10/7/17 card show report: wide world of Wolverines

If you read my TMV post (which is likely how you got here), you know the show I went to a couple weeks ago and the subsequent report post were pretty much paint-by-numbers, but I can't complain since the cards were new to me and fun to dig out as usual.

Here's the Wolverines content:

Let's start with the football base stuff.  Last year's Donruss offerings of Funchess and David Harris bookend a nice 2009 Upper Deck Leon Hall, and I also added Harris' Donruss base from this year's design, which I also like.

One of the biggest surprises of the day was card #5, a 1988 Swell Greats issue of Bill Hewitt, a player I believe is totally new to this here blog.  A native of the state (Bay City), he attended Michigan in the late 20s/early 30s as an "end" (I believe a pre-forward pass TE) and FB, then went on to an NFL Hall of Fame career with the Bears, Eagles, and the amazingly named Phil-Pitt Steagles, the combined team that was formed due to a player shortage resulting from WWII.  He doesn't appear to have appeared on much cardboard, so this was one of those really fun dime box finds!

I also wasn't expecting to turn up a numbered first-year for my Rookie Blue collection, but suddenly I saw a 2003 Absolute Memorabilia RC (#0616/1100) of former TE Bennie Joppru.  It's my 20th of his surprising total of 32 rookies, and one of the nicest ones at that.

Finally, I grabbed another one of those crazy and fun Pacific offerings of the 90s, a 1996 Crown Royale base of coach Jim Harbaugh.  When Pacific wasn't trying to melt your eyeballs with shininess they tried to grab your attention in other ways, like this all-die-cut set, and I salute them for it!

I also came up with a surprising number of Michigan Football inserts, though if it took me this long to find them I can't imagine the dealer would feel like putting in the effort to dig them up and price them at a small premium.

The top row is all Refractors all the time:  Biakabutuka's hails from 1999 Finest, Breaston's is a parallel of his 2007 Finest RC, and I also found what seems to be a rarity:  a Braylon of that parallel that I hadn't tracked down yet (2006 Bowman Chrome).

The next three are all numbered, with a couple $0.50 cards from the same set bookending one numbered way higher than both combined.  QBs Elvis Grbac and Brian Griese are both representing with identical numbering (#221/299) from Pacific's 2001 Vanguard Blue parallel, plus I turned up a Silver parallel of Griese's 1998 Topps Stars RC (#2430/3999).

The bottom includes parallels of a couple positions that face each other on every play, a CB and WR.  While I already had Leon Hall's 2007 Topps Chrome Refractor parallel of his RC, until this show I hadn't tracked down his XFractor.  Done and done!  Jumping back more than a decade I then grabbed Amani Toomer's super shiny Ground Zero parallel from 1996 Summit.

That wasn't all, though, since I made it an even ten with these two horizontal offerings.  The first is a 2001 Team Nucleus insert that plays on its product's name:  Pacific Prism Atomic.  All three players on that card ended up having at least solid careers, though HOF RB Davis's career would be over the year after this insert came out.

Speaking of 2001 Atomic, I also came up with this awesome die-cut/numbered insert of WR Tai Streets, a Gold parallel numbered 005/116.  The color really goes well with the 49ers uniforms.  Remember when they didn't suck because they weren't owned by a know-nothing spoiled brat?

Lastly, I turned up two very cool hockey parallels.  The first is one of my favorite hockey alumni in Morrison on one of my favorite parallels and products:  1999-00 Paramount Holo-Gold (#050/199).  I surprised myself when it came up in a big pile of numbered hockey cards I was grabbing for someone else (who could that possibly be?  I'm going insane trying to remember.).  The other is one of the better goalies the school produced, Steve Shields, on one of the greatest of all parallels, an Artist's Proof, which happens to be of his 1997-98 Pinnacle RC, so big bonus there!

That's it for this month's show, but I've still got waaaaaaay too much to scan and post to show off for you, so stay tuned for whenever I get around to that.

