7/31/26 card show report: Whatever

The past few weeks have been a bit "whatever" sports-wise, what with Michigan Football struggling with its transition to a new coaching staff that was supposed to help; the Tigers' season going out with a whimper and the Red Wings starting with one, proving once again that the Illitch family needs to sell both teams; and the NFL is in full swing but it's hard for me to find any team actually likeable, so I just root for individual former Michigan players.

That "blah" kind of feeling has sort of carried over to my blogging, even though they're not really related. I just don't get the itch to post very often, though don't worry, I don't intend to leave anytime soon because I still really appreciate the trading aspect blogging brings, and I have plenty to show off.

And more importantly, that stuff hasn't dulled my interest in the hobby at all. As a matter of fact, on the last day of July, for what would technically be August's show, I headed east to Taylor and tied my high for show spending for the year at $170.

A large chunk of that money was spent on higher-dollar cards, including a few for myself, but then again, "whatever," right? I haven't been spending like crazy this year (or even the past few years) so a splurge every now and then is fine, especially if I enjoy what I'm bringing home. The results of that thinking are below:

To start with, my 381st Rich Hill card may look somewhat plain, but it's actually the Vintage Stock version of his 2018 flagship base, and is therefore numbered /99. I'm glad to add anything new of his, but a numbered card is even better!

Speaking of pitchers I love to collect, one of my absolute favorites this time was the 2001 Stadium Club Capture the Action Game View of Maddux that you see above. It's not quite a 90s insert as it was made in 2001, but the creativity it brings is certainly in the spirit of the golden era of chase cards. Stadium Club offered some gorgeous insert designs in addition to the perennially awesome base looks, and the addition of the embedded slide is a winner. This is also numbered to just 100 copies. Would you rather have something like this or a slightly different colored variant of the usual Fanatics junk? That's what I thought!

A couple cheap Pudge inserts (which actually demonstrate Topps' most recent lack of design) give way to my first relic of young Tigers IF Colt Keith. It's from 2024 Select and the crazy pattern you see is called a Flash Prizm. No, I can't keep track of all of those either. Colt hasn't turned into the star people hoped he would after promising years in 2024 and '25, but he's still just 25, is versatile, and is locked up on a reasonable contract, so he's got time to become a long-term guy.

Another former Tigers IF, George Kell, made the trip home from this show along with the Maddux above, and I think one or two other cards. His 2002 SP Legendary Cuts bat relic caught my eye and I know I didn't pay as much for it as I thought. The addition of the olde English "D" on the bat chip was a nice touch! That appears to be my first relic of Kell, which surprised me.

Last up from baseball is a relatively understated but pretty solid Cal Ripken Jr. relic. As I march closer to 1500 of his cards, my most significant recent addition to his PC is this 2000 Skybox E-X Genuine Coverage jersey, which is a lovely orange Orioles swatch. There's not a whole lot going on with the design but sometimes that's a good thing. That's relic #10 of the Iron Man in my top player collection.

The football content goes just as hard, if not harder, if you can believe it. The Select base of former Vikings QB McCarthy was from the cheap boxes, but the rest certainly weren't! I'd seen two or three of the big cards in this scan in this seller's "as priced" boxes for quite a while (I'm talking more than a year at least!) and finally said to myself, "whatever," and asked for his best price on them along with the rest of the stuff I picked out. I was satisfied with what he asked and now I own them.

First up is my 78th card of Amara Darboh, and hit #52 (yep, I sure like that ratio!). Hailing from 2017 Rookies & Stars, it's a Longevity Signatures Green auto, and since the serial numbering is right up front you can see why I was especially interested in this one. At just five copies it's my lowest numbered Darboh aside from a printing plate, not to mention the 37th that includes his signature.

Keeping up the WR theme--he was a "TE" briefly in name only at Michigan--is Devin Funchess on a variation of his 2015 Panini Contenders auto/RC. This is the "facing forward" version while a "facing right" front image also exists. This one wasn't nearly as pricey as the others here but was still a fun addition as it joins 36 other cards in my bunches of Funchess.

The last WR in the group is possession guy Jason Avant, a sure-handed receiver for Michigan and then the Eagles. The card you see of him above is from 2006 Leaf Limited, way back when the Leaf name still meant something other than "Endless garbage 1/1s and stupid Trump shit." The bright foil you see is due to the card being a Gold Spotlight parallel of his RC, and it comes with both Avant's signature and a nice two-colored jersey swatch. Though you wouldn't know this by the front, it's almost as rare as the Darboh above, limited to just 10 copies. Just another gorgeous piece of one of my best looking football PCs, now sitting at 67 cards strong.

Last and kind of least, since it pales in comparison to the others--but is still much appreciated--is my third relic of ex-Minnesota QB J.J. McCarthy. The national champ shares a 2004 Donruss Rookie Holiday Dual Sweater insert with former teammate Dallas Turner. As always, these are kind of gimmicky, but also no worse than "event worn" cards, and at least the multiple colors make them more interesting. I'm hoping JJ gets more of a chance with the Giants (or someone else) than he did with the Vikings, who cut bait on him pretty early, at a time when it's become clear a number of young QBs need years to develop. But that's fine since I have no love for the Vikes anyway. "Whatever" again, right?

And that's another successful show in the books. I've got two more to recap and will get to them whenever I feel like it along with the other stuff that's hit my collection since then. Until I do, I hope many of you are doing better than "whatever" when it comes to the teams you root for. Unless you like the Yankees, in which case I'm not sorry!

2026 trade package #10: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

At long last (my fault) it's time to take a look at the most recent package sent to me by Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store!

