Dick and Wild Card who wanted to print trading cards and the money rolled in.


  At one point there were no less than 16 companies making NFL trading cards. Some with only the permission of the NFLPA. Of course as time went on Wild Card, Pro Set, Pinnacle, Collector's Edge and even the Ted Williams Card Company fell by the wayside. Even unique Action Packed was swallowed up by Pinnacle which ended up owning many of those brands. Finally there were only three.


  We have Upper Deck, Topps and Donruss/Panini/Leaf et al. Somewhere along the way someone at Upper Deck really ticked off the guys at the NFLPA. One insider told me "The PA loves Donruss and Topps and if the PA decides to go down to just two licenses Richard (McWilliam CEO of UD) will find a big surprise waiting for him."


  Well it looks like decision time might be around the corner and Upper Deck keeps losing licenses. They no longer make MLB Trading Cards or NBA Trading Cards. They sort of have an exclusive on NHL trading cards and they make NFL cards, for now. If indeed, in a dwindling market for sportscards, there is a cut it is likely going to be the boys from Carlsbad.


  Now don't go feeling sorry for McWilliam and his team. They have worked hard and secured lots of licenses for collegiate sports, NCAA, minor league guys and of course hockey. And they still have exclusive rights to Jordan, Lebron, Sid the Kid and Ovechkin. Not bad, oh and of course the only golfer anyone cares about; Tiger Woods. So it ain't so bad.


  The NFL has never allowed players to be exclusive with any one company so while UD has the likes of Favre, Manning and more it's not like those guys can't sign for pay for someone else. Yes it could come down to the fact the company which started the "Hobby" trend by making cards "for collectors" might just be the first one out of the shrine when it comes right down to the big boys and trading cards for 2010 going forward.


(DENVER & THE STEELERS) -- For those of you who know me well you know I'm from Pittsburgh and an avid Steelers, Pirates and Penguins fan. Monday brings my annual trip to Denver where a friend of mine has season tickets for the Bronco's. Each year he invites me to see a game of my choice and the last couple years it has been the Steelers. The guys is a good friend and he puts me up, takes me to dinner and handles my transportation. Really though he loves me to come because I have never gone to a game in Denver the Bronco's lost. I can't stand any team which plays my Steelers and I hate to see them lose. I almost didn't go this year because my Steelers are holding tough in an effort to repeat for the Super Bowl. I can't not go though, so think good thoughts for the Doc (my friend) and my hook up with Stadium Cards owner Mike Fruitman who will be there too. May I go home with a Steeler win under my belt.


(PATTI WAGGIN BOOKS) -- Just an update on my new book "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale." I'll be doing signings in NorCal shortly. Oakland I'll be at the Uptown Theatre Nov. 16, Chico at the Barns & Knoble Nov. 17, Sacramento's Avid Reader Books on Nov. 18 and at Russo's Books in Bakersfield on Nov. 19. If you are close by please come on out, buy a book and have some fun. I'd love to meet you. Check the website for times and addresses. You can contact Bob at any time at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com


 


 


 

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Thursday Oct 22, 2009

The Brill Report: Who Blew the Yankees?

By Bob Brill

Okay now here is the ultimate disaster for sports memorabilia. Was it Steiner? Was it the Yankees? Or was it the *&^xn&8#+-AT-! Mailman? But somebody blew it and someone needs to fess up!


The NYY and Steiner get together to offer seats for sale from the old Yankee Stadium. The price tag a whopping $1500 a pop! Now that is bad enough but for an extra $500 the collector/buyer can get the seat of his choice. So, John Lefkus decides he'll go for broke (which is an appropriate term here) and get the very exact seat he's sat in for 23 years. He's a freaking season ticket holder for gosh sakes! He ought to know where he parked his butt for 23 years and 81 games a season. He's sat in that seat for approximately 1863 games, or 16767 innings. He ought to know which seat is his.


Steiner and the NYY sent him a reburbished seat with new hardware! These are things Lefkus says they stated right in the ads they would NOT DO! HE showed his lawyer the ad and then added when he got the seat it had obviously been dismantled during demolition and reassembled without regard for what parts came from what chairs.


Now his rear end sat in that seat often enough to understand the seat ain't his. I'm sure he sat down, moved around to get his proper feel and it just didn't FEEL right. Again if anyone would know it would be Mr. Lefkus.


He filed a class action suit. You go GUY! Kill'em, nail'em to the wall. Get your butt in an uproar and put theirs in a sling. Aren't you just a little bit tired of those who can screw you in the collectibles world, will screw you? We're not talking a $1.25 baseball card here. We're talking $2000 worth of sitting down for 23 years. Plus Shipping & Handling which we're sure Steiner and NYY didn't throw in for the heck of it -- although for a 23 year season ticket holder they should have walked it to his house and threw him a party.


What a hack job! Oh by the way, Lefkus says Steiner put a different seat number on it and tried to pass off a non aisle seat as HIS Aisle seat. Now c'mon guys did you have to do that to the guy too?! If I'm paying $2000 plus the price of my season tickets I want the ^%&$*# right seat!


