Wednesday, June 17, 2015

6/6/15 card show report: these Wolverines have State Pride!

As I said on tonight's TMV post, I had a fairly productive card show as usual a couple Saturdays ago.  There wasn't as much to be had Wolverines-wise, but I still managed to score some pretty interesting stuff:
Barry Larkin #277 is this fun insert from 1995 Donruss.  The Dominators set includes Donruss' top three players at each position, and they correctly paired up Cal and Larkin.  Going a step further, Cordero was actually one of the better SS during '94's strike-shortened season, winning the NL Silver Slugger with a .294 AVG, 15 HR and 16 steals in 110 games, good for his lone All-Star appearance.  Larkin, though, is the featured guy here, and I'm happy to grab something new.
Leach is a guy that doesn't come up too much since I completed his PC, but for a measly buck I found this IP auto of his 1984 Topps base card.  He's signed a few times in the last couple years in the area, including at this very venue, plus I trust the seller, so there's no reason to think this is fake, and the signature matches up anyway.  Definitely a fun and unexpected addition.
That same seller had this trio of 2014 Lewans.  Up first is a 2014 Crown Royale Retail Blue Holofoil insert (#165/199) that I believe also came out of the $1 box.  Carrying on the proud Pacific tradition of die-cuts and over-the-top design, the blue is a perfect complement to his Titans uni.  Next is a simple Topps Chrome Refractor, which doesn't need anything extra to make it cool.  And finally, I dug out another of his RCs, this one from the ridiculous Topps Valor set.
I also found one other addition for my Michigan inserts collection, this Refractor-like Prizm parallel from 2013 Panini Prizm of Denard.  At this point I'm really happy to pick up anything new of his so nice looking inserts are a plus.

One of my two football hits on the day was this 2013 Contenders auto/RC of former RB Michael Cox.  A Boston native, Cox redshirted in 2008, then played a bit for Michigan the next three seasons before graduating and transferring to UMass (which makes him one of very few transfers, if any, in my collection to this point).  He got picked by the Giants in the 7th round in 2013 and played in 14 games with New York in 2013 and 2014 before being waived.  I'm happy to include him in this collection since he did graduate from the school, even if his stats weren't thrilling.
Today's OTHER new PC member (giving me 191 different subjects!) is well-known QB Devin Gardner.  I've been after his various hits for the last few months but have waited for prices to come back to reasonable levels.  My favorite seller, from whom I bought many of the items seen in the TMV post, cut me a nice deal on this beautiful clear Leaf...uh, Clear...State Pride auto from this year's product.  Featuring a great design and signature, this was a fun way to add Devin to my collection.  For those curious about the Michigan seal depicted on the card, "Tuebor" means "I will defend," and you can see part of the state motto, "Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice" as well.  Its translation:  "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you."

So here's to another fun show in the books and hopefully another next month!

2 comments:

  1. Nice to see Topps used the same photo, yet again, of Taylor Lewan. I think I have 3 or 4 different sets that all used that same one. I'll say it before you do, Topps Sucks.

    I've been looking for some cards of Gardner in my cheap ebay looks but haven't come across any so nice pick-up. While he frustrated me as a QB, I really liked him as a player, he seemed very genuine and a good kid.

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    1. Topps gonna Topps! I was happy to pick up that Gardner because his stuff online just hasn't been cheap enough to justify yet. I still want to add Funchess as well but that might take longer since he was drafted a bit higher.

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