A few autographs I'd want to see in 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter

When it comes to baseball card brands, Topps' Allen & Ginter is one of the most-unique ones in the hobby today -- even though it's modeled after cards from the 1880s.

Why? Those original tobacco cards featured all kinds of people and all kinds of things -- not just baseball players -- among many releases but it's the "World's Champions" that drive the idea of what we've gotten today since Topps re-introduced the brand back in 2006.

Kate Upton, Takeru Kobayashi, George W. Bush, Serena Williams, Axl Rose, Michelle Beadle, Anthony Bourdain, Nick Saban, Cat Osterman, Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone, Roger Federer, Michael Phelps, Tony Hawk, Maria Sharapova, John Wooden, Laila Ali, Snoop Dogg, Pele, Henry Rollins and so many other surprising subjects have been found in packs of baseball cards beside typical MLB inclusions such as Mike Trout, Hank Aaron, Bryce Harper, Derek Jeter, Justin Verlander, Sandy Koufax, Clayton Kershaw and Ichiro Suzuki through the years. Those surprises can be pricey later, too. Upton wasn't a super-rare autograph but you wouldn't know it based on these prices.

Planning stages for the 2019 release are clearly already beginning for the brand as Topps took to Twitter on Thursday to ask collectors who they'd want to see in Ginter for non-baseball inclusions.

That got Buzz thinking ... and here are a few signers I'd want to see in 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter -- and more than a few of them have small ties to the baseball world.

Danny Trejo -- Let's hope this veteran actor doesn't reply with "Machete don't sign," but his life story and his career are interesting and seem cardboard-worthy to me. I'm sure he's got more than a few fans from his nearly 400 credits -- a list that includes two Machete films spawned from Planet Terror in Grindhouse, From Dusk Till Dawn, Con Air, Anaconda, Heat, Anchorman, the Sky Kids franchise, Muppets Most Wanted, Predators and Halloween among others. On TV? You can find him in episodes of From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, The Flash, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, American Dad!, King of the Hill, Rick and Morty, Angie Tribeca, Bones, The X-Files, The Cleveland Show, Modern Family and even The Young and the Restless. His only certified autograph? Well, Buzz was surprised to hear that he even had one -- it's from a Stargate: Atlantis card set from Rittenhouse Archives made back in 2008. Another plus that could lead to an appearance? He's done a number of convention appearances, so he's used to signings when he's not busy building a taco restaurant empire. (And a donut chain, too.) 

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Walter Iooss -- If you've seen a cover of Sports Illustrated or scanned its pages in the past, odds are you've seen the work of this veteran photographer who has simply done it all and done it all very well for a long time. The iconic photo of "The Catch" by Dwight Clark? He took it. The Michael Jordan book Rare Air? He shot it. That and the iconic shot of Jordan from the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest as seen from the baseline. Throw in more many other notable images, memorable portraits and even SI Swimsuit Issues (we could add Kathy Ireland and Elle Macpherson autos to this list if you want to go with Upton) and there's plenty of stuff. He's got books, he's even got a few past card sets ... but no certified autographs that I'm aware of.

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Tabitha Soren -- If you're a product of the 1990s, then you know her work from MTV and its political coverage that helped generate interest in issues and voting via its "Choose or Lose" campaign. She's continued to work as a journalist and artist since then and there's a definite sports tie-in with this choice, too. Her husband is Moneyball author Michael Lewis and that best-selling book isn't alone as Soren followed the Oakland A's draft picks from that same Moneyball class for 15 years, documenting life in baseball for a photography exhibition and book called Fantasy Life. It would be interesting to see both of them sign cards for Ginter, but MTV gives her an edge that might be of more interest to more collectors. (It would be cool to see a number of its past personalities appear on cardboard.)

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Sam Holman -- Back in 1997 Holman founded Sam Bats, a Canadian baseball bat-maker best known for using maple in its pieces. Barry Bonds helped make the brand a household name and the use of maple instead of ash has taken off with a vast majority of players. (I'm not doing the Sam Bats story justice so check it out here.) A Holman autograph -- maybe even appropriately a Rideau Crusher bat Relic -- would be a simple inclusion in Ginter that makes sense. (I actually wonder why it hasn't happened already.)

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Danielle Colby -- American Pickers has been around since 2010 and we all know the glue holding it all together is Colby as she "sends the coordinates" to Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe when they're out on the road hunting treasures. While getting all three to sign for Allen & Ginter cards might be a possibility, Colby just might be the leader in the clubhouse (or already signed on) after this tweet in response to Topps on Thursday. If not, you can always pick off autographed photos and learn more about her life and career beyond Pickers from her official website right here. 

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The Freeze (aka Nigel Talton) -- We already have a Rookie Card of sorts for this Atlanta Braves icon, but what the world really needs is an autographed Ginter mini card to go with it. Why? He's just one of those baseball oddities that seems perfect for the brand. Learn more about The Freeze here. 

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Rachel Maddow -- Allen & Ginter has had a number of sports network personalities and other TV hosts in its ranks in past years as well as at least one who has crossed over to news in Keith Olbermann. (He collects cards.) I don't know if there's a card tie-in with Maddow, but her present show has been around for a decade and that seems pretty strong in a world of always-changing TV. (Well, ever-changing unless you look at NFL broadcast teams ... they never change.) One of Maddow's hobbies that is known is fishing -- quick, somebody show her the Ginter set for lures -- maybe that will be interesting enough to ... wait for it ... lure her into signing on? I think this could be an autograph that would sell well these days.

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Jim Abbott -- His story is an interesting one and he's got a big-league no-hitter on his resume, too. What you don't have despite a number of past signings with Topps? An Allen & Ginter autograph. He's appeared in the basic set but never signed. It feels like this one could happen quite easily.

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Tom Emanski -- We'll settle for a new Fred McGriff autograph out of this listing, but the commercials for this guy's instructional videos that "Crime Dog" starred in are the stuff of legend. (Right?) They aired for years on ESPN and the videos have probably helped more than a few players up their games. After oddball autos for Dr. James Andrews, the creators of Rotisserie League (fantasy) Baseball and even Batting Stance Guy, I felt this icon had to make my list.

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Mayumi Seto -- If you ripped into packs of Topps Gallery last year, then you have seen her work. If not, where have you been living? Speaking of that, she's also the artist for Topps' immensely popular Living Set that's released three cards per week. She made an appearance at the National Sports Collectors Convention this year where she signed lithographs and cards for collectors ... and they sold. They sold well enough that others have started forging her signatures on cards -- and she recently took to Instagram to put the spotlight on the problem. How can Topps help solve that? Get her to sign some certified cardboard.

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Todd McFarlane -- His empire includes comic books, toys, a film and animation studio and work in video games. (And that's probably selling it all short.) He's probably best known for Spawn, a long-running book he created as part of the Image Comics revolution -- a property that's set to hit the big-screen again with Jamie Foxx in the lead role next year -- as well as work on Spider-Man. Why is he here? He's known as the owner of Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball from 1998 (he paid $2.6 million) as well as a number of other record-setting baseballs such as Barry Bonds' 73rd from 2001 and Sammy Sosa's 66th from 1998. Believe it or not, McFarlane has appeared on baseball cards before -- and signed autographs -- in the 2010 TRISTAR Obak set. He signed fewer than 300 total stickers affixed to cards for that one but I need ink on an Allen & Ginter mini.

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Who would you want to sign for Allen & Ginter? Tell Buzz on Twitter or in a comment below ...

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

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