2015 trade package #18: breaking good: another great envelope from My Cardboard Mistress

It's been a bit more than a year since I had a trade package from Adam from My Cardboard Mistress to show off, but I'm not complaining--Spankee always makes it worth the wait!  Late last June he dropped some nice Wolverines on me, and now he's back for more!

The basketball portion included this quartet of cards with the clear highlight being the Goodwin pairing Tim Hardaway and THJ, though I'd call Jamal Crawford's photo a close second.

Jalen Rose makes a second appearance here in the form of this very purple Raptors relic from 2004-05 SP Game Used.  Nice!

Moving on to football, I thought I'd kick things off (pun unintended, please continue to ignore it) with this lucky 7-spot of Tom Bradys.  The reigning Super Bowl MVP is very well-represented, especially with that 2008 Score Gold Zone parallel, which is numbered 307/400.

Lots of my favorite players here, and lots of Michigan unis too!  The Arrington, Hart, and Henne from 2008 UD Draft Edition are all RCs as is Chad's 2008 Score.  Hart gets double-featured thanks to an insert I hadn't seen from the former, and I'd say "College Great" sums up Hart's Michigan career.  A couple other Henne base cards precede a winged-helmeted Kevin Koger from a Leaf set.

Three more players to show off here.  Manningham is present on a Topps Magic Mini along with a 2008 Score insert of Super Mario; I didn't realize until after I scanned them that Adam sent two of the latter because one of them was the Glossy version, but at least I now know for future reference.  Former double-team magnet Mike Martin hails from the same set as Koger above.  And I got a healthy dose of Denard from this SAGE HIT/Leaf Draft quartet, three cards of which are airbrushed Michigan Unis.

The final entry in the football portion is this simple but elegant Henne jersey from 2008 Topps.  Designing a card like this doesn't always work, but I like how Topps took their basic 2008 design and added the relic swatch, even if it takes a large bit out of his torso.

Thanks again for some great cards, Adam!  Here's hoping that my Wolverines and your Hokies make some big strides this season back to the levels of success we're both used to.

By the way, readers, please check out the Tigers stuff Adam sent me over on TMV tonight.  Oh, and because this is a My Cardboard Mistress trade, I bet he'd appreciate it if I reminded you all to

2014 trade package #12: My Cardboard Mistress sends me some baby blue

YEAH, SPORTS CARDS, BITCH!

Back in November, Adam of My Cardboard Mistress sent me a trade package stuffed with some great Wolverines.  Well I'm back to report that he did it again, managing to include some nice football cards in an envelope that was dominated by a complete 2011 UD College Football Legends set, which you can see over at TMV right now.

Here's the Michigan-specific stuff my fellow college football-collecting enthusiast friend thought to include:

First up is a shiny Brady, part of the aptly-named Elite set from 2013.  From there we get a great trio of Anthony Carters, all from the aforementioned Legends set.  The upper-right most card is Anthony's base card, a great use of a black-and-white photo, and the others are inserts:  an All-Americans card (1981 and 1982) and a Bowl Game Heroes insert, celebrating a big Rose Bowl win over Washington in 1981.  Getting back to players closer to MY age, there's a nice Michigan uni card of former star DB Marlin Jackson out of 2005 Press Pass.  Finally, I got a pair of Denard Robinsons:  a 2013 Fleer Retro done in the style of '91 Ultra, which features a great UM action photo, and a 2013 Topps Strata RC that's headed to my UM Football RC collection.

Thanks for hitting multiple parts of my PC, Adam, and I look forward to trading again soon!  Readers, check out My Cardboard Mistress tonight, especially if you're a space program enthusiast, like some famous Wolverines:

2013 trade package #21: My Cardboard Mich-tress

Adam of My Cardboard Mistress is back in the blogging game, and fortunately for me that includes sending out trade packages!

I showed off the other half of the package this evening as usual over on TMV, so check that out if you haven't, then read on to see the rest:

A mighty fine start to the proceedings with a great group of Wolverines.  The SPx Carter is definitely my favorite as it features an excellent photo of old #1 in his college heyday.  The Vikings version is cool as well since it hails from this year's Archives set, and now I don't have to pick that one up myself!

Ok, what's going on here?  Graham, Jones, and Manningham obviously didn't get the memo about wearing some maize & blue.  Where's your school spirit, guys?!

This was definitely a great way to finish--I'm very happy to land a pair of UD versions of Michigan rookies.  Speaking of prospecting, Adam included Denard's 2013 Topps RC, so I won't have to grab that either.  Finally, he found a shiny Woodson to round things out.

But that's not all he included, since this gem was inside the envelope too:

Barry Larkin 2002 Upper Deck Championship Caliber Swatch jersey

Niiiiiiiiiice!  This pinstriped Reds jersey of Michigan Baseball's most recent HOFer and World Champion is my 13th hit overall, and IHAS card #113 (with LOTS more to come, I promise!).  It's definitely one I've wanted for a while, but the prices for it on COMC and elsewhere are out of whack.  Count on Spankee to come up big when it counts.

