Donruss
Donruss was a US-based trading cards manufacturing company founded in 1954 and acquired by the Panini Group in 2009. The company started in the 1950s, producing confectionery, evolved into Donruss and started producing trading cards. During the 1960s and 1970s Donruss produced entertainment-themed cards. Its first sports theme cards were produced in 1965, when it created a series of racing cards sponsored by Hot Rod Magazine.
Its next series of sports products came in 1981, when it produced baseball and golf trading cards. It was one of three manufacturers to produce baseball cards from 1981 through 1985, along with Fleer and Topps. In 1986, Sportflics entered the market as the fourth fully licensed card producer, followed by Score in 1988, and Upper Deck in 1989. Since entering the trading card market, it has produced a variety of sports trading cards, including American football, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, ice hockey, racing and tennis; and has acquired a number of brand names. In 1996 Donruss was acquired by rival Pinnacle Brands, makers of Score and Sportflix.
Donruss produced baseball cards from 1981 to 1998, when then-parent company Pinnacle Brands filed for bankruptcy. Baseball card production resumed in 2001, when then-parent company Playoff Corporation acquired the rights to produce baseball cards. From 2007 to 2009, Donruss released baseball card products featuring players that were no longer under MLB contract after MLB decided to limit licensing options in 2005.
Company history
1954 to 1998, Donruss
Douglas Thomas, Donald, and Russel Wiener founded the original Donruss company in 1954. At first, they were the owners of the Thomas Wiener Company located in Memphis, Tennessee. They manufactured hard candy, suckers and Super Bubble gum. Combining their first names, Douglas, Don, and Russ, they renamed their company Donruss and continued to produce candy and gum. Donruss produced several entertainment-themed trading cards, from such television shows as The Addams Family, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Monkees and The Flying Nun from 1961 until 1969.That same year, Donruss made national news with a $30,000 surtax dispute. Donruss paid its surtax but sued to get the money back. It won in U.S. Circuit Court but lost in U.S. Supreme Court. Donruss claimed its earnings did not pass the "purpose test" to avoid paying the taxes, and having lost it prevented any other corporation from using the purpose test.
Later that year, Donruss was purchased by General Mills. Donruss continued making entertainment-themed cards throughout the 1970s, adding titles like The Dukes of Hazzard, Elvis Presley, Kiss and Saturday Night Fever to its product lines. Producing these cards was profitable; however, Donruss, looking for additional avenues of income, desired to enter the baseball card market. Unfortunately, Topps had exclusive rights and Donruss would have to wait until Fleer's lawsuit against Topps.
In 1975, Fleer sued Topps over its exclusive baseball rights. After five years a federal judge ruled that Topps illegally obtained Major League Baseball Players Association rights. Donruss and Fleer negotiated deals with Major League Baseball and by late 1980 Donruss had acquired the rights to produce baseball cards. Its first baseball card set was produced and ready in time for the 1981 season. In August of that year, an appellate court overturned the judge's ruling. Quick to react, Fleer's lawyers found a loophole in Topps' contract that stated it had exclusive rights to sell baseball cards with gum or candy. So after 1981, Fleer started distributing its baseball cards with stickers, and Donruss started distributing its cards with puzzle pieces.
Overproduction and distribution was an early problem for Donruss. In 1983 Huhtamäki Oyj purchased Beatrice US Confections, Donruss and Leaf Candy Company, merging the three companies into "Leaf, Inc." The company continued to use the "Donruss" name on baseball cards, which now benefited from Leaf's established distribution network. The Leaf brand was used from 1985 through 1988 on specially made baseball cards distributed in Canada, and in 1990 on a premium series of cards distributed in the U.S.
Donruss expanded its Memphis plant from to nearly 400,000, grew from 550 employees to 720 and continued to make trading cards and bubble gum at the facility throughout 1991. In 1992 demand for higher-quality cards rose, and standard card sales dropped. Donruss responded by reducing production, increasing price, upgrading card quality and randomly inserted limited edition and autographed insert cards to its new foil packaged cards. Donruss also partnered with Coca-Cola, Cracker Jack and McDonald's to create special card series, and created a less expensive line of cards called "Triple Play" targeted at young collectors.
