Richard McWilliam
Encyclopedia
Richard E. McWilliam is the chairman and co-founder of Upper Deck
, a successful and award-winning Carlsbad-based collectibles business that specializes in trading cards for Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL and NFL. Before McWilliam was involved with the Upper Deck Company, he was a Cal State Fullerton graduate and former certified public accountant.
Besides Upper Deck, McWilliam has another business, JetSource. JetSource was voted one of the top 40 fixed-base operations for jet-setters in America among the thousands of such airport rest stops for fuel, private hangars and other services.
On May 21, 1993, an Orange County jury awarded Passante $33 million, based on valuing Upper Deck at $1 billion. McWilliam's evaluation was $250 million, and a witness for Passante put it at $1.5 billion.
The process of evaluating the company forced McWilliam to disclose that the company lost $15 million on a line of Looney Tunes sports cards and another loss of $6 million on a poster featuring the 1992 Olympics "Dream Team" of basketball players from the United States.
On July 2, Orange County Superior Court Judge James Cook tossed out the ruling, citing insufficient evidence and misconduct by Passante’s attorney, who filed a notice of appeal with the state Court of Appeals. Two months after the judge's ruling, Upper Deck released SP Baseball, a premium line of baseball cards.
McWilliam was part of another conflict with a former Upper Deck stakeholder. Former major league pitcher DeWayne Buice helped Upper Deck secure a licence with the Major League Baseball Player’s Association. Buice had collected $2.8 million, although he believed he was owed much more. After a battle over his stake in the company was settled in court, he became a millionaire who reportedly made $17 million on the deal, far more than what he ever made as a baseball player. On the day in 1998 that Upper Deck cut its last check to DeWayne Buice, there was a party at company headquarters. The top brass ordered everyone to work just a half day. Later that year at the Christmas party, Upper Deck CEO Richard McWilliam told employees that the company's deal with Buice was the worst deal it had ever done. In May 2005, Richard McWilliam was honored at the sports collectible industry's annual trade convention in Hawaii as the industry's "most influential" person of the past 20 years. In addition to McWilliam's award, Upper Deck was also recognized for the debut of its legendary 1989 Baseball trading card set.
Since 1995, McWilliam has been the main source of funding for the Adopt-A-Creek trout-stocking program. It was founded after the Department of Fish and Game began planting fewer fish and smaller fish in the area. From 1995 to 2006, McWilliam has donated more than $100,000 to Adopt-A-Creek, The money, put together with donations from local merchants, has paid for the raising of rainbow trout.
Upper deck
Upper deck may refer to :* The Upper Deck Company, an American trading card business* The upper deck is the highest level internal deck on a ship, i.e. just below the superstructure and open deck....
, a successful and award-winning Carlsbad-based collectibles business that specializes in trading cards for Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL and NFL. Before McWilliam was involved with the Upper Deck Company, he was a Cal State Fullerton graduate and former certified public accountant.
Besides Upper Deck, McWilliam has another business, JetSource. JetSource was voted one of the top 40 fixed-base operations for jet-setters in America among the thousands of such airport rest stops for fuel, private hangars and other services.
Upper Deck
In 1993, McWilliam controlled Upper Deck with a 27 percent stake, and was the only original partner still active in company management. At that time, McWilliam became the target of a lawsuit. Anthony Passante, a former lawyer for Upper Deck, sued for a 3 percent share in the company. McWilliam had dismissed Passante in December 1988. Passante portrayed the lawsuit as a case of friendship betrayed, asserting that he had trusted McWilliam, a friend and high school classmate. He felt that their words were their bond.On May 21, 1993, an Orange County jury awarded Passante $33 million, based on valuing Upper Deck at $1 billion. McWilliam's evaluation was $250 million, and a witness for Passante put it at $1.5 billion.
The process of evaluating the company forced McWilliam to disclose that the company lost $15 million on a line of Looney Tunes sports cards and another loss of $6 million on a poster featuring the 1992 Olympics "Dream Team" of basketball players from the United States.
On July 2, Orange County Superior Court Judge James Cook tossed out the ruling, citing insufficient evidence and misconduct by Passante’s attorney, who filed a notice of appeal with the state Court of Appeals. Two months after the judge's ruling, Upper Deck released SP Baseball, a premium line of baseball cards.
McWilliam was part of another conflict with a former Upper Deck stakeholder. Former major league pitcher DeWayne Buice helped Upper Deck secure a licence with the Major League Baseball Player’s Association. Buice had collected $2.8 million, although he believed he was owed much more. After a battle over his stake in the company was settled in court, he became a millionaire who reportedly made $17 million on the deal, far more than what he ever made as a baseball player. On the day in 1998 that Upper Deck cut its last check to DeWayne Buice, there was a party at company headquarters. The top brass ordered everyone to work just a half day. Later that year at the Christmas party, Upper Deck CEO Richard McWilliam told employees that the company's deal with Buice was the worst deal it had ever done. In May 2005, Richard McWilliam was honored at the sports collectible industry's annual trade convention in Hawaii as the industry's "most influential" person of the past 20 years. In addition to McWilliam's award, Upper Deck was also recognized for the debut of its legendary 1989 Baseball trading card set.
Personal
McWilliam has a wife named Vivianne, and the two have a young son and daughter. McWilliam spent nearly $21 million on a 9455 square feet (878.4 m²) apartment in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York that comes with a monthly cleaning bill of just over $9,000.Since 1995, McWilliam has been the main source of funding for the Adopt-A-Creek trout-stocking program. It was founded after the Department of Fish and Game began planting fewer fish and smaller fish in the area. From 1995 to 2006, McWilliam has donated more than $100,000 to Adopt-A-Creek, The money, put together with donations from local merchants, has paid for the raising of rainbow trout.