12/6 card show report: Wolverines for $1 or less

A couple Saturdays ago I hit up the recent monthly show at the Taylor Town Trade Center in Taylor, Michigan, a place that's trying to fill the void left by the closing of Taylor's Gibraltar Trade Center.  As I've noted in the past it's much, much smaller than it used to be, but the dealers I've seen both times so far have had a pretty good selection, so I'm not complaining.  I've been able to get pretty good value by nabbing lots of cards for very little, so I'm really not complaining.

This time I dropped just $25 on two purchases ($20 and $5) without spending more than $1 on any given card.  First up was a nice pile of dollar stuff with some mixed in $0.50 and five-for-$1 cards.  Before I left I also took up a dealer on a seven-for-$5 offer.  I netted a ton of stuff that I eventually threw into Christmas cards packages for many of you, including a nice number of hits.  But I came home with a few things for myself as well:

Barry Larkin 1997 Denny's Holograms

Barry Larkin 2000 MLB Showdown 1st Edition Foil

Two new Larkins for his PC, giving me a grand total of 228.  First up is a '97 Denny's hologram-type card produced by Denny's.  While I can't recommend their awful food (what can I say, I'm not a drunk), those cards are pretty cool.  Next is a Foil insert of Barry from the 2000 MLB Showdown collectible card game.  These aren't worth as much as they used to be, but I don't really care because I didn't pick it up to sell it--I got it because it's SHINY.

Next I found a pair of Michigan football rookies:

Ty Law 1995 SP RC

Here's New England's first-rounder from 1995, CB Ty Law.  A five-time Pro-Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champ who finished his career in 2009 with 53 interceptions and seven TDs, I think Ty has a nice shot at the Hall.  Here's his first entry in the rookie collection on a lovely '95 SP RC.

David Terrell 2001 Bowman Chrome RC (#1374/1999)

I've got lots more Terrell RCs to scan, but this is just the second I've gotten to so far.  I can't say much for the centering, but it's still pretty cool to me that the "base" RC is essentially a Refractor and is numbered to 1999.

Did somebody say "hockey?"  Because the rest of this post is hockey:

I was pretty surprised to dig this Shields insert out of the 5/$1 box.  From the '97-'98 Donruss Canadian Ice set, the card describes how Steve took over for the injured Dominik Hasek during the playoffs in '97.  That was a tall order, and proved to be a bit too tall, actually, as he got them over the hump in the first round but went 1-4 against the Cup-bound Flyers.  Still, it's pretty cool that he got a highlight card in this set, and it's even serial-numbered to 2000!

And here's an even more familiar goalie, who sadly also didn't ever find postseason success, going 21-26.  Oh well, I guess he'll just have to comfort himself with those two NCAA national titles.  Anyway, this was also a bit of a surprise in one of the boxes, and as the UD "ICE" brand implies, it's semi-transparent, which makes it look very cool.  I don't have enough interesting hockey rookies to start an album for them (yet, at least), but this is totally worth highlighting anyway.

And speaking of Turco, I found a couple more cards of his for $1 apiece:

Marty Turco 2000-01 Topps Premier Plus Game Pieces jersey 

Marty Turco 2003-04 Pacific Calder jersey (#131/200)

The Pacific card is my favorite of the two, and for some reason that design works for me.  Maybe it's something about the color combination, I don't know.  The swatch is also larger and more interesting, plus it's got the serial-numbering going for it.  The Topps card does have a pretty cool photo and background, though.  These two bring my Turco hits collection up to 26, giving him a three-card lead over second-best in the hockey PC, Brendan Morrison.

Now that I've finally caught up on that, stay tuned for at least one trade post, a couple eBay scores, and lots and lots (AND LOTS) of COMC stuff!

7-13-14 card show report: Wolverine Wonderland

Earlier this evening on TMV I showed off some pickups from a card show I hit up yesterday, just my second of the year after going in April.  Over just two purchases I spent $31 on PC stuff and trade bait broken down into quarter, $0.50, $1, and $2 cards.  Here's the Michigan stuff from that haul:

Les Cain-Dave Campbell 1969 Topps RC

Although I was happy to pick up a cool vintage multiplayer Tigers RC, this one was also an accidental Wolverine pickup as Campbell (nicknamed "Soup," of course) played in Ann Arbor.  You now I love those Wolverine/Tiger double dips.  I count just 10 cards in his PC, so I may try to track those down too!

