Back at it and adding another step in what will be an unending attempt to build "The Ultimate Set" of hockey cards: One card from every set produced, accounting for subsets, parallels, inserts, and all. I'm a sucker for punishment...
So why dive into this set as the second focal point in this series? It’s as simple as the fact that I love quirky stuff, and this set was many levels of off the beaten path! It varied in sizing. The artwork was different. The subjects were…bizarre (?), going from the hockey one was looking for, and splashing in a heavy dose of wild animals and dinosaurs (even so far as in with the memorabilia)! Even the packaging of the product was closer to a cigar box than a sports card box, a nice nod to the roots of the hobby itself. It did grab my eye in a sea of the same old, same old that can be our hobby for certain stretches…
There were a few options (as you can see below) to highlight for today, but I ultimately chose to start with these: The Minis Signatures Set. These made up a 55-card subset for the overall release and were comprised of hard signed mini/tobacco sized cards of current (for the 07-08 season, of course) and past NHL stars. Some of these were short printed in comparison to the others in the set, sometimes depending on the desirability of the player (such as in the cases of Crosby, Lemieux, Gretzky, Brodeur, Messier and Howe) and others due to the quirkiness factor (such as with poker players Daniel Negreanu, as well as poker players/actors Shannon Elizabeth and Jennifer Tilly, “Survivorman” Les Stroud and golfer Tiger Woods). While there are parallels in this subset, I am looking specifically at the base cards today, which one could pull at approximately a 1 in 12 pack ratio.
The specific card from my collection is the Dan Cleary special as seen below. Luh at dis b’y! (A nod to Cleary’s Newfoundland roots!)
She’s a beauty, eh? What we have here is a tobacco/cigarette style card, named such as the origin of this style stems from the late 1800’s/early 1900’s appearance of such cards in cigarette packs to provide something inside stiffer than the outer layer to prevent your darts from getting busted up! These were not initially sporting related, but came to include both hockey and baseball, among other sports, inserts as time went on. The standard size of these cards is generally around 17⁄16 by 25⁄8 inches (3.7 cm × 6.7 cm), much smaller than the 2.5 by 3.5 inch (6.4cm by 8.9cm) size of a standard card. Rather than carrying on anything tobacco-related, the more palatable and marketable “mini” label was obviously opted for here!
This card has a lot to love in terms of design. While simplistic in its beige backing in the front and slate-grey on the back, design elements reflective of the past era are implemented subtly and wonderfully in the process. Scrolled banners and set logo not only identifying the product, but also include personalized player information with their position and number in the outer areas, allowing for consistency and variance across cards. Font choice is exceptionally clear while also being subtly classy, popping off the surface without distracting. What appears to be a filtered aging of the player photo as opposed to an all-out drawn portrait balances the style with a realistic approximation of the player that some sets looking for the aged flavour have missed out on. Then my absolute favourite, the hard-signed autograph as opposed to a sticker, which would have, in my opinion, absolutely pulled me out of the historical vibe the design was trying to create. A nice old timey banner for the nameplate on the back, plus the appearance of the Red Wings logo add the cherry on top! Beautiful and quirky pull! And yes: Ultra Pro, as you can see, makes penny sleeves and top loaders for this sized card…
Other Pieces Of The 2008-09 UD Champ’s Set
Base Set:
The base set was comprised of 100 cards numbered one to one hundred (1-100).
Champ’s Rookie Set:
The rookie set, also comprised of 100 cards, followed the base set sequentially, numbered 101 to 200. Standout rookies in the set included Steven Stamkos, Kyle Turris, Kyle Okposo, Max Pacioretty, Claude Giroux, Semyon Varlamov, Blake Wheeler, Jakub Voracek, James Neal, Ben Bishop, TJ Oshie, Alex Pietrangelo, and Drew Doughty.
Minis NHL Players Set:
These mini cards, or tobacco cards as some refer to them, made up a 192-card subset featuring active NHL players. There were differential pull odds depending on base or parallel version. These were:
Base = 1 in 3 packs
Brown Back = 1 in 24 packs
Red Back = 1 in 144 packs
Blue Back = 1 in 288 packs
Purple Back = 1 in 576 packs
Minis Rookies Set:
This 96-card set contained mini/tobacco card versions of the rookie cards (absent a few) and continued sequentially from the NHL Players set (numbered 193 to 288). These came in a base set only, with a pull ratio of 1 in 8 packs.
