Vacation Pick-Ups #11–Michigan Wolverines

I upped my Michigan Vacation Pick-ups so I could talk a little about the game yesterday and the season.  I’ve watched most of the games this year and the one word that I would use is frustrating.  This is such a talented team and when they play on all cylinders, they can beat anybody.  But they are all so up and down with their consistency.  I feel like sometimes they just want to sit back and see what Trey Burke is going to do next and they get complacent.  This is a very young team and it shows, mainly on the road.  Yesterday’s game was frustrating because all they had to do was hit a few free throws to seal the win.  This is a very exciting and can be a very good team so I’m certainly not counting them out in the Big Ten tourney nor the big dance.  They need to work on their consistency and keep that fire in them because when they are fired up, nobody can stop them.  The most frustrating part would be that this will be their last chance to play together.  I’m guessing Burke and Hardaway will probably both go pro.  It would be awesome if they all came back and made another run at it.  I know one thing though, I look forward to picking up their cards when they do.  And that’s what this post is really about, so let’s get to it.

If you’ve followed me over at “My Sports Obsession” then you know I went on a mini vacation to visit the in-laws and made a day of card shopping at my cousins LCS and a flea market since I was away from home where there isn’t crap.  I did manage to find some Wolverine cards down south, check them out.

                   

Picked up all 3 of these in a $.20 box.  Believe it or not, if you go on Ebay just to pick up regular base cards of Michigan Wolverine players, they generally run at least $1.  COMC is cheaper because you can combine all your shipping but your still not going to find them for 20 cents.  We have a 2005 Press Pass SE of Braylon Edwards, a 2006 Fleer Ultra of Jason Avant and a 2007 Prestige of Steve Breaston.  Now that I’ve typed them all out, I realized they were all Wide Receivers for Michigan and pretty good ones at that.

Also got these 2 2008 Upper Deck cards of Chad Henne and Mario Manningham.  I like the looks of these Upper Deck’s but it’s probably because it has the block M on it.

Dennis and I have talked together before about how much we like these 2009 Topps Magic cards so I definitely wasn’t going to pass these 2 up.  Every card above came from the $.20 books.  But that wasn’t all I got as far as our beloved Wolverines go.

I picked up this 2004 Sage autographed card of John Navarre, hand numbered to /440.  I believe it is my 2nd auto of Navarre and I have a relic.  Navarre was the QB when I really got back into watching Michigan football so I definitely enjoyed picking this up, and only for $2.  I picked it up at the LCS in Bristol, VA where the in-laws live.

I was really pumped to add another Mike Hart to the Mike Hart collection.  A numbered relic at that.  This 2008 Press Pass Game Day Gear card has my block M and Hart in the Maize and Blue.  I also picked up this card for $2 at that same shop.  It is my 2nd relic (12th hit) of Mike Hart.  It’s nothing compared to Dennis’ collections but it’s pretty awesome for me.

Even after the autograph and relic card, you still haven’t seen the best card.

It’s a well loved 1955 Topps All-American Benny Friedman.  You all know how much I love vintage so I was ecstatic to find this and pick it up.  Vintage, a Wolverine and it’s a player in the college and pro football Hall of Fame.  This card is top class to me.  I know you’ve seen it here before because Dennis has one, but I had to show it anyways, because I’m pumped about this card.

That’s all for today, our Maize and Blue play Wednesday afternoon in the start of the Big Ten tourney.  I’m personally cheering for a sweep through that tourney as just a teaser when they run through the field of 64 or 65 or whatever it is now.  And since that first game is against Penn State, I’ll leave you with one of our favorite pictures here at TMM.

COMC haul #1: celebrating beating little brother with cards from your grandfather

(I have a few more eBay pickups to post, but these are far more relevant today)

In today's post, we're going old school, but first, a bit of celebration:

(From MGoBlog)

Yep, Dantonio, you get to stew over this loss for another year, but don't let that take away from all the time you spend stealing Christmas presents from children, kicking puppies, and not gameplanning against any team not named "Michigan."  You are the scum of the earth for letting your team of criminals run wild and undisciplined and I hope you don't win another game this year. #FUCKMSU

So then, on to cooler stuff:

Benny Friedman 1955 Topps All American RC

Chuck Bernard 1955 Topps All American RC

Germany Schulz 1955 Topps All American RC

Willie Heston 1955 Topps All American RC

I wasn't kidding when I said "old school."  These four cards, combined with the two Spankee so generously sent to me earlier this year, give me six out of the seven Wolverines I know of in the set.  The last one is a bit of a doozy--Heisman winner Tom Harmon.  That might well be my Michigan PC white whale for now, but I plan to have it by the end of the year one way or another!

Anyway, these four cards represent 80% of the first purchase I made towards this mega-haul.  Back in June, flush with some cash from selling on COMC, I set out to buy some stuff I really wanted, and I ended up nabbing these cards (about $145 worth according to COMC's "book" prices) for about $47.  Despite the fact that they're not in the greatest of condition, I'm more than thrilled to own cards of these four Michigan Men.  First, I'll show off the backs real quick, then give a brief rundown on each player, as they've never been featured on this blog before:

• Adolph "Germany" Schulz played center at Michigan from 1904-05 and 07-08.  While some labelled him as a "ringer," he was apparently quite the innovator, considered the inventor of the spiral snap and linebacking position.  Considered the greatest center of all time, he was a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame.  Also, his nickname didn't become awkward until closer to his death, and was therefore 100% awesome up until that point.
• Bennie Friedman was Michigan's QB from 1924-26.  After a very successful college career, he played for another "Wolverines" team--the pro franchise in Detroit, and according to Wikipedia, "Friedman's performance so impressed New York Giants owner Tim Mara that Mara bought the whole Wolverines team just so he could have the rights to the quarterback."  He was that good of a passer at a time when the pass was passé!  He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, then went on to earn the greater honor of induction to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2005.
• Chuck Bernard (no relation to Andy or any other "Nard Dawg") was an outstanding center for the back-to-back undefeated champion Wolverines in 1932 and 1933 (e.g., among the years that Ohio State fans pretend don't exist).  He was such a great two-way player that he started over Wolverine legend and future president Gerald Ford, who likes beer, nachos, and football, and was tragically eaten by wolves.  Check out the Wikipedia link for an amusing anecdote from Ford about not getting to start over Bernard being his greatest disappointment!  Bernard himself ended up playing one pro season with the Lions, by the way.
• Willie Heston was a halfback that initially played from 1898-1900 at San Diego St. while working toward a teaching degree, but eventually agreed to follow legendary Michigan coach Fielding Yost to Michigan.  That proved to be a boon for all involved as Heston played for the famed 1901-04 "point-a-minute" Wolverine teams, which averaged more than 60 points a game.
  Peep these numbers, straight from Wikipedia:  "The 1901 team was 11-0 and outscored its opponents 555 to 0. The 1902 team was 11-0 and outscored its opponents 644 to 12. The 1903 team was 11-0-1 and outscored opponents 565 to 6. And the 1904 team was 10-0 and outscored its opponents 577 to 22. In Heston's four years as the starting left halfback, Michigan compiled an overall record of 43-0-1 and outscored its opponents 2,326 to 40."  Yeah, we were good back then. And it's no wonder he later found himself in the College Football Hall of Fame.

So that adds four more legends to my small pile of Michigan football RCs.  I may have a ton of hits to show off as these posts roll by, but I'm just excited about these outstanding vintage additions to my collection.  Now all I gotta do is find top-loaders and sleeves that'll fit them!