2024 trade package #16: Chronicles of Fuji

It's certainly been an interesting couple of weeks since I started drafting this post, including an embarrassing election that will make the lives of almost all Americans worse for at least the next four years. As it pertains to the hobby, I hope the upcoming economic fallout doesn't cause anyone in the hobby to be priced out.

In better news, fortunately there are still plenty of good people in the card collecting community, such as Fuji of the Chronicles of Fuji. Right now more than ever we need teachers like him who do the underappreciated job of teaching kids in a society that offers his vocation insults and insane conspiracy theories about the "woke mindset" instead of the resources and recognition they should get. I've heard a lot about how the recent generation of students is harder to reach due to their phone addictions, an attitude of not trying, and parents that aren't involved. What I'm trying to emphasize is that it obviously takes a person with a ton of patience, perseverance, and pride in their job to do what Mark does.

With all that in mind, I'm always grateful for (but never surprised by) the effort and care he puts into the trade packages he sends my way. That was the case when he sent me the following back in August:

Mr. Tiger's Topps Pristine base is a beautiful example of a cool vintage photo on a modern design. Joining him are a bunch of really vintage Tigers from the 1977 Dover Publications Classic Baseball Cards Reprints set. These came in an album--apparently compiled by Michigan grad and sportswriter (largely known for boxing) Bert Sugar--in detachable perforated form. A number of of totally classic early designs, including the three seen above, are represented, and while I do own an intact album, I didn't have any singles. Now I do, thanks to Fuji, and they give some great looks at classic Tigers stars!

Switching over to basketball, things seem to be looking up a bit for the Wolverines after Juwan Howard's tenure ended in failure, with new coach Dusty May bringing in some solid talent and a new culture. Howard's early coaching days plus his days as a player are still some good memories, though, and he's joined here by well known Fab Five teammates Rose and Webber. Rice brings to mind the program's national championship and another of their most notable alumni. And the late Robert "Tractor" Traylor was exciting in Ann Arbor in the late 90s.

Things have been less rosy for the football team in coach Sherrone Moore's first season due to a number of factors, though he's also due to bring in a pretty impressive first recruiting class if everyone signs. One of the team's past stars is Buckey-killing RB Tim Biakabutuka, and here Fuji provided me with some very cool base and inserts of the Congo-born back. Please bring back designs like these, Panini!

You want more former Michigan stars? Fuji's got your back! Bunch spent four years in the NFL after that many years as a solid FB in Ann Arbor. Collins has been the key to finally making an OSU QB look good in the pros. Crable was a pretty good LB in college. Griese and Harbaugh both enjoyed success in college and the pros, and of course Jim's back in the NFL chasing his Super Bowl dreams, even if he did leave his alma mater in a terrible spot in terms of recruiting, bringing in transfers, and hiring coaches when he left. Hart has been my favorite Michigan RB since his very successful four years here though the very similar Blake Corum may take over soon enough.

The numbered LeSueur at position #3 here is quite cool as is the foil card of HOFer and Super Bowl-winner (times three!) Ty Law, but otherwise the story of this scan is star WRs. Howard of course won the Heisman and then had a very memorable moment winning a Super Bowl. Super Mario is a big reason Eli Manning won one if his rings and Manningham remains a blog favorite (obviously) to this day. And Terrell is one of the best receivers to come out of Ann Arbor, even if his NFL career doesn't bear that out. The former #1 jersey-wearer is one of several guys to appear on numbered cards in this post, with his Ultra RC at spot #8 being a highlight.

I supposed you could have one without the other, but I always like getting A-Train cards when Terrell's included because they're forever linked for me. Thomas joins Terrell from the serial numbered Ultra set and adds a Pros & Prospects #d card to boot. Toomer is another Ann Arbor star that lined up wide for the Wolverines and then won a Super Bowl with Eli Manning. Walker didn't pan out in the NFL but was excellent in college. And Wheatley is one of a number of Michigan RBs to have a solid NFL career. Better yet, he played back when card designs looked their best, especially inserts!

The rest of the football content, including some horizontal items, features familiar names from above along with GOAT DB Charles Woodson. The Score Wheatley is an especially cool card while the die-cut Playoff helmet design is, to borrow from the 90s, radical! I also really miss brands like Fleer's Showcase and Leaf's Certified Materials (referring to the real Leaf, not the garbage knockoff that's sullying the name these days).

There was more than just cards in this envelope this time as Fuji included a couple issues of a collecting magazine I was previously completely ignorant of: the Trader Speaks. More on the magazine itself in a minute, but first, here's a great look at Mr. Tiger as the cover star from November 1974, literally 50 years ago! Mr. Tiger had recently finished up his 22nd and final season in the MLB, all with Detroit, and he went out as an All-Star (for the 18th time) while finishing just one homer shy of the 400-mark. He'd be enshrined in Cooperstown six years later.

Meanwhile, this issue from the following May stars eight Tigers from a post-WWII set that's not Topps or Bowman. Instead, they were distributed (regionally) by Tip Top Bread. The black & white, 2 1/4 x 3" set is 163 cards strong, and while not every star of the time is included, many are. 15 Tigers made the cut, and more than half of them can be see here, including former Wolverine Dick Wakefield and HOFer George Kell. I also wasn't familiar with this set at all so this was an educational double whammy for me!

As for the magazines themselves, they're black and white (except for the red borders on the fronts) and measure about 7 x 8.5". They include various card news stories, addresses for TTM autographs, and letters, with the bulk of the pages devoted to auctions and classified ads for buying/selling/trading. The well known Keith Olbermann, who's certainly not secretive about his collecting habit, answers mailed-in questions in the May edition. These are an extremely cool look at the hobby from that time, about a decade before I was born, and it's fun to see the ridiculously low asking prices for items that are now super expensive, if not practically priceless.

Fuji, thanks again for all you do and for another exciting package of stuff that's a nice boost to my collection and my education! I plan on getting you back by the end of the year as I work on Christmas cards for 2024. But first, I need to continue catching up on everything I haven't covered yet, so more to come soon!