Baseball Card
Baseball cards can be traced back to the late 1800s. Although it isn’t known for sure who printed the first baseball cards, some businesses printed baseball situations on their business cards. These early cards didn’t feature specific players. "Buck" Duke is credited with the idea of inserting a small cardboard advertisement into packages of cigarettes. His company featured actors and politicians so they weren’t really baseball cards.Goodwin and Company of New York City issued the first major set in 1886. Some of the sets produced during this era were Old Judge, Allen & Ginter, and Mayo Cut Plug. They were basically photos glued to stiff cardboard backing. Unfortunately they didn’t print baseball stats on the backs of the early cards. Some cards featured a player posing in front of a studio-created background with props, with such innovations as an action shot with a baseball suspended on a string. You can actually see the string on some cards! Other baseball cards featured full-color lithographs of the game’s top stars.During the early years of baseball cards there was a fierce competition between American tobacco companies. Goodwin was one of the first to produce baseball cards and insert them into cigarette packages as a way to increase sales. They were so successful that baseball cards were packaged with other products for the next century. Topps baseball cards had bubble gun inserted in the packs. Other tobacco companies followed Goodwin’s lead and inserted cards in their cigarette packs. Buck Duke shrewdly formed the American Tobacco Company from Allen & Ginter, Goodman & Co., W.S. Kimball and others. Without competition, they didn’t feel the need to produce new cards. This brought an end to the first era of baseball cards. It would be almost half century before the sports cards really exploded with the issuing of football cards, basketball cards and even later, NASCAR cards to compliment baseball cards.

Tennis Card
The 2005 Ace Authentic Debut Edition tennis trading card factory set, produced by Ace Authentic of Tampa, Florida, arrived on the market in January offering the first officially licensed tennis cards since the 2003 NetPro products.Building on previous tennis card products, the new cards from Ace have a nearly identical design to the NetPro Premier Edition set. Cards in the Debut Edition set feature a standard front design that integrates the player's name, country name and country flag over a full-bleed, color action shot. The card backs follow a standard design of player vitals; career statistics including tour record, rankings and prize money; career highlights; and the card numbers. The back also includes a small black-and-white headshot of each player.According to Ace, the Debut Edition set will be their only product featuring a relatively basic design. Future products will have a look and feel similar to an Upper Deck SP Authentic or high-end Donruss/Playoff brand. Coupled with the fact that the company has obtained a multi-year agreement with players, expect to see exciting products moving forward.For its part, the Debut Edition set contains the first officially licensed rookie cards of many of today's international tennis stars including Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Tim Henman, Carlos Moya, David Nalbandian, Nadia Petrova, Dinara Safina, Tatiana Golovin and Marat Safin. The set also includes cards of superstars and fan favorites such as Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Paradorn Srichaphan and Roger Federer.The 98-card factory set (97 player cards and 1 checklist) has a limited production run of only 10,000 sets (1000 cases of 10 sets). Each set also includes one gold-embossed (foiled) parallel card serially numbered to 100 with only 100 total parallel sets produced. According to Ace, they produced some promotional sets - including the one we reviewed - without the gold card. Also randomly inserted is a redemption card for the first autographed Maria Sharapova rookie card - serially numbered to only 100 cards.With a brand-new product, it's not uncommon to find a few minor issues with the design or packaging. For example, the checklist card lists the players in alphabetical order along with their card number rather than in traditional numerical order. Also, the location of the card number on the back of three cards was moved rather than cropping the headshot differently. In addition, the product packaging incorrectly states that the set includes a card of Anna Kournikova. More importantly though, the overall quality of the set (see notes below) was consistent with what is typically seen in today's trading card products.The 2005 Ace Authentic Debut Edition tennis trading card factory set is only $19.99 (plus shipping and handling) and is available directly at AceAuthentic.com or through various online stores. At this very reasonable price, Ace provides a quality product for collecting 2005 tennis cards, including the key new rookies. If you're lucky enough to pull one of the autographed Sharapova rookie cards, the low price quickly becomes a major bargain.

