2016 COMC purchases: many (and Mini) inserts

Today I'm featuring a bunch of inserts I picked up on COMC last year, especially around Black Friday.  They're many in number and some are also mini in stature.  Let's have a look!

Let's start with the minis--2009 Topps Magic Minis, to be precise.  I absolutely love this set and its amazing base cards, parallels, inserts, and autographs, and the reason is staring you right in the face:  college unis!  I also enjoy the hand-drawn look and backgrounds used, but the biggest draw for me is seeing all these guys in their college duds, especially Hutchinson, who was almost a decade out of school.

I previously showed off my complete base team set of these guys a couple Decembers ago, plus I think you all know I'm chasing the autographs as well.  As for these Minis, I already had a few handy--Drew Henson, and then this Avant/Breaston/Law trio I found at a show last July.  Today's group of eight, which puts me at 12/15 of these, includes three of my PCs in Hart, Henne, and Manningham, plus other Michigan legends I love to collect like Arrington, Askew, Hall, Hutch, and Woodley.

Who's left for me to get?  Tom Brady, Braylon Edwards, and an apparently short-printed Marlin Jackson.  This will undoubtedly be another fun team set to show off when it's done.

As for the other inserts, let's start alphabetically with this pair of 2012 Topps Golds.  Both happen to be relatively recent Michigan WRs:  Jason Avant (#0819/2012) and Steve Breaston (#0659/2012).  Avant is pictured with the Eagles, the team that drafted him, and he'd play through the 2015 season with the Chiefs.  Meanwhile, speaking of KC, Breaston is shown with his second and final squad and would finish up his career in 2012 after a four-year run with Arizona.

Former #1 jersey-wearer Devin Funchess joins in the WR fun with this shiny 2015 Panini Prizm Draft Picks Team Trademarks insert.  The Refractor-like card features a couple Michigan trademarks:  the big block "M" and iconic winged helmet.  I'd be thrilled to add more Michigan uni inserts of Devin in the future.

My other serial-numbered card today marks DB Leon Hall's second appearance, this time with his original pro team, the Bengals.  Panini's Certified product has featured some beautiful colored parallels in its history such as this Platinum Red (#137/999), though that color would probably be more appropriate for Leon's current employer, the Giants.

Considering his place in Wolverine football history it's definitely a shame that I'm lacking in cards of former Heisman-winner Tom Harmon, a do-it-all kind of guy starred for the varsity squad from 1938-40.  I'll just look at this as a first step in righting that injustice, then.  What you're looking at is actually an insert from a baseball product:  a Fan Craze chase card from 2014 Panini Golden Age.  It's a classy looking card of a classic player (and College Football Hall-of-Famer), and hopefully one of many I'll be showing off this year.

I've already shown a couple Topps Gold inserts so why not finish up with examples of another favorite parallel:  Refractors!  On the left, RB Chris Perry appears on a Red Refractor out of 2005 Bowman Chrome, making it a second-year card for him.  To his right is longtime Giants WR Amani Toomer's 2007 Bowman Chrome Refractor.  Both of these are designs I like very much and made even better with the rainbowification (patent pending) that Refractors provide.

So far my posts have covered football rookies and inserts, but I still have plenty left from COMC, so stay tuned!

COMC haul #35: RBs that ran for Blue

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

Here's another post that goes to 11:  11 cards featuring six notable Wolverines running backs!

B.J. Askew 2003 Bowman's Best Blue auto (#100/499)

Technically I guess Askew is a fullback, but whatever.  This is the Blue version of the regular auto I already own, and I have to say the blue background is kind of cool here.  It looks like Askew went a bit off the sticker with the signature, but that's never stopped Topps before!

Brandon Minor 2010 Sweet Spot Signatures Variations Michigan auto (#053/100)

Minor really doesn't have many NFL cards to his name--I already have two of them, given that I previously purchased the slightly more common variation version of this card.  That makes me appreciate this trio (which I'll have to complete sometime) all the more, although he's the kind of player I'd be really frustrated to pull in this product if I wasn't a fan of his alma mater; he's definitely a strange choice here, no?

