Upper Deck Company

The Upper Deck Company, LLC
Type	private LLC
Founded	Yorba Linda, California, United States (1988)
Founder(s)	Richard McWilliam (co-founder)
Headquarters	Carlsbad, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Richard McWilliam (President and CEO); Bernd Becker(VP Entertainment & Sports)
Industry	lithographic commercial printing, collectibles
Products	trading cards
Employees	250
Website	UpperDeck.com

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The Upper Deck Company, LLC (colloquially as Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, Ltd. in the UK), founded in 1988, is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards.

The company also produces sports related items such as figurines and die-cast on top of having exclusive agreements to produce memorabilia (under the brand name Upper Deck Authenticated) with such sports superstars as; Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Andrew Bynum, Albert Pujols, Grady Sizemore, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Ken Griffey Jr. Under the Upper Deck Entertainment name, the company also produces card games such as World of Warcraft.

[edit] Company history

Previous Upper Deck logo used until early 2008

On December 23, 1988, Upper Deck was granted a license by Major League Baseball to produce baseball cards. The first case of Upper Deck Baseball Cards was delivered February 28, 1989, to George Moore of Tulsa's Baseball Card Store in Tulsa, OK. The Upper Deck Company sold out its baseball cards midway through this inaugural year, then pre-sold its entire 1990 baseball stock before the year began. The 1990 set included the industry's first randomly inserted personally autographed and numbered cards of sports superstars. All Upper Deck brands bear an exclusive trademark hologram, and Upper Deck has been named "Card set of the Year" every year since 1989, ranked number one, and earned favorite brand status with card collectors.^[1]

Paul Sumner created the Upper Deck concept in 1987. He worked in printing sales, came up with the idea for a premium card. When he heard about card counterfeiting, he realized that he knew a way to protect cards. He had studied holograms in college and had used them in printing his company's brochures. ^[2] He hired Robert Young Pelton to design and produce a prototype. Pelton's agencies, Pelton & Associates and Digital Artists, was replaced by Chiat Day. Paul Sumner resigned with the understanding that he would be known as the "Co-Founder of Upper Deck", something that the company's owner and CEO, Richard McWilliam, recognizes to this day.

On March 20, 1990, The Upper Deck Company was granted licenses by the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players Association to produce hockey cards. The company also obtained licenses from the National Football League and the National Basketball Association in 1990, making the Upper Deck Company the first trading card company in 10 years to be licensed by all four leagues. Upper Deck established itself so quickly that it rivaled Topps, which had been considered the standard, and other companies such as Fleer, Donruss and Score. By 1991, the company built a 250,000-square-foot plant of brown marble and black glass on a hilltop 30 miles north of San Diego. ^[3]

After Upper Deck introduced its premium baseball series, other companies followed with improved photography, better design and higher-quality paper stock. The sports card market grew from $50 million in 1980 when Topps's monopoly was broken by Fleer, to a $1.5 billion industry in 1992. ^[4] Of note, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, served as an adviser in the early 1990’s.^[5]

In 1995, the company produced its first racing product. In 1996, it expanded its racing line when it absorbed Maxx. Upper Deck was also the first to insert swatches of game-used material into cards when it made jersey cards in 1996 UD Basketball. The insert set was called Game Jersey and a similar set followed in baseball the next year, where UD cut up game used jerseys of Ken Griffey, Jr., Tony Gwynn and Rey Ordonez.

