2019 trade package #1: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

When Doug (of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store) sends me trade packages there are times when he undersells them, promising more in the way of quantity than quality.  While I don't think I can say that's ever been true, I guess it's a matter of perspective.  The one I just received from him the other day was another two-parter, and maybe you've headed over here from the TMV portion starring a bevy of Tigers and Wings.  Lots of quantity there, to be sure, but plenty I liked.

And it's possible that I'm just as pleased with this envelope as usual since the quality was mostly concentrated on the Michigan PCs, which is my preference anyway!  Here's all the great stuff I get to show off this time:

Up first:  basketball, and some recent guys at that.  It sounds a bit funny to refer to Crawford as "recent" but, hey, dude's still playing!  THJ, LeVert, and Sauce Castillo all at least played in Ann Arbor within the past decade.  By the way, all four guys you see above were first round picks.

As was this guy, German star Moe Wagner.  I'm happy to get my first hit of the big man in the form of a jersey from last year's Hoops product in a set called Rise N Shine Memorabilia, a name I know they've used before.  Hopefully he'll be starring for the Lakers before I know it!

The football bunch ended up being a group of nine, perfect for scanning purposes.  Super Bowl-bound QB Tom Brady starts us off on a beautiful 2018 Classics base, one of Panini's best offerings.  2018 champ Brandon Graham is next on a rare base appearance that isn't from his rookie year, and I'm curious to see what his next move is.  Severely underdrafted DL Maurice Hurst follows on a great four-spot:  his 2018 Leaf Draft base and All American insert plus RCs from Panini's Luminance and Rookies and Stars.  I'm loving the focus on college action here.

Then there's a great 2017-18 one-two punch starring Jabrill Peppers:  a rookie year Score Gold Zone parallel (#29/50) plus last year's Donruss Optic.  Doug is now responsible for three excellent Peppers cards from the former, including another parallel plus an autograph!

And then a very cool vintage surprise sews up the gridiron portion:  a 1963 Topps CFL base (in very nice condition!) of QB/RB Bob Ptacek.  After his three-year Michigan career in the late 50s he was drafted by the Browns, spent a year with them, then headed off to six seasons with the pictured Saskatchewan Roughriders.  Doug's gifted me with a few cool CFL issues and this is definitely one of the best!

As usual the hockey portion was the largest, and like the TMV version you'll see a ton of 2009-10 and 18-19 O-Pee-Chee, which I'm definitely down with, especially since I really like the design of the former.  I decided to have fun this time and separate these out in a scan I like to call "Hockey Mikes", the name of one of my favorite tags to use on this blog; I count at least six in my collection and you see four of them here.

And now I may have to create a new tag for "Hockey Andrews" because there's three alone right here (plus one or two "Andy"s not seen here).  Glendening got a double-dip as a Wing and appeared in this evening's other post.  And I'll take hockey John Madden over the Ace/Tinactin guy any day!

The Miller card leading off here was of interest to me because he played for four years in Ann Arbor starting in 2005, so it's possible I saw him play in a few games but can't remember him.  PC favorite Morrison makes another appearance, as does one of many hockey players from my hometown of Livonia, David Moss.  And the UD Nystrom (and its excellent photo) was a nice surprise since he's one of Doug's fellow 2/14 babies.

And here's an excellent pair of hits--the cream of the quality crop--to end things for today.  First up is a sick-nasty patch of Swedish chef Carl Hagelin courtesy of 2012-13 Limited and numbered to just 10.  It's a beautiful patch from a Rangers jersey and a nice upgrade on another Hagelin I believe Doug sent me--a jersey version of the same card.  No surprise there, though, since my Canadian trading buddy has sent me some of my best Hagelins (and hockey hits in general).

#2 is another collection newbie:  C David Wohlberg.  The South Lyon native (a bit north of me here in Ann Arbor) played four seasons for Michigan starting in 2008-09, and while he never made it to the NHL, unlike Miller above I do remember Wohlberg a bit, likely because he put up a nice number of points over his four years.  As always, kudos to Doug for turning up another new Wolverine for my PC, this time in the form of a 2014-15 Upper Deck AHL Box Set auto.

Doug, many thanks for this great start to trading between us in 2019!  I have a few things set aside for you already and will aim for sending something back your way in time for your birthday, especially since I know you have some COMC goodies for me.

