Leaf Trading Cards, founded in 2010, is a
private company that produces
trading cards and sports collectibles. Based in
Dallas,
Texas, it was best known as a producer of sports cards and other
lithograph
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
ic products.
The sports range covered by Leaf include
American football,
baseball,
basketball,
ice hockey,
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
Professional wrestling and
tennis.
History
The company was founded in 2010 by Brian Gray in
Dallas,
Texas. Previously, Gray had headed
Razor Entertainment, a manufacturer of sports trading cards best known for signing the number one pick in the
2008 MLB draft
The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008.
First round selections
;Key
Supplemental first rou ...
,
Tim Beckham, to an exclusive autograph deal.
After Gray acquired the rights to the Leaf brand name, Razor was immediately shuttered and Gray re-launched the company as "Leaf Trading Cards". Like Razor before it, Leaf does not currently have a license with any of the four major US sports leagues or their respective players' unions. Instead, Leaf has concentrated producing cards of up-and-coming prospects and on niche sports like mixed martial arts and professional poker.
In 2011, Leaf came to terms with
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
to produce a 100-card set based on the fighter's career. Leaf also has a license to produce cards based on the TV series ''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
''.
Leaf Trading Cards have been making professional wrestling cards since 2012.
The current Leaf Trading Cards has no connection to
the gum and card manufacturer of the 1940s and 50s, nor is it related in any way to
Donruss,
Pinnacle Brands, or Playoff, Inc., all of which produced sports trading cards under the "Leaf" name in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
References
External links
*
{{Sports cards
Manufacturing companies based in Dallas
Trading card companies
Manufacturing companies established in 2010
American companies established in 2010