Upper Deck Company facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Upper Deck Company, LLC

Type	Private LLC
Industry	Lithography, collectibles
Founded	1988; 37 years ago (1988) in Yorba Linda, California, US
Founder	Boris Korbel (co-founder) Paul Sumner (co-founder) Richard McWilliam (co-founder)
Headquarters	Carlsbad, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Jason Masherah (President)
Products	Trading cards, Card games
Brands	O-Pee-Chee
Number of employees	250

The Upper Deck Company, LLC, often called Upper Deck, started in 1988. It's a private company famous for making trading cards. Their main office is in Carlsbad, California, in the United States.

Upper Deck also creates cool sports items like small figures and toy cars. They have special deals to make signed items, called "Upper Deck Authenticated," with famous athletes. These athletes include Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Wayne Gretzky, and Serena Williams. Under the name Upper Deck Entertainment, they also made popular card games like World of Warcraft and Vs. System.

Since 2007, Upper Deck has also been in charge of the O-Pee-Chee brand. They have released many baseball and ice hockey card collections under this name.

The Story of Upper Deck

Upper Deck got permission from Major League Baseball to make baseball cards on December 23, 1988. Just two months later, on February 23, 1989, they sent out their first cards.

How Upper Deck Cards Were Different

Their first cards in 1989 were special. They had shiny fronts and were made of strong, thick cardboard. The back of each card had an extra color photo. They also had a tiny hologram to prevent fake cards. Upper Deck sold all their baseball cards that first year. They even sold all their 1990 baseball cards before the year began!

In 1990, Upper Deck added something new. They put randomly inserted cards that were personally autographed and numbered by sports stars. All Upper Deck cards have a special hologram. From 1989 to 2004, Upper Deck was named "Card Set of the Year" every year.

Growing into New Sports

On March 20, 1990, Upper Deck also got licenses to make hockey cards. Soon after, they got licenses for the National Football League and the National Basketball Association. This made Upper Deck the first card company in 10 years to have licenses from all four major leagues. Upper Deck quickly became a rival to Topps, which was the top company before. Other companies like Fleer and Donruss also saw new competition.

By 1991, the company built a large, modern factory near San Diego. After Upper Deck made its premium baseball cards, other companies started making better cards too. The sports card market grew a lot, from $50 million in 1980 to $1.5 billion in 1992.

Famous Players and Special Cards

Reggie Jackson, a Hall of Fame baseball player, was an advisor in the early 1990s. He also inspired the first card with a certified autograph. This was part of the "Find the Reggie" campaign. It was a very successful promotion for Upper Deck.

In 1997, Upper Deck was the first company to put pieces of game-used material into cards. They made "Game Jersey" cards for basketball. The next year, they did the same for baseball. They cut up jerseys worn in games by players like Ken Griffey Jr. and Tony Gwynn.

In 1999, Upper Deck bought many old baseball items at an auction. They spent over $1.1 million. One item was a Ty Cobb jersey, which they bought for $332,500. As a prize in a contest, they gave this jersey to a 14-year-old fan named Robert Shell.

An older Upper Deck logo used until 2008

In 2005, Richard McWilliam, one of Upper Deck's founders, was honored as the "most influential" person in the sports collectible industry. Upper Deck's 1989 baseball card set was also called the "most influential" event. This set featured a young Ken Griffey Jr.

In July 2005, Upper Deck bought the brand name and assets of a former competitor, Fleer. In 2007, Upper Deck tried to buy Topps, another big card company, but Topps was bought by someone else.

Upper Deck changed its logo in 2008. The new design was made to help market all of its different products.

Diamond Club and Exclusive Deals

In 2009, Upper Deck started the Diamond Club. This club is for the top collectors of Upper Deck and Fleer cards. Members get special items and invitations to events. They can also share ideas with Upper Deck staff. Fewer than 125 people are chosen for this program each year.

On August 6, 2009, Major League Baseball announced a new deal. Topps got the exclusive rights to make MLB trading cards. Upper Deck could still make cards with player pictures, but they could not use team logos or names. Upper Deck said they would still make baseball-related cards without the team logos.

In February 2010, Blizzard Entertainment ended its deal with Upper Deck. Upper Deck used to make the World of Warcraft trading card game. On April 7, 2010, Upper Deck also announced they would no longer make NFL trading cards.

The Story of DeWayne Buice

DeWayne Buice, a baseball pitcher, became one of Upper Deck's first partners. In 1987, he met Bill Hemrick, a trading card store owner. Hemrick and his partner, Paul Sumner, were starting Upper Deck. They needed a license from the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to use players' names on cards. The MLBPA was not giving out new licenses for three years.

Buice was told he would get a 12 percent share in the company if he could help get the license. He became key in getting MLBPA officials to meet. By the end of 1988, Hemrick and Sumner got the license. By 1989, they were making baseball cards.

When Buice retired from baseball in 1989, he had received $2.8 million from Upper Deck. He believed he was owed more money and sued the company. After a court case, he reportedly made $17 million from the deal. This was much more than he earned as a baseball player.

The Famous 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Card

In the 1989 Upper Deck baseball card set, Ken Griffey Jr. was chosen to be card number one. This decision was made in late 1988. A teenage employee named Tom Geideman suggested using Griffey. He thought a top new player should be honored with the first card.

At the time, Griffey had not yet played in a major league game. So, Upper Deck used a picture of him in his minor league uniform. Other card companies like Score and Topps did not include a Griffey card in their main 1989 sets. This helped Upper Deck become very popular because Griffey was a big hit in the 1989 MLB season.