Hockey Card
On Feb. 7, 1976, Toronto Maple Leafs Hall-of-Famer Darryl Sittler set an NHL record by scoring 10 points in a single game -- six goals and four assists. Facing him (but obviously not stopping him) in the Boston Bruins’ net that night was rookie goaltender Dave Reece.While Reece never saw a sophomore season in the NHL, his rookie card will be issued next month as Upper Deck releases what may end up being the only hockey set of current players made this winter -- the 2004-05 Upper Deck series one set.Scheduled for release early December, the 210-card base set will include 30 short-printed "Young Guns" cards in three varieties: regular Young Guns, Young Guns Retro and Young Guns Legend.According to a preliminary checklist published on the Beckett.com web site and in Beckett Hockey magazine, there will be two Young Guns and 11 Young Guns Retro cards, which will combine to be found one per five packs. The 17 Young Guns Legends cards will be found 1:20 packs, for a combined insertion ratio of 1:4 packs for all Young Guns cards.The Dave Reece card is found in the Legends subset, along with: key NHL builders Hobey Baker, James Norris and Lord Stanley; international hockey icons Denis Brodeur, Herb Brooks, Viktor Tikhonov, Alexander Ragulin and Cammi Granato; Red Wings owner Mike Iiltch; Lightning coach John Tortorella; broadcaster Dick Irvin Jr.; and announcers Foster Hewitt, Tom Mees and Gary Thorne.The two key players in the current NHL lockout are also included in the subset: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Director Bob Goodenow.Two rookies who made their NHL debuts in April are featured on the regular Young Guns cards: the Carolina Hurricanes’ Brad Fast and the Calgary Flames’ Brennan Evans.The Young Guns Retro cards picture players who made their rookie debuts before Upper Deck started making hockey cards in 1990-91. Among the players in the subset is Ron Francis, shown with the Hartford Whalers.Also included on Young Guns Retro cards are: Wayne Gretzky (WHA’s Indianapolis Racers), Mark Messier (WHA’s Cincinnati Sting), Peter Forsberg (Quebec Nordiques), Steve Yzerman, Patrick Roy, Mario Lemieux, Dave Andreychuk, Luc Robitaille, Gordie Howe and Don Cherry (shown with the AHL’s Rochester Americans).With a suggested retail price of $2.99 for an eight-card pack (24 packs per box), the 2004-05 Upper Deck set includes the usual array of inserts, with an average of two game jersey cards per box.Among the game jersey insert sets are: World Cup of Hockey Tribute, Big Playmakers (with jumbo-sized swatches), Young Stars Swatches, Heritage Classic (commemorating last season’s outdoor game) and UD Game Jersey 1997 version (reproducing the design from Upper Deck’s original game-worn hockey jersey set).AHL players in new set: In The Game’s Heroes & Prospects set is now available, and the 180-card checklist (with no short-prints) includes 55 AHL prospects -- including the Hartford Wolf Pack’s Alexandre Giroux, Fedor Tyutin and Jozef Balej; plus the Bridgeport Sound Tigers’ Martin Kariya. There are also memorabilia insert cards for most of those players, plus the Wolf Pack’s Garth Murray and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers’ Trent Hunter and Rick DiPietro, among others.In addition to the AHL players, Heroes & Prospects includes the best young junior players from the CHL and a variety of retired legends from the past. Each hobby box contains one game-used memorabilia card and an average of two autograph cards.As a nice addition, there are "He Shoots, He Scores" decoy/redemption cards in each pack that does not contain a game-used memorabilia card. These extra-thick cards feature AHL and junior hockey team logos on the front. Designed to help deter pack searching for the memorabilia cards, each comes with a point value. Collectors who accumulate enough points can redeem them for unique and scarce game-used memorabilia cards not available in packs.There is also an arena version available at a lower price, but with fewer autograph cards and no game-used memorabilia cards or He Shoots, He Scores Decoy/Redemption cards. The arena version is available through AHL web sites and some convenience stores.A Heroes & Prospects Update set is scheduled for release later this season. The 50-card set will include some of the best prospects not found in the regular Heroes & Prospects set. A tentative list of players to be included are Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Tomas Vanek from the AHL and Benoit Pouliot and Matthew Spezza from the junior ranks.In addition to the 50-card set, collectors will also receive one game-used memorabilia card or one autograph card in every set. Collectors will be able to place orders at the In The No more "Be a Player": In The Game came into existence six years ago to carry on the "Be a Player" brand name that had originally been started by Upper Deck and continued by Pinnacle through the 1997-98 season. But In The Game has now announced that as of June 30, 2004, its license to use the Be a Player brand name was terminated by the NHLPA, as was its license to produce cards featuring active players in their NHL uniforms.The company recently developed a new logo and is planning to releasing new brands of cards (featuring retired players and/or non-NHL prospects only) under the In The Game brand names. The Be a Player brand name remains property of the NHLPA and is no longer associated with In The Game.Don’t be surprised if the Be a Player name -- which became famous in the hobby when Upper Deck made it the first product to include one NHL autograph per pack in 1994-95 -- is brought back (possibly by Upper Deck) after a new labor agreement is reached.Ironically, the original 45-card boxed set for the Be a Player brand, licensed by the NHLPA but not the league, was released during the NHL lockout that wiped out the early part of the 1994-95 season.

