2018 trade package #6: Bob Walk the Plank

I already showed off some amazingly generous new additions from Matt of Bob Walk the Plank on TMV this evening but I'm happy to say this latest crazy trade package had one last bullet left in the chamber:

He'd already hit my Tigers collection plus two Michigan Baseball PC guys, but apparently that wasn't enough because this excellent Jake Long patch from 2008 SP Threads was deemed worthy of making the trip as well.  I have to say I agree with his thinking as this is no "prime" jersey but a true multi-colored Dolphins patch with stitching, and numbered to an appropriately low 25 copies.

Long's been a fun guy for me to collect--and obviously I love to do so with 76 hits and counting, #2 in the football PC--thanks to his outstanding college and pro tenures, but lately he's also come across as a happily retired family man on Twitter who still supports his alma mater (and loves grilling).  He also sent this classy tweet, recognizing a fellow great:

Congrats on a legendary career @joethomas73! Loved watching you play. Welcome to retirement! #respect

— Jake Long (@JakeLong77) March 14, 2018

So this is another nice hit I'll happily add to the PC of a good guy and Michigan Man from a good guy and Mountaineer Man.  Thanks again, Matt, and I look forward to hitting you back!

2016 COMC purchases: Hart, Henne, and Woodson

My penultimate 2016 COMC pickups post features three of my four main football PCs (with the other, Mario Manningham, featured a couple posts ago).  Let's all take a gander at cards of Mike Hart, Chad Henne, and Charles Woodson!

Hart is up first, and you already saw the second and third cards here in previous posts--Mike's 2008 Topps Letterman RC and his Mini from 2009 Topps Magic.  New to the bunch is a 2008 Topps Chrome Copper Refractor (#012/425) parallel of his rookie from that set.  You don't see copper very much as a parallel anymore but Topps gave it a go a few times in the 2000s and I think it actually looked pretty nice.

These three give my Hart PC a total of 108 cards.

I'm showing off Woodson next since Henne is the star of today's show.  In Chuck's case, I scored a pair of parallels from the 2000s.  First up is a 2000 Score Scoreboard insert (#0356/2000), a numbered version of a base card featuring the all-time great DB during his first stint with the Raiders.  The other is another Refractor (w00t!) from 2009 Bowman Chrome, and as usual that effect looks fantastic on this design.  I love the photo of Woodson as he appears to be returning yet another pick (one of his 65 career interceptions), maybe even for a TD--he did take 11 back to the house.  This is a great shot of him with the Packers, with whom he'd finally earn a ring the year after this card came out.

A pair of cards gives Woodson a new total of 114.

As I said, Henne's our star today, which is no surprise as he continues to be my favorite Michigan Football player to collect.  First up is this six-card bunch, and again, you've already seen two:  the third and fourth cards which are his 2008 Upper Deck Icons RC (the final one I needed to complete all of his first-years) and his 2009 Topps Magic Mini).  In terms of the others, #1 is the Blue version of his Prestigious Picks insert from 2008 Playoff Prestige (#0346/1000), a shiny college uni card.  The same description works for the next card, Chad's base from 2008 Press Pass Legends Bowl Edition (#294/299).  Panini's Plates and Patches makes its first of three appearances here with a Gold parallel (#44/50) from the 2010 product.  And speaking of gold, the final card is a Gold Zone parallel from Panini's 2014 Hot Rookies offering (#37/50).  As usual, I leaned towards numbered cards in my chase this time.

I also chased as many new hits as I could find (and afford).  From 2008 Leaf Limited, one of my favorite products that year, I found Henne's Gold Spotlight patch auto (#24/25), which features a beautiful three-color Dolphins jersey patch.  That's not the last patch card you'll see today!