The guy wants $5 million. Brandon can afford it and so can the NYY! Pay Up or Go Away!


(LILLINGTON, NC) $40,000 worth of baseball and football cards were stolen from a home in Lillington, NC, as cards again are once again the target of thieves. Owner Bart Dillow says $400 in cash plus jewels also were taken. As the economy continues to be bad, thieves continue to look for easy to flip items and sports cards still are a sound investment for a thief.


(HOLLYWOOD SHOW STARS) Guess who appeared at the Hollywood collectibles show in October to sign autographs? Big names Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper and even Valerie Cartwright of Lost in Space and Make Room for Daddy fame. The show has really come on lately with the big name signers.


(CASH FOR CLUNKERS IN SPORTS) You read it right. Famed artist Don Marquess, who does lots of sports stuff for his Marquess Gallery, is offering a strange bit of twisting of the Obama Administration. If you turn in art, any art, posters or whatever you will get a one-third discount on any art you buy from him. It has to be at least an 11 x 14 size purchase to qualify and your art really doesn't have to be much of nothing to qualify. Check out his stuff at www.baseballfineart.com. Tell them you read it here. It won't get you anything special but thanx anyway.


(PATTI WAGGIN DON RUDOLPH BOOKS ARRIVE!) Yeah Baby! Finally. The books were delayed a month when the printer in China put the books on the wrong boat. Thank the Good Lord Somali Pirates weren't looking for a book on a baseball player and his stripper wife. Suggeted Retail Price is $49.99. Check it out on line at Amazon or the others, our own web site www.pattiwaggin.com, or at your local book store. Ask for it by name "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale," or by author name; Bob Brill. The Special Edition book is only available on our website and it's limited to 200 and sells for $199. It comes with an autographed item by the late Patti Waggin and a DVD of one of her performances and is signed by the author as well as numbered. You can also email me at bob.pattiwaggin@gmail-DOT-com


 


                                              

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Friday Oct 02, 2009

The Brill Report: Kobe in the fold

By Bob Brill

  There is no more perfect fit in sports marketing. Kobe Bryant and Panini. What more could you ask for after Kobe signed an exclusive deal with the trading card and sticker maker. Here are the facts as Panini sees them.


1 ) Panini is the exclusive maker of basketball trading cards in the world. Kobe Bryant is the no. 1 players in the NBA today, LeBron James notwithstanding Kobe has won championships.


2 ) Panini is an Italian Company with world wide distribution in stickers. Kobe was raised in Italy, speaks fluent Italian and collected Panini stickers as a child.


3 ) Panini knows how to market it's goods. Kobe is known world wide and is a very easy marketere. He is Marquee.


  It was only seen as inevitible and since UDA and UDC lost the rights to make NBA trading cards Kobe had to find someone to market with. His comments hold true.


  "I know from my own experience growing up, how fun collecting and trading these products can be. I really believe collecting these products has the power, through the unique emotions of sports, to unify and strengthen bonds within families and across social groups, no matter what age you are. Panini and I are passionate about developing this hobby in many new and exciting ways."


  It was a natural fit for the Italian company and the kid who grew up watching his father Jelly Bean Bryant play in the Italian version of professional basketball. Speaking Italian fluently means a great marketing tool for Italian TV as well. Kobe can address fans in their native tounge and this means a lot to those who have watched TV with subtitles.


  I like Panini and always have. They will bring a fresh new approach to the trading card game even though it will take some time. Having Kobe locked up shows they are serious.


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(PANINI AMERICA) -- I'm sold! Panini just sent dealers and journalists a nice new packet and it actually included something usable. It was a large round basketball mouse pad with the word "Panini" on it. Finally something useful in the mail from a card manufacturer as a freebie outside of shopping bags. I've always liked Panini, my Italian is descent and I have friends and relatives in Italy. OK Panini I've given you a plug, now how about a job?


(RUMORVILLE) -- My how rumors spread. A former customer came up to me this week to pick up her annual Topps Factory Sets. I hold them while she's out of the state for months at a time. Her first question to me was "Is it true none of the card companies are going to make cards will the players on them? Are we still going to be able to get our Topps sets?" I explained the licenscing situation and how it evovled and how only Topps will have guys in their uniforms and logos. Her answer was "Good Topps will be the only real cards then?"


(1991 DONRUSS) -- Six weeks and counting. It has been six weeks since I unveiled my plan to make 1991 Donruss and other products of that era hot and valuable again. No one yet has taken me up on it. Darn it! I tried to get rid of that stuff for you guys but no one would listen. Another tree falling in the forest and lots of lumber was cut from 1986-1993 for trading cards.


(MCFARLANE LTD) -- McFarlane is taking the collector thing to the next level on it's prime action figure line. The Sportspicks figures will carry six different levels of collectibility including MVP which will be limited to up to 50 figures. In this instant collectible world no one yet has figured out what makes the thing collectible and desirable is time and the end user, not the manufacturer today.