Even though the Griffey card was popular, it was not rare. Many of these cards were returned because they were cut poorly or had damaged corners. Upper Deck would replace damaged cards. This meant they printed many sheets of just the Griffey card. Over 50,000 of these cards have been graded by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA).

Special Sports Cards and Sets

Memorabilia and Relic Cards

Upper Deck uses materials certified as "worn" or "used" by the player on the card. The wording on the back of the cards explains how the items were used. For example, a card might say it has "an authentic piece of a jersey WORN by Steve Nash."

Sometimes, these materials are collected at events like rookie photo shoots. Players wear uniforms to create material for cards, even if it's not from a game. Upper Deck says these items are authentic and certified by other companies.

NBA Exquisite Collection

Upper Deck launched its NBA Exquisite Collection in the 2003–2004 season. Each pack had five basketball cards. These included a base card, an autographed rookie card with a jersey patch, a game-worn jersey card, and another autographed patch card. The suggested price was $500 per pack, making it the most expensive basketball card product at the time.

Popular cards from this collection include autographed rookie cards of players like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Other Exquisite Collection Series

Because the Exquisite series was so successful, Upper Deck released more sets. These included 2004–05 and 2005–06 basketball sets. They also made a 2005 football line and a 2005–06 hockey line called The Cup. The football line, with autographed rookie "patch" cards, is very popular.

Yankee Stadium Legacy Set

The Yankee Stadium Legacy set is a huge collection of 6,742 cards. It tells the story of every single game played at Yankee Stadium. These cards were found in random packs of Upper Deck's 2008 Series 1 Baseball cards.

Other cards in the set celebrate famous events at Yankee Stadium. These include Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest Man Alive" speech and Babe Ruth's "Final Visit." The set also features boxing matches and football games held at the stadium.

Guinness World Records planned to confirm the Yankee Stadium Legacy as the largest baseball card set ever. Upper Deck created a website for collectors to learn more about the set. Collectors could enter codes from the cards to manage their collections online.

NHL Biography of a Season

The NHL Biography of a Season was a 30-card set. It showed the best moments of the 2008-09 NHL Season. Collectors could get these cards by trading in five wrappers of 2008/2009 Upper Deck hockey cards. A new card was available every week during the NHL season.

20th Anniversary Program

In 2009, Upper Deck celebrated its 20th anniversary. They released a special set of 2,500 cards. These cards looked back at the last 20 years in sports, pop culture, politics, and world history. The first cards from this set were in 2009 Upper Deck Series One Baseball.

NBA Michael Jordan Legacy

In April 2009, Upper Deck announced a special tribute to Michael Jordan. It was an 1,170-card set that covered every Chicago Bulls game Jordan played. It started with his first NBA game in 1984 and went up to his last Bulls game in the 1998 NBA Finals.

Each card in the set included Jordan's stats from that specific game. The cards showed Jordan in action photos from different years. Upper Deck also included 100 different game-used memorabilia cards. These cards had pieces of Jordan's game-worn jerseys.

Brands Upper Deck Has Acquired

Konami and Yu-Gi-Oh!

Upper Deck got the rights to sell the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game from Konami in 2002. Sales in the US reached $17 million that year.

In 2008, Konami sued a company for selling Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, including fake ones. Konami then added Upper Deck to the lawsuit. In December 2008, Konami took full control of Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. Upper Deck then sued Konami for $75 million.

In 2009, Upper Deck was told to stop selling Yu-Gi-Oh! products. In 2010, a judge ruled that Upper Deck had made fake cards. Konami and Upper Deck later reached an agreement outside of court.

O-Pee-Chee

Upper Deck became the company in charge of the O-Pee-Chee brand in 2007. The original Canadian company was sold in 1996. O-Pee-Chee's baseball and ice hockey cards were sold by Topps from 1997 to 2004. Since Upper Deck took over, they have released many collections.

Other Upper Deck Brands

Upper Deck Entertainment

Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) used to make the English and other language versions of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. They also made the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game based on the popular online game. UDE lost this license in 2010. They also made the Marvel Trading Card Game and the DC Comics Trading Card Game, which were later relaunched.

The Entertainment department was mostly closed in 2010. But after about a year, it started to rebuild. They had success with board games like Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game. The department also entered the mobile game market.

Upper Deck Digital

Upper Deck Digital uses technology like the PenCam, which is a system to check if items are real. They also have the e-Card, which is a trading card with a virtual copy online. They let fans create their own Upper Deck trading cards online. WebPass is a technology that uses a hidden mark on a card to give collectors access to secret websites.

Upper Deck International

In 1991, Upper Deck started selling its products around the world. They created Upper Deck Europe, based in the Netherlands. They had offices and sold products across Europe, Asia, and India. This part of the company focused more on toys and games than sports items.

The organization changed its name to Upper Deck International in 2008. This showed they were looking beyond just Europe. They had offices in Berlin, Paris, London, Tokyo, and other cities. Upper Deck International also lost the Yu-Gi-Oh license in 2009. On February 14, 2012, Upper Deck International declared bankruptcy.

Upper Deck Kids

In April 2006, Upper Deck created Upper Deck Kids. Its slogan was "Get More Than Lucky." Kids could enter codes from the back of cards on the website to earn points. They could then use these points to get prizes. Prizes included signed items, sports card boxes, video games, and more. The website also had message boards where kids could talk about sports and trade codes.

To encourage kids to buy new products, codes from cards older than six months were worth half their original points.

Trading Cards

Sports Card Collections

Upper Deck has made trading cards for many different sports. Currently, they focus on a few main ones. Some of their collections include:

Non-Sports Card Collections

Upper Deck also makes trading cards that are not about sports. These include cards based on movies, TV shows, and comic books.

See also

• Razor Entertainment
• Topps
• Topps baseball card products