Bill Freehan 2006 Greats of the Game Copper (#022/299)

Milestone #1 today comes courtesy of another surprise, though I at least knew this guy was definitely a Michigan player.  I hadn't seen one of these Copper Freehans from the excellent '06 GotG set before, so I happily nabbed it, only to see it become PC card #75 of the catching great!

Dan Dierdorf 1976 and 1977 Topps

Next up, I dug out a pair of consecutive Dan Dierdorf vintage issues, both of which I think I found in the quarter box.  The left image just screams "face of a tackle" to me, while the right highlights his third straight Pro Bowl selection, and second in a row as a first-teamer.

Braylon Edwards 2011 Topps Chrome Refractor

A Braylon Refractor for a quarter?  Sure thing!  This one didn't scan well, at least in terms of showing off the card's Refractorness, but I've won that coin flip before, so it all evens out.

Desmond Howard 1996 Donruss Pres Proof

Alone with Braylon came this sweet insert of his Heisman-winning predecessor in the form of one of Donruss' venerable Press Proof cards.  This '96 version, "limited" to 2000 copies, also has a die-cut football helmet right next to his name.  Those two are nice additions to my football insert collection.

Ronald Bellamy 2003 SAGE HIT Autographs Emerald auto

I don't know if you'll believe me that this card set me back $2 while the next one was just a buck, but that's how things shook out.  The same guy that had the quarter/$0.50 boxes had this in his hits so I happily included it with some other stuff, and now I have four signatures of the "underachieving all-star."

Charles Woodson 2000 Fleer Tradition Feel the Game jersey

Who prices a Woodson relic at a buck?  Someone who's AWESOME in my opinion, assuming I'm the one who ends up with it.  The first guy from whom I purchased cards had lots of great stuff for $1 and $2 each, and that's where most of my money went yesterday, especially when it came to some fun trade bait for you guys.  For me, I landed my 10th hit of one of my favorite ever Wolverines, and another nice piece for the football PC.

Mike Cammalleri 2007-08 Upper Deck Be a Player Signatures autuo

Mike Knuble 2009-10 Be A Player Signatures auto

Steve Shields 1998-99 Be A Player Autographs auto

Lastly, the $1/$2 guy had a nice pile of hockey autos I wanted to grab, some of which are trade bait, and three of which are these Wolverines out of the extremely useful Be-A-Player brand.  In a nice look at the evolution of the set (not that they're displayed in chronological order), I ended up with 'graphs of hockey Mikes Cammalleri and Knuble, plus goalie Steve Shields on another card I somehow didn't have.  Those guys now own six, four, and seven hits in my hockey PC, respectively, as I close in on the 150-card mark.

I'm very happy with how far my $31 went yesterday, and I look forward to your reactions as soon as I can get the trade bait stuff out in the mail.  As for me, it's back to COMC/eBay/trade pickups and more soon!

2014 trade package #8: a colorful package from SCFtDS

Doug from Sports Cards From the Dollar Store is back again for another fantastic trade package, so let's get right to it!

I'm holding onto Steve Howe cards but probably won't be making him a PC.  The Ontiveros and Kamieniecki cards are dupes, but I really don't mind those because a good amount of what I have is tied up in complete sets.

Charlie Gehringer 2013 Panini Cooperstown Blue Crystal (#230/499)

This, however, was new to a PC, and looks amazing to boot--it's the Blue Crystal parallel of the 2013 base Cooperstown card.  As I like to say, blue parallels are always the best!  This is also my 10th Gehringer card, finally putting that PC in double digits, which is a fun little milestone. 

Here's a base card of Braylon Edwards I'm not sure if I had.  I wonder if he'll be back in the NFL at some point since he's still fairly young, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's done at this point.