(CORRECTION) -- Brad Abbott owns www.Rickeyhendersoncollectibles.com and contacted us to correct us upon stating it was Rickey's site. It is not but he has worked with the Henderson people regarding the site and products. Thank you for letting us know.


The latest Patti Waggin Tale. You have heard me talk about my new book about to hit store shelves on September 28. Well "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" has been delayed about a month. It seems the shippers in China put the books on the wrong boat and it's still on the water. They will get to my publishers warehouse October 18. Now as long as Somali Pirates keep their hands off my ship we should be fine. Delayed, but fine. Our book signing at Book Soup in West Hollywood will be on November 1, at 2pm.


Sorry about taking last week off. Just too much to do and ran out of time. You can contact bob at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com


 

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Thursday Sep 17, 2009

The Brill Report: Bummed on eBay

By Bob Brill

I'm Bummed, really Bummed. The only thing I really want these days is actually two things and one of them I will never see, let alone get. I just missed out on the second ever of such items and I'm bummed. The items in question are the Topps 1962 Civil War News Sets in both French and Spanish. I have the USA version and the UK version, but the other two are very, very rare.


I've only ever seen the French set twice in my life. I've spoken about it with other CWN collectors but the hallowed set has rarely ever been seen. Twice it has popped up on eBay in the last six months. The first one sold for around a thousand dollars from a UK seller. The second one, which closed this week with the owner from Canada, closed at $547. I bid $537 with 3-seconds left. The winner was obviously willing to go much higher. I would have but in the end it would have just driven up the price for him because he had more money to spend.


This wonderful set is based on paintings and came out shortly after Mars Attacks from Topps. It was the 100th anniversary of the War Between the States, or if you are from below the Mason-Dixon Line, the war of Southern Rebellion. Remember the cannons at the airport in Richmond, VA still point north.


The set is the most colorful and wonderful set ever produced by Topps and was the first box of trading cards I ever recieved as a child. My sister popped the $1.80 for her little bro for this one. I was a Civil War buff. I opened the box and bought a few packs and was finally only one card short of a a complete set. "Submarine Attack" tells the story of the CSA Hunley, the first submarine used in warfare and actually attacked an enemy ship, later made into a TV movie by Ted Turner starring Armand Assante. In 2004 a military funeral was held for those who died on her final voyage. The wreck was discovered a shorr time earlier.


I found that card on the final day walking out the door taking one more last shot at the last table at the 1991 National in Anaheim. The price? $2! I was more excited than a pig in s**t. Man this was it!


So later on I set my sites on 1) the UK set, 2) the never seen French set 3) and the very rare Spanish set. Oh and in the midst I collected the Confederate Money inserts and decided to put together a complete PSA 8 graded American Set.


I so far have all but 18 of the USA cards in PSA 8 grade. I have the UK set and would like to put together a graded set but not now. Funds being what they are. The UK set, which is made from Topps but distributed by a regional company and carries the tag name; A&BC cards. They are smaller in physical size and the back is more white than gray in it's back ground.


The French set is the same except the text of course is in French. The Spanish set is the same dimension and in Spanish text but all blood, guts and fire are removed and the set looks rather bland. I've only seen a few of the cards on line over the years and they are rather boring and ugly. What makes the set colorful, the fire and blood is all removed. Still it is the rarest of all the rares in this genre.


The story goes it was more of a test as was the French after the United Kingdom Set was actually a hit. The british are very interested in the American Civil War. I recently recieved a book about the war, written by a Scotsman, from a friend in Scotland. The take on the war is very interesting certainly and I read things I never heard of in USA books and studies.


The UK set is rather plentiful but the oh so nice and rare French is not. I tried to buy the set outright from the Canadian but it was his first attempt on eBay and he was playing by the rules. Good for him, bad for me. I didn't get it. The Spanish set? Now that is another story. Is it out there? Does it exist?


One of the unique items about this set overall is the fact there are "newspaper" stories on the back of each card, this Civil War News. The writers admittedly made it all up. In some cases they actually got it right. I read an article once where the authors of the cards were interviewed and they said several of the stories were complete fabrications but some of them were based on actual events. Either way they did a wonderful job. Too good perhaps.


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We are expecting our new book to be on book shelves any day now. "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" is scheduled for September 28 but we understand it is a little ahead of schedule. The story of burlesque queen Patti Waggin and her husband former Washington pitcher, Don Rudolph is told through photos and fan letters as a coffee table style book.


 

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Thursday Aug 27, 2009

THE BRILL REPORT; MAKING 1991 DONRUSS HOT AGAIN

By Bob Brill

We are going to start a campaign to make lots of older, crap cards valuable again --- even more valuable than they ever were. Are you ready. We will need everyone to participate and no cheating please.


What is a box of 1991 Donruss Baseball cards worth today? A dollar a box and you over paid? How about 1989 Topps Baseball? 1992 Upper Deck? 1991 Leaf? Or the ultimate 1990 Score Baseball? If you took a box of each and paid $5 for the lot you would be wasting your money as it now stands.


