Forget Shohei Ohtani. Dogs are getting trading cards now

(CNN) — The trading card industry has gone to the dogs — literally.

Topps, Fanatics’ trading card company, is partnering with the Westminster Kennel Club to release a line of inserts named “Stars of the Show,” which feature champion pooches from Sage the Miniature Poodle to Trumpet the Bloodhound.

Included in the release are so-called relic cards, particularly rare cards sought after by collectors that contain a small piece of memorabilia, such as the wood of a used baseball bat or fabric from a game-worn jersey. Topps’ “Stars of the Show” relics will feature authentic cut-up pieces of the winning dog’s “Best in Show” ribbon. Even rarer are the seven one-of-a-kind cards that include the handler’s purple winner’s lapel fully inserted into the card.

“What the cards do is they capture a moment and connect you with a hero,” said Clay Luraschi, Topps’ senior vice president of product. “Heroes come in all different forms, and in this case it’s champion dogs.”

The Topps collaboration signifies Westminster’s desire to capitalize on the power of fandom that drives the sports trading card industry. Fanatics said that of the $1 billion of revenue it generated in 2023, baseball cards made up $640 million after it acquired Topps, according to reporting from AdAge,

Dogs appearing on trading cards is nothing new: Some baseball cards from the late 1800s featured star players alongside their four-legged companions. But Luraschi says a series of cards in which the dogs take center stage represents the first of its kind.

The Westminster Dog Show each year welcomes nearly 3,000 pedigreed dogs from over hundreds of different breeds, which vie for the title of “Best in Show.” The Topps collaboration is part of the brand’s efforts to appear more accessible to fans as it prepares to return to Madison Square Garden ahead of its 150th anniversary.

Making a legacy brand accessible

The Westminster Dog Show, first held in 1877, is America’s second-oldest continuous sporting event and predates the invention of both the lightbulb and the automobile. That history has given the brand a high-brow image, but Westminster president Don Sturz says despite its storied past, the dog show is “an elite event, but it’s not an elitist event.”

“You have to strike a balance between respecting tradition and not wanting to do anything to disrupt that value,” Sturz told CNN. “But at the same time, it’s about wanting to remain relevant and expanding the audience and bringing in new fans who may not have seen it as something that was for them.”

Maintaining the show’s prestige while promoting accessibility was a balancing act that guided the cards’ creation. The Westminster subset is part of Topps’ 2024 Allen & Ginter series, a vintage-themed card set based on the tobacco company from the late 1800s — a decision that represented Westminster’s homage to history. But Sturz says the focus on the dogs’ call names instead of their official titles and the choice of pictures emphasize their personalities.

“They chose to use photos that really captured these dogs’ personalities in addition to their status as champions,” he said. “In all their grandeur as being a best in show champion, they’re also somebody’s well-loved pet.”

“We’re living in this age that’s very digital, and the fact that people can still be connected to these three and a half (inch) tangible pieces of paper is incredibly special,” said Luraschi.

The-CNN-Wire
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