This one made its way to me back in April. Since then I've actually sent a response his way, only for him to have to return it because he was asked to pay something like $700 in taxes/duties. I'm still trying to figure out what category of goods to use on the customs form to avoid that ridiculousness.

Anyway, here's the mailer in all its glory. (Maybe I should try a quantity of "1" as well? I typically use a number like 50 or 100 to go along with ~$40ish in value, and only recently has it turned into a big issue.) And here's a look at all the fantastic stuff therein:

The baseball content leads off with some cards representing the much-improved Tigers, then a guy making his collection debut in style. Danny Zimmerman was primarily an OF from 2018-21 at Michigan before heading west to San Jose State (what's up, Fuji?) for 2022. He did pitch in a couple games during his freshman season and a few more during summer college ball. You see him here on a 2016 Leaf Perfect Game card, a Purple auto that's a 1/1, marking quite the first appearance in my collection!

The basketball stuff ended up containing some very nice items as well. French forward Moussa Diabate played one year in Ann Arbor before the Clippers snagged him in 2022's 2nd round. That THJ is one of the two big highlights, a 2018-19 Panini Impeccable parallel numbered to just 25! LeVert and Wagner are both trade package stalwarts that I'm glad to see here while women's star Syla Swords gets her second card in my PC and first that isn't team/NIL-issued. And lastly, Mitch McGary (who just celebrated his birthday Saturday, as noted by Jeff) gets an especially cool add to his pile: a 2013-14 Panini Signatures Draft X-Change card that features an embedded piece like a slide. Cool!

The football content was very, very high quality as you'll see over the next few scans, including a pile of serial numbered insanity that Robert would appreciate! (Apparently it's "other blogger call-out" day!) Tackling machine Devin Bush stars on another very low-numbered insert, and his Contenders chase offering is limited to just 25 copies. Former Michigan TE and current TV guy Jake Butt appears on a colorful Panini Father's Day issue numbered /499. One of my favorite recent WRs Jehu Chesson adds a 2017 Panini Phoenix Orange parallel (SN99) to his RC that I have. Similarly, I have LB Shawn Crable's 2008 Donruss Gridiron Gear RC but not the super-rare Platinum Holofoil O's version limited to just 25 copies (that's three that rare so far if you're counting!). Darboh was Chesson's teammate and another one of my favorites of that time, and up above you see the Blue Wave Prizm version of his 2017 Panini Prizm RC, numbered to 149. Lastly (from this scan, at least), you see the rarest of the bunch (not including 1/1s) in the form of RB Chris Evans' 2021 Panini Spectra Neon Orange Die Cut. The color match serves it very well and I'm a big fan of die-cuts, but the best part here is that this one is numbered to just 10 copies. Whoa!

Blog favorite RB Mike Hart is the first highlight of this group, and the Artist's Proof parallel of his 2008 Select RC is numbered to just 32, once again giving you an idea of the quantity of quality numbered cards Doug sent this time. Mo Hurst's 2018 Rookies & Stars Longevity parallel isn't that much more common at just 75 copies made. One of OSU's least favorite defenders, David Ojabo, is seen here on a 2022 Donruss Optic parallel of his RC called Wave, and that's SN300. And talented wideout DPJ's 2020 Absolute rookie parallel, a Spectrum Blue, goes to just 50 copies while LB Josh Uche feature's in the same product's Spectrum Red insert, doubly common at 100.

And then we have some especially big hits. Doug treated me to not one but TWO autographed 1/1s, which is kind of insane, but that's the kind of stuff I'm grateful we're able to send back and forth sometimes. In this case it's my first signed plate of WR Devin Funchess. The yellow plate was used to produce his 2018 Panini Luminance card, then was subsequently inserted into 2018 Plates & Patches with a sticker auto affixed. What a great card that's now the centerpiece of his collection!

Jack-of-all-trades guy Jabrill Peppers is next with his largest relic swatch in my collection yet. Relic #3 (to go with an autograph) hails from 2018 Panini XR's Maximal Materials, an insert that certainly lives up to its name. It's a huge piece of a Browns jersey from his time with that team and numbered to just 49 copies.

Last up for football is one more TE (to go with Butt and Funchess, who played the position a bit in college, at least) and a guy who's moving his way up the coaching ladder in the NFL (currently coaching that position for the Falcons). Kevin Koger appeared on a solid number of autographed inserts back in 2012, and this Blue version is my second from that year's Press Pass product. I've long owned the unnumbered Silver card but this Blue one is numbered /50 up front, making it the only numbered signature card of his I own.

Next up is the hockey content, and we'll start with the Red Wings. The highlights of the base cards are franchise legends Fedorov and Yzerman (the embattled GM--more on that later), plus star D Moritz Seider. And then there's a surprise Be a Player signature of F Mike Krushelnyski. Krusher finished his career with Detroit over the '94-'95 season after signing as a FA in '94, but he's probably best known for another transaction. He joined Marty McSorley in the deal that sent their teammate Wayne Gretzky to the Kings in 1988, forever altering the futures of both franchises.

There's plenty more hockey to enjoy thanks to a pile of cards of Wolverines icers. Like the Wings, none of these guys made it to the Cup finals this year, but fortunately that's pretty rare. I love seeing the Wolverwings pop up in these packages and Copp is a good example. The Jackets continue to be a common NHL stop for drafted Michigan guys (including two different Johnsons). And that Herr was a nice inclusion here since it's just my second card of his, and this one is a '98-'99 SP Authentic Power Shift parallel numbered /500.

