A lot of time and effort went into this product to insure that collectors felt that they received good value for their money. One Presidential Cut, one non-Presidential Cut, four Base Cards limited to ten in each box. That’s what you will find in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Many of the Presidential Cuts will be dual Cut Signatures featuring Presidents with their wives, running mates, opponents and other historical figures to whom they will be linked forever.

Presidential Couples

Running Mates

Presidential Opponents

Forever Linked

When you add up all these great dual Cut Signatures with the great list of President single Cut Signatures and the non-President Cut Signatures, you have something to behold. And, if that was not enough, look at the Base Card set, every card limited to 10 copies.

The Non-Presidents Cut Signature checklist can be found here.

The Presidents Cut Signature checklist can be found here.

I have had a lot of enjoyment in making this product for collectors, I hope they have as much enjoyment collecting it.

Brian Price

Captain-C celebrates the players who guided their teams not only on the ice but off the ice as well, the Captains. The players who proudly wore the “C”.

Each box will feature 5 Premium Foil Base Cards and Five Inserts (a combination of Game-Used Memorabilia Cards and Authentic Autograph Cards).

BASE CARDS

The 100-card Base Card set will feature captains from eight decades. Each card has been manufactured using premium foil, making it one of the most exciting base card sets ever.

GAME-USED JERSEY CARDS

Not only have we created some exciting designs for the Game-Used Memorabilia Cards in Captain-C, the checklists are very strong as they feature some of the greatest players to have ever played the game.

Here are some of the amazing Game-Used Memorabilia inserts in Captain-C.

Vintage Memorabilia hi-lites what In The Game is known for, authentic vintage game-used memorabilia. This checklist includes; Milt Schmidt, Bill Durnan, Dit Clapper, Doug Harvey, Hap Day, Gordie Howe®, Charlie Conacher, Toe Blake, Ted Lindsay, Charlie Gardiner, Ted Kennedy, Sid Abel, Newsy Lalonde and more. Only from In The Game.

International Captains honors players who were named Captain of their country’s team. The checklist includes; Nicklas Lidstrom, Saku Koivu, Mats Sundin, Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic, Bobby Clarke to name a few.

Let’s not forget some of today’s up and coming stars that were Captains of their junior teams. The checklist includes; Cody Hodgson, Brayden Schenn, Bryan Little and Ryan Murray plus many more.

Franchise Captains feature multiple Captains from the same franchise. A great opportunity for us to show off some of our great game-used memorabilia.

The checklist includes; Bucyk-Schmidt-O’Reilly (Boston), Lidstrom-Dionne-Yzerman (Detroit), Durnan-Lalonde-Richard (Montreal), Sundin-Gilmour-Clark (Toronto) to name a few.

Captain’s C feature pieces of the “C” right from the game-used jerseys of the players depicted.

The checklist includes; Shea Weber, Rick Nash, Owen Nolan, Raymond Bourque and Saku Koivu to name a few.

Captain-C features an incredible line-up of game-used jerseys from past and present team captains. There will also be a limited Game-Used Patch version of each captain on the checklist

The checklist includes; Alex Ovechkin, Rick Nash, Eric Lindros, Henrik Sedin, Dion Phaneuf, Joe Thornton, Pavel Bure and Nicklas Lidstrom to name a few.

The Record Setter game-used memorabilia insert set features captains who have set records, some of which will never be broken.

The distinguished checklist includes; Brian Bellows, Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Charlie Gardiner and Jean Beliveau to name a few.

CUT SIGNATURES

Captain-C will also feature Cut Signatures. In The Game has a reputation as having the best hockey cut signatures in the business and the cuts in the product will enhance that reputation.

The checklist includes; Maurice Richard-Montreal, Neil Colville-New York, Syl Apps-Toronto, Bill Durnan-Montreal, Ed Sandford-Boston, Doug Harvey-Montreal, Sid Abel-Detroit, Ott Heller-New York, Toe Blake-Montreal to name a few.

There will be 10 cards in each Captain-C box. Five Premium Foil Base Cards and Five Inserts (a combination of Authentic Autograph Cards and Game-Used Memorabilia Cards).

There will only be 4,000 boxes of this extremely limited product produced, so order your now.

Captain-C will be released in late-March 2012.

This Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be raising a banner to the rafters of the Air Canada Centre to honour the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Mats Sundin.

While the team no longer retires numbers in the traditional sense, they do honour the numbers worn by its greatest players.

The first overall selection in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, Sundin made his NHL debut during the 1990-91 season with the Quebec Nordiques. He began to emerge as a scoring star during his sophomore campaign and put up a career-best 114 points during in 1992-93.