Football Card
Are football cards counterfeited? How do I know if the football card is real?An unfortunate aspect of the trading card industry is when some try to make a quick buck by cheating the system. This is especially true when it comes to printing of counterfeit football cards that closely resemble the real cards. Where there is a will to make money, even if it is illegal, then there is a way. The football card is also made for the avid fans of the football teams and players, the player/s and the team/s have they’re own cards and in that cards they have their own signature/s.Printing technology today has allowed some bad apples to produce fake cards that deplete the confidence of the entire industry. The fear of getting ripped off by a fake card and the growth of on-line card trading, have made the concept of card grading much more popular.The Upper Deck Company was founded on the principle that cards will have a trademarked security hologram printed on the back to prevent counterfeiting. Other card companies have followed suit over the years and created different ways of guaranteeing that their cards are authentic, as it is extremely important to the authenticity of high value insert cards such as autographs and game used cards.Still, there are fake football cards still being produced and distributed out there today, so before you make a big purchase, have an industry expert like your trusted local hobby store owner or a paid grading service analyze the football card for you. The extra time and money you put into it may save you in the long run.

Basketball Card
Fleer Getting Back to Basketball Cards.The history of the NBA Hoops brand should be well-known by any serious NBA card collector: It was first issued by a new company during the 1989-90 season, at a time when -- ironically -- its only competition was Fleer’s annual set. The new brand carried the label of "The official NBA basketball card," following in the heels of the premiere 1989 Pro Set football card issue, which had a similar banner as the official NFL card.Fleer had been the only major producer of NBA sets from 1986-87 through 1988-89, producing a 132-card set each year. The entry of NBA Hoops into the market upped the ante tremendously, as the Hoops brand offered a much bigger (352 cards) and better-designed set.Just as Pro Set and Score’s entry into the market had driven up demand for football cards earlier in 1989 (and just as the entries of Pro Set, Score and Upper Deck into the market would do for hockey the following year), NBA Hoops’ new set not only brought in new collectors for that product, it also spurred demand for earlier Fleer issues -- driving Michael Jordan’s 1986-87 Fleer rookie card past the $100 mark for the first time.That first NBA Hoops set also opened the door for more companies to enter a basketball card market that had been virtually left for dead after Topps stopped issuing sets after the 1981-82 season. Skybox (which would take over the NBA Hoops brand before the 1992-93 season and eventually be absorbed by Fleer) entered the market as a new company in 1990-91, followed by Upper Deck in 1991-92 and the re-entry of Topps in 1992-93.The traditional NBA Hoops set was issued every season through 1999-00 -- by which time the brand was under the Fleer/Skybox umbrella. Fleer also issued a Hoops Decade set that season, honoring the history of the brand by featuring current players with the original 1989-90 NBA Hoops design. Ironically, that was the last of the traditional NBA Hoops sets issued until this season.The following season, Fleer introduced what it referred to as "a turbo-charged version of the traditional favorite," called Hoops Hot Prospects. While the traditional NBA Hoops sets were known for their large base sets with no short prints and simple but attractive designs with lots of information on the backs, the new brand focused (as its name would suggest) on short-printed rookie cards complete with jersey pieces and a flashy design.The Hoops Hot Prospects brand has continued through this season as a higher-priced issue with a small base set (110-120 cards) that includes short-printed rookie cards with jersey pieces and/or autographs. There was also a one-shot Hoops Stars set issued in 2002-03 which brought back the larger base set (200 cards), but which still featured a far-too-flashy design and 30 short-printed rookies.The new 2004-05 NBA Hoops set, due out this week, borrows its design (at least on the front) from the 1994-95 Hoops set: a full-bleed photo with just a single colored band across the card near the bottom that includes the player’s name, team and position.There are 200 cards in the base set, including 25 rookie cards serial-numbered to 1,750 (found approximately 1 per 6 packs) and 10 "Hoops History" subset cards, serial-numbered to 1,989 (found about 1:14 packs), featuring retired stars from the past 15 years. Five-card packs have a suggested retail price of $2.99, with 24 packs per box.There are plenty of inserts, too: autographed cards found approximately one per four boxes; "Supreme Court," "Hot List" and "Great Shots" insert sets along with game-used versions; and "Nameplates" inserts, featuring star players with swatches cut from their game-used jersey nameplate patches.