My favorite Wolverwing Larkin is the star of this scan, though how much longer he'll be with the team is unknown after he recently requested a trade. That divorce may be ugly due to a reported poor relationship between him and GM Steve Yzerman. The latter's tenure has unfortunately been a disaster, and I don't blame a talented guy like Larkin from moving on after 10 years of nothing. I'll continue to collect him either way, but his potential departure will be bittersweet. Meanwhile, though Larkin is in my top 10 of hockey PCs, longtime player Brendan Morrison is second (to Marty Turco), and I'm happy to see even more new stuff of the former national champ here.

Norton and Sloan join the previously seen Herr as players you don't see here too often. Meanwhile, Werenski, this year's Norris winner, is yet another Jackets guy. I really like the OPC playing card-style inserts like Zach's above. Johnson's horizontal insert with interior die-cuts is quite nice as well.

Speaking of Wolverwings and Kent Johnson, the hockey hits portion was most certainly as nice as the others. The SPx Super Scripts auto of Compher is his 4th signed card in my collection, but man does it look nice in-hand. The shiny foil background really makes it pop, plus I'm excited to have my first auto of his as a member of the Red Wings.

Meanwhile, the previously-seen Johnson joins the hit collection with a very cool auto/relic pair. The signed card hails from 2023-24 Upper Deck Credentials' Main Stage Signatures insert, and the design provides for a well integrated window for the sticker. Meanwhile, the relic sports the eponymous blue of his team's nickname in the form of a jersey swatch out of 2024-25 SP Game Used. These make for a quality ending to some top-notch hockey items.

And last but not least, these two UM other sports figures are making repeat performances, both after joining my collection thanks to this package's sender.

Rhodes (born Brandi Reed) hitched along for the trip in a January package I posted early in November, and that was on a Leaf signature card. This time she's back in relic form out of the 2021 Upper Deck Spectrum AEW product. The card doesn't specify what the swatch came from, but in any case it's a cool item to add to a collection (other and non-sports) I plan to put more effort into.

Canadian-born soccer player Shelina Zadorsky also debuted in my collection thanks to a SCFtDS trade package. In her case it was a two-fer that I posted last November: a Goudey base card plus a Goodwin Champions auto. Now I own the latter's memorabilia version, making for a perfect pair! I'm guessing she's more on Doug's radar as she played for his hometown's youth women's club (plus, you know, I don't really follow soccer).

Doug, thanks once again for another mailer stuffed with flat-out quality. As always I appreciate your generosity and how much effort you must be putting into finding this stuff. I'm looking forward to getting a package to you--one that doesn't involve almost $1000 in taxes--as soon as I can, especially once that current envelope gets returned.

As for what's next, I'm not sure if I'll take a quick break from trade packages to show off other stuff, but I have a few of those from May and June, two shows, one eBay purchase, and lots of TCDb stuff, so there's no shortage of content--just effort getting it written up and posted. Until then, I'll probably be outside enjoying some of my favorite weather!

2025 trade package #7: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

It's the last day of April so let's finally look at the mailer I received from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store back in February!

Your first place Tigers were well represented in this package that arrived a couple months before the season opened. The past guys are pretty good company between Miggy, Fister, and Grandy, but Carp, Greene, and Jobe are all making big contributions to a club that's exceeded my expectations so far. Speaking of Riley, who needs team parallels when you have your own name parallel?

Keith's been slower to get things going this year but did homer today. Manning's stock may be down but McGonigle's has shot up quite a bit, making that numbered Donruss parallel extra nice. Parker's still working his way back from injury and so is Rogers, but Mize has been a nice story so far as he leads the Tigers with four wins. Morris's Predictor insert is a bit of a combo-breaker, but not entirely since end his 13-year career in Detroit, playing 40 games here in 2000.

Ex-Tiger DeMeritte's fantastic 2020 image, one of the best of that year, gets the Chrome and Refractor treatment, and I have a feeling we'll see this one popping up in highlights for years to come. Miggy leads off the hit parade with a 2024 Ginter jersey, my 16th such card of the future HOFer. A beauty of a jersey/auto of '24 Tigers bullpen ace Tyler Holton was one of the bigger surprises of this mailing. Limited to just 25 copies, it comes with a solid signature and cool jersey swatch. And we'll end the baseball content with a non-Tiger: my first auto of former Wolverine Jordan Nwogu. The Canadian Cubs prospect eluded my hits collection up until Doug rectified that, and he becomes baseball hits PC guy #41. Nice!

I took way too long to post this package but it's still not that close to Halloween yet, no matter what that LeVert Hoops card would have you think. Franz had a career best season, albeit one limited a bit by injury. Ex-coach Juwan looks great on a gorgeous '90s SPx design. And LeVert makes a second appearance in the form of the second relic I can claim of him: a jersey inserted into 2020-21 National Treasures.

I didn't time it this way on purpose but this scan ties in well with the recently completed NFL draft. The group includes five '24 rookies, all of whom were difference-makers for Michigan's recent title, plus a base of talented vet Rashan Gary. It looks like I'm shy four more vets (Aidan Hutchinson, Nico Collins, Charles Woodson, and Ty Law) and one RC (Jaylen Harrell) to complete the team set. As always I'm a fan of Score using college action photos for the first-year guys.

Former Pats Ty Law and Josh Uche plus Giant/Raider Ty Wheatley round out the base portion of the football content. Then former TE/WR Devin Funchess double dips with a very, very nice pair of hits. His 2019 Certified auto, numbered to just 30 copies, features a typically eye-pleasing holographic design, and that marks 15 cards I own that include his signature. It's joined by a large jersey swatch from that year's Crown Royale, a decent throwback to the excellent Pacific brand. Funch continues to outpace the other three Devins in my football collection with 35 hits.