Denard Robinson 2013 Topps Magic Rookie Enchantment

Doug pulled this a while ago, and because he's awesome he immediately set it aside for me since we pretty much trade 20 times a month.  Ordinarily purple might be weird, but it works reasonably well with Jacksonville's colors.  By the way, this card screams "Gypsy Queen" to me.

Here's the requisite hockey inclusions, and as usual, they're fun while adding nicely to my collections of each player.  The die-cut Crown Royale Turco is my favorite, and I think I'll track down some of the other Wolverines in that set.

And now for the hits:

Chris Getz 2008 Just Autographs Signatures Gold auto (#41/50)

Mr. C got a nice deal on this along with some other stuff which is great since the original asking price was an arm and a leg.  While it's a minors card and doesn't go towards his PC checklist, it's happily now a part of his collection, my 14th Getz hit and 65th card overall.  In an interesting twist, not only is the card a sticker auto, but the serial number on the back is also on a holographic sticker!  I like the action shot and simple design here, so this was a nice pickup by Doug.

Steve Shields 2000-01 SP Authentic Sign of the Times auto

Doug sent me a scan of this card and mentioned he was surprised to have found a Shields auto I didn't have.  I know there's still a decent number of them floating around, some of which are too expensive right now, so I'm really just pleasantly surprised he didn't mind sending me a hit that includes a really nice mask shot, not to mention Shields' beautiful signature (featuring his jersey number!).  This is my sixth Shields hit, all of which are autographs.  What a great example of the quality of SP Authentic autographs.

Jeff Tambellini 2005-06 SP Authentic auto RC (#836/999)

Finally, I ended up with this really nice auto/RC (also SP Authentic!) of former Wolverines lamp-lighter Jeff Tambellini.  Believe it or not, although I now have four hits of him, this is my first hit that's "only" an autograph (two relics and an auto/jersey) in the hockey PC.  This reminds me that I should look for similar cards of my other icer favorites.  You really can't go wrong with the classy design, on-card auto, and serial-numbering.

It's kind of hard to believe this is only my third trade package from Doug this year, although I'm certainly happy with a less frantic pace that gives me a bit more time to respond in kind.  I've already advocated for everyone to follow Sports Cards From the Dollar Store and get trading with Doug, so I'll just take one more opportunity to say thanks!

2013 COMC pickups #14: C-U-P. I want a C-U... Oh, my God!

Well, hockey fans, it's the first game of the 2012-13 Stanley Cup Finals, and as far as I'm concerned, this year's matchup looks like this:

Chicago is the giant douche, obviously

Basically, not the pair of teams I was hoping for, since Boston fans are no prize either.  No Red Wings and no Michigan alumni left means I pretty much won't be watching, not that the NHL will miss me.

Still, all the same I decided to commemorate today's Game 1 by showing off my remaining hockey pickups from COMC:

Andrew Cogliano 2007-08 SPx dual jersey auto RC (#336/999)

Andrew Cogliano 2009-10 Upper Deck Champ's Signatures auto

Wow, that's the way to kick things off!  You've seen Cogliano here before, but as a quick recap, he was a two-year starter in Ann Arbor who scored 36 goals and 46 points in 77 collegiate games.  Edmonton made him the 25th overall pick in 2005, and he then went straight to the NHL after his sophomore season, putting up an 18-27-45 line in his rookie season.  He was traded to Anaheim before the 2011-12 season and has been with them since, continuing to put up double-digit goal totals.  

Ok, maybe that wasn't so quick, but anyway, this stunning pair of cards comes to my collection for the crazy low price of about $5.50 combined!  SPx has turned out some pretty sweet RC hits in multiple sports, and this one's certainly a shining example of that.  I was very happy to get a pair of different colors of jersey swatches which, as a bonus, weren't white.  The signature, featuring his jersey number, is a huge plus.  That's no knock against the UD mini, which looks fantastic, especially in-person where you can get a better sense of scale.  These cards represent my 6th and 7th of Cogs, and given how talented of a scorer he can be, I'm going to get to work on reaching double digits as soon as I can!

