Upper Desk is the youngest of the 3 major companies in sports cards, tracing their roots back to the first big boom in the industry, beginning with the 1989 baseball season. They were very popular right out of the gate, and the ’89 Ken Griffey Jr #1 card from the first set is one of the most iconic cards in the modern era of the hobby.
Currently, Upper Deck has the exclusive license to print National Hockey League cards. They also produce other hockey offerings including minor league (American Hockey League), junior (Canadian Hockey League & Team Canada) lines.
The companies other sports products include NASCAR, Canadian Football League, USA Football and a return to Professional Golfers Association (PGA) coming in 2021. Their Goodwin Champions product highlights a wide range of athletes and entertainers along with notable names from literature, history and even the animal kingdom.
Along with their sports offerings, the company also produces a number of entertainment products, most notably, for the Marvel franchise, James Bond and The X-Files.
Upper Desk also produces hockey cards under the O-Pee-Chee brand (which had been affiliated with Topps up until 2004).
Besides sports cards, Upper Deck is huge in the memorabilia market and have exclusive deals with some of the biggest icons in sport, including Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Tiger Woods.
Fun Fact: Upper Deck was the first company to use holograms on their cards as an anti-counterfitting measure.