In The Game (ITG) was a

sports card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...

manufacturing company founded by Brian H. Price in 1998 with its head office in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and an office in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

.In The Game
on CardBoard Connection website The company mainly produced ice hockey trading cards. In 2014 the right to use the "In The Game" name was transferred to Leaf Trading Cards in Dallas, Texas.

History

In The Game's first entrance into the trading card market came in the 1998-1999 season, when they produced the "Be A Player" brand trading cards in partnership with the NHL Player's Association (NHLPA). Be A Player featured one certified autograph card per pack. Since then, In The Game has expanded its production to include other sets. In 1998, Price was asked by

Ted Saskin Ted Saskin (born ) served as the third executive director of the NHL Players Association from 2005 to 2007. He assumed the title after Bob Goodenow resigned on July 28, 2005, but was unanimously fired by the NHLPA on May 10, 2007, after a union-c ...

of the NHLPA to determine what should be done with the NHLPA's Be A Player hockey product. The product was started in 1994 and was supposed to give to each of the NHLPA licensees for two years.

Pinnacle Brands Pinnacle Brands, Inc. was a US-based manufacturing company of trading cards, focused on sports-related items. Pinnacle produced American football, baseball, hockey and motor sports cards. Founded in 1986, the company had licenses with several ...

had the license for 1996 and 1997 but they went bankrupt and Be A Player needed a home. Price was hired by the NHLPA as a consultant to determine the fate of Be A Player. He advised Saskin that the

Upper Deck Company The Upper Deck Company, LLC (colloquially as Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, Ltd. in the UK), founded in 1988, is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards. Its headquarters are in Carlsbad, California, United Stat ...

should be given back the Be A Player brand because of collector loyalty. However, Saskin asked Price if he would come back into the hockey card market and manufacture Be A Player in partnership with the NHLPA. Price agreed and In The Game, Inc. was founded. In 2005, in conjunction with the

2004-05 NHL lockout A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on t ...

, the NHLPA terminated its license agreement with In The Game. Trying to prove to the NHLPA executive committee that he could leave the position of Licensing Director and take the position Executive Director, Ted Saskin gave Upper Deck a five year exclusive license to product hockey cards and In The Game's NHLPA License was over. The company continued to produce trading card sets featuring active and retired

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

players and minor/junior hockey players. After the 2005-06 season, In The Game obtained a license to produce cards featuring players and logos under the umbrella of Hockey Canada. During the 2006-07 season, ITG produced the International Ice Signature Series along with boxed sets commemorating gold medal wins by the

Canada Women's National Ice Hockey Team The Canadian women's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada in women's hockey. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and participates in international competition ...

and Canada Men's National Junior Ice Hockey Team. However, ITG lost their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

licensing to Upper Deck in June 2014. In 2010, ITG also made a brief foray into baseball cards, releasing one set featuring top prospects before running into further licensing issues. In 2014, the assets owned by In The Game and the In The Game trade name were sold to Leaf Trading Cards in Dallas, Texas.

References

{{Sports cards Toy companies of Canada Ice hockey collectibles Trading card companies