Andrew Ebbett 2008-09 SPx dual jersey RC (#0631/1299)

Today's other Andrew, Ebbett is also no stranger to this here blog.  He stuck around for his four-year Michigan tenure before signing with the Sens as a UDFA.  He then signed with the Ducks the following year, and bounced up and down before being claimed by the Hawks and Wild over the course of a few seasons, then signed with the Coyotes before ending up with Vancouver, his current team.

This is a beautiful three-color dual jersey RC of a guy I hope sees more playing time next year.  And of course, it's another great example of a spiffy SPx rookie!  Chalk up card #4 of Ebbett.

Brendan Morrison-Marty Turco 2001-02 Titanium Double-Sided Jerseys dual jersey

I've kind of moved on from relic cards for the most part, not so much because of their questionable authenticity as much as a lack of interest compared to autographs.  That went completely out the window when this dual-sided jersey card showed up during my usual COMC searching.  For $1.89 I grabbed a dual relic of my two favorite all-time UM icers!  Better yet, while Morrison's swatch is a single color, it's not a boring-ass white piece, and Turco's features two colors.  This is definitely a big win for my collection, and I applaud Pacific for recognizing the link between a couple college hockey alumni.  Speaking of those two guys, their new hit totals are 13 for B-Mo and 14 for Turco.

Steve Shields 1997-98 Be A Player auto

And speaking of cards with interesting backs, this Shields auto is the only one today that features a blurb about the player instead of a second relic or a "congratulations" message.  The reason that interests me:  "A standout for four seasons at the University of Michigan where he became the NCAA all-time wins leader" is the sentence that begins the back blurb.  Because Turco is often celebrated as one of the all-time great NCAA goalies, I hadn't realized that Shields was the first collegiate goalie to 100 career wins.  Turco later surpassed that mark, but it's still crazy impressive.

Steve played for six NHL teams in his 12-season career and is one of a proud line of Michigan-graduated NHL goaltenders.  And he's got a pretty sweet signature too!  This is my fourth Shields PC card, all of which are still autos, a streak I hope to continue.

Well, today's five added in to the old hockey PC make for a new sport total of 76, meaning I surpassed yet another resolution goal before the year was even half up.  While this may again be too conservative, I'm going to amend that to 100, and I won't be surprised at all if I get help from north of the border!

To those watching the finals tonight, good luck to your favorite team (even yours, Jeff).  Me, I'm just looking forward to the end of the NBA finals (and hopefully a Miami embarrassment) so we can get back to having the spotlight on baseball once again.

2013 card show report #1: 1/27

If you read my new post over at TMV today you already know that I hit up a show for the first time in a while, and while I didn't spend a ton and only made two purchases, I did pick up a small handful of cards for my Michigan PCs:

Steve Shields 1999-00 BAP Millennium auto

For $2 I was able to nab my third autograph of former Michigan goalie Steve Shields.  He's rocking a cool mask on this card, so I'm guessing Douglas from Sports Cards From the Dollar Store will give it a thumbs-up.  I just really like his nice signature that includes his jersey number.

Bob Timberlake 2002 TK Legacy auto 

Ed Frutig 2002 TK Legacy auto

This pair of TK Legacy autos came from the same seller as the Shields and also cost $2 apiece, which I'll take ANY day of the week--I need as many of these as I can get!  I'm also very excited that they're both new to the PC, meaning I now have 97 different guys in the football PC.  I'll spare you my usual paean to that set and give a little background on a couple guys I didn't know very well until today:

Timberlake was a Wolverine from 1962-64 and since versatility was still a thing then, he played at HB, QB, P and PK.  His greatest success was QBing the Wolverines to the 1964 Big Ten and Rose Bowl titles.  He wasn't so successful in the NFL, where the Giants drafted him as a QB but installed him as a kicker for long FGs and extra points.  He would go 1/15 on FGs that year, which obviously looks bad, but then again, it's not like he was the starting kicker.  That would be his only season in the NFL, and he would go on to become a Presbyterian minister, a faculty member at Marquette, and a bit of a humanitarian.