In 1999, Upper Deck Company, spent in excess of $1.1 million in acquiring vintage baseball memorabilia items at the Barry Halper Collection auction held at Sotheby's in New York City. ^[6] One of the items was a Ty Cobb jersey that Upper Deck paid $332,500. As part of a sweepstakes prize, it gave the jersey to 14-year-old Robert Shell of Milwaukee. At the time, the estimated tax Robert was going to pay on the prize was $125,000. The amount, his mother said, would force the family to sell the jersey.^[7]

In May 2005, Richard McWilliam was honored at the sports collectible industry's annual trade convention in Hawaii as the industry's "most influential" person of the past 20 years.^[8] In addition to McWilliam's award, Upper Deck was also recognized for the debut of its legendary 1989 Baseball trading card set, which included the then 19-year-old centerfielder Ken Griffey, Jr., as the "most influential" event of the past 20 years. The list of nominees were created and voted upon by the editorial sports staff of F+W Publications (organizers of the conference and the parent organization of popular collectibles magazines such as Sports Collectors Digest, Trade Fax, Tuff Stuff, and Card Trade). ^[9]

In July 2005, Upper Deck won the liquidation auction of former competitor Fleer-SkyBox International's brand name, assets, and business model, as well as the Fleer Collectibles die-cast business assets. In March 2007, Upper Deck made an offer to buy competitor Topps^[10] and competes with Madison Dearborn Partners and Tornante Company. Upper Deck is currently in litigation to stop the sale.^[11]

Upper Deck originally included the year of the trading card set's release on its logo, with the "19" above "Upper" and the last two digits of the year under "Deck" (but both inside the green diamond). This was practice was dropped midway through the 1994 season. In 2008, Upper Deck retired the green diamond logo and replaced it with a new design that it could better utilize to market all of its products.

In 2009, Upper Deck introduced the Diamond Club. Diamond Club members consist of the top individual purchasers and collectors of Upper Deck and Fleer brands throughout the United States, Canada and Japan. The criteria was that the members distinguished themselves not only by the amount of money they spent, but on how they helped to promote these products within the hobby and to other collectors. Diamond Club members receive special promotional items, receive invitations to special events and are invited to an annual summit where they can share ideas with members of Upper Deck while participating in a special reception with one of our spokesmen. Less than 125 members to be a part of the program each year.^[12]

[edit] The DeWayne Buice connection

DeWayne Buice, who was pitching for the California Angels at the time, would become a founding partner. In November 1987, Buice walked into a trading card store called The Upper Deck. He was noticed by the store owner Bill Hemrick. The two struck up a friendship that led to Buice having an autograph signing at the store, and within weeks, Buice had become one of Hemrick's business partners. ^[13] Hemrick and his partner Paul Sumner were in the process of starting Upper Deck. The two did not have the connections to help land them the necessary license from the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), which would allow them to use the names and likenesses of the players on the card. The only response they could elicit was that the players union wasn't accepting another card company for three more years. Buice was told that if he could help them secure a license, he was promised a 12 percent stake in the card company. Buice would become a key figure in getting MLBPA officials to agree to a meeting. By the end of the 1988 season, Henrick and Summer received the license and were making baseball cards in 1989. ^[14]

By the time Buice retired from professional ball at the end of the 1989 season, he had collected $2.8 million. Buice believed he was owed much more, so he sued Upper Deck executives. After a battle over his stake in the company was settled in court, he became a millionaire who reportedly made $17 million on the deal, far more than what he ever made as a baseball player. In two and a half seasons with the Angels, Buice made $212,500.^[15]

After winning the lawsuit, Upper Deck was originally scheduled to pay Buice his millions over a four-year period. Due to the 1994 baseball strike, Upper Deck's business stalled. Buice agreed to a six-year payment plan. Sales in 1995 and 1996 were down so much that for those couple years all our profits were going to Buice. ^[16]

On the day in 1998 that Upper Deck cut its last check to Buice, there was a party at company headquarters. The top brass ordered everyone to work just a half day. Later that year at the Christmas party, Upper Deck CEO Richard McWilliam told employees that the company's deal with Buice was the worst deal it had ever done.^[17]

[edit] Lawsuit

Anthony Passante, a former lawyer for Upper Deck, sued for a 3 percent share in the company, in 1992. Richard McWilliam had dismissed Mr. Passante in December 1988. Passante portrayed the lawsuit as a case of friendship betrayed, asserting that he had trusted Mr. McWilliam, a friend and high school classmate. He felt that their words were their bond. On May 21, 1993, an Orange County jury awarded Mr. Passante $33 million, based on valuing Upper Deck at $1 billion. Mr. McWilliam's evaluation was $250 million, and a witness for Mr. Passante put it at $1.5 billion.

