Collector of the Month: Mike and Steve Centurioni

Every month, Upper Deck will spotlight one of our valued collectors to showcase their collection. The great thing about sports collectors is that they are all very different in what they collect, how they collect items and what they do once they have them. This month, we spend some time with two brothers whose love for cards has helped them keep in touch. Meet Mike and Steve Centurioni.

Mike Centurioni holding a great Upper Deck Michael Jordan autograph card.

Steve Centurioni showing off some of the better cards in his collection.

Mike and his older brother Steve grew up in the Los Angeles area, and are both devout sports fans for their local Southern California teams. It was twenty years ago when Upper Deck first came on the scene that the two got their first taste of sports cards. There was a raffle at a school fair when they were little where they won some cards; once they had been bitten by the collecting bug, they were hooked. They would ride their bikes together frequently to visit their local hobby shop. After Steve got his drivers license, the new excitement came from driving across Los Angeles to attend card shows together. And as years went by, they now find themselves buying cards online, but they still love a good hobby shop or card show.

Like any good partnership they split everything down the middle and collect as a way of harnessing the great sports memories they have shared together. They’ve had their share of highs and lows as they open packs and find cards of their favorite stars. Their passion is the higher-end trading card releases where there can be a little more risk involved, but it all paid off earlier this year. Mike was opening up 2008-09 NBA Upper Deck Black when he discovered something very special: a Michael Jordan/LeBron James dual autograph, quad patch card. His hands were likely shaking when he saw that the card was limited to just one copy, a one-of-one.

“It was an awesome reward after twenty years of collecting,” said Mike Centuioni. “I could not believe it! Thank you Upper Deck!”

The brothers have definitely had some luck pulling cards of Upper Deck’s oldest and most well known spokesman, Michael Jordan. Take a look at the two beautiful cards they’ve pulled.

They’ve also been able to pull another older spokesman of Upper Deck from the Legendary Cuts series. Check out this fantastic Joe DiMaggio autograph cut card.

Around the same time that Mike discovered that Michael Jordan/LeBron James supercard, his older brother Steve had to relocate to Dallas. Would that spell the end of their collecting days together? Not by a long shot! Their passion for trading cards has helped the two brothers keep in touch. They frequently send each other new cards they pull back and forth. They are also embracing technology by sharing breaks with each other on video exchange sites like YouTube. So even though they are separated by hundreds of miles, they are still connected by the hobby they love.

Earlier this year, Mike had a thrill when he got the opportunity to meet one of his boyhood heroes, Tommy Lasorda. “I met him at a real estate event I attended,” shared Mike. “He was very approachable and a total class act, it was awesome!”

Mike will be visiting his brother in Dallas this Thanksgiving where they will watch the Cowboys take on the Raiders together. Besides seconds on turkey that weekend, you can bet they’ll also be going back to the closest hobby shop for seconds on Upper Deck boxes as well.

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