12/3/2016 show report: serial-numbered WINserts

If you're reading this there's a pretty good chance you headed over from today's TMV post where I described my most recent card show excursion, the most productive one I've had in months!  Assuming you read that post, you saw a few pickups of Barry Larkin and Michael O'Neill, Michigan Baseball PC guys who I'm showing off over there since I decided to post all my baseball stuff in one spot to try to keep things more Michigan-specific over here.

Among the quarter and $0.50 boxes from that seller I did manage to track down six Wolverine cards hitting the three remaining sports.  Of the six, five are serial-numbered, which wasn't an intentional theme as I'll take what I can get of any of these players, but was purposeful in the sense that I love numbered cards.

Here's a look at what I grabbed:

Representing basketball is this '98-'99 Bowman's Best Refractor, a parallel of Robert "Tractor" Traylor's RC, numbered 190/400 (with that old school, bold gold numbering!).  Traylor's story, from his role that led to sanctions to Michigan, plus his early death, is sad, but it's still fun to remember just how good he was in college.  Refractors rule.

It's no big surprise that football leads the way again.  Speaking of Refractor-related parallels, first up is Leon Hall's XFractor from 2007 Bowman Chrome (#097/250).  This parallel of his RC from that set is my third from the rainbow, joining up with the base card and plain old Refractor.

Next is a guy who's on the minds of many in Ann Arbor these days, coach Jim Harbaugh.  He's pictured as Indy's QB on a fun insert from 1997 Pacific Philadelphia called Photoengravings.  The card is rounded along the lines of a playing card, and the consistency along the lines of thin cardboard (maybe?  It's hard to describe, but it's very thin).  This is a very cool design I hadn't ever seen, and now I want to track down the Desmond Howard also available in the set.  (By the way, this is the only non-numbered card today!)

Former RB Leroy Hoard checks into the lineup with one of his final cards as his last NFL season was with Minnesota in 1999.  From 2000 UD Exclusives, this is a Silver parallel numbered 040/100 in the lower-left corner of the front (hard to see in the scan, I realize) and is an absolute gem for a collector like me to be able to dig up, which is why I was flipping through a ton of huge boxes for the better part of an hour and a half that day.

My last football specimen is a very Christmas-ready Red Xtra Points parallel of former #1 WR David Terrell out of 2005 Playoff Prestige.  Numbered 095/125 on the back, the rainbowed photo plus dark red trim make this a beauty of an insert.

Last up is the kind of card I would have sent Robert's way for his SNI hockey edition, but Al "Alvaro" Montoya happens to be a Michigan hockey guy I collect as I fondly remember watching him lead Michigan to multiple NCAA appearances while I was still in school in Ann Arbor.  Anyway, I'm sure he'll be able to find another card #303 (of 999 in this case) like this 2005-06 UD Trilogy issue.  Besides, who's to say I didn't find other numbered hockey cards in those boxes?...

That's all for today, but maybe in a few weeks I'll be inspired to go to the show again and have even better luck!

2015 trade package #6: a Wolverine deluge(i) from Fuji

A couple weeks ago Mark from the Chronicles of Fuji sent me a ridiculously generous trade package.  I'm talking flat rate box generous.  A huge chunk of that box was filled with great Tigers stuff which I posted on TMV, but Fuji balanced things out nicely with some top notch Michigan stuff as well!  Check it out:

Barry Larkin 1998 Leaf Rookies and Stars

My 251st Larkin is this base card from Leaf's inaugural Rookies & Stars set, and that's a product that still exists today under the Panini umbrella.  It has a nice shot of the HOFer at the plate.

<Ron Swanson voice>  End baseball section </Ron Swanson voice>

And now for some basketball:

Kicking off the surprisingly large basketball haul is this Glenn Robinson 2001-02 Fleer Authentix jersey, a fun relic (literally!) of the bygone era that resulted in some fun designs from manufacturers such as Fleer.  I actually kidded around in my recent Sports Cards From the Dollar Store trade post about starting a "Michigan relatives" PC after Doug sent me cards of a couple Wolverines' sons, and now I have a hit of a father to go with those in the form of Purdue and NBA star Glenn (Jr.).

Louis Bullock 1999 Press Pass Authentics Autographs auto

Bullock was one of Michigan's better basketballers of his era, one that proved to be a difficult one for fans because of Bullock and others being involved in the Ed Martin booster scandal.  Though Milwaukee drafted him in 1999 and then flipped him to Orlando, he never appeared in the NBA, but he did carve out a decent European career.  He's one of two new players heading to my basketball collection courtesy of Fuji.

Jamal Crawford 2006-07 Upper Deck UD Game Jersey jersey

Crawford isn't exactly a stranger to this blog as this is his third hit I've shown here (all relics), a nice blue Knicks swatch.  I'm happy that he's been able to last this long in the league, and he's currently with the Clippers, though right now apparently he's hurt.

Juwan Howard 1994 Signature Rookies Tetrad Autographs auto (#2257/7750)

The well-known Howard also reaches three hits thanks to this Signature Rookies card, my first autograph of one of the famous Fab 5 Wolverines.  Jesus, I can't believe these guys had to sign that many cards!