Fortunately some of the other teams represented today have been or were at least moderately successful this year because both of the hockey squads underachieved and missed their playoffs. So it goes, but I still enjoy collecting them! First up we have the local pro team, and a mix of recent and older. The big highlights for me are the bookend images here: Pavel Datsyuk and Nick Lidstrom. The 2014-15 Metal card of the former may have been a tough scan but it looks great in-person. And the further we get from Lidstrom's playing days, the more I appreciate the things he did to make the Wings a perennial playoff threat.

Unlike the second Datsyuk above, Lidstrom's second card--also a Fleer brand throwback--scanned very well and the image represents just how nice it looks. Seider's SP Authentic card is a shiny look at the future/present of the Motown blue line. Shanahan's UD insert looks just as pleasing in my hands as it does in 2D on your screen. And Sheppard was a favorite of mine from the Sega EA Sports NHL game days.

In this last Wings scan, Veleno and Yzerman are linked as the latter flipped the former in March in a deal to bring former Detroit goalie (and Doug's fellow 2/14 baby) Petr Mrazek back. Zetterberg was another of those stars the team doesn't seem to be developing much these days, but maybe we'll see more of them again in the future.

Speaking of player development, Doug included a pair of hits of former prospects. Ex-Spartan (barf!) Taro Hirose appears to be with a German team now but he was a decent prospect at one point and good enough to appear on beautiful UD cards like the numbered Black Diamond signature you see above. Meanwhile, Smith, seen on a very nice numbered jersey in the form of a large Red Wings red swatch, was one of the team's two 2016 second-round picks, and he's since bounced around a bit, finally landing in Philly's system.

Lastly, the Michigan Hockey content may not have been abundant, but the quality and a big side of shininess were most definitely there in spades. Just look how that top row trio of Beniers and Connor cards just pops! The numbered Hughes is especially nice right now as he chases a second straight Norris trophy, competing with a guy in the next scan. Hyman scored exactly half of his 54 goals from last season but still had a decent enough year for the Oilers. And Larkin continues to be a good captain for a Wings squad that continues to fail him.

You want more shiny and/or numbered? You've got it! A pair of pretty Pacioretty cards begins tonight's last scan, courtesy of UD's Allure and Ice brands. Trouba's finally away from the Rangers and that's probably the best I can say about his season. Werenski is Wolverine Norris Trophy finalist #2 this year thanks in part to his career highs of 23 goals, 59 assists, and 82 points. And yet another top-notch card of a high-end blueliner will close things out tonight: a numbered Black Diamond of Cam York. My York collection is small but pretty much nothing but bangers thanks to Doug, with pretty much everything being this high quality.

Many thanks to Doug, my favorite Canadian trade partner, who managed to send this and another mailer plus post the first part of the package I recently sent his way before I finally got off my butt to recap this February envelope! I look forward to seeing your follow-up posts as I try to reload for future considerations.

2024 COMC purchases: Nine from November

With the finish line now in sight I'm even more motivated to get this post done and call 2024 a wrap! Here's a look at the cards I bought for myself during COMC's Black Friday sale:

First up is hit #1 of another UM WR to wear #8 (besides another guy in this post), Ronnie Bell. The receiver/returner outplayed his practically anonymous recruiting rankings and was a key contributor as the Wolverines marched back to respectability under Jim Harbaugh. The Bowman's Best University card pictures him with the Wolverines (instead of the 49ers who'd eventually draft and then release him) and that's a great start for his hits collection! Sure, it's a sticker auto and he signed with his initials, but at least he added an inscription with his jersey number.

The day's other "first" is my second hit but first signature of LB Devin Bush II, a three-year Wolverine who did some nice work in 2017 and 2018 in Ann Arbor. The Steelers took him in the first round in 2019 and he's since bounced to Seattle and Cleveland, but was good enough to appear in an autograph insert (#d /299) in 2020 Panini Legacy.

In spot #3 is the other WR #8, the sure-handed Jason Avant, who was able to rescue the planted Michigan flag in Columbus this past season after Buckeye Jack Sawyer threw his hissy fit once his OSU team lost to Michigan again. Avant never won a Super Bowl with the Eagles but did have a solid 10-year career mostly spent with them, and I was thrilled to add another Triple Threads jersey/auto of his from his 2006 rookie year. The one you see above is the Sepia version /75 and is hit #66 of #8.

Next, RB Chris Evans appears to be out of the league at this point, but that wasn't going to stop me from picking up a third Michigan uni autograph of his. I may have passed on other brands but usually tend to like the simplicity of Score's rookie autos, so I had no problem ponying up a couple bucks for this one.

Sure, we've already had Devin, but what about second Devin? I paid less than $6.50 total for the cool pair starring former Panthers WR Funchess and I think that was a steal. The card on the left is a 2015 Panini Black Gold Sizeable Signatures Rookie Jerseys prime version, and I'm thinking you'll agree that it lives up to its "sizeable" and "prime" descriptors with ease. The other is a 2015 Panini National Convention VIP manupatch auto, which isn't the kind of thing I'd pay a premium for, but I do like seeing athletes sign things other than stickers. Funch moves up to 34 hits thanks to the pair.

I'll move down one spot horizontally to discuss the next card, a Jake Long 2008 Topps Triple Threads Sepia parallel. This one came with three really nice multi-color Dolphins swatches to go along with his signature (and numbering /75, like the Avant above). It's a great looking card to add to a collection that now stands at a very nice 98 hits, though he remains in third place behind our next two players.

