Dead Man Writing

Deep-pocketed collectors who purchased packs of 2000-2001 Be A Player Ultimate Memorabilia have been stunned by the quality of the swatches and the creativity displayed in some of the designs and player pairings. There's no denying this product set new standards that every other company will attempt to emulate.

But as impressive as some of these new pieces are, the most amazing accomplishment was the inclusion of new cards signed by one of hockey's greatest players, Maurice Richard.

Amazing, of course, because he's dead.

"The Richard autographs are from a private signing we conducted in 1995," says In The Game president Brian Price. "These autographs were originally signed on enlarged versions of his 1953-54 Parkhurst card. The actual signatures were then cut from the photos and inserted into the card, much like a swatch of material on a game jersey card."

Considering the interest in these issues, there's one obvious question: Will we see other cut signatures of Richard- or any other noteworthy deceased players- in future Be A Player releases? "We do have a limited number of additional Richard signed photos and we are planning to use them in an upcoming product," Price hints.