Thanks again, Adam, and I hope you enjoy the stuff I sent back your way!  Readers, go give that Hokie some blog love and hit up My Cardboard Mistress tonight!

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!

Trade package from MCM and a card show report (6/3/12)

Sorry to everyone for going more than a week without a post; things were unusually busy around here, including a weekend trip to Rochester, NY.  Now that I'm back, I wanted to finish up my card show report (baseball version here) from last Sunday, but first I want to highlight a sweet (and unexpected) trade package from Adam of My Cardboard Mistress:

Football galore!  There's a ridiculous mix of players and sets here, though my favorites are the pair of die-cut Press Pass inserts of Navarre and Joppru.  Besides that, I'm especially excited to get my first cards of David Molk and Junior Hemingway, and in Michigan unis, no less!  That's not all Spankee sent, though:

Here's a goofy oversized Upper Deck Chris Webber card.  I laughed when I pulled it out of the package and unfolded it since that meant it had a huge crease in it; let's all face it--Webber more than had that coming to him for the tarnished legacy he left at Michigan.  A fun card to add to my PC, though.  And then the biggest hit of the envelope:

Tyrone Wheatley 2001 Ovation Training Gear jersey

Sweet!  That's my first Wheatley relic, with my other hit of the star RB being this auto.

A big thanks again to a guy everyone knows to be an excellent trader and a great sport (who doesn't welsh on his bets!).  Adam, I'm happy to report that I'll be responding in kind very shortly as I happened to pick up a few things for you recently.  As for the rest of you, make sure to stack up some Verlanders (not all of them--save some for me!), Uptons (both), David Wrights, Ryan Zimmermans and VaTech Hokies for one of the best bloggers you'll ever know.

Card show report:

As I said, I covered part of last Sunday's haul over on TMG/V, but today you'll finally get to see a few more pickups that are most appropriately displayed here:

First up is this Bill Freehan auto that I already posted on the other blog, but of course also fits in over here.  I bundled the Freehan with a few more Tigers at a seller I knew to be a Michigan State fan and who was an enormous asshat (sorry, being redundant).  I still picked them up anyway because the difference in price wasn't much, and I mean the guy surely needs to sock away some money to buy a new couch the next time the Spartans win or lose or tie something.  Besides that, though, I picked these up as well:

A Dan Dierdorf 1973 Topps RC.  That, of course, made it into this album.  I may be able to get one in better condition, but for a bit more than a buck, this HOF Wolverine came home with me that day.

This Braylon Edwards 2009 Donruss Elite Prime Targets Prime jersey (#45/50).  Pretty cool because of the blue on it (Pen?  something else?  I have no idea where that came from, before or after pack-out.) but especially because I have the non-Prime version.  41 Bray-Brays and counting!

Here's a Jon Jansen 1999 Press Pass auto.  Jansen, a former star tackle, is the 76th different member of my football collection, and I'm thrilled that my first hit of his is a gorgeous on-card auto with an action shot of him at Michigan (wearing the same number as fellow star Jake Long, no less).

Finally, a Marlin Jackson 2005 Press Pass SE jersey (#258/700).  Picking up my 11th hit of the former star Michigan DB is a great time to highlight a recent story about some good he's doing now that his career is over--making sure future NFLers don't make poor decisions that could haunt them later.

Stay tuned for slightly more regular posting soon, including more on the Down With IPP series!

More Michigan football rookies!

Back in January, a bet/trade package with Adam gave me the kick in the pants I needed to start a Michigan football rookie card PC.  The first two cards in that collection were pretty sweet:  1955 Topps All-Americans of Harry Newman and Benny Oosterbaan.

Well today I'm finally getting around to adding to that album a bit, so here's nine more Michigan RCs, with an emphasis on Michigan uniforms wherever possible:

Braylon Edwards 2005 Topps Draft Picks and Prospects RC:

Today's #1 is a guy who wore #1 for the Maize and Blue, and he's not the only one.  This is a great shot of Bray-Bray picking up some YAC, and the only thing I don't like is how the photo kind of fades to a white border, and essentially nothingness.  I just prefer full-bleed photos most of the time, I guess.  I really like the design otherwise, and this is a great action shot of Edwards with the Wolverines for sure.

 Brian Griese 1998 Fleer RC:

This card and the next go perfectly together, which really works out for me.  Griese never became more than a journeyman backup that bounced among several teams in the NFL, but for a former walk-on (bloodlines notwithstanding, and that's definitely not everything if you've ever read Outliers) he at least had an excellent college career that earned him an NFL look.
I absolutely love the design of this set and can't thank Fleer enough for using college photos of these rookies.  What a great shot Fleer chose for the card too!