 Nascar Racing Card
Card sets featuring retired legends, complete with event-used memorabilia and/or autograph cards are now a staple of the baseball card hobby, and to a lesser extent in the hockey, football and basketball card markets as well. Now Press Pass has made history the major focus of a NASCAR card set for the first time in a major issue with its 2005 Press Pass Legends offering, released last week.The 50-card base set features, as Press Pass advertisements claim, "The past, present and future champions of NASCAR." The black-bordered cards feature a classy design front and back, with plenty of career highlights detailed, and are printed on premium 24-point stock.The high-end product ($6.99 suggested price per 5-card pack) delivers plenty of memorabilia and autographs. Each hobby box (12 per case) includes three mini boxes with six packs in each, with one autograph or dual race-used memorabilia card found in each mini box (one autograph and two memorabilia cards per master box) and at least one serial-numbered base card parallel per pack.Featured inserts include "Historical Cuts," sequentially-numbered cards featuring authentic autographs cut from documents signed by deceased drivers including Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison and Tim Richmond."Legends Autographs," found one per 18 packs, includes cards signed by 25 different drivers, such as Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and others."Press Pass Signature Series" includes cards autographed by drivers including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, sequentially numbered to their car number.There are two different memorabilia insert sets: "Dual Threads," pairing race-used firesuits from two NASCAR stars, and "Threads & Treads," dual race-used firesuit and tire cards from nine drivers.Base card parallels come in four levels: Blue, numbered to 1,300 with silver and blue foil stamping; Gold, numbered to 700 with silver and gold foil stamping; "Holo," numbered to 100 with silver and holofoil stamping; and "Solo," 1-of-1 cards featuring green foil stamping. "Press Pass Plates," the actual press plates used to create the cards, with only four plates made for each card side, are also randomly inserted.Each box also contains a contest entry card which can be redeemed for a chance to win a rare 25x39-inch 50th anniversary lithograph signed by 34 of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers.Other non-memorabilia inserts highlight the sport's history: "Greatest Moments" (1:12 packs) are embossed holofoil and foil cards that take a look back at key 12 events in NASCAR history; and "Heritage" (1:24 packs) is an embossed foil nine-card insert that tells the story of how NASCAR icons progressed to stardom.

