Strolling down memory lane and revisiting the evolution of sports cards, I always find special items to share with my readers and also critic this ever changing business. Going through hundreds of thousands of sports cards, is something that I would love the opportunity to revisit on a daily basis. So as a constant reminder to me of how the sports card industry has evolved I blog about it. Hopefully the younger collectors can find some interest in collecting cards when the prizes were not so extreme. When every sports card were not all numbered. When our motivation for collecting was not the turn around of a high end dollar collectible. Don’t get me wrong, it has long been a collectible market for the deep pocket collectors, but I will continue to share my sports cards like these 2000 Upper Deck E cards.

The 2000 Upper Deck E Cards

The 2000 Upper Deck E cards were not all they were cracked up to be. I am mindful that this was a semi-successful way to get autographed cards as well as Game used jersey cards into the hand of loyal Upper Deck collectors. It is just that the concept was way neater than the actual turnover of these cards. In case you are too young to remember or in the event that you just became interested in sports cards, I will explain how the process worked for Upper Deck enthusiast.

How the program worked. Very simple concept. You collected the Upper Deck major sports cards, Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, and Football. The packs randomly were selected to carry the Upper Deck E Cards, these cards all had serial numbers and the serial numbers were to be entered into the Upper Deck official website. The card would spin and reveal a winner or non-winner. The lists of winners were then visible on your own personal login on the site. The cards were usually mailed out within 2 months or so, some took longer. The cards were vast and some carried both game used memorabilia and autographs. Others just memorabilia or just autographs. Most certainly an innovator Upper Deck lost some steam in recent years with the loss of the NFL license in 2010. Below find an excerpt of the wikipedia page for Upper Deck:

On April 7, 2010, Upper Deck announced it would no longer be licensed to produce NFL trading cards. Upper Deck spokesperson Terry Melia noted on his Twitter account that, “UD was unable to come to terms with NFL Properties. No NFL Properties-licensed football cards from UD in 2010.” Upper Deck owner Richard McWilliam said, “Over the past year, Upper Deck has attempted to negotiate a new licensing deal with NFL Properties. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were not able to reach agreeable terms, and therefore will not be issuing any NFL Properties-licensed trading cards for the 2010 season. Upper Deck will continue to focus on its exclusive license agreement with the Collegiate Licensing Company and co-exclusive agreements with NHL Enterprises and the NHL Players Association, as well as its multiple entertainment licenses.