2018 trade package #15: the Collector

I got a very nice surprise in my mailbox last week when I went through my mail and came up with an unexpected PWE from Chris, a.k.a. "The Collector" (though I'll probably always associate him with his original name, "The Pedestrian Collector").  I've swapped cards with him a number of times and always enjoy doing so, plus it doesn't hurt that I love that something I sent his way made it into his blog banner! (that Mo Vaughn Starting Lineup up front.)

Chris even bucked tradition by sending me an all-Michigan trade package for the first time.  I previously received a nice group of Wolverines football and hockey stuff from him as part of a larger bunch of cards way back in February of 2017, but this time it's 100% alma mater matters, baby!

Here's what he sent along this time:

1988 Big Ten Player of the Year Gary Grant kicks things off with a '93-'94 Topps Gold parallel.  His four years in Ann Arbor led to a nice 13-year pro career.

Next up is a great pair from the basketball version of probably my favorite Fleer product, the '97-'98 flagship set.  Fab-Fiver Juwan Howard is surely well known by anyone reading this, and Terry "Sugar" Mills was a fun guy to watch during his six seasons with the Pistons (way back when I paid attention to basketball).

Last up is Howard's old teammate Jalen Rose on a college photo card from Classic's 1994 Four Sport product.  His Michigan uniform presages good things ahead.

Namely the five such cards in this football bunch, meaning 6/11 cards in this envelope fell into that category.  Extra credit to Chris!

Up top we have a trio of football alumni from last year's typically solid Score product, including RCs of draftees DL Taco Charlton and WR Jehu Chesson, plus a base of WR Devin Funchess, who I bet would be fun to watch if he had a consistently good QB throwing to him.

Joining those is a trio of cards from college-focused sets.  Chris sent over the base and Gold parallels of DL Mo Hurst from this year's Leaf Draft, and that's fantastic since Hurst is the only Wolverine in the product and I didn't feel like chasing the set this year.  They look great alongside a '95 Classic Five Sport of all-time great CB Ty Law.  These look so good to a college collector like me that I chased a number of similar products in my latest Sportlots haul.

Closing things out today is one more recent guy in PC guy Denard Robinson.  Card #91 in his collection is an interesting insert from 2013 Prestige called NFL Passport.  I'm actually familiar with the set because I have the autographed version of this card, though oddly enough that one is oriented in vertical fashion:

Thanks again for the surprise PWE, Chris!  I'm happy to be able to send something back your way soon, possibly in time for Christmas.  For now I suppose you can continue to bask in the glow of yet another World Series victory!

2018 trade package #10: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

For the fourth time this year it's time for another outstanding trade package from buddy of the blog Doug, proprietor of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store!  We both recently sent bubble mailers across the Detroit River and I was excited to find another Wolverine-infused package in my mailbox this past Monday.  Between what you saw on TMV this evening and what I'm about to show off Doug even managed to hit all four major sports, as he does occasionally.

Here's the goods:

Starting off with a pair of basketballers we have a 2014-15 Hoops Silver parallel (#280/399) of Trey Burke along with 2017-18 Prestige base of THJ.  Hoops is a lot like basketball's version of Score--a simple (occasionally boring but always solid) design that looks nice on a number of parallels.

Football was a fun variety pack that started with two new cards for my Tom Brady PC (now 215 cards strong):  a 2013 Rookies & Stars base and a 2018 Classics Award Winners sticker.  I'm not the type to peel these and put them anywhere (then they wouldn't be mint condition!) but I do like collecting them.

Next up is RC #2 (out of six so far) of big Mo Hurst out of Panini's 2018 Luminance.  The unorthodox font reminds me just a bit of some late 90s Ultra sets.  I love that this one rocks a college action photo of the 2017 season-opening win over Florida.

Last up is one more entry from 2018 Classics:  a base card of future HOF DB Ty Law.  Once again Panini knocked it out of the park in terms of design and--speaking as a totally unbiased collector--player selection!

This pair of football hits got me very excited, especially my very first hit of the aforementioned Hurst, also from this year's Luminance.  His Rookie Ink auto is #208/249 and uses a photo a few frames before or after the one used on his rookie above.  Welcome to the collection as player #214, Mo!

