Lacrosse Card Landscape: 2000 NLL Champions Cup

The trading card industry experienced a lull in popularity between 1992 and the early 2000s. The economy tightened, several trading card lines were halted and card shops across the country closed their doors for good. Not surprisingly, this was also a period of very little lacrosse card production. However, four sets issued during that period have emerged to become some of the most important releases in nearly 150 years’ worth of lacrosse card manufacturing. Lacrosse Card Landscape articles for the month of July 2024 will focus on these sets: 1993 STX MILL, 1999 Choice NLL All-Stars, 2000 NLL Champions Cup and 2001 MLL.

The National Lacrosse League issued their 12-card All-Star set in 1999. It was a fantastic theme and set that has never been repeated. They followed up the next season with a 12-card issue that was given away at the 2000 NLL Champions Cup. It was another fantastic offering loaded with rookies and star players, but a follow-up set was never produced.

We don’t know why similar sets were not done over the course of multiple years. Maybe it was a funding issue or perhaps no one had time. Regardless, all we can do now is celebrate the cards that were made. Fortunately for collectors, the 2000 Champions Cup cards are every bit as nice as their All-Star predecessors. 

The 2000 NLL Championship Game has gone down as an all-time classic and many consider it the “Greatest Professional Indoor Lacrosse Game of All-Time.” The Rochester Knighthawks and Toronto Rock squared off in the final sporting event ever held at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. More than 14,000 fans watched the two teams battle to a 13-13 tie before the Rock’s Kaleb Toth completed his eight-point evening (three goals, five assists) by scoring the game-winning goal with one second left in regulation play.

Measuring a standard 2.5” x 3.5” and issued in a clear team bag unadorned with any sort of decoration or advertising, the 2000 NLL Championship Game cards were printed by Roox Sports and sponsored by Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm with offices around the globe.

The 12-card set features 10 player cards, one card for the Champions Cup and another representing the game itself. The cards have heavy borders on the top and down the left side, with the remainder reserved for large action images and the Warburg Pincus Funds logo. The card stock is coated by a thick gloss giving the cards a shiny appearance. Player information and statistics are found on the backs.

Unfortunately neither Toth nor young superstar Casey Powell (member of the Knighthawks) have cards in the set. However the checklist is still loaded with high-caliber talent.

The two teams are represented by five player cards each: 

Toronto Rock

Bob Watson

Chris Gill

Colin Doyle

Dan Stroup

Jim Veltman

Rochester Knighthawks

Cory Bomberry

Curt Malawsky

John Grant Jr.

Pat O’Toole

Tim Soudan

In terms of density of starpower, consider the following:

• Bob Watson – NLL Hall of Fame, Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
• Chris Gill – Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
• Colin Doyle – NLL Hall of Fame
• Dan Stroup – NLL Hall of Fame, Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
• Jim Veltman – NLL Hall of Fame, Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
• Curt Malawsky – Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
• John Grant Jr. – NLL Hall of Fame, Pro Lacrosse Hall of Fame
• Pat O’Toole – NLL Hall of Fame

Eight of the 10 player cards feature Hall of Fame members. On top of that, the Grant, O’Toole, Stroup, Watson, Gill and Malawsky cards are all rookies. For sake of accuracy, Bob Watson also has a card in the 2000 Toronto Rock team-issued set.

These cards seem to come up for sale with less frequency than the 1999 NLL All-Stars, though that is not necessarily a statement about the quantity printed, which is not known.

Collectors have been slow to submit these cards to PSA for grading. At the time of this writing, only 41 individual cards have been reviewed by PSA. Card #11, the Champions Cup, is the only card to not have a PSA 10 copy in existence thus far.

Reliable sales information is very rare for these cards, making values more guesswork than anything currently based in fact. However, the basic understanding that HOF rookies are among the most desirable cards in the hobby would lead one to believe that this will be increasingly desirable as the lacrosse card genre continues to grow.