Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Rookie Blue-out part 1: one-card wonders

Over the last couple months of 2015 I made a big push to acquire lots of cards for my Michigan Football RC PC, and between Sportlots and COMC I made a ton of progress.  Now I'm slowly but surely showing them off in various bunches.  Hit the link above to see the album or have a look at my checklist here.  (You can also use the links in the "Rookie Blue: Michigan Football rookies collection" section on the right sidebar)

Welcome to post #1 in this series.  How many there will be is totally up in the air as I don't plan to consistently post a specific number of cards each time.  I doubt I'll even always have a theme in mind as I do these, so anything goes!  Today's post does have a theme, though--each one of these players had exactly one rookie card, so I'm showing them off together while giving a quick bit of info about the guys that haven't made an appearance here yet (which is most of them).
Bobby Abrams 1992 Pacific RC
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  DB/LB
Drafted?:  Undrafted
Pro career:  1990-95
Team(s):  Giants, Browns, Cowboys, Vikings, Patriots
Notes:  Good OLB for excellent late-80s Michigan teams;  ugly Pacific logo and vertical text, but a solid photo!

Corwin Brown 1994 Collector's Choice RC
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  S
Drafted?:  1993 4th round, Patriots
Pro career:  1993-2000
Team(s):  Patriots, Jets, Lions
Notes:  More well-known as coach (generally DBs), especially Notre Dame and Patriots;  involved in police standoff in 2011


Stevie Brown 2013 Topps RC
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  DB
Drafted?:  2010 7th round, Raiders
Pro career:  2010-14
Team(s):  Raiders, Colts, Giants
Notes:  Played both LB and DB in college, improved each season; blew up for 8 INT in 2012;  had to wait until 2013 Topps for his RC (I guess that high INT count helped, eh?)
Chris Calloway 1990 Action Packed Rookie Update RC
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  WR
Drafted?:  1990 4th round, Steelers
Pro career:  1990-2000
Team(s):  Steelers, Giants, Falcons, Patriots
Notes:  Spent the bulk of his career (92-98) with the Giants and did fairly well with them;  who else misses Action Packed?!

Joe Cocozzo 1993 Pro Set RC
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  G
Drafted?:  1993 3rd round, Chargers
Pro career:  1993-97
Team(s):  Chargers
Notes:  Very good OL for some good early-90s Michigan teams;  played lots and started many games for '94 AFC champ Chargers;  I'm surprised I hadn't heard of him before I started this project;  Pro Set really changed a lot from year-to-year!


Dean Dingman 1991 Score RC
Michigan uniform?:  Yes! (airbrushed helmet)
Notes:  Very nice college photo of an OL blocking!
Charles Drake 2003 Upper Deck MVP RC
Michigan uniform?:  Yes!  100%
Position(s):  S
Drafted?:  2003 7th round, Giants
Pro career:  None
Team(s):  Giants
Notes:  Drake is one of several Wolverines in this set, which has full-on Wolverines unis with zero airbrushing!;  sadly, Drake passed away in 2012
Mike Evans 1992 Skybox Prime Time RC
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  DL
Drafted?:  1992 4th round, Chiefs
Pro career:  1992
Team(s):  Chargers
Notes:  Fleer/Skybox made some wonky sets in the 90s!;  had a pretty nice career as DL for Michigan in the early 90s
Jonathan Goodwin 2005 Topps Total RC (with Kevin Mawae and Jason Fabini)
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  C
Drafted?:  2002 5th round, Jets
Pro career:  2002-2014
Team(s):  Jets, Saints, 49ers
Notes:  2002 rookie had to wait until '05 for a RC--them's the breaks for OL;  was starting C for Super Bowl XLIV champ Saints in 2009-10
James Hall 2004 Topps Total RC (with Robert Porcher)
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  DE
Drafted?:  Undrafted
Pro career:  2000-2011
Team(s):  Lions, Rams
Notes:  63.0 career sacks, including 11.5 in 2004 and 10.5 in 2010;  won a national championship with the 1997 Wolverines;  had to wait until 2004 for his RC, shared with quality DL stalwart Robert Porcher (who was in his final season)
Mercury Hayes 1996 Collector's Choice RC
Michigan uniform?:  Yes! (airbrushed helmet and jersey)
Notes:  One of two '96 Collector's Choice cards in this post!
Tommy Hendricks 2000 Leaf Limited RC (#0323/1500)
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  DB, LB
Drafted?:  Undrafted
Pro career:  2000-04
Team(s):  Dolphins, Jaguars
Notes:  Was the starting FS for the '97 national champs;  funny that his only RC is a higher-end, numbered Leaf Limited card!;  father Thomas Jr. was RB for Wolverines in the mid-50s
Roy Manning 2005 Sweet Spot RC (#777/899)
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  LB
Drafted?:  Undrafted
Pro career:  2005-07
Team(s):  Packers, Texans, Bengals
Notes:  Another high-end, numbered one-and-done!;  Manning is known more around these parts as a coach--he coached Michigan's LBs and DBs in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and is now with WSU
Steve Morrison 1998 UD Choice RC
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  LB
Drafted?:  Undrafted
Pro career:  1995-98
Team(s):  Colts
Notes:  One of my favorite Collector's Choice/UD Choice designs;  had a pretty nice career coaching in high school and then college
Jon Runyan 1996 Collector's Choice RC
Michigan uniform?:  Yes! (airbrushed helmet)
Position(s):  OT
Drafted?:  1996 4th round, Oilers/Titans
Pro career:  1996-2009
Team(s):  Oilers/Titans, Eagles, Chargers
Notes:  I have one auto of his but haven't gone into detail about his career;  excellent tackle went on to enjoy a long NFL career;  former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (R, NJ);  he's our other '96 Collector's Choice card today, and he and Hayes join Tim Biakabutuka from that set
Andre Weathers 2000 Pacific RC
Michigan uniform?:  No
Position(s):  DB
Drafted?: 1999 6th round, Giants 
Pro career:  1999-2000
Team(s):  Giants
Notes:  One of the nicer (read:  not eye-destroying) Pacific sets!;  his pick-six beat the Buckeyes during Michigan's '97 title run

I hope some of you, especially my fellow Michigan fans, found this look at one RC players interesting!  Look for lots more posts in this series soon.

2 comments:

  1. Mercury Hayes is one of the better names you will find. By the way congrats on beating Maryland. Always nice to see the Terps lose!

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    1. I'm gonna start calling him "Mercury 'Mays' Hayes," I think. Thanks for the congrats, and your team has scored some nice wins too!

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