In this section you will find cards produced by Be A Player (BAP) and In The Game (ITG)/Parkhurst.
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In The Game is a sports card manufacturing company with its head office in the United States and an office in Canada. In The Game, often abbreviated to ITG, was founded by Dr. Brian H. Price in 1998. In The Game mainly produced hockey trading cards. In 2014 the right to use the In The Game name was transferred to Leaf Trading Cards in Dallas, Texas. In The Game's first entrance into the trading card market came in the 1998-1999 season, when they produced the NHL Players Association's "Be A Player" brand trading cards in partnership with the 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, Dr. Price was asked by Ted Saskin 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 had the license for 1996 and 1997 but they went bankrupt and Be A Player needed a home. Dr. Price was hired by the NHLPA as a consultant to determine the fate of Be A Player. He advised Saskin that Upper Deck should be given back the Be A Player brand because of collector loyalty. However, Saskin asked Dr. Price if he would come back into the hockey card market and manufacture Be A Player in partnership with the NHLPA. Dr. Price agreed and In The Game, Inc. was founded.
In The Game obtains Parkhurst licence For the 50th anniversary of the initial set, the Parkhurst brand was relaunched by Dr Price's new venture, In The Game Trading Cards. The set appeared as an insert in various 2000–01 products, then was re-introduced a year later as a stand alone set. Parkhurst was issued in 2001–02 and 2002–03 before becoming a larger brand name in 2003–04, where it was broken up into multiple sets, including Parkhurst Rookie and Parkhurst Original Six, which was subdivided into six sets. Several collectors still debate the legitimacy of these cards being considered rookie cards, since they were team-specific. The only other set issued under the Parkhurst moniker was Parkhurst Retro (in the 2002–03 season), which used the 1951–52 design.
Upper Deck Company acquires Parkhurst licence The new incarnation lasted only a few years before the 2004–05 NHL lockout threw the trading card market into chaos. During this year, the NHLPA did not work with In The Game. ITG, rather than use the Parkhurst name, used alternative titles such as In The Game Franchises under a licence from the NHL. Prior to the lockout, Ted Saskin of the NHLPA made a back room deal with Upper Deck making them exclusive licensee for NHLPA hockey trading cards. When the NHL resumed operation, the NHL got wind of the NHLPA's arrangement and agreed to give Upper Deck an exclusive arrangement, too. In 2005, Upper Deck acquired the licence to the Parkhurst brand name and issued a new Parkhurst series.
In 2005, in conjunction with the 2004-05 NHL lockout, the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) terminated its license agreement with In The Game. The company has continued to produce trading card sets featuring active and retired NHL 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.