 You can call it a 'set' or a giant collection of Yankee cards, but Upper Deck is pouring a lot of effort into a new 2008 baseball card venture designed to pay tribute to one of sports' most famous venues.
The Upper Deck Company will soon be unveiling what it calls "the largest baseball trading card set ever produced."
The Yankee Stadium Legacy set, a 6,500-card compilation chronicling every single game ever played at the famous “House That Ruth Built,” will begin its official debut through inserts in the company’s 2008 Series 1 Baseball, scheduled to hit store shelves on February 5.
The upcoming season will be the final year for Yankee Stadium before a new park is built for 2009. Upper Deck says the set will capture the "incredible history and moments that have occurred at Yankee Stadium since its doors opened in 1923."
"Not only is this an incredibly ambitious effort by our Product Development and Creative teams, but it’s a well-deserved tribute to one of the sports world’s most celebrated venues,“ said Kerri Stockholm, Upper Deck’s director of Sports Marketing. “We’re delivering the cards as inserts in several different Upper Deck baseball products throughout 2008.”
Besides chronicling 85 seasons worth of Yankees home games, the set will also include some of the most famous sporting events that have taken place at Yankee Stadium including: Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man Alive” Speech (July 4, 1939); Babe Ruth’s “Final Visit to Yankee Stadium” (June 11, 1948); Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling heavyweight title bout (June 19, 1936, Schmeling won); and Muhammad Ali’s title defense against Ken Norton (Sept. 28, 1976).
 According to Upper Deck Baseball Brand Manager Jason Masherah, the Guinness World Book of Records is ready to recognize the effort as the “largest baseball trading card set ever produced,” but only after all of the 6,500 cards are released in Upper Deck’s various baseball card launches throughout the year. In addition to appearing in Upper Deck Series 1 Baseball, the Yankee Stadium Legacy cards will also be included in: Spectrum; Piece of History; SPx; Upper Deck Series Two; SP Legendary Cuts (hobby boxes only); SP Authentic; UDx; and UD Masterpieces.
There will also be 42 different Yankee greats featured on game-used memorabilia cards (bats and jerseys) ranging from Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio to Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson and current Yankee captain Derek Jeter. Upper Deck has also bought back several thousand previously released Yankee autographed and memorabilia cards from previous seasons to insert into the various releases as part of this promotion.
More details about the set and related promotions for the year-long launch will become available online starting February 1 and by entering the alphanumeric codes found on the backs of Yankee Stadium Legacy cards at the new website, collectors will be able to manage their collections online, track the progress of other collectors via a leader board and enter sweepstakes for baseball-related prizes.
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