Ray Jackson 1995 Signature Rookies Draft Day Signatures auto (#4949/7750)

Did somebody say "Fab 5"?!  Uh, yeah, I just did.  The other collection newcomer today is Jackson, who was one of just two in that group (Jimmy King) to stay for all four years of his college career, plus he wasn't involved in the Martin scandal.  This is a great shot of him throwing one up, and I like that he added his jersey number to the signature, especially considering he also had to sign an insane 7750 of these.

Robert Traylor 1998 SP Top Prospects Vital Signs auto

This is my second autograph of big man Robert Traylor, another Martin scandal player who was later drafted in the first round by Dallas in '98 and then flipped to Milwaukee in a deal that included some German dude named Nowitzki.  He sadly passed away about four years ago.

The rest of this post focuses on my favorite Michigan sport, football:

 

Tom Brady 2008 Donruss Gridiron Gear Playbook Gold (#205/500)

A serial-numbered insert of 2014-15 NFL champion Tom Brady for my football inserts collection?  Don't mind if I do!

Mike Hart 2008 Press Pass Autographs Bronze auto

A new Mike Hart auto and it's a Michigan uniform card?  Awesome!  I have a Hart from a different Press Pass set from the same year but I really prefer this one with its horizontal layout, great design (including the photo), and Mike's excellent signature with his jersey number.  This is Hart #57.

The other Hart in the package comes from 2009 Topps' Career Best auto set.  I think the last time I flipped through Fuji's trade bait he had something like three of these, so I wasn't shocked to see it in this package.  The back, by the way, lists his bests during his Michigan days, which is a nice touch.

Sticking with 2008 and going back to the Michigan uni theme is this 2008 Topps Rookie Progression auto of LT stalwart Jake Long (who hopefully won't be forced to retire from the NFL after multiple injuries).  I have a feeling a certain Michigan fan to my southwest will appreciate finding this in his mailbox along with...

...this beautiful 2002 Finest auto/RC of former star WR Marquise Walker.  It also features a Wolverines game photo, Walker's excellent signature (with jersey number), and serial numbering to 1200.

Marquise Walker 2002 Playoff Prime Signatures Autographs auto (#20/95)

However, this Walker auto, which was signed on my favorite type of Panini sticker (what?  The holofoil looks awesome!) is mine all mine.  It's my 21st different card of the former Buc and the sixth card of him that includes an autograph.

Mark, I was absolutely blown away by the quantity and quality of what you sent this time and I promise to get you back before much longer!

Y'all should look out for more trade posts, some of which may also be two-parters, soon!

This Week on MSO-Wolverines

It’s been awhile but I started posting on MSO – Wolverines again so I’ll try to post these on Sunday here as well.  Here’s what was posted last week.

Robert “Tractor” Traylor

Jimmy King

Rickey Green

Chris Webber

Jalen Rose

Nik Stauskas

Glenn Robinson III

Mitch McGary

Zach Nagelvoort

Raymon Taylor

 

As you can tell, most of those were saved from the week that the NBA and NHL drafted.  I said I hadn’t been blogging, not that I haven’t been saving stuff to post.  I may eventually get caught up and post newer stuff.

Check out my blowout: day 1: basketball

It's time for another marathon of posts thanks to my second big COMC purchase of the year.  A good chunk of the cards went to Jeff, and I know he'll be dying to show off the Michigan stuff here before long, but I'm kicking things off today with basketball in honor of Michigan's shared Big Ten title and excellent overall season.

Bernard Robinson 2004-05 Upper Deck Black Diamond GemoGRAPHy auto:

Thanks to Jeff, this is my second Robinson auto.  I managed to pick up one for him with Bernard in a Michigan uni, but I decided to keep this one for myself so I had a couple of the guy.  He's now tied with two other players for the lead in my basketball PC. AT TWO. 

Juwan Howard 2007-08 Upper Deck Game Jersey jersey:

Here's one of today's two new PC members, and he happens to be one of the Fab Five.  Remembering that team now that it's March Madness time is sort of bittersweet for those of us who are Michigan fans, but there's no denying this group was insanely talented and fun to watch.

Robert Traylor 2005-06 Upper Deck Hardcourt Signatures auto:

Traylor tragically passed away of a heart attack last May.  I guess as big a dude as he was (he wasn't nicknamed "Tractor" for nothin'), it wasn't a huge surprise, but that didn't make it any less devastating for Michigan fans.
This is a fairly nice card despite its simplicity and sticker auto, and I like that Traylor is sort of wearing some Wolverines-like maize, even if he's playing for an Ohio team.

That's all the basketball I picked up, but don't worry--there's PLENTY more from the other three major sports, especially football, of course.  I'm going to go a different route and actually spread these out a bit so my posts don't get too long and unreadable (plus labor-intensive for me) and so I have more to continue posting on in the next couple weeks.  Stay tuned for those posts, and definitely for Jeff's pickups as well, plus more thoughts on Michigan's hockey and basketball playoff runs.  LET'S GO BLUE!