3/23/19 show report: a few blue

While my take-home from March show #2 (in Troy) was a bit light, as described on TMV this evening, it skewed more towards quality when it came to the Michigan stuff I scored, mostly thanks to the "reasonable seller" I mentioned over there.  And, hey, it takes less effort to post about five cards than fifty!

It may be MLB's opening day, but don't tell that to coach Jim Harbaugh on this 2000 Topps Season Opener base, one of this two appearances in that set.  2000 was his second straight season with the Chargers and would be his final NFL campaign.  This card was easily worth the $0.05 asking price!

The other four are all hockey hits that set me back just a buck apiece.  I've seen this seller's stacks of $1 cards before and had a little luck, but it's been a while since I had this much success.  First up is a 2006-07 Black Diamond Gemography auto of former icer Danny Richmond, a guy I got to see play over the years I had season tickets.  It's my third hit of his (jersey/auto/RC and a plate).  Next is just my second hit of Blake Sloan (auto), a pretty good patch for just a buck, and a numbered one too, out of 2000-01 Titanium.  And lastly I dug up a fun pair of jerseys of blog favorite goalie Marty Turco, who continues to dominate my hockey PCs in hits (38) and total cards (115).  They come from 2005-06 SP Game Used and 2011-12 Upper Deck, with the latter depicting his brief stay with the Blackhawks.

Hopefully I'll be back with more Michigan stuff from my usual haunt in Taylor in a couple weeks!

Too Many Plates! Part 4: hockey

Previously:  baseball, basketball, football

Between May and June I won eBay auctions for a total of 17 different printing plates at a cost of a bit more than $100 (not bad!).  14 of those came from one awesome seller (markaguirre22), whom I can't recommend highly enough due to his great prices, excellent communication, and super fast free shipping.  A fellow Michigan collector, he was unloading some of his better stuff, and I was able to take advantage of quite a few great deals.  Better yet, over the course of my purchases he threw in three extra plates for free, giving me a nice round 20 to show off.  Several separate purchases rounded out the run on rarity.

All of the players are Michigan alumni that I collect, and today's post is the final one in this series, with hockey being the only sport we haven't covered yet.  In honor of Stanley Cup champion Carl Hagelin (not featured today) and the 2016-17 NHL season, here's some icers to cool down this beautiful June day:

Jack Johnson 2012-13 Certified Fabric of the Game Printing Plates Cyan (1/1)

Of today's eight plates, I purchased seven from the seller I mentioned above, plus he threw in one more freebie (the third and final) you'll see shortly.  And like a number of them, I believe this one, representing a card from one year, may have been inserted into a higher-end product the following year to beef up the number of hits.

If this was a plate of a base card I'd have to dig through my Michigan box to see if I had a regular copy, but it's actually of a jersey relic I don't currently own, though I'd like to at some point.  Somewhere between $5 and $6 was a reasonable price for my first plate/1-of-1 (and 12th total hit) of Jack "MF" Johnson.

Al Montoya 2011-12 Pinnacle Printing Plates Black (1/1)

Alvaro!  Montoya (hit #6), the best goalie I got to see while owning season tickets, is the first of two players in today's post for whom I already owned a 1-of-1 but not a plate.  The photo used here is so cool I went to see if I had the base card handy, but I don't, so I need to track that down.  Also, kudos to Panini for bringing back the excellent Pinnacle name.  How many of you wouldn't throw down a minuscule $3 for this?

Brendan Morrison 2002-03 Pacific Heads Up Printing Plates Cyan (1/1)

The first card in my first post from this series (baseball) was a freebie of my favorite baseball PC guy, Rich Hill; bonus card #3 represents another favorite (quite a feat by this seller), Brendan Morrison, a guy I wish I could have seen play live.  He's the other player for whom I had a 1/1 card that wasn't a plate, and I believe both of those came from Doug.  Diversifying my Morrison portfolio, this is another one of those plates that I doubt was inserted into packs, plus it lacks an identifying sticker or stamp.  Still, I can clearly determine the product, and if that's any color it's cyan.  While I do own a couple Pacific-branded cards of the former Hobey-winner, I don't have this one, but what I do have is 26 of his hits, still second to Marty Turco's 33.

Max Pacioretty 2013-14 Crown Royale Printing Plates Magenta (1/1)

I guess I really had to "P" in early May when I nabbed this plate, the next one up, and the one of J.J. Putz you saw in my baseball post.  Patch was the best of the bunch so it made sense to me that he would cost the most--still a very reasonable $5.  For that little, think I should get out the tin snips and make this a die-cut like the regular version I own?  Maybe I'll wait for another one as I still have just four hits of the talented sniper.

Aaron Palushaj 2011-12 Score Printing Plates Cyan (1/1)

You done messed up if you don't remember A-A-ron here.  He may not have played in the NHL for a few years, but this is now my 10th hit of the winger from my hometown of Livonia, Michigan, so you've seen a good amount of him here.  I don't think "Hot Rookie" was an apt description of his game--he totaled three goals and 11 assists in 68 games with Montreal, Colorado, and Carolina before heading to the KHL--but at least his card looks cool, and was just $3 too.

Greg Pateryn 2013-14 Select Printing Plates Black (1/1)

It's a run on Canadien Wolverines!  Would the Montreal Wolverines' fight song be "Hail to the Victours"?  Pateryn made his debut here with a cool Prizm autograph from (surprise) Doug two and a half years ago, and now I've doubled his hit count...with a plate.  Not a bad start to a collection, even if it's been this slow to build.  The d-man has a couple goals to his name, though he last suited up for Dallas after a February trade.  This was yet another $3 plate and it came along with the Montoya above.