The process of evaluating the company forced Mr. McWilliam to disclose that the company lost $15 million on a line of Looney Tunes sports cards and another loss of $6 million on a poster featuring the 1992 Olympics "Dream Team" of basketball players from the United States. On July 2, Orange County Superior Court Judge James Cook tossed out the ruling, citing insufficient evidence and misconduct by Passante’s attorney, who filed a notice of appeal with the state Court of Appeals. Two months after the judge's ruling, Upper Deck released SP Baseball, a premium line of baseball cards. ^[18]

[edit] Notable sports cards

[edit] Exquisite Collection

Upper Deck premiered its NBA Exquisite Collection line in the 2003–2004 season. Each pack contained five basketball cards; one veteran base card numbered to 225, one autographed rookie card featuring a piece of patch worn by the player numbered to 99 or 225, one game worn jersey card, one autographed/patch insert card, and a fifth card that was either a low numbered parallel or an additional autographed patch card. Suggested retail price of the product was $500, making it the most expensive basketball card product ever produced at the time. (The few packs that remain unopened now sell for over $4,000.) Autograph cards include veterans such as Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony. The most sought after cards from the line include the autographed/patch rookie cards numbered to 99 (LeBron James, Darko Milicic, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Udonis Haslem), the Limited Logos inserts which feature an extra large jersey patch piece and autograph, and the autographed/patch rookie parallels serial numbered to the player's jersey number.

[edit] Other premium series

In view of the Exquisite series' success, the company has released 2004–05 and 2005–06 basketball sets, a 2005 football line, and an analogous 2005–06 hockey line called The Cup. The football line, which includes autographed rookie "patch" cards, is the most popular of the series. Variants of these cards, called the Gold Series, are limited to runs of 25 or 99 cards. The company's Exquisite-branded baseball series were introduced first as premiums in lower-end Upper Deck products (including the company's SP Legendary Cuts and Artifacts Baseball lines). In late 2007, the company added another line to its Exquisite Collections brand, focused on rookie players. This recent addition is retailed at $249 USD per pack.

[edit] Yankee Stadium Legacy

The Yankee Stadium Legacy set is a 6,500-card compilation chronicling every single game ever played at Yankee Stadium. The card set was manufactured by Upper Deck and made its official debut by being inserted in random packs of Upper Deck's 2008 Series 1 Baseball. ^[19]

Other cards in the set commemorate some of the most famous sporting events that have taken place at Yankee Stadium. Some of these events include: Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest Man Alive" Speech (July 4, 1939); Babe Ruth's "Final Visit to Yankee Stadium" (June 11, 1948); Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling heavyweight title bout (June 19, 1936, Schmeling won), the 1958 NFL Championship between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts and Muhammad Ali's title defense against Ken Norton (Sept. 28, 1976).

The Guinness World Book of Records will certify The Yankee Stadium Legacy as the largest baseball card set ever produced, once all the cards are released. ^[20] The official recognition will take place only after all of the 6,500 cards are released in Upper Deck's various baseball card launches throughout the year. ^[21]

The various sets where the Yankee Stadium Legacy cards were inserted into were: Spectrum; Piece of History; SPx; Upper Deck Series Two; SP Legendary Cuts (Hobby-only); SP Authentic; UDx; and UD Masterpieces. Upper Deck started a website so that collectors could find out more about the Yankee Stadium Legacy set ^[22]. Alphanumeric codes found on the backs of Yankee Stadium Legacy cards can be entered at the site, and collectors will can use the site to manage their collections online, and track their collections against other collectors via a leader board.

