Baseball Card Companies Trying to Profit From Dead Guys’ Hair

As some of you may remember, I went through a baseball card kick after a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown a few summers back. Many of the "chase" cards like a piece of Ryan Howard's autographed bat seemed like cool things to have. Baseball card companies didn't stop with bats, balls, game worn jerseys, and dirt. Wouldn't it be fun to open up a pack of cards and find a strand of George Washington's hair? No? Creep? Some people think it's "electric." 

Now, [trading card companies] are turning to hair: single strands said to have been
snipped from the famous and deceased, encased in plastic-window cutouts
in the cards.

This year, closely held trading card giant Upper Deck Co. LLC, based
in Carlsbad, Calif., launched chase cards containing the hair of people
ranging from King George III to Marilyn Monroe. The company began
tentatively last June, with just 10 hair cards of historical figures --
from George Washington to Ronald Reagan -- inserted into certain packs
of baseball cards.

And to think how excited I got at Mike's Collectibles back in 1989 when I got a simple Topps Shaq rookie gold edition! Now, I can't wait 'til I pull a rare Bill Ayers auto. Those things are blowing up on eBay!