Goodwin6Hobby Musings: Dive Into 2021 Goodwin ChampionsThe 2021 edition of Upper Deck Goodwin Champions recently hit the market. One of the more interesting and versatile releases in their stable, the product advertises that each box has at least two hits. Courtesy of Upper Deck, I was able to go through a box. In addition to cards of some of Upper Deck’s spokesmen like Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, there were also cards of WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu and soccer star Ansu Fati. From the non-sports world, I also came across cards of President Joe Biden and singer Jason Isbell in my box.

Goodwin10Some of the hits and other cool cards included an on-card autograph of volleyball player Sarah Pavan. I also came away with a Splash of Color Lenticular bounty code card of Thunder rookie Josh Giddey. Perhaps coolest of all was a Mikaela Shiffrin Exquisite Collection rookie numbered to 149. It was pretty cool seeing Upper Deck include content from some of their other brands into Goodwin. In particular, the on-card autos are a great touch for the product.

All in all, the box was a fun rip. The variety and versatility of Goodwin, as well as the outright cool factor of the various hits makes it an intriguing product, especially for the latest release. Whether you’re seeing cards of subjects who may not have them, or someone chasing premium hits, there’s a little bit of everything for card collectors in this line. To find out more about what went into it, I had the chance to catch up with Upper Deck’s Tony Sirianni, one of the architects of Goodwin Champions.

KS: Tony, Goodwin Champions has always been one of the more eclectic releases in the Upper Deck stable. What are some of the new features for this year’s product?
TS:
I’m very excited about the addition of all new Exquisite Collection content as well as the new Platinum Variants. Collectors should also be on the lookout for the all new Goodwin Masterpieces Animal Kingdom painted art cards.

Hobby Musings: Dive Into 2021 Goodwin ChampionsKS: What are some of the other highlights for the new release?
TS:
Look for colorful Goodwin Playing cards as well as the new Museum Collection USS Constitution Relics.

KS: There are a lot of subjects from different worlds in the product. How did you decide on who made the checklist?
TS:
We love to keep collectors guessing who may show up in each year’s Goodwin checklist. It’s really a group effort coming up with the full list. Brian Schilling deserves a lot of credit for putting the list together. We always like to have a mix of established stars as well as up and comers that are sure to become household names down the road. We also always try to include some names from outside the world of sports, including actors, musicians, and other pop culture figures.

Hobby Musings: Dive Into 2021 Goodwin ChampionsKS: How does making this product differ from some of the other things you work on for Upper Deck?
TS:
I would say that Goodwin is one of the more challenging products to build being that its outside the realm of an established license like the NHL or Marvel. You don’t have the checklist of subjects that those other licenses grant you access to, so coming up with the checklist itself is a much different undertaking than building a hockey or entertainment set. Goodwin is the only product I work on that allows me to include Michael Jordan in the same checklist as Jason Isbell and Ansu Fati. The possibilities are endless with Goodwin, and that’s what makes it so fun every year!

KS: You have some non-traditional relic cards like Legendary Ship and Lady Luck. Just where in the heck did you get some of the relic materials for these?
TS:
Great question! Sometimes an item inspires the idea for the relic card, and sometimes an insert idea requires sourcing of said relics. We are always watching for unique items that come up for sale. That’s how we acquired the ship relics, and that inspired the insert to commemorate “Old Ironsides.” The Lady Luck relics were an idea we came up with, and then we had to go source the vintage casino chips. We actually discovered that there’s a large collector group that do shows featuring all vintage Las Vegas memorabilia. Once we found out that there was a market for these items, we knew we were on the right track with these new relic cards in Goodwin.

KS: If you had to pick, what do you think is the coolest card in this year’s product?
TS:
Such a tough call, but if I had to pick one, I’d have to say the coolest card in this year’s set is the Ken Griffey Jr. Signature Kicks.

KS: Aside from Goodwin, what else does Upper Deck have coming out soon?

TS: We just released Premier and Ultimate Collection Hockey, and the newest iteration of SP Authentic Golf should be arriving this spring.

Hobby Musings: Dive Into 2021 Goodwin Champions – Image Gallery

 

 


Kelsey’s ability to bring hobby coverage to the mainstream sports fan has been a true asset. GTS is happy to feature his thoughts on collecting in Hobby Musings. The opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of GTS Distribution.
Kelsey Schroyer

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