Forever #1 guy Chad Henne continues to outpace the rest by a mile with his 146th hit, which happens to be one of the higher-end items in his collection. The 12th 1/1 I've landed for him, the card you see above is his 2008 Finest Yellow Plate (the non-auto version). It set me back a reasonable $14 which I don't mind paying for a top PC guy like Henne, whose hit collection isn't too far off of that from all-sports leader Rich Hill. As always, I'm a fan of when manufacturers do the border thing with their plates to make it obvious which color you have, especially in this case where the back is otherwise normal.

And last but not least is former blog namesake guy Mario Manningham. The 2008 Leaf Certified Materials auto you see above (#d /100) is everything I love about 2000s-era cards of some of my favorites, but it may be the most significant from this post for an entirely different reason: it puts Super Mario at exactly 100 hits, making him just the second player behind Henne in the football collection (and third overall including Rich Hill) to reach that mark! It actually wasn't 100% intentional as I would have been happy for Jake Long (again, 98) or Braylon Edwards (95) to make it first, but I only found one of the former I liked and none of the latter this time. So it looks like I get to celebrate Too Many Manninghams as my 2024 year of collecting comes to a close! (The football hits collection also surpassed the 1700-mark before the calendar turned, basketball went over 150, and hockey moved up to 350, with baseball very close to 450.)

Once again, thanks to everyone for making 2024 a great year of trading, blogging, reading, comments, shows, and more! I'm looking forward to treating you to recaps of the cards I've picked up since 2025 started including (at this point) seven blogger-related trade packages, two shows, and four TCDb deals. Look for a post covering the first blogger trade of January soon!

4/5/2024 show report: Christmas in April

Tonight's post is one of two I know of that I need to finish out the month of April. This one's a quick summary of the monthly Taylor show I got to on 4/5.

I spent a yearly low there of $45 (with the exception of the second show I got to in January to buy from Sluggo's Sports Cards at the event in Kalamazoo) but still came home with some cool stuff.

First up is some trade bait:

I love me some 90s inserts! The Akili Smith is spoken for but everything else is still up for grabs. McNown's Gridiron Kings card is actually the Canvas version as it's one of the first 500 printed (#0090/5000).

As for my keepers,

As far as I can remember it was mostly a dime/quarter box kind of day. I added a trio of cards featuring a couple of Detroit's recent top prospects, double-"Js" Jackson Jobe and Jace Jung, largely thanks to a prospect-heavy Donruss product. Next is a pair of classic Tigers, Kaline and Pesky, though of course the latter is much more famous for his eight seasons (and namesake Fenway Park feature) than the three with the Tigers. A couple Ginter Ripkens bump his total up as he nears the 1300-card mark in my collection. And former UM pitcher (on a Wolverine-ish airbrushed photo card) Steve Hajjar is the source of this post's title with a 2022 Leaf Holidays-related product and its Happy Holidays autograph set. That's my third signature of the left who's in Cleveland's system.

I also found a couple scans' worth of football stuff between the dime/quarter and dollar boxes. Bell would look better in a Blue parallel, of course, but Red works for his current team, the Niners, plus at least the card has a great college action photo. Transfer RB Charbonnet is one of three guys in these two scans (K Jake Moody and TE Luke Schoonmaker are the others) to pop up thanks to the Retail versions of their Panini Absolute RCs (you can tell as they lack serial numbers on the front as opposed to the hobby cards). The two shiny Funchess parallels are numbered /70 and /75 so I didn't mind throwing down a buck each. QB Grbac features on a pretty cool early Bowman Chrome insert. I may be slowly (and unintentionally) working on Ty Law's Mosaic rainbow, we'll see. And Paye would also benefit from an upgrade of Red to Blue on a Press Proof version of his Donruss RC.

The previously-mentioned Schoonmaker gets almost an entire scan to himself thanks to a rookie-related quartet, one of which is a Prizm Draft card with a great shot of him in action for the Wolverines. And joining my non-sport/misc. Wolverines category is broadcaster Rich Eisen. The New York native is a fan of the Jets (for some reason) but has done a great job over his career of lauding the Wolverines and celebrating the school where he earned his undergrad degree while being a co-editor for the sports section of the Michigan Daily.

I'll try to be back soonish with my last April post and maybe even post a bit more frequently so I can get caught up a bit more.

3/1/24 card show report: March radness

This evening I'm finishing covering my March hobby goings-on with the only purchase I made that month, which ended up being my usual card show.

I headed over to Taylor on Friday, the first, and happily spent $100 on lots of great stuff. I don't remember most of what I got that wasn't keepers for me, but I don't just spend an amount like that on something like cards if I don't think it's worth it. So I'm sure I picked up some great package-fillers for some of you that follow me here and others I trade with.

Speaking of trade bait, you might have noticed I haven't really had any cards to show off that weren't already ticketed for trade packages in these show reports lately, and that's mainly because I haven't come across anything that seemed worth it. Instead I'm focusing most of my money and effort on stuff I know will be going to one of my regular collecting buddies. That doesn't mean I won't have more to claim again in the future, but that's a much lower priority for me because I already know what most of my usual trade partners might like.

With that out of the way, here's my keepers from the March show:

The Cal on top is from a 2001 Fleer Premium insert called Decade of Excellence. This was a huge 50-card chase set in that product with cards ranging from Ruth and Gehrig (1920s) all the way up to A-Rod/Jeter/Nomar and others in the "2000s," though obviously that decade had just begun. As you can see, Ripken is one of the players representing the 90s, and for very obvious reasons unless you were living under a rock. I like the look of this insert as I often do with Fleer cards from that era, plus it's a new Ripken, so, win-win!