Charles Woodson 1998 Fleer RC:

Woodson was simply dominant during Michigan's 1997 title run and was easily one of the greatest Heisman-winners ever, so his jump to the NFL (and the Raiders) was inevitable.  Of course, later he'd become one of a select few players to win the Heisman, an NCAA title and a Super Bowl ring.
Like the Griese, this is just a wonderful card.  I love that you can see a Michigan sign in the background, and the fact that nobody's around Mr. Heisman makes me think this was a freeze frame of him at the start of a punt return, such as the one during which he scored in that year's Ohio State game.  This card gets an A+++.

David Terrell 2001 Donruss Elite RC (#405/500):

I picked this guy up more than a year ago in a group I acquired via Blowout, which made for an awesome post.  There were plenty of others I could have chosen, but the first one I picked for the album is this shiny, numbered card of the former #1 (told you) about to make another catch.  He may have been a bust as an NFL first-round pick, but his play at Michigan inspired me to pick up my first Michigan football jersey--you guessed it, #1.

 Leon Hall 2007 Topps Draft Picks and Prospects RC (#122/299):

This is another of the great cards Adam sent me in his last package.  I'm definitely glad he did because I didn't really have anything from the DPP set that year, and definitely not any of the Wolverines.  I hadn't even realized they decided to number the Chrome versions that year, which is pretty cool.  Considering the relative dearth of new Wolverines in the pros recently, seeing a Michigan player on a "Draft Pick" card is outstanding, and Hall has certainly proven himself to be an outstanding player, other than a recent injury.

Mario Manningham 2008 Topps Chrome RC:

This is one of two non-Michigan uni cards I'm featuring today, but after his Super Bowl performance, there was no way I was leaving out Super Mario, and this is definitely the best RC of him that I have handy.  I actually picked it up in a rare trade on Blowout last December, and it's definitely an upgraded version of his 2008 Topps RC, of which I have several.  The 2008 design was very nice and I really like the shot of Manningham in action, probably trying to catch another errant pass from Eli, who probably has that same stupid look on his stupid face. 

 Marlin Jackson 2005 Topps Chrome Draft Picks and Prospects RC:

From the same year as the Braylon, here's a Chrome version of DB Marlin Jackson's RC.  He's a guy who showed a lot of talent and promise while in school (despite a couple position changes) to the point where he was hardly thrown towards, then looked like he'd have a solid NFL career before multiple heartbreaking injuries robbed him of the chance.  Still, this is a pretty cool RC, and Chrome makes almost everything better!

Marquise Walker 2001 Fleer Showcase RC (#0014/1500):

Another former #1 WR, Walker definitely earned the distinction, leaving Michigan having set a buttload of receiving records (some or most of which have been surpassed by Braylon Edwards).  He also busted out in the NFL, but man was he a good wideout while he was here.  I remember him well because I really started paying attention to Michigan football during his tenure here.
Showcase tends to be a pretty nice looking set, and the artistic value of this one is very apparent.  Of course you've got the airbrushed uni and helmet, which always bugs me a bit ("Our helmet's got wings!"), but it's still a cool shot of Marquise lined up for a snap, with a sweet background and very nice border.  That it's numbered on the back just enhances its value to me. 

Tom Brady 2000 Fleer RC:

And a perfect way to close out this post is with arguably my best Michigan football RC.  Everyone knows the story of Brady getting picked in the 6th round, #199 overall, that year, then going on to win three Super Bowl rings and put up ridiculous numbers despite those odds.  Fortunately, Fleer (though they of course weren't the only ones) thought to include him in that year's base set on their multiplayer rookie cards.
I pulled this from a base set I was formerly working on but gave up on because I still needed so much of the set.  I may as well have anyway since he's the bulk of the value in the set.  Since I pulled this one out, I discovered I had another loose one, so now I'm basking in the relative opulence ("I has it") of having a pair of the HOF-to-be QB.  It may not feature him in a Michigan uni, but given his successes with the Pats, it doesn't really bother me.
Stachelski, by the way, chosen a round before Brady out of Boise St., played sparingly and had about as great a career as most of the QBs chosen before Brady.

I promise to add to this collection again soon because it's fun to have a look at some of my non-hit Michigan PC cards.  If that goes well enough I may even throw up a separate album for inserts, especially if enough people would be interested in such a thing.

Super Mario Bros. 4

A day after Jeff posted a couple new Mike Harts, I'm back with a small lot I grabbed on Blowout.  But first, this one's for Adam:

Yep, courtesy of MetsBlog.com that's Virginia native David Wright sporting a Denard jersey after he lost his own Sugar Bowl bet Jeff Wilpon, part of the Michigan family that owns the Mets and a group that's been otherwise...um...ineffective with its money.  Looking good there, David, but I'm pretty sure you couldn't catch D-Rob in a footrace.

