1999 Topps Stadium Club Co-signers An Early Iteration of Dual Autos
Dual autos out of today's products are a diamond in the rough. Even in products with guaranteed autographs, pulling a dual or multiple autographed card is a rarity. But where did it start?
One of the earliest iterations of the pack-pulled dual autographed card comes out of the 1999 Stadium Club product. It was an insert set called 'Co-Signers' indicating the multiple signatures. According to Trading Card Database, there were 42 cards in the set and featured at least two athletes and their autographs, while six in the set included an astonishing four signatures.
You can tell they were early autographs. The ink on most of them is streaky, verses the solid pen strokes of today's autograph pulls. It aids in the nostalgia though. Along with the design, the diminished ink screams late 90s cards. Condition on these cards is sensitive, and even low graded cards can fetch a premium on the re-sale market.
The pairings on some of the cards also speak to the times. While iconic baseball figures Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter (card #CS15) along with Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones (card #CS4) share cards, card #CS33 features solid, but not-so-iconic baseball players Tony Womack and Quilvio Veras. Other odd matchups include the Rocket Roger Clemens with Vinny Castilla (card #CS31) and Edgardo Alfonso and Mike Lowell (card #CS34).
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While the bigger names, like Jeter and Rodriguez, will cost collectors a fair amount on the market, most of the cards in the set are reasonably priced. For instance, according to eBay sold listings, the aforementioned card #CS33 featuring Tony Womack and Quilvio Veras went for a meager $17.79 on March 29th. These lower prices could allow more collectors to build the set with out breaking the bank.
It was a set that was ahead of its time. Most dual or multiple autographed cards are sticker autos presently. Which makes this set neat as the autos are on card. The creativity has only grown since. Now we have deca books, featuring an incredible 10 players on one piece of cardboard.
I do give Topps and Fanatics credit for using the same gold stamp the co-signers had in their Archives products. It will be very exciting to think of the next innovation when it comes to featuring multiple players with multiple autographs.
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz