2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Baseball Cards
Product Review
2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Baseball Review
Good: Great looking design, unprecedented multi-sport checklist of stars, and a nice selection of short prints and potential hits.
Bad: Eerily reminiscent of Topps Allen and Ginter products. An abundance of uninspired game used memorabilia inserts water down an otherwise high quality product.
The Bottom Line: 2009 Goodwin Champions is flat out one of the best baseball card releases of the year. While the parallels to Topps Allen and Ginter sets are numerous, Goodin Champions ultimately does enough to distinguish itself apart from the competition. Is this the silver bullet that some thought would spell the end of Topps Allen and Ginter's 4-year reign of market domination? No - at least for the time being.
Both 2009 UD Goodwin Champions and 2009 Topps Allen and Ginter are such good sets that I would recommend buying both if you have even a remote interest in these types of products.
Overall: 4.5 / 5.0
Design
For the mostpart, the card design and artwork is top notch. Some of the backgrounds are a little too wacky and abstract, but they are the exception rather then the rule.
Checklist
This might very well be the most complete multi-sport sports card set ever made. To illustrate my point here is a list of some of the athletes pulled from my single review box: Duke Snider, Brooks Robinson, Tony Gwynn, Adrian Peterson, Michael Jordan, Derrick Rose, Wayne Gretzsky, Anderson Silva, and Chuck Liddell. The sum total of all this starpower is that Goodwin Champions is a stronger, more star studded multi-sport checklist then what 2009 Topps Allen and Ginter.
Another strong point of the checklist is its deep selection of inserts and autographs. The only downside of the set's checklist is its overabundance of boring, 1-color vanilla game used memorabilia inserts of current MLB stars and semi-stars.
Value
The high quality of 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions easily warrants the price tag, which has fluctuated between $60 and $90 per hobby box.
Enjoyability
Goodwin Champions made for a very fun break with plenty of surprises and a heap of exciting base cards. If you like retro-themed products then you will almost certainly enjoy 2009 Goodwin Champions. Even if you don't typically get into these types of baseball card products, Goodwin Champions is worth taking a close look.
Product Details
2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Baseball Product Information
The Premier Edition of Goodwin Champions Baseball will deliver stunning retro-styled images of baseball's finest active and retired stars alongside legends from the realms of surfing, thoroughbred horse racing, martial arts and more! Set collectors will have an engrossing challenge pursuing an array of high-series short-prints and minis! A slew of new-concept, DNA Memorabilia Cards will also make their debuts . . . redefining the guidelines for what can be incorporated into a trading card!
CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:
- Find One (1) Mini Card (With Rare Foil Versions) In Each Pack, On Average!
- Three (3) Out Of Every Four (4) Packs Will Contain An Additional Insert Or Short Print!
- Collect The Entire 252 Goodwin Champions Set!
- Find One (1) Hard-Signed Autograph Per Box, On Average!
- Find Two (2) Memorabilia Cards Per Box Featuring Actual Relics And Materials Worn Or Used By Subjects From A Wide Realm Of Sporting And Historical Interests!
- Look For Original 1888 Goodwin Champions Buybacks Including Hall Of Famers Cap Anson And King Kelly!
- Look For One (1) Entomology, Landmarks, Or Thoroughbred Hair Cut "DNA/Elemental" Card Per Case, On Average!
- Look For One (1) 20Th Anniversary Memorabilia Card Per Case, On Average
BOX BREAK:
- Two (2) Memorabilia Series cards per box, on average!
- One (1) Hard-Signed Autograph Series card per box, on average!
- Twenty (20) Minis per box, on average!
- Ten (10) short-printed subset cards - including two (2) Super SP's - per box, on average!
CASE BREAK:
- One (1) Entomology, Landmarks or Thoroughbred Hair Cuts DNA memorabilia card per 12-box hobby case, on average!
CHASE:
- One (1) 20th Anniversary Memorabilia card per 12-box hobby case, on average!
2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Baseball Product Breakdown
Base Set
- Base Cards - 150 cards
- Short Prints- 40 cards
- Super Short Prints- 20 Cards
- Mini Exclusive High Series- 42 Cards
Inserts and Parallel Cards
- Printing Plates (Hobby Exclusive)
- Mini or Mini foil version
- Mini Black Bordered Gypsy Queen Back
- Mini Foil Black Bordered Magician Back (Hobby Exclusive! Limited to 8 hand numbered sets!)
- Citizens of the Day
- Citizens of the Century
- Ten (10) 20th Anniversary cards per box, on average!
- Original 1888 Goodwin Champions Buybacks
Autograph Cards: (ONE PER BOX)
- Goodwin Champions On-card Autographs from the greatest legends of the world of sport!
Memorabilia Cards: (TWO PER BOX)
- Goodwin Champions Memorabilia Series
- Look for material cards of Cal Ripken, Joe DiMaggio and even Michael Jordan!
Hobby Exclusive Inserts: (ONE PER CASE)
- Entomology: A collection of DNA memorabilia cards focusing on astounding and rare butterflies and other amazing insects from across the globe!
- Landmarks: These memorabilia cards feature actual elements from the most famous landmarks around the world including coal from the Titanic wreck and salt from the Dead Sea!
- Thoroughbred Hair Cuts: Set of DNA memorabilia cards that will feature strands of hair from the manes of some of the world's most-famed racing horses! Look for hair from the likes of Afleet Alex, Funny Cide and the legendary Smarty Jones!
- 20th Anniversary Memorabilia Cards
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Brett J. Lewis
What makes this product great isn’t the hits. It’s the set building aspect that truley shines. I usually don’t like most Upper Deck offerings, but in Goodwin they have created something that is far more intriguing to put together than any of the Allen & Ginter offerings. The set is challenging to put together, but not “Financially” challenging like Ginter. There are no “rip cards” or extemely short printed minis (Ginter #351-399). With Goodwin, there are several level of achievment you can attain. The casual collector can choose to simply put together the base set with Short Prints together, the mid-level collector can expand into the various inserts and Mini Cards (Regular, Black, Silver), and the high dollar collectors can chase the Jersey Card & auto sets.
The cards design has a certain “mystique” that draws you into a world in which the immagination and sports collide. The cards also feel old without losing the feeling of being “new”. The “Easter Egg” variations (15 different ones) are worthy of being in a museum! You really have to open a few packs to understand what I mean when it comes to the design.
If you want to put together an intriguing, immaginative, and well concieved set, this product is for you. If you enjoyed putting together Topps Magic, you’ll love Goodwin.