Tommy Baxter, a 36-year-old from Little Rock, Arkansas, was the first collector to put together Upper Deck’s Yankee Stadium Legacy (YSL) Collection. Baxter was an avid Cubs fan, and seized the opportunity to become the first collector to piece together the insert set.^[23]

[edit] Biography of a Season

The NHL Biography of a Season cards was a 30-card set capturing the greatest moments of the 2008-09 NHL Season. The cards were available through Upper Deck Certified Diamond Dealers. A collector had to redeem 5 wrappers of 2008/2009 Upper Deck hockey cards at a participating hobby store and receive an exclusive Upper Deck Biography of a Season card.^[24] One new card was available every week throughout the NHL season. The first four cards were:

Alexander Ovechkin - NHL single-season record 65 goals by LW
Henrik Zetterbeg - 2008 Conn Smyth winner
Detroit Redwings - Stanley Cup team photo
Steven Stamkos - 1st overall pick in 2008 Draft

[edit] 20th Anniversary Program

In observance of the 20th anniversary in 2009, Upper Deck released a set that can be found in all of the company’s 2009 baseball trading card releases. The massive 2,500 card set commemorated the last twenty years in sports, pop culture, politics, world history and technology.^[25] The first cards from the 20th Anniversary Retrospective set were found in 2009 Upper Deck Series One Baseball. An additional element to the set was be the 100-card memorabilia set, that was found in all sets beginning with 2009 Upper Deck Spectrum Baseball, (released on February 24).

[edit] Michael Jordan Legacy

In April 2009, the company announcement that longtime company spokesman Michael Jordan would be honored with an 1,170-card tribute insert set chronicling every single Chicago Bulls game Jordan played in. The set will begin with his NBA debut on October 26, 1984 through his final Bulls appearance in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on June 14, 1998. The 1,170-card set will pack out across four 2009 Upper Deck basketball products: Lineage (April 1); Radiance (April 29); Upper Deck (Sept. 22); and First Edition (Sept. 29). Each of the cards will include MJ’s specific box score stats from the game in question. The set will be given every card some historical significance as the overall set captures every game Jordan ever played with the Bulls, regular-season and playoff battles included. The cards will fall, on average, 1:4 packs across all four brands.

In addition to the 1,170 Jordan game cards, Upper Deck also included 100 different game-used memorabilia cards, each one crash-numbered to 23. The cards will sport swatches from Michael’s game-worn jerseys. More than 100 different action photos showing Michael through the years were used for card front photography.^[26]

[edit] Card designs

[edit] Material cards from "Worn by the player" to "Used in an event"

Upper Deck has changed their practice of using materials that they certify as being "Worn" by the player depicted on the front of the card. The changes in wording on the backs of the cards now make it less clear as to how the materials were used, or if it had been worn by the player or anyone at all.

EXAMPLE: Steve Nash card 2004... (Back of card) On the front of this card is an authentic piece of a jersey WORN by Steve Nash as a member of the Dallas Mavericks in an NBA game.

EXAMPLE: Jermaine O'Neal card 2006 Exquisite...(Back of card) On the front of this is a piece of memorabilia that has been certified to us as having been USED in an NBA game.

Upper Deck also has removed from the front of the cards the word "Jersey" in game used cards. Upper Deck no longer acknowledges exactly what kind of material it is that they have inserted in the card, nor how it was used, and has eliminated the wording that it was actually worn by the player pictured on the front of the card. Upper Deck's authenticity has been questioned in regards to players' jersey and uniform materials. The cards state that it is known to Upper Deck to have been used, worn, etc. but since most of the gear is acquired through third parties the actual use is not known. Most of their jersey materials are harvested at events like rookie photo shoots, etc.. At such events players often change their shirts, dozens and dozens of times, to generate event worn uniform material that never sees the field of play.

Collectors still debate and question the authenticity of this 'memorabilia" which often includes manufactured specifically for the cards patches and other desirable chase content.

