so sad

[quinnsryche]

Originally Posted by esd10

what would be neat instead of cutting up these jerseys have them as a redemption or give away that would be huge they would make so much money. it would never happen but it would be a cool idea

Upper Deck did that about 10-11 years ago. Gave away game worn jerseys (Cobb - A's, Grove, Reggie Jackson etc) and game used bats (Ruth, Mantle, etc.). There were 10 items total I think. There was a redemption/contest card in just about every pack with a color photo of the actual item. Sounds great right? Well, problem was, the value on these items was so high that the people who won them couldn't afford the taxes incurred on these items and some had to be sold. I remember the story of the guy who won the Lefty Grove jersey, couldn't pay the taxes on it and had to sell it before he even received it. I know some people hate these G/U cards, but for some (like my 10 year old son) it's the only chance he will ever have of owning an actual piece of history. If someone wins the whole jersey, it goes in a private collection maybe never to be seen again. This way, thousands of people get a part of baseball history. I also can attest that it's because of cards like this that my son even thinks twice about a player who played more than 5 years ago. Just my opinion, take it or leave it.

[Rich Klein]

"deadball" era fans at the 1st conference in Hot Springs; and what we agreed to (and understand these were fans, not collectors) was that if the item was not close to being a one of a kind (like the Vezina pads were a few years ago) then it was a case by case basis as to about the usefulness of the card.

Cards like that; do increase interest by other fans in vintage players so I'm not totally against that, but I understand the historical outrage

Rich

[barrysloate]

It's debatable whether a one inch square of material from a jersey is a piece of history. The jersey is historic, the scrap of cloth maybe not. And I too would be suspicious- given how many questionable uniforms are out there, do we know for sure that it's authentic?

[Matt]

well then - would you prefer they cutup an authentic jersey or a reproduction and pass it off as authentic?

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by Matt

well then - would you prefer they cutup an authentic jersey or a reproduction and pass it off as authentic?

I prefer they did neither.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I prefer they did neither.

of course, but we both know "neither" isn't something that's going to happen.