So how do we rectify this situation? The answer is easy. The basic rule of thumb when it comes to collectibles is as follows;


"If everyone can have it, nobody wants it but if few people can have it everyone wants it!" Very simple Brill 101.


So the way to make those products and everything else with few exceptions from 1986 through 1992 worth something is to make it scarce. We are prepared to do this with your help. You have to help or you will not benefit. There of course will be those who will try to take advantage of the situation and not participate hoping to score big. Screw them! They are the same scum bags who have permeated this hobby for decades and only when they die a fossil's death and are extinct will their foul stench drift off into the sunset and the word "flip" will be useless in modern society.


Here is what we will do. We will set up a warehouse (any volunteers?) with cooperation of someone in the hobby. A huge warehouse. The space will need to be donated. Then we encourage everyone who has a financial interest (all of us) in this hobby to send every box and single of all baseball products from 1986 throu 1992 to this warehouse.


You won't get paid, you are giving it up! You will pay the shipping. The people recieving it will not get paid for storing it. When the warehouse is full and only then we will destroy the cards. Crush them, burn them, drop them in the Mississippi River. I don't care just legally destroy them.


Then we will do it again and add in football products from 1990 Pro Set and Score and Topps thru 1991 Football with exceptions such as Stadium Club. When the warehouse is full again, we'll destroy those. Burn baby Burn, sink baby sink and chop man oh man, chop. Singles too remember?


This will make a pretty good dent especially if we get the 100,000 caseload target for the two warehouses. By destroying 100,000 cases of products including singles we will take so much crap off the market it will be unbelievable. Sets too, dump them for burning.


Of course some of those scumbags will hold onto a few cases hoping to make a big strike when there is a demand for this stuff but so what. People will remember who they are. Now if you have 100 boxes, keep a box or two, or say 5% of what you have. If we get 80% of this stuff includings singles and sets into the dumpster can you imagine what that will mean for the rest of the stuff. Can you imagine paying $150 for a box of 1991 Donruss Baseball?


It will be a great scenario. Now here is what we need; who wants to donate a warehouse? More than one is fine. Call me, or better yet email me at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com  Let me know if you have a warehouse you'd like to donate for this stuff. You can't keep it, you can only store it until we find a way to fill it and then destroy the contents when it is full.


As soon as we get the warehouse locked in, we'll start telling the public and dealers where to send the stuff. We are serious!


Lou Brown don't you have a warehouse we can use? Dave Bronson, how about it? Edge Man? Hamps? Dave & Adam? C'mon boys pitch in and win one for the hobby. Think of all the publicity we'll get for the hobby. Maybe just maybe someone can figure out a way to recycle the cardboard and save a tree.


C'mon and pitch in!


(UPPER DECK/TOPPS HOCKEY) -- Topps is coming out with a new hockey product licensed by the NHL in time for the coming season. It is not really a trading card product as Upper Deck still has the exclusive rights to the NHL. It is a licensed gaming product but we're sure fans of key players will collect their favorite player's game piece anyway.


(UD TO SUE TOPPS?) -- At least one publication, Sports Business Daily, is saying Upper Deck may sue MLB over the exclusive rights give to Topps to make baseball cards. As we reported here weeks ago the NFL is being sued over a similar decision when it comes to caps and the US Supreme Court is set to hear the case. A suit against baseball however has lesser legs to stand on due to MLB's standing with Congress. Congress long ago and the courts upheld it in 1972, ruled baseball is immune from anti-trust monopoly status because of its importance to America.


(CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU) -- Major league baseball has crossed the line by issuing a license for caskets and urns to stuff your ashes into. It's basically the ultimate fans way of saying "Yes I can take it with me." You'll be dead! You can't cheer from the grave and your team won't care anyway! You will be dead! MLB has licensed Eternal Image with the rights to offer team logo caskets for $4500, team logo urns for $800 and team logo headstone medallions for $200. The urn comes with a baseball on the lid which can be signed by your favorite player or you and kept for posterity. I repeat; YOU'LL BE DEAD!


(PENNEY'S FOR YOUR DREAMS) -- Dreams Inc., slash Mounted Memories is hooking up with JC Penney for an on-line sports collectibles presence sometime in October. The on-line deal will tie the two together for fan collectibles such as mugs and stuff to apparel where the real money is. JCP did at one time carry collectibles such as signed items from The Score Board but dropped out when everyone else did. Now they are coming back in the on-line arena at www.jcp.com. The hook will be so strong you will see World Series collectibles the night after the event.


(CARD STORE DAMAGED IN FIRE) -- It is St. Johns, Canada where Maverick Sports and Collectibles has been standing but not so much anymore. A fire in the building next door led to damage as well at the sports store. Owner Andrew Corbett said it was the second time in five years his store caught fire. He expected heavy damage to his merchandise in this one.


(LUG NUTS AGAIN) -- Press Pass announced it's bringing back race-used lug nuts for its Main Event card product. Lug Nuts were the very first ever "game used" items when Press Pass debuted it years ago. Victor Shaffer, who invented the concept, is no doubt laughing somewhere.