Next, the biggest card I brought home this time was a 2001 SP Legendary Cuts bat relic of Wolverine/Tiger baseballer Charlie Gehringer. This was an especially exciting buy for me because of his connection to both teams, plus it's just a great example of the quality of vintage player relics that Upper Deck put out at the time. I'm also happy to add it to the other three Tigers I have from the Legendary Debut Bats set: Bill Freehan, Alan Trammell, and Lou Whitaker. '68 great Willie Horton is the last Tiger I need to finish up the team set, plus I'm chasing George Sisler for my Michigan PC.

I think the seller had this in his showcase for somewhere between $20-$30 and he gave me a discount on it with the rest of my purchase. I'm glad I didn't leave it for someone else to snag so I'd regret it! That's just my second Gehringer relic to go with 10 autographs and a plate.

The football side of things was mostly inserts with a couple other items of interest thrown in. Darboh's from 2017 Panini Classics' Red Back parallel, and while the back is the main difference, I was more interested in landing another numbered card, plus the college photo is a plus. Speaking of numbered stuff, Devin Funchess got two of those added to his PC (which sits at exactly 100, woo!): a 2015 Panini Clear Vision Blue parallel of his RC (kick acetate!) /99 and 2018 Panini Silver Knight parallel /50.

Then, Dax brings the Rated Rookie goodness from '22 Donruss as my 8th RC of the talented DB. A Michigan-uniformed Charles Woodson is the subject of a rookie year Press Pass insert from 1998 called Triple Threat. He was one of three players (Peyton Manning, Ryan Leaf) to be included in the set, and each player appears on three cards, with the one you see above being Woodson's third. I'd love to get the other two to put them together to celebrate the guy who rightly defeated the other two for the Heisman late in '97.

Last up on the insert side of things I came up with a cool pair of Pacific inserts of two guys I always lump together: David Terrell and Anthony Thomas. I have more of the latter than the former, though that's because A-Train's career lasted longer than Terrell's, leading to Thomas appearing on just about double the number of cards. So it was super cool to find both of them out of this 2001 Private Stock Titanium insert that was numbered /2000 and given out at the 2002 Hawaii Trade Conference. Yep, these two have lived it up better than I have!

And last up is one other hit that I thought would be fun to snag for something like $2 or $3: a 2020 Panini Contenders Blue Foil auto of former Michigan QB Shea Patterson. The guy who famously (allegedly) put more effort into his golf game than football practice still put up some good games for the Maize & Blue in 2018-19 so I didn't mind paying a few bucks for my third autograph of his, and first from a "real" brand (the other two are Leaf). I'd say it was worth it to get the full Michigan uniform experience even if it's a sticker-graph.

And that does it for what was a pretty low-key March for me. Don't worry, though, because there's lots more to see from April on, and I'll be back with a post that starts covering that month's cards soon!

2/2/24 card show report: fabulous February

Yesterday I went to my second show in just over a week and John (with whom I got to hang along with Jeff, Kevin, and Jason--more on that in a future post) made fun of me for being as behind as I am on posting so here I am! Tonight I'm covering my monthly show haul from Taylor back in early February.

My spending tracking sheet says I spent a year-high $130 while I was there, split up between my favorite seller plus the vintage guy that often sits behind him. That was too long ago to remember how that breaks down but I know I added some nice trade bait pieces to packages that have and will be sent out.

As for my own haul, it looked like this:

I believe the Griffeys were a buck each, and who doesn't love Starting Lineup cards, with or without the figures? A lot of the other stuff you'll see here likely came from dime or quarter boxes (or maybe $0.50-ers, I can't remember!) and I was quite happy with the mix.

The Griffey and Maddux in this scan plus the Verlander all came from my usual guy, and I believe JV's jersey cost me somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 or $10. By my count that's 32 hits of Mr. Kate Upton, and it was nice to get something of him in a Tigers jersey again.

The others came from the vintage guy and if I had to guess I spent $40 on his $3 box where you can get eight cards for $20? Got some for me and for others. Lolich's '75 Mini is appropriate given this year's Heritage/Mini set while the others were fun oddballs of Tigers greats. The Fidrych and Horton food issues are cool but man do those stamps look sharp. And I was excited to add a cool piece in the Kaline scratch-off card, which I did not scratch off, but did scan in full here:

I grabbed a few trade bait items from him as well.

Next up is some slightly rare basketball content in the form of a couple relics that I think were $2-$5. Bufkin, thanks to one of Panini's sweater cards, joins the collection along with former Piston Livers. An aptly named hooper, Bufkin was a two-and-done in Ann Arbor, going to the Hawks at #15 overall in last year's draft. I'm sure I'll find something more interesting like an autograph to add to his collection but since these sweater cards are still cooler than any "event-worn" plain white swatches, I'll take it!

I ended up with about one and a half scans worth of cheapo Wolverines out of the dime, et al, boxes, and got a nice mix of players and color.

See? There's a few more to enjoy here including two new items for the GOAT Woodson's collection, and I keep growing Hutch's as well, which has been a nice trend.

Lastly, though I have to spoil that this theme has since been broken, I came home with three more Funchess hits from that show, where I often seemed to attract them like a very grateful magnet. In this case they're all jersey relics but at least there's a mix of color, size, and designs, and all three are numbered. The trio puts him over the 30-card mark to 31, making him the 16th player in my football collection to hit that milestone.

So that's another show recap in the books. I believe my next post will be one that recaps another great Facebook Marketplace experience that I'm still benefitting from months later. And yeah, I'll eventually catch up to my two shows from this month, including the meetup I mentioned from yesterday.

1/6 and 1/20/24 card show reports: 2 shows 2 start 2024

That's right, it's show time once again! For this post we're traveling all the way back to the beginning of 2024 when I made it over to my first show of the year in Taylor, before heading to my second just two weeks later.

