Topps Signs Exclusive Deal with Babe Ruth Estate

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Topps and CMG Worldwide (CMG) have reached an agreement that grants Topps the exclusive rights to produce the trading cards of arguably baseball's greatest legend, Babe Ruth. The deal includes exclusivity on trading cards - including game-used memorabilia cards and all other insert cards.

"We are extremely excited to add baseball's greatest legend to the Topps brand," said Warren Friss Topps' GM of Sports & Entertainment. "As the ‘House that Ruth Built' celebrates its final season, we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the legacy of Yankee Stadium than by giving our fans access to the most legendary player in its storied franchise."

The exclusive Babe Ruth cards were unveiled recently with the release of 2008 Topps Allen & Ginter and will be found in the remainder of Topps' 2008 and 2009 baseball products. The products will feature an array of insert cards, autographed cards and game-used memorabilia cards.

In April, Topps announced a deal with CMG that includes exclusivity on trading cards for 16 former baseball legends including Jackie Robinson, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Thurman Munson, Roy Campanella, Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, Cy Young, Mel Ott, Johnny Mize, Jimmie Foxx, Honus Wagner, Pee Wee Reese, George Sisler and Christy Mathewson.

Topps also holds the exclusive trading card rights to the Mickey Mantle Estate and autographed and game-used memorabilia card rights to young stars such as Ryan Howard and David Wright.

1909-11 T-206 Tobacco White Border Set

The T206 (T-206) set is one of the most cherished among baseball card collectors. Also known as “The Monster” and the “White Border Set,” the T206 set contains 523 cards and over 30 different variations of card backs. The set also contains the “Holy Grail of Baseball Cards,” the T206 Honus Wagner, which recently sold at an auction for $2.8 million! Also included in this fantastic set are Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Tris Speaker, Christy Mathewson, Mordechai “Three Finger” Brown, “Wee” Willie Keeler, Napoleon Lajoie, and more!!

Among these cards are 389 Major Leaguers and 134 Minor Leaguers. Taking into account the possibilities of over 520 different player poses on the fronts, and 16 different advertisement backs, there are thousands of permutations of cards to complete a "set". There are also multiple cards for the same player in different poses, different uniforms, or even with different teams after being traded (since the set was issued over a period of several years). The cards measure 1-7/16" x 2-5/8" which is considered by many collectors to be the standard tobacco card size.

The card fronts feature a color lithograph of a player surrounded by a white border. A few cards were printed in a horizontal format, but almost all of the 523 cards in the set were oriented vertically. Card backs do not contain any statistics; instead, an advertisement appears for the cigarette brand the card was packaged with. The cards were printed on sheets by one factory, and each brand was allowed to place its ad on the backs. Some of the card backs include: Piedmont, Tolstoi, Sweet Caporal, Cycle, Drum, Old Mill, Polar Bear, Sovereign, Hindu, Lenox, Uzit, El Principe, and even a Ty Cobb version. Additionally, some blank-backed cards have been found.

The Honus Wagner card is the most rare of all. It is estimated that between 50 and 200 of the Wagner cards were ever distributed to the public, and fewer still have survived to the present day. Several theories exist as to why the card is so scarce. One theory is that the printing plate used to create Wagner's card broke early in the production process. Another theory is that there was a copyright dispute between the American Tobacco Company and the artist who created the Wagner lithograph which resulted in a reduced production.

The most commonly accepted theory is that the card was pulled from production because Wagner himself objected to the production of the card, but his motivation is unclear. Reports at the time indicated that Wagner did not wish to associate himself with cigarettes, possibly because he did not want to encourage children to smoke. However, some collectors and historians have pointed out that Wagner, a user of chewing tobacco, allowed his image to appear on cigar boxes and other tobacco-related products prior to 1909 and objected to the card simply because he wanted more financial compensation for the use of his image.

Purchase 1909-11 T206 Cards Here!