(TOPPS DISCOVERS CREDIT) It only took them 50 or so years but Topps is finally giving dealers something they've cried for, for years. A second credit card on file, and Discover. The company will now start taking Discover cards with dealer purchases and in addition dealers can have a second card on file in case the first is full. Dealers fought for this for years but Topps management refused preferring to lurk in the dark ages. The company still does not take American Express. Upper Deck does.


You can reach Bob Brill through his website www.pattiwaggin.com or via email directly at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com. Patti Waggin is the name of a long dead burlesque queen and any day now Bob's book on her will hit store shelves. "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" is basically Patti's story and that of her husband baseball player Don Rudolph through photos and letters from fans. Two other books are planned. Bob will be signing September 24th at 5:30pm at the Ventura Museum in Ventura, and at Book Soup in West Hollywood on Sunday October 18, at 2 p.m. Check the website for details.


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Thursday Aug 20, 2009

TBR: Vintage Clubhouse Signatures to the Pro's

By Bob Brill

I was listing a bunch of baseballs on eBay and on my website www.pattiwaggin.com this week in anticipation of finally selling them. They are all baseballs certified by JSA, Jimmy Spence, and all either team signed or single signed to people I own the rights to. In doing so it again occurred to me even in the 1960's when a player got a team signed ball he couldn't be sure all the sigs were real.


Case in point. As you may know I own the rights and most of the estate of Burlesque Queen Patti Waggin and her husband Don Rudolph. Rudolph was a journeyman pitcher who had a wonderful minor league record and a mediocre major league career. In the estate I found many autographed team balls from both the big leagues and the minors. There were all-star photos signed, baseballs signed and all sorts of great stuff. I had JSA certifiy all of it.


When it came to the 1961-63 NY Yankees signed baseballs I was appalled by the fact Don Rudolph, a major league pitcher was given baseballs with clubhouse signatures. Mantle, Maris, Howard and occassional others would not sign baseballs given to colleagues. Not always true because a couple of the items were signed by the likes of the M&M boys.


I did notice most of the bad teams, and Don played for some of the worst, didn't mind signing. The early 1960's Washington Senators were good. Gil Hodges, then managing, could have passed. However, his autograph on the one baseball I listed was one of the most beautiful sigs I've ever seen. The likes of Woodie Held, Rich Rollins and Dick Donovan usually signed and happily.


The 1962 Indians baseballs I had were similar. On one Sam McDowell, Johnny Romano and Barry Latman were clubhouse signatures. On another only McDowell wouldn't pen is name. A local friend of mine was the Indians clubhouse keeper in 1964 to about 1966 and he admitted he was the "clubbie" signer for that team.


"I usually signed for Birdie Tebbits, the manager and the starting pitcher," admitted Billy Malone. "For the most part the mid-60's Indians were good about signing but Birdie was usually too busy and the starting pitcher rarely signed on the day he was pitching, so I had to, management ordered me to."


Malone went on to explain it was part of his job and usually under direct orders from management to finish the team signed baseballs given to sponsors of the club. Car dealerships, furniture and department store executives all wanted a signed baseball. Some got a "Billy Malone."


Everyone in the hobby knows about Charlie "The Brow" for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Johnny the clubhouse boy in Boston among others. Few folks know some players wouldn't sign balls going to players. In the case of the minor league baseballs we didn't run into any clubbie sigs but then again in the minors it was something to do between long bus rides, I guess.


One thing about Rudolph he signed when asked. I recently got a call from a older man who heard about the book coming out, "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale," and wanted to tell me about Don's kindness. Elliott Caine said he met Don at a minor league game in Indianapolis and got an autograph. Don became his favorite player right then and there. He continued to write to Don and Don continued to write back, sending him a post card from the big leagues in 1963 and encouraging the youngster.


He said he was always very enlightened by the fact this major league player whom he'd met in the minors put his on his Christmas Card Mailing List. He said for years he continued to get cards at Christmas signed by Patti and Don! That was pretty cool.


The minor leagues are still probably the best place to get a signed ball finally surpassing Spring Training. You just have to hope some of the guys on the baseball make it and make it big. Even in today's world this is a tough proposition.


 (NEW WEB SITE) Authentic Sports Collectibles is offering web sites affiliate like marketing similar to Google Ads. The site, which specializes in everything under the sun (some underpriced, much of it overpriced) offers competing websites the opportunity to flag some business for it and then pays a small commission if the sale is made directly from your site to theirs. Interesting concept if it works. However if you are selling the same thing as them how does it help you?


(UD OVECHKIN DEAL) Upper Deck still reigns in its element. The company inked NHL MVP Alexandre Ovechkin to an exclusive deal. Since it is the only company allowed to make NHL trading cards how exclusive can it be? It does mean when it comes to autographs and such stuff, he'll only be doing UDA for pay.