Frutig, who passed away in 2011, was a receiver for the Maize and Blue from 1938-40.  A Michigander from River Rouge, his sophomore year coincided with Fritz Crisler debuting Michigan's now-ubiquitous winged helmet.  He was even more fortunate that his tenure coincided with that of Heisman-winner Tom Harmon.  Ed's performance was worthy of praise itself, though, as he blocked FIVE punts during the 1940 season; can your best WR claim that?  He was then drafted by the Packers, was a Navy pilot during WWII, played a few seasons for the Lions, and coached at Washington State.  Wikipedia also mentions that he was part of a committee attempting to install former teammate Forest Evashevski as Michigan's HC and AD in 1967, but those jobs famously went to Bo and fellow legend, AD Don Canham.  What would life had been like otherwise?!

Al Wistert 1951 Bowman

Wistert was one of three brothers to play for Michigan, though this card confuses things.  See, this is clearly Al Wistert, an OT for the Eagles (including the famous "Phil-Pitt Steagles" of 1943) throughout his nine-year NFL career.  Confusing things further is the fact that all three brothers wore #11 for the Wolverines.  FURTHER further confusing things, one of his brothers, Francis, was actually nicknamed "Whitey."  And now, getting into "Screwy, ain't it?" territory, Al's OTHER brother was named Alvin.

Anyway, this Wistert (I'm pretty sure at this point anyway), played in Ann Arbor from 1940-42, played tackle, just like his brothers (with the same jersey number, as mentioned), and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, just like--you guessed it--his brothers.  He was also good enough to get his number retired by the Wolverines.  All that pales in comparison to his outstanding NFL career, though:  eight straight All-Pro nods, a member of the all-1940s team, a five-time team captain and winner of two championships, who'd then have his number retired by the team.  Looking at all that I'm not really sure why he's not in the NFL Hall of Fame, but what do I know?  Anyway, when do you think you'll ever see a trio of players like THAT again?

This card, which isn't a rookie, but may be the oldest of everything in my entire collection--baseball included, I'd have to look--inspired me to create a whole new album:  Michigan Football vintage.  I hope to be adding more to it soon, but it's got a pretty good start already.  Wister's entry is in pretty good shape for being almost 65 years old!  It's a bit smaller than the traditional 2.5x3.5 we know today, and a great way to get me  into collecting some very historical stuff!

Ok, now that those are up I'll be back with some more COMC stuff this week, at least one more eBay pickup, and maybe a Blowout purchase while I'm at it.  Til then, GO BLUE!

COMC haul #26: another 13 for '13: hockey's back!

(Note:  all COMC haul posts can be accessed here)

So it sounds like hockey is maybe sorta could be back.  That plus the fact that COLLEGE hockey is still going on (though not so well for the Wolverines this year) is reason enough to show off the rest of my COMC hockey pickups!

Andrew Cogliano 2009-10 OPC Premier Stitchings manupatch (#029/199)

I already had a relic and couple autos of Cogs, but this looked like a fun and unique card to add to his collection.  The patch refers to games Cogliano's Oilers played in 2008 on March 7, 9 and 11 against the Blue Jackets, Hawks and Blues.  That's an NHL record and what's even cooler is that his game stick and gloves are now in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  I'll have to check those out the next time in I'm Toronto!

Andy Hilbert 2005-06 ITG Heroes and Prospects jersey

If this set looks sorta familiar, that's probably because I also have a sweet nameplate patch, also of Hilbert, that I picked up at a show a while ago.  Now THAT's a game-used jersey!

Bill Muckalt 1998-99 Be A Player auto

Muckalt's also not exactly unfamiliar to this blog as I also have a Bowman's Best autograph of his.  He was part of both of Michigan's "recent" national titles ('96 and '98) and that's as good of a reason for me to collect him as any, just like his teammate

Brendan Morrison 1999-00 BAP Millennium Gold auto

Brendan Morrison 1999-00 Stadium Club Lone Star Signatures auto

Brendan Morrison!  My favorite Michigan forward ever was well-represented this time with a pair of nice autographs.  The Be-a-Player cards are decent, if nothing special, but that Lone Star auto is super nice, and you've gotta love the on-card auto action.  Topps also used the same autograph set in Stadium Club baseball and they also had an outstanding design in my opinion.  I don't know what's so great about it, but for me, the design and colors just mesh well.  Morrison now needs just one more card to join the double-digit hit club, so that'll be a priority for me next time I order from COMC.

