This won't be a more formal review partly because it's a set that's not widely available, plus I didn't get images of the box before I ripped it. Therefore, here's a quick recap.
After
yesterday's Desmond Howard/Anthony Carter signing,
Dustin and I wandered around the (very few) tables at the show. I found myself drawn to the one table with unopened boxes and recognized the guy as a seller I'd seen many, many times at the Gibraltar Trade Center shows I sometimes go to. For $70 I picked up a $25 box of 2010 Topps Update hobby baseball and this $45 box of TK Legacy Michigan VI. This is a series of boxes I'd often seen at the various shows I'd attended but never seriously considered for whatever reason (probably price). However, $45 for 10 packs, each including a Michigan player auto, seemed like it would be fun. And so it was, even more so than I thought.
It would appear that multiple series exist for each team that was represented, and each series includes a diverse set of players from various eras. Even more interesting is the fact that a "limited" number of boxes are made (I believe my label indicated 680). Each four-card pack included base cards, checklists and a couple different inserts, such as program covers and notable games. As for autographs, there are base versions, plus different insert variations. That being said, here's a look at what I pulled:
Base:
Hooray for players/coaches I know! Most of them, anyway--I didn't really know Lilja, Zurbrugg or Kattus, but everyone else played (or coached, in Moeller's case) during my lifetime. It was interesting getting a pair of kickers since Michigan's suffered a dearth of quality at the position the last few years.
MOAR KICKERS! As I said, there's a big range of years represented here, though I don't know if there was any rhyme or reason to how they broke these series up.
The Rivas was my only base double, so I decided to show the back to represent one of those. Not a bad design, if not exactly top-notch (at least it's not Classic or one of those really low-quality unlicensed cards!).
Inserts:
Yeah, I called the checklists inserts. I decided to show the front and back of Checklist 1 since I pulled two of those. I caved and decided to show the Troy Smith game "The Rivalry" insert because I could balance it out with a Michigan win (from 1943, though). I didn't pull any actual sketch cards, but the ones showing off what you could potentially pull were decent. The Program Cover was my favorite insert and I wish I'd pulled more.
Autographs:
Sweet, another Breaston! Looking over the checklist he was about the best I could have pulled (though there weren't many to choose from). Considering his autograph is usually just "SB", getting his jersey number was pretty cool.
One of several players for whom I had no hits (because they never would have had one otherwise), "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout" Willis was a safety from 2003-2005. As you can continue to see, most of these players signed their jersey numbers as an additional inscription.
Actually
my second Knight, Marcus donned the Maize and Blue from '96-'99, which means he was on the '97 National Championship team. If "Marcus Knight" isn't a college football player name, I don't know what is.
Rockin' some serious sideburns is one of our recent kickers, Hayden Epstein. I can definitely say I didn't have any of his previous hits, but now I have two! (see below) Epstein was Michigan's kicker from 1998-2001.
I have to admit I knew nothing about Kattus, a TE from '82-'85 (which means he started before I was born), so I found out through
Wikipedia that he was a senior captain, drafted by the Bengals and also played for the Jets briefly. With Brady Hoke back we may see Michigan tight ends in the NFL once more.
I remember hearing Oluigbo's name a bit during his stint at Michigan, but since he was a FB from 2004-2006 he wasn't exactly high profile around here. Still, another first, which is cool.
My first Ecker, and instead of remembering him for NOT PITCHING THE DAMN BALL TO BREASTON in the clusterf#$k that was the 2005 Alamo Bowl, I like to remember his big play in the 4th quarter of Michigan's win against OSU in 2003, a 30 yard pass (I believe) along the sideline during which my reaction was "Go go GOGOGOYEAH! Wait, who was that?"
Vanalstyne was a DE from 2003-2006, so there's not much more to say about him other than--yep--this is another first for me.
This here is an insert set hand-numbered to 100 (mine's #83) and I thought it was cool to get a QB I knew like Dreisbach, of whom I had nothing. Dreisbach was here from '95-'98, though of course he didn't pilot the '97 champions--
he played Drew Bledsoe to Brian Griese's Tom Brady, then the following year, with Griese graduated, backed up--guess who?--Tom Brady. He did end up in the NFL, if only briefly.
#'d 73/100, Here's Epstein #2, part of an autographed insert set that celebrates various Michigan achievements. This FG would have been in the 2001 MSU game, AKA the
Clock Game, in which MSU (at home) inexplicably got an extra second on the clock from their own timekeeper, then won on the last play of the game. What's funny is that that event can't be what's pictured on the card, which includes Tom Brady as the holder on what appears to be a botched hold. Interesting choice, to say the least.
All that for $45 was a steal as far as I was concerned, and I foresee a few more boxes of this stuff in my future if I can continue to find them at decent prices.
Stay tuned for a look at my 2010 Topps Update baseball hobby box pretty soon, plus a ton of stuff I know I have coming in the mail this week. Also, please
make sure to head over to the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame as he's drumming up interest for a hit-filled trade bait draft #2, to which I may be contributing some stuff in an effort to increase the number of potential participants. I was part of the first one and I can guarantee you won't wanna miss this one!