(QB WHO? WHERE?) Brett Favre in Purple and Mike Vick in Green? Now that is something I didn't figure on ever seeing in the NFL outside of a dream which turned into a nightmare. This last week we were treated to Favre coming out of retirement and signing with the hated Vikings and the hated Vick actually getting a contract in the NFL and inking with the Philadelphia Eagles. I always thought he should have signed with Cleveland so he could get boo'd by "the Dog Pound."


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You can reach Bob at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com. His book "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" is due out any day from Schiffer Books. You can order it on line or on Bob's Website at www.pattiwaggin.com where you can also see some of those wonderful baseballs he talked about.


 


 


 

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Thursday Aug 06, 2009

The Brill Report: MLB Takes Chunk Out of Upper Deck

By Bob Brill

  Upper Deck is exclusive with hockey, Panini is exclusive with basketball and for all intents and purposes now Topps is exclusive with baseball. Major League Baseball (the league not the players association) has in one swift blow relegated Upper Deck to the status of Donruss Baseball. In a surprise announcement, just one month after the MLBPA (Players Union) renewed the license for Upper Deck to continue to make baseball cards, the league (MLB) pulled the rug out from under UD by granting Topps an exclusive license for logos and trademarks.


  Not in 30 years has one company had such exclusivity when it comes to baseball trading cards and the effects on Upper Deck could be just short of devastating. The top man at Upper Deck hasn't endeared himself to the leagues and PA's in many years and when UD lost the right to make basketball cards it became the last card company to handle licenses for all four major sports.


  Evidently MLB likes Michael Eisner better than Richard McWilliams and with Eisner's track record and promise of returning collecting to younger collectors, MLB was sold. When Eisner first bought Topps over objections from McWilliams, he promised kids would again be the target ala Disney his old firm. Despite targeting kids in advertising, UD continued to make higher and higher dollar products aimed at Diamond Club Collectors and the dwindling base of well heeled collectors. The economy has not sustained such a move.


  Donruss, and now Panini, has gotten away with making logo-less baseball cards by putting in lots of autographs from minor leaguers and retired players.


  "It just proves you don't need the logos to sell baseball cards," one collector expressed to TBR. "Who cares about logos?"


  Purists do and those purists will collect Topps any day over Upper Deck. So for the moment Upper Deck only has the NFL and NHL as full blown licenses. If the NFL chose to eliminate one of it's licensees, a possibility but not a probability, insiders tell TBR it would be Upper Deck. Such a move would seriously cripple the company in the trading card business.


  Upper Deck and McWilliams are loaded with other ventures so don't cry any crocadile tears for the folks at Sea Otter Place. They still have a strong line of memorabilia, good gaming products and Upper Deck International. Although with it's European and Latin American distribution, Panini will give UD more than a run for it's money. Actually UD would be chasing Panini in most markets.


  This is the not the first time the discussion of UD and no MLB came up. Over the years there were several instances where the league or the players union were not happy with the California card maker. Rumors persisted they would lose a license or at best be slapped with a fine or other restrictions. However, to see the company which founded itself as the collector's friend in 1989 actually lose out to Grandpappy Topps is pretty hard core.


  For his part McWilliams is a multi-millionaire who among other things owns a small commuter airline and while he's had his personal problems, he does put in his days at the office. Unlike the early days, UD has become less of a revolving door for it's staff. Several key people have been there for a longer time than many others. With the fortunes of Upper Deck trading cards slowly dipping into the same Pacific Ocean it sees out McWilliams office window, one could not blame them if they began looking and deserting what could be a sinking trading card ship.


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 (MALIBU) -- JAKKS Pacific inked a deal to sublicense a hot product. The company has the rights to make UFC toys and now is sub licensing the making of the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) to Round 5 Corporation. Now both companies have the rights to the growing MMA pool of players.


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(MORRISTOWN, NJ) Upper Deck, the most litigous of the companies in the industry is being sued by a man who says he sent 6 Pin Flags to UD so Tiger Woods could sign them under the UDA program, and they got lost. Robert Zafian, co-owner of Green Jacket Auctions, is suing UDA for $40,000 after the company admitted, according to his attorney, the flags were recieved and signed but then probably lost. He says UDA promised to pay him $200 per flag which it considered the extent of its liability. He claims they were worth much more, and signed were worth around $40,000.


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 (HOUSTON) HLT&T Sports is going after MLB charging Baseball is trying to put the company out of business and reneging on a deal made years ago. HLT&T repackages sports cards and has been selling them for decades including in sports stadiums. Since 2000 the company has sold it's wares at more than 15,000 games and even World Series. It claims it asked MLB Properties many years ago if it was okay and got the nod as long as it did not use logo's and trademarks on the packaging. Now MLBP wants it stopped. The company wants damages in excess of $200,000.


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You can reach Bob Brill at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com and don't forget to look on line at your favorite bookseller, or in your favorite bookstore for Bob's new book, "Fan Letters to a Stripper: A Patti Waggin Tale." The book, about the life of burlesque queen Patti Waggin, who was married to former White Sox and Senators pitcher Don Rudolph, will be on book shelves within two weeks. If you can't find it you can order both the basic book and/or the limited collectible edition (only 200) through the web site www.pattiwaggin.com.


