2007 UD Masterpieces Index

When I was posting more frequently I thought a Series to commemorate the tenth anniversary of UD Masterpieces would be fun. While I don't anticipate hitting all 90 cards, I would like to dedicate some time to the set during the course of the season.

This is an Index to the postings related to our 10th Anniversary Series on 2007 UD Masterpieces

2007 UD Masterpieces #71 Ryan Howard

1 Babe Ruth
2 Babe Ruth
3 Bobby Thomson
4 Bill Mazeroski
5 Carlton Fisk
6 Kirk Gibson
7 Don Larsen
8 Lou Gehrig
9 Roger Maris
10 Cal Ripken, Jr.
11 Bucky Dent
12 Ryan Howard
13 Brooks Robinson
14 David Ortiz
15 Hideki Matsui
16 Roger Clemens
17 Sandy Koufax (2015 posting: 50th Anniversary of Perfect Game)
18 Reggie Jackson
19 Ozzie Smith
20 Ty Cobb
21 Walter Johnson
22 Babe Ruth
23 Roy Campanella
24 Jackie Robinson
25 Carl Yastrzemski
26 Sandy Koufax
27 Daisuke Matsuzaka RC
28 Kei Igawa RC
29 Ken Griffey, Jr.
30 Derek Jeter
31 David Ortiz
32 Vladimir Guerrero
33 Chase Utley
34 Troy Tulowitzki (RC)
35 Joe Mauer
36 Travis Hafner
37 Miguel Cabrera
38 Albert Pujols
39 Frank Thomas
40 Mike Piazza
41 Josh Hamilton
42 Tony Gwynn / Cal Ripken, Jr.
43 Ichiro
44 Hideki Matsui
45 Ken Griffey, Jr.
46 Michael Jordan
47 John F. Kennedy (2013: Anniversary Assassination)
48 Randy Johnson
49 Albert Pujols
50 Carlos Beltran
51 Delmon Young (RC)
52 Johan Santana
53 Cal Ripken, Jr.
54 Jackie Robinson / Yogi Berra
55 Cal Ripken, Jr.
56 Hanley Ramirez
57 Victor Martinez
58 Cole Hamels
59 Bobby Doerr
60 Bruce Sutter
61 Jason Bay
62 Luis Aparicio
63 Stephen Drew
64 Jered Weaver
65 Alex Gordon RC
66 Howie Kendrick
67 Ryan Zimmerman
68 Akinori Iwamura RC
69 Chien-Ming Wang
70 David Wright
71 Ryan Howard
72 Alex Rodriguez
73 Justin Morneau
74 Andrew Miller RC
75 Richard Nixon
76 Bill Clinton
77 Phil Hughes (RC)
78 Tom Glavine
79 Chipper Jones
80 Craig Biggio
81 Chris Chambliss
82 Tim Lincecum RC
83 Billy Butler (RC)
84 Andy LaRoche (RC)
85 1969 Mets
86 2004 Red Sox
87 Roberto Clemente
88 Chase Utley
89 Reggie Jackson
90 Curt Schilling

Other UD Masterpieces Cards
2008 Football
14 Chuck Bednarik (2015: Obituary)

Sources and Links
Baseball Cardpedia

Chuck Bednarik 1925-2015

Today I awoke to the sad news that Phiadelphia Eagles Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik has died at the age of 1989

2008 UD Masterpieces #14 Chuck Bednarik

Known as "Concrete Charlie" Chuck Bednarik played both offense and defense - thus a second monicker "Sixty Minute Man".  He was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles last championship squad, clear back in 1960. And he was the man who knocked Frank Gifford down so hard he missed a year of football.  

2007 UD Masterpieces was one of my favorite sets to release since I returned to the hobby. After the initial success of the baseball set UD came out with Hockey and Football sets in 2008. This fine Chuck Bednarik card featuring the image from the famous Frank Gifford play is just one of many fine examples of the great cards in Masterpieces.

Too check into our Hall of Fame profile of Bednarik click here. Rich Hoffman's piece for the Daily News can be found here.

Sources & Links
Sports-Ref
Philly.com

2007 UD Masterpieces #47 John F Kennedy

2007 UD Masterpieces #47 John F Kennedy

Going to post a couple of cards as everyone is noting the anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. This card commemorates Kennedy throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Senators Opening Day in  1962. 

This was also the first baseball game at then named District of Columbia or DC Stardium. The stadium was of course renamed Robert F Kennedy Stadium following the assassination of John F Kennedy's brother Robert.

2007 UD Masterpieces has a handful of Presidential first pitch cards. Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton are both included in the set.  

Also wanted to note that While Topps seems to draw a lot of criticism for foiling, I have never heard a complaint regarding Masterpieces use of foil.  I have tilted the card a bit here to minimize the effect, but the UD Masterpieces Logo is larger than the subject name and displays in foil top center in the frame.

 

Happy Anniversary Bobby Orr

Monday May 10th marked the 40th anniversary of the Boston Bruins winning the 1969-70 Stanley Cup on Bobby Orr's Overtime goal. The goal was captured in a famous photograph taken by Ray Lussier.


2010 UD Masterpieces #34 Bobby Orr

This card is just one of the many which make us all miss UD Masterpieces. It captures an image we, as sports fans, have seen countless times. It is similar to the Willie Mays "Catch" footage, It is from an era before I was cognizant of the game, yet it is instantly recognizable.