Next I have three different issues from another 2008 favorite, SPx.  The first and third images show a couple variations of Henne's base set appearance; card #3 is what's considered his RC in the set, and that triple jersey/auto is numbered #298/599.  Meanwhile, #1 of that group is a Gold Holofoil Rookies version that keeps the same design but replaces one of the swatches with a piece of football, and it's also much rarer at #12/25 (hey, that's a Christmas card!  Gavin, if you find me another of these I'll happily swap you for it!).  Those two bookend a Triple Patch card--with an excellent four-color piece representing the "P"--as part of the Rookie Materials set, numbered 10/25.  That's lots of cards /25 today!

After those I have a pair of examples of more Plates and Patches cards, this time from 2011.  Another quad-colored patch card is paired with an autograph on a Jersey Autographs Prime Jersey Number card (#2/5!), and in this case I think it's safe to call this "prime jersey" a patch.  That ridiculously rare (and beautiful!) card is joined by one that includes "only" an autograph out of the Signatures Silver set, and it's similarly rare at #04/10.  Looking at all of these together makes me wonder how I got this many amazing Henne cards for so little!

Last up is the only non-numbered hit of his, a 2008 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs signature.  This is an autograph of his I've wanted for a while, and in this case I just had to wait a bit until the price was right.

A nice group of hits bumps my Football Collection total of Henne up to a crazy 98, a number that keeps him head and shoulders above the rest, and puts him very close to an exciting milestone.

One mark I did manage to break with this bunch, however, was 200 unique cards in his overall PC--a total of 201, in fact.  What's crazy is that almost half of those are hits!

And while we're talking about football hits, stay tuned for my final 2016 COMC pickups post "soon".

2016 trade package #11: GSNHoF helps me tie up my shoes

...with a pair of nice new Shoelaces!  Check 'em out:

Denard Robinson 2013 Panini National Treasures NFL Gear Combos dual jersey (#28/99)

Denard Robinson 2013 Topps Supreme Rookie Relic Die Cuts Purple Patch patch (#24/25)

The COMC champion (though I don't know for sure that's where these came from) was at it again with this outstanding Denard duo of 2013 relics.  First up is the typically classy National Treasures featuring two Jacksonville teal jersey swatches of the home state Jags RB, seen wearing his favorite college number.  Below that in terms of order but not quality is a huge three-color patch (with lots of stitching!) from Topps Supreme.  I flipped through all of the Denards in my football PC and nothing approaches the size and impressiveness of this Jags patch which, appropriately enough, is numbered to a reasonably low 25.

Speaking of that number, this pair allowed me to cross a mini milestone for Shoelace hits as I now stand at 26.  Check out all of those and more in my football collection whenever you'd like.

Tim, thanks a ton for the fantastic fodder of the fast Floridian!  I have a few things set aside for you and hopefully I'll have enough stuff for a worthy trade package soon.

2015-16 COMC purchases: big finish football

Hooray!  We made it all the way to the end of my COMC pickups from 2015 through today!  (At least until my Spring Cleaning package arrives...in just a few days!)

Today's big finish is the rest of the football hits I hadn't shown off yet.  You got to see some Mike Harts here last month, the offensive trio of Terrell/Thomas/Toomer in February, and some guys from my beloved 2008 draft class on New Year's Day.  There might have been more in between but I don't feel like digging through all those posts.

So here's what's left over:  17 more hits of all kinds!

Jason Avant 2009 Topps Magic auto and 2011 Topps Rising Rookies Draft Selection Jerseys jersey

The Avant card man Jason Avant checks in with this pair, an autograph and a jersey.  The relic was decent enough for as cheap as it was, under a buck-fifty (as were a number of others seen here today), but the real highlight is the Topps Magic signature.  I love, love, love these cards and I wish Topps could have produced something even half this good again before they lost their NFL license (which I do consider a negative, of course).  My march towards the Wolverines autos in the set continues with old #8 representing my eighth card, leaving six (Tom Brady, Braylon Edwards, Leon Hall, Steve Hutchinson, Ty Law, Mario Manningham).  Speaking of numbers, Avant checks in at nine in the collection with 45 hits.