 

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Wednesday Jul 29, 2009

THE BRILL REPORT: Grading? Is it Bogus?

By Bob Brill

  This is a question the hobby has pondered for a number of years and like almost everything else in this industry the questions linger and there are no solid answers. We hopefully will provide some answers in this dispatch but I fear will only raise more questions. The bottom line in a democracy is raising more questions is a good thing.


  There are three main grading companies; PSA, Beckett and SGC. At one time there were about 30 including our own TBR Grading Service. While TBR was probably the most innovative and toughest of the grading companies we just ran out of marketing money so we had to shut it down. PSA remains tops among collectors especially of those who collect vintage while Beckett is also very popular and SGC flounders behind. The rest are gone and if they do exist they are insignificant.


  The focus today is an experiment we tried and is finally over. While all three grading services have good reputations the collecting public still questions their accuracy and motive. How do they compare cards and how do they differ from company to company? Do they switch out your great cards for not so great ones? If one dealer sends in 1000 cards and I send in 10 cards will he get better grades because he spends so much? Are certain things overlooked because a dealer sends in lots of cards on a regular basis? How accurate is grading and is it really just an opinion?


  We will site several examples but the one we want to focus on now involves two specific cards, graded (or not graded by each of the big three). The two cards in question were a 1965 Phil Niekro and a 1965 Masanori Murakami Rookie Card. These two cards were acquired in a collection of extremely high grade cards from the 1960's. They were collected by a very strong collector who obviously admired centering first and foremost and had since he began collecting in 1955. He died in 1995 at the age of 40 and left his collection to his daughter. We purchased the entire collection from her. We submitted many cards to PSA for grading and got some really nice grades.


  The two most beautiful cards in the collection were the two rookies named above. After careful consideration we thought we had a legitimate shot at a 10 on the Murakami and a 9 or even 9.5 on the Niekro. PSA refused to grade them sending them back as "not meeting minimum size requirements." They did not say "showed evidence of trimming," but didn't meet minimum size requirements. So were they trimmed or just left the factory a bit off cut but perfectly centered?


  The source of the purchase was dead so he could not be consulted. He either got them from packs which was highly likely or bought them from a dealer in the 1980's. He bought a lot from Larry Fritsch who has a sterling reputation. Did he buy them from an unscrupulous dealer who trimmed them? PSA didn't say trimmed they said didn't meet the minimum size requirements.


  After closer inspection it seems the Niekro did seem slightly smaller, not so with the Murakami. We sent the two cards to Beckett Vintage Grading. Both cards came back. One sheet said both cards "had been restored." In both cases BVG said the cards did not meet the minimum size requirements from left to right and were "below measurement tolerance."


  So it looked as if there was some consistency. I still however was not sold. While the Niekro did look a little suspect the Murakami looked dead on. Were the two cards judged together and assumed to be tampered with by the graders? We don't know and they would say of course not because each card is graded individually as you expect them to say.


  The two cards are quite valuable. The Murakami carries a high Beckett price tag of $50 while the Niekro also carries a $50 catalog value. We would not object to the cards being graded by the same person at all. The next move was to send the cards to SGC. Never before had we sent cards to SGC but this time it was necessary for this experiment. The cards were returned this week and guess what?


  The Niekro as expected came back as ungradable. Again the words "minimum size" requirments not being met kept the graders from slabbing it. However, the Murakami was graded. It received the high grade of 96 or equivalent to PSA 9, Mint. They did not believe the card was trimmed or altered or even under the minimum size requirements. The Murakami card no. 282 in a PSA 9 is valued at $250! It was according to SGC and as we expected a non-trimmed card of high grade. It wasn't the 10 we felt it was but a 9 was great.


 So did the graders at SGC screw up or just miss the mark, or did they take the time and grade the two cards seperately and make the correct call? We like to think they did since it goes along with what we believe. Did Beckett and PSA think the cards were borderline and worthy of passage but backed off because they wanted to seem to be the grader with the toughest standards? This might be the case.


  In another instance several years ago we broke 50, 1991-92 Upper Deck NHL Hockey Update Sets which included the Keith Tkachuk and Alexi Yashin RC's. Carefully going over each card of the two players in question we found about 20 of each to be near exact copies of the others. So we sent the 20 Yashin's to one grading company and the 20 Tkachuk's to the other.


  Imagine our surprise when we recieved the cards to learn 80% almost exactly recieved an 8 and 20% recieved a 9 grade. The grading numbers were almost exact when it came to the breakdown from the two firms. Could we figure at this point if a customer sent in a large number of one card at the same time with nearly exact credentials, this would result in 20% in higher grades? It would be difficult with such limited experimentation to come to such a conclusion but the question was there regarding large submissions to smaller ones.


