And speaking of "this one", it's one of the bigger stacks I get to enjoy! And enjoy it I will, even if I'm extremely jealous of the weather the sender gets to enjoy. While it got briefly warm enough here to melt the many inches of snow we've dealt with, we're once again in the middle of a storm that'll bring another 6-9". Meanwhile it's sunny and high 60s in San Jose, home to blogging/trading legend Fuji of the Chronicles of Fuji.
In January Mark sent me another typically generous package out of the blue, which is a color I'm happy to picture as I see nothing but white outside! I had no idea he was sending what he did and was surprised about the variety found within among three of the major sports. Continue reading to see what I mean:
Basketball was very well represented this time, enough that I decided to make it easy on myself and just take a group photo. After all, there was lots worth showing off here, with the 90s and inserts offering lots of creativity and shine.
The football side more than lives up to its courtside companion with lots of great names and designs. Touchdown Timmy is a blast to collect since his cards largely fall in the super creative era of the 90s, and that's on full display here. I especially love the Leaf slide card and SP HoloView insert, which bring to mind my favorite tag, "90s inserts rule"! His last card is actually a '96 Bowman reprint, not the original, by the way.
2017 Honus Bonus, a collectible card/fantasy game product, was a bit of an odd duck for sure. But it's a fun one to collect as well for a number of reasons. One of them is the abundance of 1/1s, with multiples made to represent different significant stats. In the two examples here for Ian Kinsler and Justin Upton, that would be their career HR up to that point. Through 2016, his third of four seasons with Detroit after eight in Texas, Kinsler had clubbed 212 of his 257 career bombs. Upton, snagged as a FA before the 2016 season, finished that campaign at 221 after 10 years, then was flipped to the Angels, still his current squad, and he's added 128 taters over his past five.
I like the game-dated aspect of these cards and they're a fun addition to my collection even if the true "rarity" isn't there. Very cool of Fuji to send them my way!
Player #1 in the pile is Tariq Abdul-Wahad, a relative newbie to my collection in terms of cards that aren't part of complete sets. Previously named Olivier Saint-Jean, he was born in France to two basketball-playing parents, and played at Michigan in 93-94 before transferring to Fuji's San Jose State. Sacramento chose him 11th overall in 1997, the same year he converted to Islam and took on a new name. He's very welcome to the basketball collection! Nice catch, Fuji.
Other players that are part of this bunch include Jamal Crawford, coach Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose, Mo Taylor, Robert Traylor, Loy Vaught, and Chris Webber. As you can see, there's a nice bunch of Michigan uni cards, which makes sense giving how popular the program was for a bit in the early 90s. Taylor and Webber got the most new additions with eight and nine, respectively. And I'm absolutely digging a bunch of the inserts, like Howard's hologram (upper-right corner), the die-cuts, and the plethora of shininess.
One such card I decided to highlight was this 1998-99 Ultra Unstoppable insert of Taylor. The booklet-like card folds open so I put together this three-part (somewhat cut-off) look at it:
I don't recall seeing these before so I thought it was cool!
National champ QB Brian Griese was the most common player found in the bunch, as you'll see between this scan and the next one. The Collector's Edge card is numbered /3500, the Fleer Showcase Air to the Throne insert is a reminder that he didn't quite follow in Elway's footsteps (though he did have a respectable career), and the 2000 Leaf Certified base is one of the higher-end ones you'll see here that wouldn't be out of place in an insert set.
See? More Griese (but not greasy) goodness! I wonder if anyone else remembers Upper Deck's short-lived UD Graded product, which I mainly know about due to having to track down some annoying RCs. The inserts from UD, Ultra, and even Topps (it was long enough ago, when they were still trying) are great. Absolute Memorabilia's hobby base cards were way better than the bland retail versions that never should have been made. And the Griese/Terrell pairing never happened in college or the NFL, unfortunately, but would have been a dynamic duo!
Speaking of QBs, newly-extended coach Jim Harbaugh makes an appearance here out of a baseball insert: Topps' 2016 First Pitch set, naturally showing him at Comerica Park. And Fuji even somehow found a Chad Henne I didn't have: a 2008 Prestige Prestigious Picks insert numbered /500, with the young Henne seen in his maize & blue uni. Those two are joined by another UM great, Desmond Howard, on a 1992 All World issue.