Braylon Edwards 2005 Bowman's Best jersey RC (#018/799), 2008 Leaf Limited Banner Season Materials jersey (#063/100), and 2009 Upper Deck Signature Shots auto

Bray-Bray one-ups his former WR teammate thanks to an extra jersey relics, both of which are an appropriate Cleveland brown.  I thought I already had at least one variation on his Bowman's Best jersey but was proven wrong.  The Limited card is a reasonably good numbered relic for the low price.  And I was happy to add my 14th card featuring Edwards' signature thanks to the very nice horizontal UD auto (with his John Hancock running vertically!).  Braylon currently holds fourth place in my collection with 64 hits, just a card shy of Mike Hart and currently the fourth and final 60-hit member...for now....

Devin Gardner 2015 Upper Deck Star Rookies Autographs auto

Boy, here's a card I grabbed a while ago but just didn't get around to posting for whatever reason despite my overall excitement for it.  On yet another typically strong UD entry we get a fantastic horizontally oriented photo of immensely talented QB Devin Gardner diving for a few extra yards (or maybe the pylon), accompanied, of course, by his signature.  It's a beautifully executed card and an example of why I continue to admire Upper Deck for their design and photography.  College unis rule!  My third Gardner auto gives me five of his hits overall.

David Harris 2007 Select Inscriptions auto (#32/50)

Tackling machine David Harris is a guy I feel I don't get to showcase very often in terms of hits, though at least he appears on a reasonable number (especially from his rookie year) considering the lack of interest his position creates on the market.  While the design isn't anything to write home about, the "upgrade" Select gives you over the base Score brand is kind of nice, and the low numbering helps.  This signature gets me to a solid 25 hits of the talented LB.

Taylor Lewan 2014 Bowman '50 Bowman Mini Autographs auto (#37/99), 2014 Elite Printing Plates Black (1/1), 2014 Leaf Metal Draft auto, 2014 Leaf Trinity Jumbo Patch Bronze patch auto, Leaf Valiant Draft Rising Stock Orange auto (#15/50), and 2014 Panini Contenders Championship Ticket auto (#177A) (#37/99)

It's not like I set out to acquire six nice hits of the donkey-hating Lewan, it just happened.  I managed to scout out some surprisingly reasonable prices and really improve his collection here.  There's a lot of airbrushing going on with the Bowman and Leaf cards, but the former is the only version that really suffers for it, and my expectations for Topps are really low anyway.  Out of the four auto-only cards the colorful Valiant is my obvious choice since the look of the uniform is almost complete and the card is very easy on the eyes overall.  Panini's Contenders card is also a solid entry.

Moving up in quality, I was thrilled to add one of Leaf's Trinity cards that feature an auto and insane patch--from a college jersey!  These patches are enormous and mine here includes multiple sections of the jersey with some stitching going on.  Whether it's game- or "event-" worn it's quite the looker.

Finally, I dug up my first 1/1 of the Titans' tackle in the form of his black plate from Elite.  I don't remember exactly how much that cost me but I do recall it being surprisingly cheap for a plate.  It's my 57th total 1/1 and sixth representative of that group from Wolverines football.  Cool!

All of this beefs up my Lewan collection to the point that I've crossed into double digits with a new total of 13 cards, which is not bad at all.

Chris Perry 2004 Leaf Rookies and Stars jersey RC (#679/750) and 2004 Topps Pristine Personal Endorsement Autographs auto

Former Heisman candidate Chris Perry joins today's offensive explosion (just two hits of defenders) with a nice relic/signature pair of his own.  I think the R&S jersey relic cost me under a buck whenever I grabbed it, but regardless it continues today's trend of "no plain white swatches," so I've got that going for me.  The foil-y autograph from Pristine is kind of fun too, especially since I actually prefer the hologram sticker to the clear ones in many cases.  I personally endorse Perry as the #6 player in my collection with an almost-milestone count of 49!

