4-2-16 card show report: draft day dreamin'

Well, the 2016 NFL draft is in the books, and what better way to celebrate than with some cards I picked up at a show almost four weeks ago?  But before I get to those, let's have a quick look at the Wolverines that were selected this year:

Graham Glasgow, C:  Detroit Lions, Round 3, Pick 33 (95th overall)

The former walk-on (from a family of excellent walk-ons!) gets to stay home.  Hopefully his drinking issues are behind him, because he might get a shot on the Lions' O-Line very soon.

Willie Henry, DL:  Baltimore Ravens, Round 4, Pick 34 (132nd overall)

The beastly DT left a year early, and somewhat unfortunately for him he didn't get picked very high, but it's got to be very exciting for him to be leaving on Harbaugh only to be coached by another!

Jake Rudock, QB:  Detroit Lions, Round 6, Pick 16 (191st overall)

The Iowa transfer was a wonderful story to watch this year as new coach Jim Harbaugh got every ounce of production possible out of a guy who was an entirely different QB by the end of a very successful 2016.  The Lions drafted two Wolverines this year and are clearly trying to make me stop hating them.  Hey, dump Stafford and we'll talk!

Blake Countess, DB:  Philadelphia Eagles, Round 6, Pick 21 (196th overall)

A former top recruit, Countess played for Michigan from 2011-2014, then transferred to Auburn last year.  Since most of his playing time was with the Wolverines, of course I'm counting him here!

A few other players went undrafted but are possible-to-likely UDFA signings just waiting to happen.  Those players include Joe Bolden (LB), Sione Houma (FB), Desmond Morgan (LB), and Mario Ojemudia (LB).

Good luck to all the new Wolverines in the NFL!  Hopefully many of them will appear on some cards soon--don't let me down, Panini!

Ok, on to my show haul from a few weeks ago.  I had another trip where I didn't buy much, and besides searching for a bit of trade bait, I spent most of my time flipping through boxes with my favorite vintage dealer (who's a Buckeye fan, but is still an OK guy).  For something like $10 I grabbed three very vintage-y football cards:

Roger Zatkoff 1955 Bowman RC

Zatkoff is yet another native of the state to stay local as he hails from Michigan's Polish mecca, Hamtramck.  He was a Wolverine from 1949-52, playing LB for legendary coach Bennie Oosterbaan, and during his first varsity season, 1950, Michigan won the Big Ten and the Rose Bowl.

Green Bay took him in the fifth round of 1953, and Roger would spend his first four seasons with the Pack, making the Pro Bowl three straight seasons after his rookie campaign.  When Green Bay tried to trade him in 1957 he was able to convince the franchise to send him to Detroit, and he played his final two seasons as a Lion, including as a member of the 1957 NFL champs (a.k.a. the last time the Lions won anything worth a damn).  Zatkoff's success inspired Michigan to name its yearly award for best LB after him.

Here he is on a fantastic Bowman design from way back in 1955.  I'll have another player from this set to show off soon!

Tom Keating 1965 Topps RC

Keating was a DT out of Chicago who played for Bump Elliott's 1961-63 squads, which unfortunately went 11-14-2.  In 1964 he was chosen in both drafts, by the Vikings (NFL, round 4) and Bills (AFL, round 5).  He went on to appear in both leagues, with the Bills, Raiders (AFL and NFL versions), Steelers (NFL) and Chiefs (NFL) between 1964 and 1975, and made the Pro Bowl in '66 and '67.  He also had a brother, Bill, that joined him in the college and pros.

Tom's rookie card comes out of 1965 Topps, a.k.a. the "Tall Boys set", with its nickname owing to the unorthodox dimensions.  He's the only Wolverine with a rookie in this set, but I'll have to see if any other Michigan guys are included.

Ron Kramer 1967 Philadelphia

I couldn't remember if I had this cool vintage Kramer card, so I picked it up, essentially as a throw-in in the deal.  As it turns out I already did have one thanks to Doug (who else?), so now I have two, including this slightly upgraded version.

So for a mere $10, there's three fun additions for my football rookies and vintage collections!  And now I can maybe finally get back to putting up trade posts that are long overdue.

Check out my blowout: day 15: draft day defense

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9, day 10, day 11, day 12, day 13, day 14

Today's penultimate CoMB post brings us six defensive players to celebrate the final day of the 2012 NFL draft, a day on which C David Molk was taken by the San Diego Chargers and WR Junior Hemingway was grabbed late by the KC Chiefs (plus, yesterday DT Mike Martin was picked up by the Tennessee Titans).  DB Troy Woolfolk (NOT WoolfoRk) signed with Dallas as a free agent, and DL Ryan Van Bergen did the same with the Panthers.  Michigan has a rich draft history, and this post features four former defensive standouts:

Alan Branch 2007 SP Rookie Threads Draft Day Ink auto: 

Appropriately enough we begin with a Draft Day auto of former Wolverines big man Alan Branch.  This is my 12th autograph (out of 12 cards!) of the defensive beast, and as always, I love posting cards of him because that means I get to post this picture:

Guns don't kill QBs, Alan Branch kills QBs.

In keeping with the draft day theme, I'll mention that he was a second-round pick by Arizona in 2007.

Brandon Graham 2010 Crown Royale Autographs Blue auto (#23/50):

If this Graham looks familiar, that's because it's the Blue parallel of this one that I picked up a while ago.  My collection of the insanely talented army-of-one-type star (seriously, he WAS our defense under RichRod) grows to 10 autographs, plus a plate.  He's had a rough go of it in the NFL due to injuries, but hopefully we'll see Graham, a first-round pick of the Eagles in 2010, blowing up plays for Philly's defense soon.

David Harris 2007 Absolute Memorabilia auto RC (#186/349)

 David Harris 2010 Topps Magic auto:

Harris, somehow a second-round pick for the Jets in 2007 (three of our four guys today were drafted that year), has taken his already impressive game to a whole other level in the NFL by becoming what can only be described as a tackling machine.  This is an excellent pair of autos of the guy--I love those Absolute auto RCs a ton, but the Magic signatures are tough to beat as well.  I now have 17 cards that include his autograph, and again, no relics, a ratio I'd love to maintain.

 Leon Hall 2007 SAGE HIT Autographs Silver auto

Leon Hall 2007 Upper Deck Rookie Ink auto:

Hall was a first-rounder to the Bengals the same year as Branch and Harris, and he's often played like he has that kind of talent.  He just signed a lucrative contract last year, but later had to be placed in IR, so we'll see what the future holds for him.  In the meantime, I now have 21 cards of Hall, and every one of THEM includes an autograph as well!  In fact, today, Graham is the only player for whom I had a non-autographed hit in the form of a printing plate, so that's pretty close to 100% today, not bad!
Of the two, my favorite is definitely the SAGE, not because I already have so many SAGE autographs of him, but, besides being in a Michigan uni, he's shown returning an interception, a fun shot of any DB.  If you didn't know he played corner, you might think he was a RB or WR streaking down the field like that.

I hope you enjoyed this second-to-last CoMB post, with the final one coming up in a day or two.  I hope your own favorite NFL or college team fared well in the draft--I can at least say I'm proud of the Wolverines that ended up on pro teams.  GO BLUE!