A recent lawsuit launched by Upper Deck against Panini America alleged the unlawful use of Michael Jordan’s image in the background of multiple Panini trading cards. Unlike Johnny Kilroy, this is not a Nike commercial to promote Michael Jordan.
Remember those “Where’s Waldo?” (known as “Where’s Wally?” in Europe) books which told you to find Waldo in his red and white striped sweater? How about “Where’s Jordan?” in Panini basketball cards?
“Where’s Waldo in Google Maps?” by Si1very is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Photos of players in the background of sports cards are common. In an earlier post about Chris Garner’s card, Kobe Bryant was spotted guarding Garner. It is not only limited to players. An earlier story, Murderers on a Basketball Card, the convicted Menendez brothers were spotted on a Mark Jackson card in the 1990-91 NBA Hoops basketball card set.
The Lost Jersey
There was another popular card from the exact same set as the Mark Jackson card – #223 Sam Vincent. The card itself gained popularity, not because of the player Sam Vincent, but because Michael Jordan was also in the photo. However, this was not just any Michael Jordan standing in the background. This Michael Jordan, known for wearing #23, was wearing #12 in the photo. NBA Hoops decided to change the card to show another photo with just Sam Vincent dribbling the ball in Series 2 of the set.
This was not another marketing ploy by Nike, which was described in “The Legend of Johnny Kilroy“, regarding an Upper Deck alias card for Michael Jordan after his first retirement from the NBA.
The story behind why Michael Jordan wore #12 was certainly intriguing. On Valentine’s Day of 1990, Jordan’s Chicago Bulls were in Orlando, Florida for a game against the Magic. Between shoot-around and tipoff, Jordan’s jersey went missing. A search was conducted in the crowd for a Jordan jersey to borrow to wear for the game, but could not find one that Jordan could fit. For the game, Jordan had to resort to a backup #12 nameless jersey the Bulls had.
“Please note that, for the Bulls, Michael Jordan is wearing number 12 tonight.”
– Paul Porter, Orlando Magic long-time public address announcer
Jordan’s jersey was never recovered and it is believed to have been stolen. As for the Sam Vincent card, it served as a memento to this unusual game with Jordan wearing #12.
The Lawsuit
Fast-forward a decade later, and Jordan in the background of trading cards is now the subject of litigation.
For a quick background, trading card companies Upper Deck and Topps last produced NBA licensed cards in 2008-09. Panini then signed an exclusive NBA license with the NBA in 2009 to exclusively produce NBA licensed cards. On the other hand, Upper Deck had an exclusive license with Michael Jordan.
The litigation involves two cards Panini produced which featured Michael Jordan in the background. The screenshot below shows two Scottie Pippen’s cards on the left side, with the second card on the bottom right-hand corner showing Michael Jordan. The third card is Dennis Rodman, with Michael Jordan on the right side of the card. See if you can spot Michael Jordan in the cards.
Upper Deck claims that Panini had violated its rights with Michael Jordan by including Jordan into its cards.
Upper Deck also claimed at paragraph 46 of the lawsuit that because of Jordan, the Sam Vincent card’s market value had increased by 4000% because Jordan was prominently featured on the card, although the detail about Jordan wearing #12 was omitted.
You can download the full complaint dated 29 January 2020 for a full scope of the arguments made by Upper Deck.
On 20 March 2020, Panini filed a motion to dismiss Upper Deck’s claims, which you can download below.
You may want to go through your collection to see if you can find any other Michael Jordans hidden in the background of your cards. Share your findings here.
Resources:
- C Johnson. “The time Michael Jordan wore No. 12”. Sports Illustrated, 18 February 2015. https://www.si.com/nba/2015/02/18/michael-jordan-bulls-jersey-number-12
MoCC 