Collector Proposes With Help From Upper Deck's Ultimate Collection

Mike DeRose of Chandler, Ariz., and his longtime girlfriend, Julia Carvell, love to open packs of Upper Deck baseball cards. So he decided to combine their favorite pursuit within a marriage proposal.

“I had been talking to Chris Carlin (Upper Deck’s hobby marketing manager) about this for over a year,” said DeRose. “I wanted to propose close to Christmas time, so Chris told me my two choices were Sweet Spot or Ultimate Collection. I chose the latter because it just sounded so perfect.”

To facilitate DeRose’s request of inserting the diamond ring into a pack of baseball cards, Carlin met with Upper Deck’s operations team. They created a thick fold-out card that opened like a book. A portion of the inside was hallowed out to hold the ring, which would be revealed once the card was opened. The outside flap of the fold-out card boasted: “The Ultimate Proposal,” while the top inside flap read: “Will You Marry Me?” Timing it with the actual in-store arrival date of Upper Deck’s Ultimate Collection, the box was shrink-wrapped to make it appear as if it came directly from Upper Deck’s manufacturing facility.

The box was shipped to DeRose’s local hobby shop, Showtime Sports Cards in Tempe, Ariz. Last week, DeRose drove Carvell to the store under the guise they were just opening up more packs from Upper Deck. DeRose and store owner Pete Liu watched as Carvell opened two packs of Ultimate Collection Baseball before she cracked the loaded one.

“She was blown away,” said DeRose. “She never saw it coming.” Added Carvell, “It definitely was ‘The Ultimate Proposal.’ I love him so much. And I think it was pretty cool of Upper Deck to do something like this. They must really love their customers.”

Even Liu, who caught the proposal on camera, was blown away by the whole scene. “When she opened up that third pack, and it said ‘The Ultimate Proposal’ on the card, she actually started shaking,” he said. “It gave me goose bumps.”

Liu has posted video of the proposal HERE.