He was traded to the Maple Leafs in a blockbuster deal that saw Wendel Clark go to the Nordiques on June 28, 1994 and he was an instant hit in Toronto. He appeared in his first NHL All-Star Game in 1996 and would play in seven more of them over the course of his career. In 1996-97, he finished among the top 10 scorers in the league and was named captain of the Blue & white following the departure of teammate Doug Gilmour.

Under Sundin’s leadership, the Maple Leafs returned to playoff contention in 1998-99 and made it to the Eastern Conference Final. Perhaps his greatest season in Toronto came in 2001-02 as he was named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team and finished fourth among all scorers with 80 points before taking the club deep into the playoffs once again. In 2003-04, he led all players with an impressive 10 game-winning goals.

The 2007-08 season marked his last appearance as a member of the Maple Leafs and he became the club’s all-time leader in goals (420) and points (987) that year. His final NHL campaign came the next year with the Vancouver Canucks.

His legacy is certainly impressive as he finished his career with 564 goals and 785 assists for 1,349 points over 1,346 career games. One day, it is quite possible that he will be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame and his scoring standards set in Toronto will be very difficult to surpass.

I am pleased to announce that Mats has re-joined the In The Game family. His first cards will be found in Captain-C. Both autograph cards and authentic Game-Used Memorabilia cards will be inserted.

Congratulations Mats and welcome back to the In The Game family.

This is the 8th year that we have produced Heroes and Prospects and we’re proud of the fact that Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, John Tavares, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos, Evgeny Malkin and many more superstars had their first licensed card in Heroes and Prospects.

The line-up of Heroes and Prospects in this year’s product will not disappoint.

BASE CARD SET

This year Heroes and Prospects will feature an expanded 200-card Base Card set. Collectors asked us for more prospects from their favorite teams and we delivered.

Subsets include; Heroes, International Prospects, CHL Prospects, AHL Prospects, CHL Rookies, AHL Rookies, CHL Grads, AHL Grads and Tributes.

2011-12 Heroes and Prospects also pays tribute to four players whose careers and lives ended far to early. Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, Luc Bourdon and Wade Belak. RIP.

NON-MEMORABILIA INSERTS

There are five different Non-Memorabilia Insert subsets; Calder Cup Champions, Memorial Cup Champions, Family Ties, Tough Customers and Class of 2012.

For the Class of 2012 Redemption Program, collectors suggested we use player images instead of the way the Class of 2011 was produced, we listened.

AUTOGRAPH CARDS

An outstanding Autograph Card checklist will be featured in 2011-12 Heroes and Prospects.

Heroes include; Henri Richard, Gordie Howe, Red Kelly, Teemu Selanne, Tony Amonte and more.

CHL Grads include; Ryan Getzlaff, Logan Couture, Cody Hodgson, Brad Marchand, Carey Price, Shea Weber, Dion Phaneuf and more.

AHL Grads include; Claude Giroux, Jimmy Howard, Mikku Koivu, Eric Staal, Patrice Bergeron. Loui Eriksson and more.

Autograph Cards are inserted 1 in every 8 packs. These odds are not guaranteed in any individual box but across the entire production run.

GAME-USED MEMORABILIA CARDS

Let’s not for a moment forget what Heroes and Prospects is known for. Our authentic Game-Used Memorabilia Cards. This year’s edition of Heroes and Prospects is as good as or better than ever. Featuring over 20 different subsets.

And how about some of the numerous 1/1 insert sets.

Game-Used Memorabilia cards are inserted 1 in every 8 packs. These odds are not guaranteed in any individual box but across the entire production run.

Add to all of this our Made To Order program and I’m sure you will agree, this product is LOADED.

Collectors contact your In The Game dealer and dealers contact your In The Game Distributor.

Heroes and Prospects will be released February 23rd.

I am pleased to announce the upcoming release of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW our tribute to the White House.

We are producing only 240 boxes of this product. Each box will contain six different cards. Two Cut Signatures cards and four limited Base cards.

One of the two Cut Signature cards will be a Presidential Cut, either a single cut or a double cut.

The checklist for the Presidential Cuts is nothing short of spectacular. Cuts of Kennedy, Lincoln, Jefferson, Jackson, Grant and Taylor to name a few.

There will also be a large number of dual autographs featuring Presidents from four subsets; Running Mates, Presidential Couples, Presidential Opponents and Forever Linked.

From the Running Mates subset you can find William Taft/James Sherman, Herbert Hoover/Charles Curtis, William McKinley/Garret Hobart, Ulysses S. Grant/Henry Wilson, Grover Cleveland/Adlai Stevenson to name a few.

From the Presidential Couples you can find Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, William and Helen Taft, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, John and Jacqueline Kennedy and Rutherford and Lucy Hayes to name a few.

The Presidential Opponents subset will feature John Kennedy/Richard Nixon, Harry Truman/Thomas Dewey, Ronald Reagan/Walter Mondale, William McKinley/William Jennings Bryan to name a few.