Kevin Quick 2009-10 The Cup Printing Plates O-Pee-Chee Magenta (1/1)

These last two cards from Upper Deck's very high-end "The Cup" brand were just my second and third purchases in this whole plate run, back in mid-April.  Quick is the first of the pair, and he's a totally new guy to my collection.  I don't remember too much of him as he was with Michigan briefly about 10 years ago before being kicked off the team for credit card theft.  You might say his Michigan career was over "Quick", but then I'd correct you and say that it should be "quickLY", and then you'd roll your eyes and change the subject.  

Anyway, his NHL career amounted to six games with Tampa and that's it.  But he appeared in some products like this one, and I've often thought that the framed plate design was a cool one.  Plus here you can make out the "Marquee Rookie" logo that signifies that this one came from the O-Pee-Chee design, which it also helpfully tells you on the back.  For me it was easily worth just $5, and he becomes my 49th hockey PC player.

Danny Richmond 2005-06 The Cup Printing Plates Black Diamond Black (1/1)

Richmond's another guy whose hit count I doubled with a plate (for a bit more than $4), and a framed one at that.  Again, I love how clearly it tells you the exact set on the back.  Danny is another guy I remember a bit as his one college season coincided with my first year of season tickets, 2002-03, and he's pictured here as a member of the Hawks after being drafted by and briefly playing for Carolina.  As with most of these guys he didn't enjoy much NHL success or even longevity, but at least he made it onto some cardboard--or metal in this case!

And with that, this project is over.  20 new plates, giving me a new count of 87 1/1s(!).  Now I can get back to trade packages, show pickups, and my latest, greatest COMC haul.

2014 COMC pickups #7: Football (and hockey) Sunday

Today's post features some of the best stuff I picked up this time, because it's all hits, baby!  Although it's not pro or college football season, it's still a Sunday, and the last day of the NHL regular season as well, so let's have a look at some hockey and football pickups:

Danny Richmond 2005-06 SPx jersey auto RC (#1672/1999)

Here's one for JediJeff!  I only have one other Blackhawk in my Michigan Hockey PC, and it's an autograph of Andrew Ebbett from five years ago.  In this case I jumped at the chance to add such a nice jersey/auto/RC of a guy who was also a new member to the PC, D-man Danny Richmond.  He played just one season in Ann Arbor, then left as a high draft pick (2nd round, 2003), playing for Carolina and then Chicago in his brief three-year career.

He's also one of four players for whom I have cards in this set now, joining Al Montoya, Eric Nystrom, and Jeff Tambellini.  By my count that looks to be all the Wolverine icers in the set!

Mike Hart 2008 Topps Rookie Progression Rookie Autographs Red auto (#09/79)

A lowish-numbered auto of Mike Hart in a Michigan uni?  Don't mind if I do!  And what's that?  It's only two dollars?  Excuse me while I see how quickly I can depress the "purchase" button, my dear sir!  2008 Rookie Progression is one of those rare Topps sets I really like because it includes college uniform photos.  By the way, this is my 52nd Mike Hart hit, and 49th overall that includes an auto, so 50 here I come!

Chad Henne 2012 Panini Playbook Accolades Signatures auto (#31/49)

What Henne accolade is this card honoring, you might ask?  Well it's not like he's had a ton of big moments in the pros, so don't be too surprised that it's a college event, and easily one of Chad's best:  the 2008 Citrus Bowl (I ain't calling it the Capital One Bowl, corporate tools!).  Henne and company let outgoing coach Lloyd Carr leave on a high note in a win over favored Florida and football Jesus Tim Tebow.  Chad, the MVP, went 25/39 for 373 yards and 3 TDs, including the game-winner to Adrian Arrington with about 4:00 left.  All of that is the subject of this card, my 63rd Henne hit, as he makes his way toward leader Jake Long's total of 67.

Marlin Jackson 2005 Upper Deck Foundations auto RC (#466/699)

A quick side note:  if you search for this guy on COMC, be ready to get Florida Marlins named "Jackson" in your results!  Anyway, I scored my 15th Marlin hit in the form of this auto/RC which cost me just a bit more than $2, a price I was happy to pay for the talented-but-oft-injured DB.  If you check out the rest of his autographs in the football PC you'll note he has a very consistent signature.

Mike Martin 2012 Panini Prizm Autographs auto (#418/499)

Martin is today's milestone man as this is his 10th hit (all autos) in my collection.  The large-and-in-charge DL appears on this 2012 Prizm auto whose design I can't help but like for some reason.  By the way, it's a fun dichotomy to compare this to a card from the baseball version, which obviously can't include team logos.  MLB needs to end that monopoly or I'm gonna send Martin and those pythons their way!

Chris Perry 2004 Leaf Limited jersey auto RC (#077/150)

Q:  What have we learned today?  A:  Shiny, reflective cards are very hard to scan.  That's why you can't see the bulk of this Leaf Limited jersey/auto/RC, but at least the most important elements--the signature and swatch--are plain as day.  That's a pretty nice three-color jersey piece, bordering on patch status, really.  Would you believe I threw down just $2.50 for this?  It's my 34th hit of the former stud back.

Charles Woodson 2001 Leaf Certified Materials Fabric of the Game jersey

I don't chase relics that much anymore, but I do like adding hits of Woodson where I can, and this one--which was again relevant last season--was a steal at just $4.50.  Panini did a fantastic job with this type of relic back in the day, featuring actual game-worn swatches which were a nice size, then giving collectors even more confidence with an image of the jersey on the back.  This fantastic swatch from one of Michigan's and the NFL's all-timers came from a game-used Raiders black jersey, and now it's part of my collection, joining four other relics, two manufactured relics, a patch, and my favorite, the jersey/auto I picked up earlier this year!  I'll have him in double-digits before you know it.

Two posts remain in this COMC series, and then I have plenty more good stuff to show you from Blowout, eBay, and Sportlots!