Soccer
Soccer Cards is a simple game with a simple interface, developed by Mike Douglas. There are several options for play: Soccer Cards Career Challenge, Career Challenge with Club Selection, Tournament, and Friendly Game. They do, however, all share one key system - soccer match play. Imagine taking to the pitch in a crowded British Stadium. The crowds are screaming your team’s name, both in pride and in shame. You flip a coin, and lose the initial kick-off. The other team makes a series of passes, and your players seem to be avoiding the ball like the plague. Finally, after four passes, one of your players makes a tackle…and misses the ball. Your opponent makes another pass, high over the middle. The forwards are making a dash toward your goal, and the keeper is alone. By this time, you’re yelling at your players about being useless, and then, to your relief, the ref calls offside. You finally get the ball. The other team is much better than you, and your team knows it. But, if you don’t attack, what will you do? Well, if you DO attack, most of your best players will be on the other side of the field in case the other team takes the ball.So you leave your team on defense. A pass. Good. Another pass. Okay, it seems like we’ve built some momentum - let’s attack! Another pass. “Steady, team,” you think. Then, you see the blue scoring chance card: a goal! Your team just scored against a much better team. You’re pumping your fist in the air, hoping they don’t find a way around your defenses. Before you know it, it is half-time. You stop and catch your breath.All this is played out by selecting one of 22 cards on the screen, but you also have a few extra options as well. You can chose defending or attacking, where attacking gives you a better chance at scoring if you uncover a blue “scoring chance” card while making your pass cards less successful. The blue “Goal” cards automatically give you a point. Defense gives you a better chance of keeping the ball during a pass. Passes help you build momentum, and if you string together a lot of passes, you have a great chance at scoring. There are also tackle cards, and based on the team’s skill levels, these can be effective or not. There are also off-sides, red-cards, injuries, penalty kicks, and end-of-half cards.All these cards may seem like they make Soccer Cards a game of chance, but this is not the case. As mentioned above, there are the Attacking and Defending buttons that change the probability of having certain cards work. However, there are also 8 strategic buttons you may use once per game. There are 4 substitution buttons, which can be used to either insert or remove goal and scoring chance cards. There is a “break off-side trap” button, used to cancel the effect of an off-sides card if used before drawing such a card. There is a “keep possession” card. There is an “all out attack” card which all but ensures a goal is scored if a “scoring chance” card is drawn. The final button is the “play for time” button, which inserts another “end of half” card into the game. If you have a commanding lead, this button can ensure the opposition has no chance to catch up, although using it too soon can leave you in a panic to catch up to a few quick goals.This game plays much like a statistical simulator, such as Champion Manager. However, you have no control over your team’s players. In fact, at times it feels like you have no control over management either. The only way your team improves is through use of a point system. If you beat a team with less skill points than your own, you gain a small amount of management points. If you tie with a team much worse than yours, you lose points. Beat a team better than yours and you will gain a significant amount of points. With these points, you can buy skill cards.These cards read +0, +1, or +2, the numbers representing the improvement to your team. Once you buy a card, you select one at random, and see which number you drew. If you team loses too many management points, you can sell a skill point for the cost of a card. Otherwise, if you fall below zero, you lose a skill point and you only get a small amount of management points in return.What this all amounts to is a great deal of depth to an otherwise simple game. If you play a friendly game, this depth is lost. Tournament games have some of the depth. You can play in the World Cup, the Copa America, the Champions League, and others. During these games, you management points are still used in the same way as in a career challenge, though when playing in career mode, the game absolutely shines.In Career Challenge mode, you start each season with a goal, like 5th place, 12th place. Depending on your rank at the end of the season, your board may or may not be happy with your performance. They can fire you if they dislike your performance, though if you surpass their expectations, your reputation will grow and you can be offered jobs on other teams.The ability to advance, both as a team and as a manager, makes this game quite addictive. A season takes about one hour to complete, and I constantly find myself demanding not one more game, but one more season. It is strange to be addicted to a game like this, because of a few things that make it less than cutting edge.The graphics in Soccer Cards are static. There are no animations. There are no sounds. No music. There are drawings on the cards, but they are not very good. The game comes with two card sets, but the second set is hardly better than the default set. Also, as this game mostly models English Leagues, I feel no loyalty to the teams I manage. When playing the World Cup, this feeling changes, though the meat of the game is not in the World Cup mode.However, these small faults are quickly forgotten as you become immersed in the game. You will develop strategies. You will develop goals for yourself. You will develop rivals among the other teams. In short, you will become addicted to this seemingly simple game. And you will curse it for sneaking away with so much of your time, as you run it behind word-processors, chat programs, Photoshop, or even another game.