It is truly a shame that Masterpieces had to go away - I am not sure what it takes to license a card like this one much less 20 or so for a nice card set. Perhaps Masterpieces is best left alone. future sets would have only been disappointments. I know that 08 Baseball is a shell of 2007 Masterpieces.



2010 UD Masterpieces #34 Bobby Orr (b-side/click to enlarge)

I also like how in 08-09 Hockey Masterpieces UD recognizes the artist on the flip side of the cards. This card features the work of Ron Stark who had previously also done work for Topps Gallery Edition Cards.

Ok enough about Bobby Orr and Days of Yore - In the present day The Flyers are locked in a best of 7 with Bobby's Bruins and I am hoping for a big comeback from the Broad Street Bullies.

Hall of Fame Thursday - Chuck Bednarik

2008 UD Masterpieces #14 Chuck Bednarik

For Hall of Fame Thursday in recognition of the upcoming Superbowl we are having a football post today. Chuck Bednarik was drafted first overall in the NFL draft of 1949 by the Philadelphia Eagles with whom he spent his entire career. He was the last two way player in the NFL (center and Linebacker) and was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles last two Championship teams (1949 and 1960). He was known as a fierce tackler and is best known for the tackle of Frank Gifford on the above UD Masterpieces card. That is about as nice a card as you will see, and it is one of the reasons I will miss Masterpieces.

Bednarik was originally from the Allentown area near Philadelphia, attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and still resides in the nearby Lehigh Valley. There have been riffs between Bednarik and the Eagles, but Bednarik is still good about getting out to the community and autograph signings. He also does TTM signings.

Chuck Bednarik was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

Upper Deck Masterpieces - 3 Sport Pack Bust

Yesterday, I posted regarding a Sox or No Sox style competition between three retail packs of UD Masterpieces. Each of the three packs is from a different sport, Football, Hockey, and Baseball.

Both PTBNL and Sooz picked Baseball, I hope they are right. That's where I want to get the best cards from. Let's see what happens.

The scoring for a pack is as follows: Any Hall of Famer +2, Any Phillies or Orioles +1 Each. Vikings or Eagles +1, Flyers +2, Mets, Packers, Devils and New York Rangers (Hockey) all minus 1. Oh and If there is a hit, auto, serial #d, Game used whatever +2 to +10 points depending on what it is. Pack with the most points wins.

First Pack Football


19 Eddie Royal
63 Jerome Simpson (Black Frame)
56 Kevin Smith
36 Dexter Jackson

Four blah rookies, Royal is the only one to make an impact. Simpson is the "hit" and he has gotten 1 stinkin catch all year. No Vikings, Eagles, or Packers no points. I would have awarded 1/2 a point for Simpson had he done anything this year, but 1 lousy catch.

Pack score: Zero


2nd Pack Hockey


16 Theo Fleury
87 Mark Messier HOF/Ranger (+2/-1)
46 Bobby Hull HOF (+2)
1 Lord Stanley (+2)

I posted the reverse side of the Lord Stanley card, because I like what Upper Deck has done with both the Football and Hockey cards. They have an inset of the front photo with the artists name listed next to the picture. This is a nice touch, which I hope they carry over to baseball in 09.

Pack Score +5

Final Pack Baseball!!

15 David Ortiz
1 Brandon Webb
YSL 4826 Don Mattingly - August 8th, 1985 - Yankees 7 Indians 6
53 Carlos Beltran Met (-1)
88 Frank Thomas

I posted the Mattingly card because I found it the most interesting. This is one of the few YSL cards that I have come across where the player on the photo had a significant contribution to the game. The Yankees won and Mattingly had two home runs. Those dingers were just two of the 35 that Mattingly had during his MVP season in 1985.

Pack Score -1 :(

Three stinkin packs No Phils, No Vikings, No Eagles and No Flyers.

The pack bust was good for a bonus base in Spot The Sig! for anyone who could guess the winning pack. Unfortunately Hockey was unloved so noone will get the bonus.

But have no fear....Your Sunday is not ruined. You still have this weeks auto to look forward to. The STS! will be up at 9:30 PM Eastern.

Thorzul Trade!

I asked Thorzul if he could help me out with my want list and he was very accommodating.
I have made a pretty good dent into Spectrum and he sent me five cards from my want list along with a couple of UD Masterpieces.

I have been sporadically collecting both of these smaller UpperDeck sets from 07 and 08. Thanks to Thorzul I am down to my last 25 Spectrum cards. The Masterpieces I haven't gotten quite as far into - but i really like the set. The cards above feature two players traded at the deadline - and they are both players I like, hopefully they can get to the post-season and contribute to their new squads. If your interested I have a somewhat messy version of my Want and Trade Lists in my links and over here.

Here are some of the Phils involved in the trade:

In the midst of the Phils recent freefall, Rollins and Howard found time to go on "The Best Damn Sports Show" and rip Philllies fans. I wasn't fond of the Goudey's after getting a fairly pedestrian first pack last year - consequently I have very few Phillies, this Howard card and an Utley Card that Thorzul sent are both very nice additions to the Phungo collection.


The remaining cards Thorzul sent were a nice mix of Phils Past and Present such as the Jim Thome and Eric Milton cards above and other Phavorites including Ricky Jordan, Mickey Morandini, Wes Chamberlain and John Kruk.

You can check out the Brewers sent over to Thorzul here.

Thanks to Thorzul for these great cards and keep up with the quality posts and fun contests.