Does anyone remember whatever happened to the Ted Williams Card Company from 1993-1994?

Estil

Does anyone remember the Ted Williams Card Company from around 1993-94? The few cards from that set I have seen were quite interesting and focused on baseball history rather than active players. I'm guessing the company probably folded, but if so, when? Also, can anyone here give me a complete list of all the Ted Williams Card Company baseball card sets they released? They're not in my Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide (annual version) for some reason (though I bet they're in the Almanac; boy I wish I had a copy...).

Do any of the rest of you like these sets too?

lawnmowerman

I believe they did fold and the IRS "Froze" all their assets

Elemenopeo

<< <i>I believe they did fold and the IRS "Froze" all their assets >>

Allen

I have a base set and some insert sets and partials if you are interested I can dig them up for you. The set has some sheet about the company kind of like a certificate, it has Williams Sig, but i think it is a print but I don't remember for sure.

jlbsquared

a quick google search provided a very interesting SI article which included the following -


In 1990 John-Henry, then studying business at the University of Maine, got the idea of selling a T-shirt commemorating the 50th anniversary of Ted's .406. "He said no way," John-Henry says. "He didn't trust me, a kid, at all." Two of Ted's friends wore him down, however, and the success of the T-shirt helped bring Ted and John-Henry closer together and resulted in the creation of Grand Slam Marketing, a family clearinghouse for Ted Williams photos, autographs, jerseys and a CD-ROM biography, all presided over by John-Henry. His task? "Protection," he says. "A buffer so that someone else isn't handling the money, so that another Antonucci problem doesn't come up."

There have been problems anyway. John-Henry ran into serious legal trouble when, after Ted had signed an exclusive three-year, $2 million contract with Upper Deck Authenticated in '92, John-Henry and Grand Slam started the Ted Williams Card Company, a direct competitor. The two sides sued each other: John-Henry claimed that certain Williams cards released by Upper Deck were unauthorized, and Upper Deck claimed that John-Henry had tried to break Ted's contract. According to Upper Deck communications director Camron Bussard, John-Henry said Ted was unable to sign just after his third stroke, in 1994, and "then Ted would sign for Grand Slam Marketing and appear at shows." The two sides settled out of court in April 1995, and Ted honored the rest of his Upper Deck contract. Later that year the Ted Williams Card Company was dissolved.

eta ; the whole article

Tedw9

As much as I love Ted, I didn't much care for John Henry. I think he used his Dad to make money and took advantage of him. I read at one time that John Henry used to be able to sign Teds name as well as Ted.

I have a set of the Ted Williams cards from 94 I believe. My Dad and I got a good deal on a few boxes and busted them to make a couple of sets. I think I have close to a master set somewhere around here. They also did football and basketball too and I think Staubach autos were randomly inserted into the football packs.

Stone193

<< <i>whatever happened to the Ted Williams Card Company from 1993-1994? >>


It turned to shit and the hogs ate it!