Golf Card
Mike Meyer, a mid-handicapper from Medford Lakes Country Club in South Jersey has finally found a way to score par or better on every round. He simply leaves his 5 year old oversized King Cobra golf clubs in the trunk of his car and deals the cards to start the first hole of the his very own Club-House Golf, a card game that he has created and is currently marketing to the golfing community.Golf is a difficult game, but Club-House Golf is simple and very easy to learn insists Meyer. You can play the game using any score card from any course. The par determines how many cards are dealt each player and the handicap for the hole determines the wildcard. The object is to have the lowest point total when the hole is over and if you decide to end the hole by declaring "In The Cup", be prepared to be rewarded or penalized for your decision.Club-House Golf is an exciting card game. The custom deck of playing cards consist of a putter, driver, 2 thru 9 irons, sand wedge, and the must-avoid water hazard and out of bounds. Every hole is a challenge that combines skill, mystery, chance, and the luck of the draw giving all players an equal chance of winning.Whether you enjoy a friendly individual Nassau with your buddies, skins games, or team matches, the same games and wagers made on the golf course can be played in a quick round of Club-House Golf. Four players can play eighteen holes in a little more than one hour."Many say that deals are made on the golf course", says Meyer. Well, this deal is new, unique, and a lot of fun to play. It makes a great gift." Whether you're buying one set or ordering a hundred for your next tournament, Club-House Golf is sure to be a welcomed gift. Components of the game can also be personalized with your company logo or event title. "I don't expect it to replace gin or the other games that are played in card rooms around the country, but it does offer a nice alternative."Club-House Golf is an absolute must for the golfing enthusiast and a great game for the entire family.

Olympic Card
At the 2004 Olympics, events were held in 28 sports, per the IOC count. If one splits up sports such as aquatics, there were 37 different sports. 9 sports were on the original Olympic programme in 1896: athletics (track and field), cycling, fencing, gymnastics, weightlifting, shooting, swimming, and wrestling. If the 1896 rowing events had not been cancelled due to bad weather, they would have been included in this list as well.At the most recent Winter Olympics, 7 sports were conducted, or 15 if one splits up sports such as skiing and skating. Of these, cross country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating have featured on the programme at all Winter Olympics. In addition, figure skating and ice hockey have also been contested as part of the Summer Games before introduction of separate Winter Olympics.Olympic cards, is designed by ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre Frèdy, Baron de Coubertin in the late 19th century and composed by all the olympic sports such as, skating, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, weightlifting, shooting, swimming, wrestling and other sports.In recent years, the IOC has added several new sports to the programme to attract attention from young spectators. Examples of such sports include snowboarding and beach volleyball. The growth of the Olympics also means that some less popular (modern pentathlon) or expensive (white water canoeing) sports have to fear for their place on the Olympic programme. The IOC decided to discontinue baseball and softball as of 2012.Rule 48.1 of the Olympic Charter requires that there be a minimum of 15 Olympic sports on the programme of the Games of the Olympiad. Following its 114th Session (Mexico 2002), the IOC also decided to limit the programme of the Summer Games to a maximum of 28 sports, 301 events, and 10,500 athletes. The Olympic sports are defined as those governed by the International Federations listed in Rule 46 of the Olympic Charter. A two-thirds vote of the IOC is required to amend the Charter to promote a Recognised Federation to Olympic status and therefore make the sports it governs eligible for inclusion on the Olympic programme. Rule 47 of the Charter requires that only Olympic sports may be included in the programme.The IOC reviews the Olympic programme at the first Session following each Olympiad. A simple majority is required for an Olympic sport to be included in the Olympic programme. Under the current rules, an Olympic sport not selected for inclusion in a particular games remains an Olympic sport and may be included again later with a simple majority. At the 117th IOC Session 26 sports were included in the programme for London 2012.Until 1992, the Olympics often also featured demonstration sports. The objective was for these sports to reach a big audience through the Olympics; the winners of these events are not offical Olympic champions. These sports were sometimes sports only popular in the host nation, but also internationally known sports have been demonstrated. Some demonstration sports were eventually included as full-medal events.

Boxing Card
Sporting Profiles have been established since 1992 and is Britain's leading manufacturer of Boxing Cards. Our aim is to produce top quality innovative pugilistic collectibles at competitive prices and we pride ourselves on our unique merchandise. That we are achieving our goals is reflected by both the critical acclaim and the praise from satisfied customers that we have received.Many of our cards are designed exclusively by our own artist. “The card is all about the players, they have they’re own signature in it, in order for them to recognize that they are the one who is in the card”. All include a comprehensive narrative extensively researched from contemporary sources by our highly regarded in-house boxing historian, Tony Gee. Tony has contributed entries on 18th and 19th century pugilists to the New Dictionary of National Biography, articles to the British Boxing Board of Control Year Book and is the author of 'Up to Scratch', an anecdotal account of the london prize-ring.