He was joined by a 2013 Rookies & Stars Dress For Success Prime jersey (#09/25) of blog favorite offensive weapon Denard Robinson.  While the swatch is anything but "prime" (I have another one of these and the swatch is pretty much identical) the numbering and player make up for that.

The Michigan Hockey portion was a bit smaller than usual by emphasizing quality over quantity, starting with this trio.  Up top are 2016-17 Parkhurst RCs of a couple recent standouts in Connor and Hyman.  Connor followed up a stellar one-and-done college career with a 31/26/57 sophomore campaign for the Jets while Hyman, a bit of an offensive late-bloomer in college, improved his numbers for the second straight season in his third year, going 15/25/40 for the Leafs.  I look forward to seeing both in the playoffs for years to come!

They're joined by A-A-Ron Palushaj who certainly didn't mess up in appearing on a beautiful 2011-12 Pinnacle RC that's a dufex dream.

That quality carried right on over to the hits.  First is a large jersey swatch of the Swedish Chef of hockey, two-time Cup-winner Carl Hagelin from 2012-13 Limited's Jumbo Materials (#60/99).  That's my ninth hit of Hagelin and a fantastic one featuring an above-average jersey piece from his original team, the Rangers.

And finally, my second favorite card of the package (that Hurst auto, tho) is my fourth hit of Wolverwing wunderkind Dylan Larkin--with 75% of those generously donated to me by Doug.  Considering my collection of the young star is a paltry 13 cards I'm happy to have that many good ones, including this solid jersey swatch from 2017-18 SP Game Used.  Hopefully Detroit shows some faith in him and rewards him with a long term contract this off-season because I can see Larkin paying dividends and then some!

Doug, thanks once again for all this great stuff I'm thrilled to be adding to my Michigan PCs.  Since I just sent you an envelope it's back to the drawing board once more as I try to pile up some 2/14s, Alfredssons, Bills, and more!

2018 trade package #9: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

This time of year is my favorite for many reasons:  my birthday's in May, the weather heats up, and baseball gets a monopoly for a bit, to name a few.  It's also one of those times I can expect a super generous package from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store after his yearly visit to Toronto's Sports Card Expo.  He previously sent me some cards in May before that event, then managed to stuff another mailer with some very nice goodies not long after.

Here's the damage--prepare to be impressed!

Of course I'm excited that my least favorite sport is over with for a few more months, but that doesn't mean I wasn't happy to get some new additions for my basketball collection.  On the left is a Trey Burke from a 2013 set produced, I believe, for that year's National Convention.  The first half of the multi-sport offering is filled with vets while the second includes that year's rookies, numbered to 499 like the one you see above.

Joining him is THJ's base from 2013-14 SP Authentic.  Of course I love the college shot used on one of UD's typically solid designs.

Along for the ride came this sweet pair of Cazzie Russell autographs from a couple Panini brands.  2012-13's Past and Present Elusive Ink is seen on the left while the right one is from 2014-15 Totally Certified Competitor Autographs and is numbered 46/99.  Those of you who are signature purists will likely prefer the difficult-to-scan foil card on your right with its on-card auto while the P&P card carries a sticker.  As for me I think they're both extremely cool (despite obviously using the same photo!) since they star one of the most important cagers to come out of Ann Arbor.  I also enjoy that Cazzie is once again in the lead in my basketball PC with 13 hits, eclipsing former #1 Darius Morris by one.

Football makes a cameo appearance thanks to Doug breaking one of my favorite yearly products from that sport, 2018 Score.  The low price, clean design, and college photos make the Wolverine cards a must-have for me even if I no longer tend to build the set myself.

In addition to vets Devin Funchess (who set career highs in pretty much every stat last season) and second-year guy Jabrill Peppers, he managed to hit one of my player collections in Tom Brady and help my football RC project with my first of big man Mo Hurst's first-years.  The first-round talent DT fell all the way down to the fifth thanks to fear of a heart condition that seemed to have been assuaged by multiple doctors.  Oh well, Oakland's gain, I guess!

When it came to the sport on the ice it was another "Hockey Mikes" kind of day, even if this first scan doesn't give you that impression.  It does lead off with sniper Cammalleri on a beautiful OPC Platinum Rainbow parallel at least.  Plenty of other friendly faces follow, plus Doug threw in a new-to-me base of young star Zach Werenski, which is exciting since he's not exactly cheap to collect right now!

