Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Baseball cards with bugs ?

Sports fans collect a lot of things -- baseball cards, autographs, memorabilia, bugs.


Bugs?


That's not a Joba Chamberlain reference there -- it's the latest concoction in the baseball card world from Carlsbad, Calif.-based Upper Deck.

It has put actual insects into baseball cards.
Last summer, Upper Deck issued Goodwin Champions, a baseball card set featuring the design and look of the 1880s tobacco cards of the same name -- but with a modern twist that included autographs of sports stars (not just baseball players) and pieces of game-used memorabilia on their cards.
Autographs and memorabilia are the modern norm -- but Upper Deck added a few extras.

"I want to create some watercooler talk," said Upper Deck baseball product development manager Grant Sandground. "I want to have people talking about these products. Here are tobacco-era cards redefined."

You see, tobacco cards -- pieces of cardboard placed into packs of cigarettes to firm up the packaging -- originally featured bugs, flags and athletes from all types of sports before baseball became the norm and the smokes were dropped in favor of bubble gum.

For the modern version of the old-time tobacco card, Upper Deck put the actual bugs into the cards for its Goodwin Champions Entomology cards. And because exotic insects come in all shapes and sizes, the company put redemption cards (think Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket) into packs instead of the cards containing the creepy crawlers.

Courtesy of Upper Deck
Here's a look at the back of the card."I wanted to show to the modern consumer that tobacco cards weren't all about baseball players. … They had Civil War generals, racing horses, bicycles, animals and all sorts of stuff," Sandground said. "What I wanted to do was take those subjects and completely turn them on their ear in a style befitting of Upper Deck -- to take those concepts from 100 years ago and deliver them in the most modern manner possible."

The company is preparing to ship the "bug cards" out to customers who have patiently waited for their collectibles, unveiling a peek at the Great Walking Leaf card seen here. That card is four times the size of a standard baseball card -- but it's infinitely creepier.

"People thought I was crazy when I came here and pitched this product," Sandground said. "But we're all pretty excited about it."
The novelty of these cards hasn't been lost on collectors -- they've routinely been paying $100 a pop for the exchange cards, despite not knowing exactly which insect they might get in return.



Upper Deck has announced that there will be more than 30 different bugs to be collected, including specimens of the giant centipede (which can be a foot long), the walking stick, baby-back scorpions, the man-faced beetle, and several types of butterfly.



Something tells me that the Great Walking Leaf might not be the creepiest of the bunch.


ESPN.com

I like the idea. I think it's cool to put different things into cards.

reading from the title before coming into the thread, i thought they were actually putting real dead bugs in the game used slots.

I got one coming!

reading from the title before coming into the thread, i thought they were actually putting real dead bugs in the game used slots.

Isn't that what they're doing? Or did I misread the article. It says there will be actual bugs in the cards, but the cards will not be standard sized.

You are right!!! I completely ignored some of the statement.......lack of sleep must've done it.

I actually bid on some of these on Ebay but couldnt get them at the price I was willing to pay. I thought it would have def been something unique to add to my collection. I thuoght it was a unique and cool idea... (as long as it doesnt get overdone)

I'm not a big fan of GUs on/in cards, now they are putting bugs in cards? Well I guess it isn't much different from actually collecting insects to begin with.

There's a sample of one of these floating around, they look way cool!

very interesting! I would definitely like to see one of these!

Justin

I saw pictures of a few of those (real or mock-up, I know not).

They looked well-designed, but I don't know about having a dead bug in between my other cards.

I saw pictures of a few of those (real or mock-up, I know not). 

They looked well-designed, but I don't know about having a dead bug in between my other cards. 

It would be the holy defender of your card collection.

They looked well-designed, but I don't know about having a dead bug in between my other cards. 

A little less disturbing than a live
one!

Collect Hard!,
RGBII

Bugs creep me out..I will pass on this one!

A little less disturbing than a live
one!

Collect Hard!,
RGBII

Good point!!

It would be the holy defender of your card collection.

Unless it is a book worm, then you have problems.

These cards sound interesting, but just not sure I would buy them.

Now I do like the sounds of the wierd items they are putting in Champs Hockey (dinosaur fossils, etc). That would be something cool to own, as the only ones I get to see are in a museum, even if only a piece of the dinosaur fossil (with the exception of something super small in size).

Unless it is a book worm, then you have problems. 

These cards sound interesting, but just not sure I would buy them. 

Now I do like the sounds of the wierd items they are putting in Champs Hockey (dinosaur fossils, etc).  That would be something cool to own, as the only ones I get to see are in a museum, even if only a piece of the dinosaur fossil (with the exception of something super small in size).

This is true .

Me personally, I'm into the weird cards. I have a Woolly Mammoth femur card, pretty cool stuff! I'll try to get my hands on any other weird ones if I can afford to lol.

very interesting! I would definitely like to see one of these!

Justin

Here's a UD Blog article with pics (scroll down): http://upperdeckblog.com/2010/02/3307/

Wow i actually find it pretty cool!

That picture is pretty cool, but storage of something like this for me would be a problem. I am not big on oversized items unless I can put them in a binder or something.