Jay Riemersma 2000 Fleer Tradition Autographics auto

Here's a guy who plays a position coach Jim Harbaugh loves:  former TE Jay Riemersma.  I had already picked up his Silver (#d /250) version of this card (my only other hit of his) first before tracking down Jay's "base" issue here.  Fleer's Autographics cards typically featured solid designs and this one from 2000 does nothing to change my opinion; his very cool signature, including his jersey number, is some tasty icing on the cake.

LaMarr Woodley 2011 Topps End Zone Icons Patches manupatch

Maybe it's not quite a fat guy touchdown, but Woodley is still a big, bad dude.  While LaMarr hasn't found the end zone very much in his career--he took a fumble to the house in each of 2008 and 2009--he managed to hit paydirt on one of his career high pair of interceptions in 2010.  The Bengals' Carson Palmer's third INT was his second pick-six of the day (Troy Polamalu had the first), and the celebrating Steeler gave his team a comfortable two-score lead early in the fourth quarter of a 23-7 week 14 win for the eventual AFC champs.  Though it's not much as far as hits go it's still a fun reminder of a Wolverine's defensive TD, and that's good enough for me!

And with that I'm all caught up on COMC stuff and have just one other card in-hand--an eBay purchase--and it only took me until the last day of June!

2016 trade package #4: Sit down before opening!

Welcome, TMV readers who actually wandered over here today because I pumped up the awesomeness of the contents of my February trade package from Doug at SCFtDS!  This will be the 36th time I've shown off cards from him on this here blog, so I don't think I need to reiterate how considerate and generous of a trader Doug is--wait, I just did--so let's get down to the loot!:

Denard Robinson 2013 Topps Museum Collection RC

This higher-end Shoelace RC is the "worst" card I'll be showing off today, so set your expectations accordingly.  I'll give it a grade of "not bad for Topps" while rejoicing over another card getting knocked off for my football RC project.  I haven't posted everything I landed of him from last year yet but I now own 22 of Denard's 27 rookies from 2013.  Not bad!

Jon Merrill 2013-14 Totally Certified Rookie Autograph Jerseys jersey auto

The NHL is in full swing with the playoffs looming, so let's get down to some hockey content.  Kicking things off alphabetically is my fifth hit of Devils D-man Jonny Merrill, a guy who actually just celebrated his 24th birthday last month.  This shiny Panini auto/jersey is my second such card of him I own, and the other three include signatures as well.

Brendan Morrison 2007-08 Artifacts Frozen Artifacts Silver jersey (#060/100)

Next up is a solid jersey swatch of blog favorite and NCAA champ Brendan Morrison.  As a Silver parallel this one is numbered to 100, and Morrison had exactly 60 penalty minutes the year before this card was made, so that's an eBay 1/1, y'all.  Brendan's 24 hits in the hockey collection trail only Marty Turco's 31.

There was one last hockey hit in the package (one of the aforementioned "doozy" cards), and I want to give it the proper introduction.  Here's how it came packaged:

*turns the thing over*

*tries to sit down, realizes he's already sitting down, continues to sit, undoes stickiest tape known to man, gets tired, takes a nap...*

Shawn Hunwick 2012-13 Panini Prime Prime Time Rookies Jerseys Patch patch (#08/10)

WOW.

*looks at it again*

Still WOW.  That is a damn fine patch of hockey PC guy Shawn Hunwick.  What I want to know is how Doug managed to undersell this as an "insanely great patch" when it's obvious that it's more the speed of "super sick mojo patchtastic extreeeemze WOW."  See that you can be more accurate next time, my friend.

This is simply a wonderful addition to my collection overall, plus it fills a big need from Hunwick's checklist, the 21st card of his 71 I've landed to-date, and also my 10th hit of the goaltender (milestone time!).  I wasn't looking forward to trying to land one of these suckers which are numbered to just 10, but with Friends like Doug, who needs money?