The rest of the base/inserts hit three of my hockey player collections, two of which I recently scanned.  Up first is Wolverwing Dylan Larkin on a super shiny Upper Deck/Tim Horton's joint venture from 2016-17.  It looks as great as their Timbits are tasty!  Next is former Hobey-winner and national champ Brendan Morrison taking us all the way back to 2001-02 Upper Deck MVP and my freshman year in Ann Arbor.  Finally there's a nice pair of superstar college goalie Marty Turco on cards from 2009-10 UD/McDonald's and 2010-11 Between The Pipes (with the Blackhawks!).  We'll see him again before this post is done....

And now it's time for a plethora of hockey hits!:

Hockey Mike hit numbers one and two are this pair of Cammalleris, jerseys from 2007-08 Fleer Hot Prospects Hot Materials and 2016-17 Upper Deck Game Jerseys.  It's amazing to me how long he's been playing, as the stretch between when these were produced proves.  I now have 15 different hits of the winger who was most recently with the Oilers.

I didn't post these in this order on purpose--you all know I'm very strict about going straight alphabetical--but yeah, here's your other two hockey Mikes!  Former Red Wing Knuble is on the left out of a product you could tell was Zenith without needing a closer look.  Throwing it back to one of my all-time favorite baseball inserts it's from the 2010-11 and called Mozaics Materials, and features cameos from his former Caps teammates Eric Fehr and Alex Ovechkin, who I was happy to see finally get his Cup the other day.  That's just my fifth hit of Knuble, by the way.

Moving on to an even rarer player to find in my hockey PC we have Mike #3, former Leaf/Canadien Komisarek on the very cool multi-swatch 2009-10 Black Diamond Jerseys Quad.  The two-year Wolverine is pictured with Montreal but listed with Toronto, his second-to-last NHL destination (a stint in Carolina marked the end of his career).  I really like getting multiple jersey pieces like this, especially with a bit of variety thanks to the Canadiens red.  I mentioned that Komisarek was relatively hard to find in my collection, and the fact that this is just my third hit of his is proof!

This foursome is also great.  Doug is largely, if not entirely, responsible for my collection of seven very nice hits of Vegas D-man Jon Merrill, five of which are now of the auto/relic variety.  The other two are a plain ol' autograph and a plate, so it's one of the stronger collections in the group!  This 2013-14 Select jersey auto RC (#195/199) obviously fits in very nicely.

I decided to make it a point to get some nice cards of recent Michigan stars like former Blackhawks draftee Tyler Motte--who had a fantastic junior year in Ann Arbor--and then Doug went ahead and chipped in an autograph (my first) and jersey in this very package.  The former is from 2016-17 SP Game Used and is a Blue parallel of his auto/RC.  I like his signature which includes his jersey number here.  The jersey, from 2016-17 Upper Deck's Rookie Materials, is my second such card and it looks great as well, giving me three cool hits of Motte all of a sudden!

Last up is probably my favorite Michigan hockey player to collect, the previously-seen Turco.  Doug's been my main accomplice as I've accumulated 36 hits of the two-time college champ goalie who's in no danger of losing his crown as king of my hockey collection.  Even so he still managed to surprise me with a new type of relic card; while I have something like 22 jerseys and even a stick piece, this is the first time I've owned a piece of a goalie's trapper glove.  It's a fun first and great way to close out the hockey portion.

That covers all the sports but we're not quite done yet because Doug wasn't quite done with the surprises.  Among the piles of great new additions was the first lady to join one of my hit collections, in this case "Other Sports, etc.":

Janet Guthrie is 80 years old this year and can look back fondly on a solid auto racing career highlighted by being the first female to drive in both the Indy and Daytona 500 races, plus being inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.  So what's her relevance here?  Doug was keen enough to realize that she's also a Michigan alum, in fact an aerospace engineer, if you already weren't impressed.  So naturally he nabbed this 2007 Press Pass Legends Blue autograph (#376/385), making her just the fourth member of the "Etc. Club" and first woman on a hit in my collection.  I hope to be able to add to that number, especially with multiple softball and ice skating stars to hail from my school, not to mention those from other sports.

Once again, Doug, I'm not worthy of such a crazy great bunch of stuff that I really enjoyed, but I'm hard at work putting together some cards to thank you for the great effort you always put in!