Incredibly, there's still more 90s/early 2000s greatness left to cover. It's awesome to see Terrell and Thomas together as nature intended: the WR on a numbered UD Finite base and the A-Train on one of Donruss's greatest inserts: Elite's Passing the Torch. For those of you who are curious, he was paired with former Bears back Gale Sayers. Hey, they can't all be winners, but damn is that set a beauty!
Former WRs Amani Toomer and Marquise Walker are next. Super Bowl champ Toomer can be seen on high-end offerings from 2000 Topps Gold Label (Class 3) and the previously seen Absolute Memorabilia. Walker's card is another throwback to quality Topps inserts: 2002 Topps Debut's Collegiate Classics. This foil chase card with a great college photo honors his 7 catches for 134 yards and a TD (one of his 11 that year) in a 24-10 win over Purdue in 2001, my freshman year.
Last up here us new Broncos RBs coach Tyrone Wheatley, someone who knows just a bit about the position. The Michigan great is seen on 1995's Metal Silver Flashers, Skybox Prime Time Rookie, and Upper Deck Predictor inserts, plus a 2001 Topps Combos that pairs him up with the already seen Thomas. Those two are the #4 and 5 career rushers at the school, combining for 8276 yards, 96 rushing TDs, and 103 overall scores!
We're not quite done with inserts yet since Fuji also included this large item in the package: a graded 2003 Topps Chrome Refractor of transfer RB Justin Fargas, numbered /100. The beautiful shiny Refractory-ness is enhanced by a bold black border that I'm sure Gavin would admire. This is a gorgeous addition to my collection of Huggy Bear's kid, and I'll think about whether or not I feel like cracking it out of the slab to admire it more.
Ok, now we're closing in on the end with just a couple cards left to cover. The first is a great looking jersey card of former QB/WR Devin Gardner out of Panini's 2015 collegiate product focusing on the school, one of a number they made. DG was an athletic competitor and leader and those skills seem to be translating well to his potential next career in analysis/broadcasting. I'm looking forward to seeing him advance in that career!
And last up today is this throwback to fun Pacific products and their leading efforts when memorabilia cards were still novelties. Griese was paired up with HOF RB teammate Terrell Davis on this Titanium dual jersey, a double-sided card that in retrospect definitely got it right with the star up front. For me, though, it's a nice new jersey card to add to my Griese collection, now at 25 hits strong, making him the 18th player to reach that mark.
Thanks again for this whopper of a trade package, Fuji! Sending 1/1s, 90s inserts, and lots of Wolverines is a great way to keep yourself in my top tier of favorite trading partners, that's for sure. I hope your school year is going well, and I look forward to hitting you back as always whenever I can pile up some more trade bait. Until then, you know I'll keep following your blog, easily one of the best out there!
Two of my favorite bloggers, how cool is that? Fuji's generosity really shines here. Congrats on some great pickups!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andy, that's super nice of you! And Fuji's the best!
DeleteGeez, this was a loaded mailer! I don't remember the player, but that refractor sure is nice. And I didn't realize that Maurice Taylor was a Michigan guy. I have a bunch of his 90's stuff that I should look for, and see if you need any of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jon! Loaded doesn't even begin to describe this one. I don't blame people for not knowing which colleges certain players went to (not like I know many outside of Michigan's players) but I'm always happy when people include them in trades.
DeleteYou were one of the bloggers I targeted during my recent sort. I printed out a list of Michigan guys and anytime I came across their name, I set it aside. By the way... the school year has been pretty good. Very glad to be back in the classroom. It's even better that next week is February break!
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Fuji, the effort you put into this one clearly shows! I appreciate it, and I'm glad the school year's going well.
DeleteGreat stuff from Fuji - love that SP HoloView insert and the Fargas black refractor. I remember trying to track down a Desmond Howard All-World RC, I seem to recall that it was his only official rookie card for some reason.
ReplyDeleteHow cool are those, right?! Yep, for whatever reason, maybe an exclusive deal, that's Desmond's only true RC.
DeleteFuji always brings the goods...excellent stuff!
ReplyDeleteIf you're on the receiving end of a Fuji trade package you know you're gonna have a good time!
Delete