Racing Card
Custom designed race signature cards are a fun and exciting way to get your fans involved and build lasting loyalty. Our Affordable racing autograph cards make a perfect race day promotion, appearance hand out or even use them as a business or signature cards. Autographed racing driver hero cards are an excellent collectable to cherish for a lifetime.The designer: “We design each driver's card specifically for them. No templates and no pre-packaged racing autograph card design, yet our prices fit nicely in any racing budget. We will provide you with quality service and product from the time you give us a call about your signature card inquiry to when your final printed cards are delivered to your door”. The cards are made up of plastic in the first appearance and composed by the management of the racing team/s. And now, they are still using the card. . Racing and other sports fans of all ages will love to collect and learn about their favorite driver/ hero and team!

Collectible Postcards
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. In some places, it is possible to send them for a lower fee than for a letter. Stamp collectors distinguish between postcards (which require a stamp) and postal cards (which have the postage pre-printed on them). While a postcard is usually printed by a private company, individual or organization, a postal card is issued by the relevant postal authority. Postcards can come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes.

In 1861, John P. Charlton of Philadelphia patented the postcard, selling the rights to H. L. Lipman, whose postcards, complete with a decorated border, were labeled "Lipman's postal card." Then in 1873, Post Master John Creswell, introduced the first pre-stamped "penny postcards". These first postcards depicted Interstate Industrial Exposition that took place in Chicago.[2] The postcards were made because people were looking for an easier way to send quick notes. The first postcard to be printed as a souvenir in the United States was created in 1893 to advertise the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Post Office was the only establishment allowed to print postcards, and it held its monopoly until May 19, 1898, when Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act which allowed private publishers and printers to produce postcards. Initially, the United States government prohibited private companies from calling their cards “postcards,” so they were known as “souvenir cards.” These cards had to be labeled "Private Mailing Cards". Although this prohibition was rescinded in December 24th, 1901, when private companies could use the word "postcard". Postcards were not allowed to have a divided back and correspondents could only write on the front of the postcard. This was known as the undivided back era of postcards. On March 1st, 1907 the Post Office allowed private citizens to write on the address side of a postcard. It was on this date that postcards were allowed to have a divided back.

In 1894, British publishers were given permission by the Royal Mail to manufacture and distribute picture postcards, which could be sent through the post. The first UK postcards were produced by printing firm Stewarts of Edinburgh and early postcards were pictures of famous landmarks, scenic views, photographs or drawings of celebrities and so on. With steam locomotives providing fast and affordable travel, the seaside became a popular tourist destination, and generated its own souvenir-industry: the picture postcard was, and is, an essential staple of this industry. A typical "saucy" postcard by Donald McGill In the early 1930s, cartoon-style saucy postcards became widespread, and at the peak of their popularity the sale of saucy postcards reached a massive 16 million a year. They were often bawdy in nature, making use of innuendo and double entendres and traditionally featured stereotypical characters such as vicars, large ladies and put-upon husbands, in the same vein as the Carry On films. In the early 1950s, the newly elected Conservative government were concerned at the apparent deterioration of morals in Britain and decided on a crackdown on these postcards. The main target on their hit list was the renowned postcard artist Donald McGill. In the more liberal 1960s, the saucy postcard was revived and became to be considered, by some, as an art form. This helped its popularity and once again they became an institution. However, during the 1970s and 1980s, the quality of the artwork and humour started to deteriorate and, with changing attitudes towards the cards' content, the demise of the saucy postcard occurred. Original postcards are now highly sought after, and rare examples can command high prices at auction. The best-known saucy seaside postcards were created by a publishing company called Bamforths, based in the town of Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England. Despite the decline in popularity of postcards that are overtly 'saucy', postcards continue to be a significant economic and cultural aspect of British seaside tourism. Sold by newsagents and street vendors, as well as by specialist souvenir shops, modern seaside postcards often feature multiple depictions of the resort in unusually favorable weather conditions. The use of saturated color, and a general departure from realism, have made the postcards of the later twentieth century become collected and admired as kitsch. Such cards are also respected as important documents of social history, and have been influential on the work of Martin Parr. Postcards have been widely collected since their inception. Collectors value condition, scarcity, decoration and even historical significance.