I think that patch alone was worth the price of admission, but I saved this card for last as it shows just how much effort he's willing to put into finding and acquiring cards to send your way:

Karl Kauffmann 2015 Leaf Perfect Game All-American Classic Game-Day Printing Plate Yellow (1/1)

A printing plate--pretty sweet, right?  I was certainly geeked, I mean that's my 48th 1/1 of any type, which is very exciting.  But who exactly is Karl Kauffmann?  I'll admit the name didn't exactly ring any bells for me, so off to Google I went...only to find out that the pitcher is a Michigan native who recently signed on to join the Wolverines baseball team this fall!  If I'm doing the math correctly, that probably means that Doug has been the quickest to help me add a new Michigan guy to my collection by doing so BEFORE HE EVEN MADE IT TO ANN ARBOR.  What a very cool piece to own as I can now watch Kauffmann's college career with even more interest.  Oh yeah, and KK just happens to be the 25th member of my baseball PC.

Thanks once again for finding new ways to go above and beyond, Doug!  I look forward to your reaction to the response I'll be sending your way this weekend.

2016 trade package #1: happy blue year from Doug

Before this month Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store had never sent me my first trade package of the year.  Of course, after he closed out 2015 by sending me four envelopes in a row from August to September and six of the final nine I received, I don't think I should be shocked.  I mean, we've been trading since December of 2012 and this is the 35th time I've posted cards from him, meaning he averages about an envelope per month, so he's truly earned the title of my most prolific trade partner.

I showed off some Tigers and Wings from him over on TMV this evening, and now I've got some Wolverines to up the ante (and prove how hard Doug works towards finding things specific to your PCs):

This Purple Prizm parallel from last year's Prizm product is the lone football entrant, and along with the Anibal Sanchez from my TMV post, I think the theme of the envelope may have been "Purple Rain."  I'll happily take anything new of the retiring all-time great, whose collection I plan to scan and post very soon!

The obligatory hockey content starts off with four hockey Mike cards:  Cammalleri, a pair of Comries, and Komisarek.  Those guys bookend newly-minted Penguin Carl Hagelin and a pair of Jack Johnsons--lots of red, white, and blue in those images!  Wrapping things up are blog favorite Brendan Morrison (and another patriotic uniform) and another Michigan hockey Mike--Modano is a native of the state--who shares his card with another blog favorite, goalie Marty Turco.

And now for hitsville, U.S.A.:

Chris Brown 2013-14 Artifacts Jerseys Patch Emerald patch-jersey (#36/75)

The pride of Flower Mound, Texas, Brown has bounced between the Caps and the AHL's Hershey Bears the last few years, but boy was he fun to watch for his three years in Ann Arbor.  Here he is on a jersey/patch combo (which seems like an uncommon duo to me), including a very nice dual-colored patch.  Brown has sneakily found his way to seven hits in my hockey PC.

Jon Merrill 2013-14 Dominion Patches Autographs patch auto (#57/99)

Brown's teammate for two years, Merrill found his way to the Devils in 2013 and hasn't looked back.  This beautiful patch/auto combo gives me four Merrill hits, all featuring signatures, and three including at least one relic--and I think more than one of those others came from Doug as well!  Here's hoping that Jon and fellow Wolverine Mike Cammalleri put up some big numbers in New Jersey this season.

Marty Turco 2010-11 Donruss Boys of Winter Threads Prime patch (#060/100)

And finally, Doug gives me a fantastic way to close things out with this beautiful Donruss hit, my first patch of Michigan goalie legend Marty Turco.  The white/green combo makes me think it's probably from a Stars jersey (his final season in Dallas came the year before), and what a nice patch it is with lots of stitching to make it stand out.  I really enjoy this colorful, horizontal design and I'm happily adding this as my 31st hit of Turco, who continues to lead the hockey collection.

Doug, I'd like to thank you once again for some great cards that hit a bunch of my PCs (not that I'd expect anything less at this point!).  I've got a few things set aside for you and I might just be hitting you back before you know it.