[edit] Other brands

[edit] Upper Deck Entertainment

Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE), a division of The Upper Deck Company, used to produce the English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, and French language versions of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, a collectible card game, licensed from Konami.^[27] Other collectible card games have included the Winx Club trading card game for girls, which has since been canceled, the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game based on the popular MMORPG which is still being produced, and the Marvel Trading Card Game and the DC Comics Trading Card Game using their proprietary VS System, which was canceled in early 2009. In October 2005, UDE introduced a trading card game based on Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender series and the Pirates of the Caribbean films. It has also released many non-game oriented sports-based and multimedia companion trading card sets.

[edit] Upper Deck Digital

Upper Deck Digital uses the latest technology to improve the quality of Upper Deck's web site, company store and product portfolio. One of their accomplishments include the PenCam, Upper Deck's latest authentication innovation. Electronic cards include the e-Card; a trading card with a virtual twin, and the Personalized Trading Card; which allows amateur sports fans to go online and create their own Upper Deck trading card. WebPass is a technology that turns an invisible watermark on a trading card into the collector's key into secret websites.^[28]

[edit] Upper Deck International

In 1991, Upper Deck introduced its products to the global marketplace with the creation of Upper Deck Europe, headquartered in the Netherlands. With an office in Amsterdam and distribution throughout Europe, Asia and India, the company markets and sells TCG's, Toys, Games and Collectibles that are geared to local consumers. The emphasis is less on sports items and more on toys and games.

The organization changed its name to Upper Deck International in 2008, reflecting an increasingly broader outlook than Europe alone. In addition to EMEA, Upper Deck International is responsible for Oceania, Japan and Latin America. With offices in Berlin, Paris, London, Milan, Tokyo, Sydney and Sao Paolo the company is optimally organized for distribution across the globe.^[29]

Upper Deck International lost the Yu-Gi-Oh license as well in Spring of 2009.

[edit] Upper Deck Kids

In April 2006, Upper Deck created Upper Deck Kids with the slogan "Get More Than Lucky". Codes printed on the back of cards can be entered on the website to get points which can be redeemed for prizes. In April 2007, a monthly limit of 1000 codes was installed and adults were made ineligible to sign up. New prizes are usually added weekly. Prizes available in the past included autographed memorabilia, sports card boxes, screensavers, desktop wallpapers, video games & systems, among others.The website also encourages you to buy sports cards. Each prize is worth a different amount. Upper Deck Kids also has message boards where kids can talk about sports, trade codes, and gossip, etc. Also, a limit has been put on how many invalid codes you can enter. This due to multiple hackers that wrote code cracking programs in order to guess all of the possible codes and take all of the prizes for themselves. Additionally, 2006 Upper Deck product's codes may no longer be redeemed for points on the kids website due to avid "code sharing" amongst members. These 06' codes are often referred to as "accident codes". Code sharing is massive lists of free codes posted on third party sites that can be used to redeem huge amounts of points. Trading codes also takes place on the website as well. Also, in order to encourage kids to buy the most recent Upper Deck products, codes from the backs of cards that are older than six months now are worth half of their original rewards points value.

[edit] Legal dispute VS Konami

Upper Deck acquired the right to produce the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game in March 2002 from the Japanese company Konami. That same year, Yu-Gi-Oh! reached US$17 million in card sales in the second quarter of 2002 and became Upper Deck's top-selling product line — even over its long-running baseball card line.

In late 2008, Konami sued a company named Vintage Sports Cards for illegally distributing counterfeit copies of Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Game Cards in a tri-pack blister presentation which included several counterfeit cards, along with packs of legitimate Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. The counterfeits were sold mostly at Walmart and Toys-R-Us in United States, but can be easily found in Latin America. Vintage denied any wrong doing claiming it legally obtained all cards it distributed (counterfeits included) directly from Upper Deck. Konami immediately added Upper Deck as defendants in the case.