We'll get to that one in a bit, but first here's a quick recap of my usual monthly show.

Somewhat unusually I headed east to Taylor on the first Saturday of the month instead of Friday, I think because I didn't feel like taking that Friday off. Michigan had just earned a thrilling OT win against Alabama in the Rose Bowl a few days earlier and I was just biding my time until the following Monday's matchup with Washington, not realizing what was in store for my Wolverines.

While I was at the show I spent a pretty reasonable $70, and if you'd like me to break that down further I'm afraid I can't because it was literally almost four months ago now. Suffice to say I dug through my usual favorite boxes and was pretty happy with the results.

First up: a tiny amount of trade bait, I believe from the $1 and $2 boxes:

Reed is /500; Michael is #105/105(!); Durham is #03/10.

Claim 'em if you wanna trade for 'em!

Next up we have my keepers:

This is a great scan buoyed by some "90s inserts rule!" goodness. Junior is from an awesome '96 Stadium Club insert called Mega Heroes and the card has an excellent comic book vibe. Grandy's from an insert Donruss did much better under its original name than the Panini version: Career Stat Line. He had 1564 hits (before finishing with exactly 1800) but Panini numbered the card /500. Henry is a Michigan guy, nuff said. I don't remember if I paid $2 or $5 for Mad Dog's '97 Ultra Baseball Rules insert but I don't care because it's a sick die-cut chase card anyway. Mize has been solid in his return to the mound this year. Then Maddux is back with a numbered card (/799) from 2008 UD a Piece of History, and Pudge gets some love for winning the NLCS (and eventually the World Series) in '03 with the Marlins.

The basketball content is exactly one card: a '17-'18 Donruss Optic of ex-Wolverine and 2017 Bucks first-rounder D.J. Wilson, featuring that Rated Rookie logo that I can help preferring over Topps' rookie cup (it's ok, unfollow me if you have to!). Griese is a '99 Score Anniversary parallel numbered /1989 on the back while former teammate and GOAT DB Charles Woodson hails from '22 Classics' Premium Edition.

In terms of hits, the first is a SAGE HIT, oddly enough, starring former Michigan OL Ben Bredeson. A fairly successful lineman out of Wisconsin (maybe their top export?), he parlayed solid performance late in the 2010s into a 4th round draft choice by the Ravens in 2020. Since then he's suited up for the Giants and signed with Tampa. His only cardboard appearances are from SAGE brands but I'm happy to welcome him to the collection with a signature.

And lastly, I think I've had more luck buying Devin Funchess hits at this show than anywhere else, though I have no idea why. Anyway, I came home with the 2015 Certified and Crown Royale jersey/auto/RCs and a relatively low numbered sticker auto for just a few bucks each and was happy to do so. The trio pushed him up to 28 hits and 12 of those include a signature, so that number's growing nicely.

Two weeks later I was excited to be heading about an hour and a half west to Kalamazoo for an awesome meetup opportunity. Not only did I have the chance to see Jeff and his cousin Sluggo who were all set up again as sellers, and not only did John make the quick trip down from nearby Portage--a combo that's happened on a few fun occasions--but my buddy Jason a.k.a. jasongerman9 from TCDb, who lives an hour-ish away in Niles, stopped by as well with his girlfriend Sam. The two hung out at the show for a bit before taking in the hockey game at the Wings Event Center where the show was, and it was awesome to finally meet them in person.

Here's a quick look at all of us:

Me, Kevin, Jason (kickass t-shirt!), Jeff (kickass jersey that I got from Jason!), John, and Sam.

I had a blast hanging out with these folks and picking out some stuff for some of my favorite traders (a few of which were at this very show with me!). Between trading Kevin a few cards he could use and the very generous discount he gave me I spent $25 at his tables, all of it for trade bait (including some Red Sox for Boston/Alabama fan Sam!). I love in-person meetups like this and you just can't beat talking cards with friends for an hour or two.

So yeah, I'd say I started the year with two very successful shows. Thanks again to all the folks that made it to Kalamazoo, and I'm hoping to see some or all of the same friends in just a few weeks if we can all make it back there!

A super 2023 TCDb trade roundup, part 1

Tonight I'm bringing you one of a two-part series covering all of the TCDb trades I haven't yet covered here. There's lots to go over so I'll likely be fairly brief in terms of my comments.

avsbruins65 (PIF):

Mark is known to be a generous member and I was the beneficiary of that generosity back in December.

Former Michigan P John Locker joins the collection thanks to the 1990 minors issue you see above. He was a reliever for UM in 1988 and '89, and Boston took him in the 40th round in the latter season. He pitched two years for the low-A Elmira Pioneers and appears to have left the game after that.

Also, I love all of these SLU cards!

The football and hockey items were great as well.

bkim (PIF):

Robert has PIFed me at least once before and I was thankful he sent me this trio of PC guys, including a vintage (and therefore pre-Tigers) Darrell Evans.

budler (PIF):

I swear these aren't all PIFs--I'm just going alphabetically, but as with the first couple envelopes, this one from Jim arrived in time for the holiday season and I appreciated it a lot.

capper14:

In return for a numbered football insert I received this Michigan Football pair, which I think I now own a few each of, not a problem at all!

Anthony transferred but Haitian LB Colson went out as a winner with the '23 team.

cjjt:

Fellow Michigan fan Chris and I made a nice three-for-three swap that brought me a new Chad Henne hit (#143!) plus numbered inserts of two of his favorite WRs in Edwards and Manningham (you know I can't have too many of him!).