Mike Hart 2008 Donruss Threads 'A' letter patch auto RC (#018/100)

Mike Hart 2008 SAGE HIT Silver auto

Mike Hart 2008 Select Inscriptions auto (#15/50)

Mike Hart 2008 Upper Deck Signature Shots auto

Mike Hart 2009 Donruss Threads Pro Gridiron Kings auto (#034/150)

Mike Hart 2009 Score Inscriptions auto (#062/100)

W00t!  Six more Mike Harts!  Go on, take a guess at which one's my favorite.  If you guessed the Upper Deck Signature Shots auto, you win.  The Donruss letter is sweet, but for my money, the UD card is as good as it gets, and I probably said the same which I picked up the Crable from the set.  Give me an on-card auto of a player in his college uni on a card with no border, a gorgeous full-bleed photo and nothing else.  Perfection!

That said, the others are fun too.  I was thrilled to add another letter patch auto without breaking the bank, and the SAGE is my second (I have the Gold as well) from another set I think is outstanding.  Old #20 now stands at 47 hits, good for fourth place in football behind Chad Henne's 48, and he's still one of only four players over 40 hits (Jake Long, Braylon Edwards).  Not bad!

Tim Biakabutuka 1996 Classic NFL Rookies auto

This is now my seventh hit (sixth auto) of Timmy B, and third of him in a Michigan uni.  Looks to me here like he's making a nice cut past a diving Penn State defender.  If that photo is from 1995's game against PSU, (a loss, unfortunately), it would have been taken just a week before Biakabutuka's legendary 37 rush, 313 yard performance against OSU in in a 31-23 win over the cheaters from down south.

Tyrone Wheatley 1999 SkyBox Premium Autographics auto

Come on, how could you look at this card and NOT want it?  Wheatley was simply one of the greatest backs ever to come out of Michigan--the school and the state.  After his decent NFL career, he went into coaching, and his efforts paid off this year as he followed former Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone to the NFL's Bills where he'll be their (surprise!) RBs coach.  Best of luck to a guy I hope to see coaching on NFL sidelines (if not Michigan's) for years!  This is Wheatley hit #3 for me, by the way.

Tom Harmon 1955 Topps All American RC

Sometimes I just let things go alphabetically (by first name, sadly, which is annoying to someone like me) when posting, but today I wanted to close things with a bang, because this card was really one of my white whales since I learned about it last year when My Cardboard Mistress' Adam sent me a couple of Harmon's teammates from the same set.  That spurred me towards a quest to acquire all seven of the Wolverines in the set, and Harmon was the last (and most expensive) one I needed.  The prices on eBay didn't thrill me, and I decided to bide my time until I found one I was happy with.  COMC stepped up with this beaut for $26.  It really is in fantastic condition considering the price I paid, and I couldn't be happier to add one of the most significant cards in my entire collection.  It will enjoy a happy home in both my rookie and vintage PCs.

Since I haven't discussed him on this blog much yet, Harmon was another one of those do-everything players from a bygone era.  He starred for the Wolverines from 1938-40 as a single-wing RB and QB and a kicker to boot.  An English major at UM, (HOLLA!) Tom was Michigan's first of only three Heisman Trophy winners thanks to an outstanding 1940 season in which he also won the Maxwell Trophy and led the nation in scoring for the second straight year, a stat that's never been matched.  He was drafted first overall by Chicago in '41, ditched them for the AFL instead, then went off to war as a pilot, after which he was awarded at Purple Heart and Silver Star.  His NFL career was brief--two seasons with the Rams--and he retired to a career of commentating (one of the first to make that transition) and acting.  His son Mark followed in dad's footsteps, first as a QB (at UCLA), then as an actor, best known for Chicago Hope and NCIS.

Harmon was simply an amazing football player and athlete (also on the basketball team) and has gone down as one of the true legends of the school.  I can't say enough how absolutely thrilled I am to have such a special card in my collection.  I promise to show off all seven of the 1955 Wolverines together in a future post!