In December 2008, Konami announced that the company was taking over all operational and business aspects of the Yugioh! TCG. In response, Upper Deck filed suit for $75 million against Konami in Nevada District Court. In January 2009, Upper Deck released a statement calling the allegation in Konami's complaint in the Vintage case that Upper Deck was the source of allegedly counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh! rare cards distributed by Vintage Sports Cards "absurd." Citing its efforts to combat counterfeiting in the past, Upper Deck said, "To think that Upper Deck would be involved in YGO counterfeit activity is therefore not only absurd, it simply does not make sense." The statement also accused Konami of "unfair and backstabbing tactics" in its efforts toward "removing Upper Deck from the Yu-Gi-Oh! business." [1]

Konami Digital Entertainment was awarded a preliminary injunction on February 2009. The order from U.S. District Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank of the California Central District orders Upper Deck to stop using Konami's trademarks, art, and text; to stop "promoting or holding itself out to members of the public as an authorized distributor or rights-holder to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG;" and to stop selling any previously printed Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG products, other than product paid for by customers prior to Konami's notice of termination of its distribution agreement with Upper Deck on December 11. This decision also involved the cancellation of Upper Deck sponsored Organized Play [2]

The case is still on dispute.

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

Williams, Pete. Card Sharks: How Upper Deck Turned a Child's Hobby into a High-Stakes, Billion-Dollar Business. Macmillan General Reference, May 1995.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[0] ttp://www.tradingcardcentral.com/news/2005/03/10_002.php

[1] ttp://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/04/business/upper-deck-shakes-up-trading-card-industry.html?pagewanted=all

[2] ttp://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/04/business/upper-deck-shakes-up-trading-card-industry.html?pagewanted=all

[3] ttp://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/04/business/upper-deck-shakes-up-trading-card-industry.html?pagewanted=all

[4] ttp://www.notablebiographies.com/Ho-Jo/Jackson-Reggie.html

[5] ttp://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-55918614.html

[6] ttp://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1019889/index.htm

[7] ttp://www.tradingcardcentral.com/news/2005/03/10_002.php

[8] ttp://www.tradingcardcentral.com/news/2005/03/10_002.php

[9] ESPN - Upper Deck, Eisner group both seeking to buy Topps - MLB

[10] Upper Deck Sues Topps - Upper Deck Company has filed a lawsuit against... | Sports Collectors Daily | Topps, Upper, Deck, Lawsuit, Company

[11] ttp://sports.upperdeck.com/diamondclub.aspx

[12] ttp://espn.go.com/sportsbusiness/s/2003/0807/1591961.html

[13] ttp://espn.go.com/sportsbusiness/s/2003/0807/1591961.html

[14] ttp://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/buicede01.shtml

[15] ttp://espn.go.com/sportsbusiness/s/2003/0807/1591961.html

[16] ttp://espn.go.com/sportsbusiness/s/2003/0807/1591961.html

[17] ttp://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/04/business/upper-deck-shakes-up-trading-card-industry.html?pagewanted=all

[18] ttp://sports.upperdeck.com/news/article.aspx?aid=3776

[19] ttp://sportscards.about.com/b/2008/01/19/yankee-stadium-legacy-set-aims-to-be-largest-baseball-card-set-ever.htm

[20] ttp://sports.upperdeck.com/news/article.aspx?aid=3776

[21] ttp://sports.upperdeck.com/baseball/yankeestadium

[22] ttp://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/latest-sports-collecting-news/6-000-card-yankee-stadium-legacy-set-complete.html

[23] ttp://sports.upperdeck.com/hockey/biographyseason/default.aspx

[24] ttp://sports.upperdeck.com/basketball/article.aspx?aid=5183

[25] ttp://www.upperdeck.com/marketing/news_article.aspx?aid=5577

[26] ttp://www.upperdeck.com/overview.aspx

[27] ttp://www.upperdeck.com/overview.aspx

[28] ttp://www.upperdeck-international.com

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