In 1993 Donruss acquired the rights to produce hockey cards. With poor sales in 1994, due in part to a Major League Baseball strike and National Hockey League lockout, Donruss began producing new lines of entertainment cards, and a football collectible card game under license from NXT Games, in 1995. In 1996, Pinnacle Brands acquired the Donruss/Leaf brands, as well as their baseball and hockey licenses, from Huhtamäki Oyj for about $41 million. The entertainment line was sold to United States Playing Card Company. Pinnacle used the Donruss and Leaf brands on baseball, football and hockey cards.
In July 1998 Pinnacle Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
1970 to 2001, Playoff Corp.
Playoff Corp. can be traced back to as early as 1970 with a company called Optigraphics. At the time, Optigraphics specialized in advanced printing technology. Its first sports work was seen in 1983 when 7-Eleven began distributing multiple-image discs utilizing the lenticular printing process which gave an appearance as though the image were moving, or changing –with purchases of Slurpee drinks.In 1985 the company obtained baseball licenses and started producing its unique style of cards under the name "Sportflics". This also marked the first time any company used full-color photography on the back of sports cards. Minus "Magic Motion", but using the same style as its Sportflics cards, it released baseball cards under the Score brand in 1988 and football cards under the Score brand in 1989.
In 1992 founders and owners Ann Blake and John Flavin divorced. Flavin maintained the Score brand. Blake left and founded a new company called Cardz Distribution, which later developed into Playoff Corp. and ultimately gained control of the Score brand, along with Donruss and Leaf, in 1998 when then parent company Pinnacle Brands, Inc. was under bankruptcy. Playoff could not obtain Pinnacle/Donruss' baseball and hockey licenses, however. Playoff was producing high-end lines of football cards, generating some $25 million in annual revenues. With its Pinnacle Brands purchase, Playoff began producing trading cards under the Donruss Elite, Leaf and Score brand names.
Playoff expanded its business in 2000 by adding a distribution facility, and developed its Score Entertainment subsidiary to produce Dragonball Z trading cards.
1988 to 1997, Action Packed
Action Packed manufactured trading cards from 1988 to 1997. Complete sets consisted of few cards to keep collectors happy when opening packages. Action Packed created a six-card embossed set in 1988 to show its technique to Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. It was not awarded a license. Action packed created a single set of basketball cards in 1995, produced football cards from 1990 to 1997, produced hockey cards in 1993 and 1995, produced racing cards in 1990 and from 1992 to 1997, and World Wrestling Federation cards in 1994 and 1995.Pinnacle Brands acquired the brand in 1995.
2001 to 2009, Donruss Playoff L.P.
In 2001 Playoff Corp. became Donruss Playoff L.P., acquired the rights to produce baseball cards and established its headquarters in Arlington, Texas.Donruss Playoff expanded its entertainment lines in 2002, with such trading cards as Buffy, The Vampire Slayer through its new Score Entertainment division. Donruss also produced the first Spanish-only baseball card set.
In 2003, Donruss Playoff stirred up controversy when it paid $264,210 at auction for a rare game-worn Babe Ruth jersey, which it then cut up and turned into 2,100 memorabilia cards.
In 2004, Donruss Playoff acquired the rights to Pacific Trading Cards, Inc., a Lynnwood, Washington—based company, that had a major impact on sports cards in the mid-1990s and early 2000s.
From 2007 to 2009, Donruss has released baseball card products featuring players that are no longer under MLB contract.
2009 and beyond
On March 13, 2009, Panini s.p.a. of Italy, announced that it had purchased Donruss Playoff. Effective immediately, the company was renamed Panini America, Inc. However, the company continued to operate out of Irving, Texas, with much of the existing upper management.During the 2010 Industry Summit Collectibles, held in Las Vegas on April 11, Panini America announced changes to the company's distribution network. Only retail stores would be authorized to sell Panini products directly to consumers, and any retailer attempting to wholesale would lose its authorization. Only wholesalers would be authorized to sell Panini products directly to retailers, and any wholesaler attempting to retail would lose its authorization.
Panini also outlined other initiatives: that they will continue to destroy returned NBA trading cards to protect "collectibility", willing to implement minimum advertised price if needed, formation of a brick-and-mortar standards committee, upgraded ordering systems and schedules, new football and hockey trading cards and other products featuring autographs and memorabilia swatches from sports, history and pop culture.