Perhaps the most collectable of the dual cut subsets will be Forever Linked. The dual cuts in this subset include Jimmy Carter/Anwar Sadat, John Kennedy/Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan/John Hinkley, Richard Nixon/Carl Bernstein, Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky and many more.

Remember, there is also a second 1/1 Cut Signature card in each box. The second Cut Signature comes from the following subsets; Cabinet Members, Vice-Presidents, White House Kids, First Lady, White House Visitor and Camelot.

Dolley Madison from the First Lady subset

John Forsyth from the Cabinet Members subset

John Garner from the Vice Presidents subset

There are three Base Card sets, each card is serially numbered to ten.

Presidents

This 42-card Base Card set features every President that called the White House home. Each card is serially numbered out of ten.

Presidential Couples

This 44-card Base Card set features every First Couple that lived in the White House. Each card is serially numbered out of ten.

Presidential Pets

This 10-card Base Card set features Presidential pets that roamed the lawns of the White House. Each card is serially numbered out of ten.

This product will be released mid-February. Contact your Famous Fabrics dealer or distributor to reserve your box now.

Brian Price

In The Game is pleased to announce the long-awaited return of Howe to their products in 2012 and the company is excited to be able to feature him in their celebrated releases.

“It has been several years since Mr. Howe was prominently featured as part of In The Game’s products and we are incredibly pleased to be working with him once again,” said company President Dr. Brian Price. “Our working relationship goes back even farther than that and collectors will be pleased to have an opportunity to get more cards of one of hockey’s greatest icons.”

Howe was part of the first modern era hockey card set from Parkhurst back in 1951-52 and his cards have been highly sought-after ever since. During the 1991-92 season, Dr. Price began working as a sub-licensor under Pro Set and brought back the legendary Parkhurst trading card brand to modern collectors. This extremely popular series not only featured the top stars of the day but also had a special insert set which prominently featured Mr. Howe. At the time, inserts were a relatively new concept with collectors and it was fitting that one of the game’s greatest players be a part of it.

Over the following years, Dr. Price featured Howe in a number of products including collector favorites like the Parkhurst Missing Link. These sets were made up entirely of retired players and paved the way for modern releases, which celebrate the past. Howe was last a part of the In The Game family in 2001-02 and his return to In The Game will allow collectors to obtain all-new cards that celebrate his monumental contributions to the sport.

Howe was born in Floral, Saskatchewan on March 31, 1928 and joined the Detroit Red Wings as an 18-year-old for the 1946-47 season. He quickly became one of the NHL’s top stars and led his club to four Stanley Cup championships in the 1950s. Over 25 seasons in the Motor City, Gordie became the league’s all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points before retiring for the first time at the end of the 1970-71 campaign. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame soon after.

After two seasons on the sidelines, Howe returned to action with the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association and played alongside two of his sons, Mark and Marty. Over the course of six WHA campaigns, the trio ranked among hockey’s biggest stars and he continued to put up strong numbers. They signed with the New England Whalers in 1977 and went back to the NHL two years later as members of the expansion Hartford Whalers. The 1979-80 season was his last but he would skate in his final NHL All-Star Game and made a memorable return to Detroit to score his 801st and final regular season goal on April 6, 1980.

Despite retiring soon after, Howe was still active in the hockey world and once the sports memorabilia industry took off, he became a popular show guest. In 1997-98, he became the first player to skate in a professional game in six different decades when he took to the ice with the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League. In 2008, he became the first person to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the NHL. Adored by fans everywhere, his career is spoken of in reverent tones for being a complete player that could score, lead and play without fear.

Collectors can expect to find autograph and game-used memorabilia cards of Howe in many of the products that are part of In The Game’s 2012 lineup starting with Heroes and Prospects, which releases on February 23.

Brian Price

With only 14 more days left until the release of this product, I thought it might be time for an update.

Enforcers might be the toughest hockey card set to collect in the history of hockey trading cards.

In what other product can you find player after player who distinguished themselves for their toughness and their selfless role in protecting teammates.

The image above has been created using mock-ups of the Tough Nameplates cards that will be found in the product. These are letters cut from the nameplates of game-worn jerseys of the Enforcers. Each card is a 1/1.

When these Tough Nameplates cards are added to the 1/1 Tough Patches cards there is a lot for hi-end collectors to chase.

Production of Enforcers is in full swing and the product will be released on time.

Orders yours now as this product is sure to be sold out.

Oh by the way, is this Georges Laraque in the picture below in a cameo role in the movie Goon?

Just wondering!

Brian Price

There are only 7,000 boxes being produced so make sure you don’t get shutout and order yours now.

