Ultimate Memorabilia Sells Out Again
In The Game, Inc., manufacturers of In The Game, Be A Player, and Parkhurst brands of hockey cards,
has announced that 2003-04 Be A Player Ultimate Memorabilia 4th Edition is officially sold out.
In terms of content and value, the 4th Edition was the most impressive yet. Each pack contained two
cards. One was a game-used memorabilia card encased in an attractive Beckett holder. Each was
sequentially numbered with a maximum production run of 50. A total of 25,000 cards were created.
The second card in each pack was an autograph card from a base set consisting of 165 cards. This
set incorporated all of today's NHL stars, a selection of high-profile rookies, and a selection of
retired legends.
Traditionally, the Ultimate Memorabilia brand offers the best selection of players, the most
impressive subset themes and designs, and unbeatable quality.
"Obviously we are extremely pleased with the results," said company President Dr. Brian
H. Price referring to the sell out. "It makes all the hard work and extra effort worth it. It
really is encouraging when collectors respond to a product with so much enthusiasm, especially with
the controversy swirling around the debate as to whether or not the Autograph Rookie Cards in the
base set should have an RC designation. Whether they do or not, it doesn't appear to have affected
the demand."
The Ultimate Memorabilia 4th Edition also incorporated an expanded Made To Order Program, the redemption
cards which presented collectors the opportunity to choose the player for their very own special one-of-one
game-used memorabilia card. This year for some the Made To Order cards, collectors could also choose
what memorabilia they wanted on their card.
The selection of one-of-one cut autograph cards featuring rare signatures from the likes of Howie Morenz,
Tim Horton, Georges Vezina, Terry Sawchuk and even Lady Byng was greatly expanded in sets like
Memorialized, Maple Leafs Forever, Bleu Blanc et Rouge, and Paper Cuts. The highlight of the cut signature
cards was the Memorialized Lady Byng card which was pulled from a pack at the In The Game booth at
the National in Cleveland. It reportedly sold to a collector for over $10,000.
Many of the subsets in Ultimate Memorabilia are also available in special one-of-one Gold versions. In total,
more than 700 different one-of-one cards were included in packs.
Originally introduced in 2000-01, Ultimate Memorabilia has established itself as one of the most popular
brands of hockey cards on the market. The initial 2000-01 release included one game-used memorabilia card
per pack with a total of 25,000 packs produced. Each card was encased in a hard plastic holder, was
sequentially numbered, and no card had a production run higher than 90.
In 2001-02, each pack contained one game-used memorabilia card and each card was professionally graded
by Beckett Grading Services. Every card was sequentially numbered and the maximum production run for
any one card was reduced to 50. A total of 25,000 packs were produced.
By 2002-03, the number of cards per pack was increased to two including one game-used memorabilia card
encased in a holder and sequentially numbered to a maximum of 50. The other card was a Rookie Card from
a special set of 100 cards created for this brand. Once again, 25,000 packs were produced.
"Believe me, making the product more collectible from year to year doesn't get any easier," said
Price. "The continued positive response keeps us motivated, though. We look forward to meeting the
challenge once again with Ultimate Memorabilia 5th Edition next year."
In The Game, Inc. has produced Be A Player, In The Game and Parkhurst brands of hockey trading cards
since 1998-99. The company issued a number of hockey card products in 2003-04 including In The Game-Action
(released September 17), Memorabilia Series (released December 11), Original Six (six team specific
releases from January to March), In The Game-Used Signature Series (released April 27), Parkhurst
Rookie (released May 29), and Be A Player Ultimate Memorabilia 4th Edition (released June 30).
In The Game also launched its VIP Program in 2003-04, an initiative comprised of two additional
product lines VIP Series One and VIP Rookie Debut.
Source: In The Game, Inc.
Date: September 17, 2004
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