  PSA prides itself on its security and rightfully so. Beckett prides itself on its holder and innovations. Some of those innovations backfired. BCCG, Beckett's self proclaimed "low end" grading service was the joke of the industry. In an attempt to get large firms such as Wal-mart to carry graded products the company came up with the idea of allowing dealers or firms to submit a minimum of 1000 cards for a $2 grading fee. The holder would be basically the same but there wouldn't be an inside sleeve and less time taken to grade and no sub-grades.


  At the Hawaii Trade Conference that year a high ranking Beckett official stated this was "our lower end grading service."


  "If the card is graded a BCCG 10 it really is more like a BGS 8," said the official. "It is designed to get more lower end cards graded."


  He left the company a few months later by the way. The whole project still is seen as an embarrassment to the company which was at one time a leader in the industry for integrity.


  SGC made it's reputation on grading the oversized Tiger Woods Rookie Cards. Since then PSA has gone to grading oversized cards and taken away a lot of the market. PSA still stands out in the minds of collectors for one big reason. They want to complete graded sets and register them. As one dealer put it when it comes to PSA grading "it's all about set registration."


  TBR had several innovations which the industry has failed to adapt. TBR was the first to put sub-grades on the front label. Beckett did adopt this for vintage grading until it chose to drop sub grades for vintage cards. TBR also offered for free to the two big companies the TBR video grading system. This was developed by Bobby Brill II, a photographer and videographer who came up with the concept of placing a video camera on a poll overseeing a small platform. In this way the grader could move the card around on a felt slab underneath the camera and watch on a video monitor. This ingenius method allowed the grader to see a blown up version of the card and not hold the card while straining tired eyes.


  The younger Brill had worked for PSA for a short time as a temporary grader and was amazed at the lack of technology PSA employed in grading. Basically a lamp and a ruler were employed. The video system was offered to Beckett and PSA but both turned it down.


  The TBR holder was the smallest in the industry for basic cards and was designed to fit into a two-row shoe box easily. Currently no holder of the major graders does this. A special box must but carried to hold the cards, unlike TBR.


  TBR, according to consumers, also had the most accurate and logical grading system of points used in the industry. It was uncomplicated and easily understood. Unlike BGS and PSA it did not use a complicated algorithm system, but rather an applied point system which worked. One point was assigned each corner down to a half point or zero, each edge was assigned a half point while the front and back carried one point totals each as did centering from side to side and top to bottom. A perfect card would gain 4 points for the corners, 2 points for centering, 2 points for the edges and 2 points for the surface front and back. Knock off anything less than perfect and a different result came about. Grading of centering and surface marks was 50% discounted for pre-1981 cards due to technology of those times.


  Beckett at the time used an algorithm which stated the overall grade of the card could not be higher than one full point higher than the lowest sub graded. So if the corners graded 9, centering graded 9, edges graded 9 and the surface graded a 2, the card would be no better than a 3. We thought this ludicrous and developed our own system.


  The only flaw in our system was with creased cards, which would throw the balance of the system way off. We chose to make it a policy we would not grade creased cards.


  So the bottom line comes up again. Is Grading Bogus? There are a lot of good people in the grading field and a lot who are not, but then this is the hobby. So when it comes down to grading and it's legitimacy? Is it a calculated opinion, nothing more. It is a way to make money for a few companies and in the hobby this seems to be the bottom line.


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(BETTENDORF, IOWA) GAI, speaking of grading, is back with a new management team, a new system, a new website and in a new town. Thousands of miles away from it's former Southern California (Orange County) base the much beleaugered grading company is back in business. Still carrying the GAI name it now stands for Global Authority Inc., rather than Global Authentication, Inc. Gone are Justin Priddy and Steve Rache; the company is now being run by Demian Werner and Mike Baker. Several years ago TBR broke the story of how the company authenticated Tiger Woods signed golf balls when it was well know Woods does not sign golf balls. This started a string of news releases which eventually led to the companies demise. It was purchased out of bankruptcy and now has moved to Iowa.


(HONOLULU, HI) What is one of the hottest collectibles emerging on the scene today? How about surf related items? At the Annual Surf Convention in Honolulu recently, a bidder paid $40,000 for an 11-foot board made 60 years ago. A second board sold for $39,000 and was made in 1955. More than 100 historical boards went up for bid with 400 bidders on hand.


(MEMORY LANE) The latest sale of a T-206 Honus Wagner card brought a record for a low grade card. The card was graded a 40 by SGC and sold for $925,000 in the ML auction. A 40 is the equivalent of about a PSA 3.


(VENTURA,CA) Our next signing for the book "Fan Letters to a Stripper: A Patti Waggin Tale," will be in Ventura, CA on September 24th, a Thursday at 5:30pm. We recently recieved a phone call from someone who had seen the web site and remember fondly Don Rudolph from his minor league days. As a nine year old kid Don (Patti Waggin's husband) kept in contact with the boy by writing him post cards and letters. Try that today.


Remember to check out our website www.pattiwaggin.com and purchase either the collectible version of the book or the regular version. Go to the site and check it out. The book is due in mid-to-late August. You can reach Bob Brill at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com.


 


 


 


 

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