So, onto the goods.  Four cards from Blowout, $12 delivered to my door, and they are:

Mario Manningham 2008 SP Rookie Threads dual jersey (#96/99) 

 Mario Manningham 2008 SP Rookie Threads "MM" dual jersey (#173/199)

Mario Manningham 2008 SP Rookie Threads "RT" dual jersey (#016/250)

Mario Manningham 2008 SP Rookie Threads dual patch (#73/82)

I thought this was a pretty nice haul for a bit more than $10; I didn't have any of them and they add nicely to my Manningham collection, especially the patch, my first of Super Mario.  All told, I now have 32 hits of the New Math, 18 being relics, plus the above patch.  Football now stands at 444 and the total PC has made it up to 556 with some more new stuff incoming shortly!

A very Wolverines Super Bowl trade post featuring My Cardboard Mistress

As you hopefully saw over on Too Many Verlanders, I received a ridiculously great trade package from Adam of My Cardboard Mistress, including some excellent baseball stuff.  But that's not all he sent--not by a LONG shot.  Besides sending me some trade stuff in return for what I had already sent him, he included my winnings from our friendly Sugar Bowl bet.  Since I need to get this post done in time to be ready for the big game, here's a look at Adam's profound sense of generosity and good sportedness:

Holy crap that's a lot of stuff!  The book, which set Adam back a whole dollar, is one I surprisingly didn't have, though I have read it before.  Bacon teaches here and is one of the best Michigan sportswriters ever.  His controversial Three and Out is the benchmark for inside football writing and may never be equaled due to his unprecedented access.  If you want to learn the truth about the Michigan/RichRod saga instead of listening to the irresponsibly "researched" bullshit hit job that the Detroit Free Press, and subsequently the rest of the mainstream media, pinched off, please check that out.  As for this book, I look forward to reading it again since the combination of Bacon and one of my school's greatest legends ever is irresistible.  An auspicious start, to say the least.
Instead of waiting until the end to show my favorites from this package, I'm going to show them off now so I don't risk losing those of you who are relatively uninterested in the rest.  I knew Adam was sending one of these, but the other was a total surprise, and I'm still surprised and thrilled by these:

These are 1955 Topps All American RCs of Wolverine greats Bennie Oosterbaan and Harry Newman.  Oosterbaan should sound familiar to any Michigan fan, especially ones who've strolled by the athletic campus past his eponymous Field House.  He coached the Maize and Blue to the 1948 national title and was a phenomenal three-sport athlete and coach who earned his way to the College Football HOF.  Though he played a slightly different position, his card back's description makes him sound a little like Braylon Edwards in his prime at Michigan.

Newman is a guy I didn't really know as well, but as the back of his card states, he QBed Michigan to three (Big Ten) titles, and Wikipedia reveals that he lost just once, going 24-1-2 in his three years.  The back also makes him sound like he went all Denard in his final three games.  He also went on to play for the Giants and threw the NFL championship game's first TD pass, which is pretty cool, though I hope it's a Patriots Wolverine who comes out on top in today's Super Bowl!

I have to say I absolutely love these cards.  The Oosterbaan was actually Adam's idea, and I quickly agreed to it as the loot from our bet, so it was out of his generosity that I also now have the Newman.  He pointed out that these are the cheapest of the handful of Wolverines in the set, but that doesn't matter since it's spurred me to try to pick them up in the future.  I've also created a Michigan RCs album, to which I'll be adding soon with a future post.  I absolutely love the look (and age) of these classic cards, and literally my only gripe is that atrocious "wolverine" logo on the front.  YEESH!
And now, the rest of my Wolverines haul:

The one Michigan baseball card in the package, a Drew Henson Just Promo from 2001, a very cool add to my baseball PC.

Three of my favorites:  a #d Leon Hall RC, a rare (for my collection) Leroy Hoard card from Collector's Edge, and a similarly rare Ernest Shazor RC.

Some very nice Braylon Edwardses, and not even every single one he sent me.

A winner from last year's title game, Charles Woodson, including a very interesting Playoff Contenders leather card.

A former Giant who's therefore not in tonight's game, Amani "IT'S NOT A" Toomer.  My favorite is the Topps All American, a card in the style of the two above.

Another former Giant, Michigan RB legend Tyrone Wheatley.  The Playoff card is actually very nice, with an almost metallic look to it, but the real winner here is the Fractal Matrix card.

And finally, my hopeful Super Bowl winner for tonight, Tom Brady.  I love the XFractor from 2009.

So there you have it, one of the best trade packages I've ever received.  Thanks again, Adam, for some great stuff, especially the book and the '55s!

Good luck to both teams in tonight's Super Bowl, and may the best team win, but either way, Michigan fans will be rewarded with yet another pair of rings.  GO BLUE!