By now most collectors are aware of the position that Georges Laraque has taken on this product, so no need to repeat it here in my BLOG.

However, Stu Grimson also weighed in on the subject in this interview:

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/12/16/bloody-fuss-over-hockey-trading-cards

Enough about the controversy and more about this great product.

We have just completed a great new addition to the Enforcers product, the Tough Patch cards. Large pieces of game-used jerseys from many of the players in this product. These 1/1′s will be really “tough” to collect.

“Tough” to collect but worth the effort. Some of the nicest patch cards we have ever made.

Checklists for the Base Card set, Autograph Card set and Game-Used Memorabilia sets will be posted on our website (www.itgtradingcards.com) this week.

Remember the Release Date – January 19, 2012.

Enforcers – it’s going to be a tough set to collect.

Brian Price

Bob Probert was as tough as any player who ever laced on a pair of skates.

He had an outstanding career playing 935 games over 16 seasons for Chicago and Detroit and accumulating 3300 penalty minutes including 231 fights. His battles on the ice against Wendel Clark, Link Gaetz, Stu Grimson and Tie Domi were legendary.  Everyone has their own favorite Bob Probert fight.

Bob Probert will headline the checklist of players featured in In The Game’s – Enforcers. We will even have limited numbers of Probert autograph cards with Chicago, Detroit and dual autograph cards of some of his greatest battles.

Bob Probert epitomizes what our Enforcers product is all about.

Each pack of Enforcers will contain five authentic autographs. There will be over 80 different Enforcers on the authentic autograph checklist including; Dave Semenko, Joey Kocur, Georges Laraque, Dave Manson, Basil McRae, Rob Ray, Marty McSorley, Brad May, Jim Kyte, Chris Nilan, and many, many more.

Each pack of Enforcers will contain two authentic game-used memorabilia cards. There are several different insert sets; Instigators, Dual Combatants, Quad Tough Franchise, Fight Straps, 1/1 Fight Strap Dome Fastener cards, 1/1 Enforcer Nameplates. The checklist includes Stu Grimson, Wendel Clark, Kelly Chase, Enrico Ciccone, Lyle Odelein, Gino Odjik, Jeff Odgers, Terry O’Reilly, Bob Nystrom, Clark Gilles and many, many more.

Each pack of Enforcers will contain five non-memorabilia inserts. There will be four different subsets; Tale of the Tape, Record Holders, Bloody Battles and Tough Franchises in the 90 card Non-Memorabilia Insert checklist.

Enforcers will be released mid-January 2012 and production will be limited, order yours now.

Brian Price

A product dedicated to hockey’s tough guys, the players that open up the ice for the superstars.

Enforcers will be released mid-January and due to a small production run, it might be as tough to find as it will be to collect.

In The Game does not put redemption cards in their products for autographs, so the checklist will be announced prior to release date as the autographs are received.

Count these five Enforcers in:

Wendel Clark – a fan favorite from the start in Toronto, Clark exhibited a great deal of toughness and played every game like it was his last. The opposition never wanted to mess with him because they knew he wasn’t about to back down from anyone.

Stan Jonathan – while he wasn’t anywhere near being the biggest member of any team he played on, it could be argued that Jonathan had the biggest heart of them all. His memorable tussle with the much-larger Pierre Bouchard of the Montreal Canadiens is still shown to this day as he unleashed a flurry of punches that brought down the big defender.

Joe Kocur – the Detroit Red Wings were loaded with tough and talented players in the 1980s and Kocur proved to be among the game’s elite enforcers. He paced all players with 377 penalty minutes in 1985-86 and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion!

Jimmy Mann – when John Ferguson was rebuilding the Winnipeg Jets after the death of the World Hockey Association, one of his key building blocks was Mann, who he selected in the first round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He was an instant hit at the pro level as he led the league in penalty minutes during his rookie season of 1979-80.

Dave Semenko – if Semenko had never played for the Edmonton Oilers, opposing teams might have run over players like Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri, so it was his job to ensure that the offensive dynamos around him were protected. Considering that he once stepped into the ring to fight Muhammad Ali in an exhibition bout, there is little doubt in regard to his overall toughness and atleticism.

I am also pleased to reveal two more exciting game-used memorabilia insert sets. The first is what you would expect from Enforcers, game-used Fight Straps. Each Fight Strap card will be numbered out of 8.

The next game-used memorabilia insert set will be a 1/1 Fight Strap Dome Fastener. On each card the piece of memorabilia will come right through the card (front to back). We’ve never done this before.

These two insert sets join the three others that have been announced in a previous Blog; Instigators, Combatants and Tough Franchise.

Enforcers will be a real hockey fan’s product. It’s not the same top 50 players that are put in product after product. Enforcers is going to be a tough set to collect, but it will be worth the effort.

Brian Price