For Immediate Release:

Contacts: Bob Ibach (847-590-5302) or cell (847-922-6686)

Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Missouri: John Wolff (314)-721-9474 ext 232

Limited Edition All-Star Game History Baseball--Only 2,009 Produced

Celebrate Father’s Day With A Special

Limited Edition 2009 Cardinals All-Star Game

History Baseball—What A Catch for Dad!

Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Missouri Will Benefit

St. Louis, MO – There’s something about summertime, Father’s Day and baseball that goes hand-in-hand. And many who have followed the history of major league baseball feel the same about having an All-Star Game in St. Louis.

It just seems like the right kind of place to hold this game. St. Louis and the history of major league baseball go back a very long time, and it drips with tradition. So when Major League Baseball announced the Gateway City would hold the Mid-Summer Classic in 2009, Cardinal fans and mid-western baseball fans let out a woo hoo!

Now that the date of the game—July 14—is only a few weeks off, the anticipation is mounting for the return of the All-Star Game to St. Louis for the first time since 1966, or only three seasons after the great Stan Musial played in his final game for the Cardinals!

To celebrate only the fifth All-Star Game in St. Louis history, and its first in 43 years, Nikco Sports announced it will produce a very special, limited-edition St. Louis “history” baseball to salute all five All-Star Games played at either Sportsman’s Park, old Busch Stadium or the present day Busch Stadium. Making the project even more special is that funds from the sale of this baseball will help many deserving youngsters at the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Missouri.

Fans can order the All-Star Game “history” baseballs for $39.95 each by calling toll-free 1-800-345-2868 or visiting www.nikcosports.com. Only 2,009 baseballs will be produced. Each baseball comes with a classic acrylic display case, making it very easy to showcase in the home or at the office. Each baseball will also come with a numbered certificate of authenticity to enhance the value and collectibility of the product. There is a limit of 5 baseballs per customer in order to allow as many fans to join in on this very exclusive piece of sports memorabilia.

“With Father’s Day right around the corner, we wanted to get out this special All-Star Game baseball early enough so that it can be used for a gift idea,” noted Nikco Sports CEO Craig Bidner. “And, with so many birthdays, graduations and special dates taking place in June, we wanted Cardinals fans to have something very unique and historical to remember this great event coming to their city in July.”

In the past several years, Nikco Sports has raised more than $1.7 million for children’s charities, and some of those projects have saluted the Cardinals in post-season play, as well as the St. Louis Rams during their Super Bowl years.

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Page 2—All-Star “History” Baseball Benefits Make-A-Wish Foundation of Missouri

The All-Star Game “history” baseball, which also features the Rawlings official logo, contains red and white panels with white stitching. The front panel will display the official 2009 All-Star Game logo. Another panel will feature the image of Cardinals All-Star Albert Pujols, with his MVP titles won in 2005 and 2008. Pujols will be participating in the Home Run Derby event at this year’s All-Star Game.

Another panel, headlined by the wording “St. Louis All-Star Game History” will detail all five of the All-Star Games which have been played in St. Louis, with the dates, name of stadium, the final score of the game and the All-Star Game logo from that year in a brilliant recap. Those games were played on the following dates: July 9, 1940, July 13, 1948, July 8, 1957, July 12, 1966 and July 14, 2009

A final panel will recap some of the great moments in Cardinals team history, listing the team’s 10 World Series titles, 17 National League pennants, 7 Central Division championships, and the dates and names of the ballparks the Cardinals have called home over the years: Robinson Field (1893-1920), Sportsman’s Park (1920-1966), Busch Stadium (1966-2005) and the new Busch Stadium which opened in 2006.

“Having been a longtime resident of the area, and having been in business in the St. Louis market since 1992, this All-Star Game history baseball is very meaningful to me,” said Nikco Sports president and CEO Craig Bidner, whose company has continued to give back to the community since its inception in 1992. “I’m looking forward to seeing my first All-Star Game in July, and am very honored to play a small part in recognizing this historic moment in our community’s history.

“This special baseball will make a great gift for Father’s Day, and bring a lot of smiles to those who receive this commemorative. At the same time, it will also bring some smiles to those youngsters who have some life-threatening medical conditions at the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Missouri, a group that we’ve enjoyed working with over the years.”

During the past several years, Nikco Sports has raised more than $1.7 million for charitable organizations across the nation with the issue of limited-edition sports memorabilia that has honored amateur and professional teams, as well as select athletes such athletes as Dan Marino, Brett Favre, Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger, along with Peyton Manning, Jim Kelly, Carson Palmer, Steve Young, John Elway, David Robinson, John Stockton, Magic Johnson, Roger Clemens, Ryne Sandberg, Paul Molitor, Kirby Puckett, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro, Ozzie Smith, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., Nolan Ryan, Tony Gwynn, Craig Biggio and Cal Ripken Jr.

About the Make-A-Wish Foundation

The Make-A-Wish Foundation^® grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Born in 1980 when a group of caring individuals helped a young boy fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, the Foundation is now the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 67 chapters in the U.S. and its territories. With the help of generous donors and nearly 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants more than 12,600 wishes a year and has granted more than 168,000 wishes in the U.S. since inception.