In 1999 the Upper Deck Company began a process whereby it rewarded its full-time hardworking employees with a rare gift offered once a year: an employee card! Coveted trading card prizes that initially featured one or more of the companys exclusive spokesmen these were symbols of appreciation extended by then Upper Deck Founder Richard McWilliam. Almost upon release the cards took on a life of their own as they started selling briskly on the secondary market. In fact the extremely limited crash-numbered employee cards were the only Upper Deck manufactured product that company employees could resell on the open market without fear of retribution. This lot includes three of the first four Upper Deck employee cards ever produced: Michael Jordan (1999); Kobe Bryant (2000) and Mark McGwire (2002).

The first-ever Upper Deck Employee Card distributed was the Michael Jordan Game-Worn Jersey card aptly entitled Farewell Shot. Numbered to 275 the card front shows Jordan at the apex of his game-winning jump shot against the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals in what was his last shot ever taken for the Chicago Bulls. Embedded on the card front is a tri-color (red white and black) swatch piece from MJs game-worn uniform that measures a half-inch wide by 1.25 high. The back of the card shows MJ at the free throw line alongside a block of copy from McWilliam that starts off by saying Congratulations and Thank You to his employees. This particular card is numbered 259/275. In the first two months of the cards initial distribution a tri-color swatch card from MJ was going for as much as $5000!

The second Upper Deck Employee card ever produced was printed in 2000 featuring L.A. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant who had just secured his first ever NBA title with the team in June. The autographed Kobe Bryant Game-Worn Jersey trading card numbered 108/300 shows him (wearing his original No. 8) swooping in for what appears to be a slam-dunk on the card front. Decorative gold foil print reading NBA TITAL THREADS runs vertically behind the outstretched Bryant. A beautiful die-cut silhouette of the NBAs coveted Larry OBrien Trophy is next to Bryant featuring a swatch piece of his game-used jersey. Kobes signature in blue fine-point marker graces the front of the card just to the left of his action photo. The card back shows Kobe going in for an easy layup alongside congratulatory text from McWilliam once again thanks in his employees for a great year. In the first few weeks of the cards distribution they were selling for up to $1500 on the open market.

The third and final Upper Deck Employee card in this lot features former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire. In 2002 Upper Deck produced a special bat/game jersey card honoring the long ball hitters home run exploits. The card numbered 108/350 features a dual combo shot of McGwire on the front sporting both his away grays and home white uniforms with a beautifully etched Cardinals team logo in wood in the middle perched atop a one-inch circular swatch of his white jersey. The card back includes a head shot of McGwire in his batting helmet alongside a congratulatory note from McWilliam as well as a special factoid that reads: One of the greatest sluggers of all time McGwire smacked 583 career home runs and asset a Major League record by averaging one long ball per 10.61 at-bats.

This is a great trifecta of Upper Deck employee cards representing three of the first four years that appreciative hand-offs were made to deserving full-time employees.

Bryant autographed card is pre-certified by PSA/DNA.