Edwards is numbered /249, Mario is /500, and Henne is /250.

deadhead11:

John and I made a pair of deals late last year, and each time I sent him a trio of numbered football inserts for nine of my own wants. This first one brought a bunch of new football back.

#2 resulted in more great new gridiron PC cards plus a Gwynn to boot.

Drdirt:

A mix of some of my set-fillers brought back these eight cards I was very happy to get. Hell yeah, multiple Sparky cards! Two each of Cronenworth and Greene didn't hurt, and fellow '84 guy Morris joins Captain Hook from the '84 champs.

Kurt Albert:

Speaking of Sparky, I knocked off another of his managing days cards, this from '77 Topps, thanks to a one-for-one deal in return for a '90 Swell dupe. That feels heavily tilted in my favor but I think we were both satisfied with the deal.

As is often the case the card was well loved which means it has more character. Still, no pencil marks on the checklist is a plus!

Mjprigge:

I pinged Matt about a trade in late October, getting some very cool items in return for almost 90 of his '95 Finest needs. The Topps/LJN cards were a highlight for me for sure, but the other classic Tigers are great as well.

I'm not going to get myself one of the players but these are just cool to have anyway.

Here's a few more Tigers, some of them recent, plus a couple '91 Swell Greats needs as I continue working on that set, just 19 to go.

MMehler30:

For just a single dupe of a Justin Verlander insert I scored myself another Cronenworth plus '97 Mother's Cookies food issues of PC guys Dean Palmer and Mickey Tettleton. Sweet! (Pun intended and delicious.)

mudville9 (Secret Santa):

Last year was my first participating in the yearly Secret Santa exchange on the site and I was quite happy with what this member sent me: a numbered autograph of Devin Funchess. I believe he actually apologized for not sending more but I told him I was more than happy with this great card as my present, and I'm sure I'll be joining up again this year.

NJDevils (PIF):

Joe is another of the site's especially generous members who treated me to a surprise PWE around Christmas--close enough that I originally thought he was my secret Santa. This mix of oddball baseball and some older football was a joy to open up during the season of giving.

nozzlemaster:

Here's another one of those deals you're apt to make on the site where you just get an eclectic bunch of stuff you probably wouldn't find all at once anywhere else, especially give some of the oddballness.

This was another trade where I got some work done on '91 Swell.

Orry04:

I got a nice mix of Tigers guys in this one, with the highlights in the first image being the Conlon cards.

The Hajjar is yet another ridiculous Panini parallel but redeems itself with a college action photo so it's all good. It definitely feels good stocking up on Tork cards before a potential true breakout season in 2024.

SaintOrm (PIF):

Kurt is yet another member whose name you'll see quite often in the site's excellent "Pay it Forward" thread where folks thank others for surprising them with free or extra cards. The three scans' worth he sent me were very nice, and they start on a high note here thanks to a trio of Gibby cards I'm sure I couldn't have found easily otherwise plus a great mix of Griffeys.

More Griffey, cool oddball of Senor Smoke, a very interesting Kaline, a Cal insert need, and my first card of Michigan OF Miles Lewis, a transfer from North Dakota who played from 2017-19 in Ann Arbor. Before even heading to college he was captured in the 2013 Leaf Perfect Game amateur set, and his 17 cards found there are the only ones made of a guy who appears to be out of the game.

And how about finishing up what Kurt sent with this group? A few more of the killer "G"s, a mix of stickers, Topps Kids, and a shiny Pudge. I'm especially happy with the decent bump to my Gibson collection thanks to this PIF.

thesouthpaw:

This one brought me some more Michigan Football friends. The Collins leading off the scan is a retail Panini Illusions RC, and the Dax plus Kwity right down the middle are also first-years. The rest are all rookie-related except for DPJ's Mosaic parallel and the Red Score Peppers. How cool is it to see beastly defenders Hutch, Mazi, and Gary on the same card?

wvcabo:

This deal was mostly notable due to an item you'll see in the last images, but I have to say I was pretty happy with my baseball haul as well. Both UM guy Henry and breakout Tigers OF Carpenter are '23 Topps RCs here.

The football group included another card for my growing Bell collection plus the Bolts' new coach returning to one of his old teams.

Speaking of Harbaugh, I'd say that look on his face is familiar to many a ref. My coolest item in this deal was this '97 Pinnacle Inside (opened) can. I guess my trade partner was happy enough with his return to justify shipping it to me!

ymmat (PIF):

And this group ends this evening as close to the end of the alphabet as you can hit without getting to "Z." Joe is another another generous guy that I've traded with before and we've sent PIFs back and forth a couple times. It was great to see Riley leading off on this one but the playing card of UM P Ontiveros was a great addition as well.

And Owens is yet another new member of my Michigan Baseball PC. No matter how obscure you think something is, make sure to get it on your wantlist because you never know who might be able to send it to you! The Flint native is represented on his '82 TCMA Chattanooga Lookouts issue, which covers his second and final franchise (Seattle) after being Cleveland's 6th rounder in 1978.

As you can see, Joe hit up a number of my other player collections as well, just all over the place, really. The Chrome Platinum Skubal in the middle is quite a looker and I'm looking forward to what I hope is 100% health for him in 2024.

There was an embarrassment of (mostly 80s) stickers in this package starring some of my favorite players, mostly Gwynn, Maddux, and some '84 Tigers. Wow!

Football didn't get left out either and he even sent some vintage-y stuff of Wolverine NFLers that not everyone would know that well, so kudos to Joe for finding these!

That was obviously a huge bunch of trades and PIFs to cover, but I still have a few left in an upcoming post where I'll be highlighting the same courtesy of some of my closest friends on the site. Until then, thanks again to the great members represented here tonight for being great trade partners and gifters!