Minis Natural History Set:
This 192-card set contained mini/tobacco cards featuring a wide assortment of wild animals and dinosaurs. These are numbered sequentially from the NHL Player and Rookies mini sets (numbered 289 to 480) and inserted at a ratio of 1 in 3 packs.
Minis Signatures Set:
This 55-card set is comprised of hard signed mini/tobacco sized cards of current and past NHL stars. The base set comprised of cards with players differing on whether their card was a regular or short-printed run. There were differential pull odds depending on base or parallel version. These were:
Base = 1 in 12 packs
Red Back = 1 in 288 packs
Blue Back = 1 in 576 packs
Purple Back = 1 in 1152 packs
Minis Threads Set:
This was a 70-card set of mini/tobacco sized jersey memorabilia cards of current and past NHL stars. They were inserted at a ratio of 1 in 24 packs.
Hall of Legends Memorabilia Set:
This was a 23-card set of mini/tobacco sized jersey memorabilia cards of current and past NHL superstars, while also seeing an appearance by golfing stars of the time Mike Weir and Tiger Woods. They were inserted at a ratio of 1 in 240 packs.
Fossils & Artifacts Set:
This 9-card set is comprised of mini/tobacco sized cards with artifacts embedded in them, including dinosaur bone/teeth fragments and early tools/knives. The set comprised of cards differing on whether their card was a regular or short-printed run. These cards were redemption-based and presented in shadow-box-like cards.
Other Pieces Of The Ultimate Set Build To Date
2017 Upper Deck Toronto Maple Leafs Centennial
Maple Leafs Marks (21 July 2021)
Positive vibes to you all. Please put some care into you and yours this beautiful day and look out for one another where possible! Our impact on others with even the smallest of actions, is far greater than we tend to realize. My best your way…
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Do you have a piece of treasured memorabilia that has a great story behind it? Let me know and you can be featured in an article. Doesn't matter how big or small the piece is, how valuable it may be, or whether it's a common item or more oddball. If you think it has a story, contact me via the information below and we'll chat. In the meantime, check out some previous "Display Case" articles via the links below to see what others have submitted in the past...
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Shawn Gates
[email protected]
Facebook: ShawnMcShawn
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Previous “Ultimate Set Build” Articles
2017 Upper Deck Toronto Maple Leafs Centennial
Maple Leafs Marks
Previous “Who Am I?” Articles
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Previous ”The Display Case” Posts
#1: The “Frankenstick!”
#2: Your desk has the right to remain collectable!
#3: Have Pads, Will Travel
#4: Pick a Pekka (Rinne) Autographed Mask
#5: Ted Lindsay Gets Kronwalled?
#6: The Only Thing We Have To Fehr Is Fehr Himself
#7: “Hungary” For Team Canada Swag
#8: The Soldiers Kid and “The Kid”
#9: Fan Appreciation & Player Humility Via The '72 Series
#10: Bobby Orr and....Birth Control?!?!?!
#11: Johnny Bower The “Portrait” Of Health At 88!!!
#12: Scotty Bowman – Stick Detective!!!
#13: Touch 'Em All Joe!!!
#14: Joey and Sergei's European (Lockout) Adventure!!!
#15: I’d Give The Jersey Off My Back For You…
#16: The Case Of The 1940’s Era Leafs
#17: Scrapping The History Of The Isles...
#18: Gretzky “Re-Signs” in Edmonton
#19: Gilmour Is Such A Caricature!!!
#20: Toys In The Attic
#21: The Right King Place At The Right King Time
#22: Momma Bear Takes On A “Killer”!!!
#23: Leafs Lunch Stool
#24: The 50 Goal Stub
#25: Scoring From The Rafters
Previous ”Random Hockey & Hobby Randomness” Posts
Gump, Game Used Beer, Ebay & Hevy Devy
Selling Kayfabe, Card Pics and Paper Babies
Previous Random Hockey Musings
Oh? Canada? A Hockey History…
Previous “Top Shelf Cards” Articles
Auston Matthews UD Premier Mega Patch
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