Eric Nystrom 2005-06 SPx jersey auto RC (#1310/1499)

SPx has been the home of some really premium RCs, and Nystrom's here is definitely no exception.  I initially thought this was a patch, but as it turns out, it's just a really nice multi-color jersey from a Flames sweater.  This is just my second hit of the former UM star and I hope to get more before long.

Jack Johnson 2007-08 Sweet Shot Signature Shots Puck Signings auto

JMFJ!  This is actually my SECOND hit of Johnson thanks to Douglas of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store.  Jack just has a REALLY nice signature, and I know I won't be able to resist getting more like this.  The Sweet Shot set is the hockey sibling of Sweet Spot sets found in baseball and football, and the manupuck auto idea is as fun as the manufactured hits in the other sports--in fact, it may be the design that makes the most sense.  A very cool card of my favorite Michigan defenseman ever.

Kevin Porter 2008-09 SPx jersey auto RC (#431/999)

Porter was an absolute beast for Michigan, especially during his senior season when he led Michigan to yet another Frozen Four berth (where we lost, sadly, to Notre Dame) thanks to his play that also garnered him the Hobey Baker award, a.k.a. the "Hockey Heisman."  Like the Nystrom, this is a really cool way to pick up a RC of one of your school's greatest offensive players ever.

Marty Turco 2006-07 SP Authentic Sign of the Times auto

Ok, we've got my favorite forward and defenseman, so why not my favorite goalie as well?  There was NO way I was gonna let this package arrive without at least one Turco hit, and as it turns out, I did quite well with this very nice looking autograph.  SPA's Sign of the Times set has been around seemingly forever, which means they've had plenty of time to get it right, and they sure did here.  This card is also special as it allows Turco, my hockey PC's hit leader, to be the first to reach the double digit mark as I now have four relics and six autos of the former Wolverine record-setter!

Mike Cammalleri 2005-06 Beehive Signature Scrapbook auto

Mike Cammalleri 2007-08 Sweet Shot Signature Shots Puck Signings auto

Cammalleri was the other player to be represented twice this time.  After picking up the Jack Johnson, the Sweet Shot auto went without saying, and I'll have to pick up any other Wolverines I can find from that set.  The BeeHive autograph is also very cool as it attempts to go for a retro look and feel, something I think it pulled off very well.  

Steve Halko 1999-00 BAP Millennium auto

Halko, a former UM defenseman, actually owns a distinctive NHL record:  "With 155 career NHL games without a goal on 96 shots, Halko has the most games played of anybody who has not scored in their NHL career."  While that's not exactly a positive thing, it's great that he was able to make it to the NHL along with many of his teammates, and surely he'll always remember winning the '96 national championship his senior year.  He also has a really nice signature, no?  By the way, newcomers Halko and Porter bump my hockey unique player count up to 20.  That's milestone #2 for this post!

Steve Shields 2005-06 Be A Player Signatures auto

Lastly, Shields was a pretty successful goalie for Michigan in the early 90s.  He parlayed that success into a nice career in the NHL, albeit mostly as a backup, and played for six different teams, including Buffalo, who drafted him, and the Panthers, as he's pictured here.  I actually have a couple other autographs from the BAP set from that year and I'll look for a few more as it's a great looking set.

Those lucky 13 additions give me the chance to celebrate one more milestone as well:  I now have 53 hockey hits, which means I've finally crossed the 50-hit mark for the sport.  I mentioned in my list of resolutions that I wanted to hit 75 by the end of the year, and that certainly looks feasible.  Maybe I can even add a few new players to this PC while I'm taking aim at that goal.

Now that I'm done with hockey it'll be back to football and baseball the rest of the way, and who knows what I'll put out and scan next for your entertainment?  Until then, GO BLUE!