Card Show Keepers

As I mentioned in the Chrome Mini post on Saturday, I hit a card show that day. Most of what I picked up will be destined for other collectors. But, I got a few keepers for myself.

Panini Classics are always a great way to start any post, especially one with an autograph. I grabbed this because Al's son Max is currently wrapping up his Junior career in Kitchener, and it is always nice to add an autograph of someone who really doesn't have too many out there, although he does pop up in random sets with a theme like Classics.

Still more autos out there than this guy:

Brian Mullen seems to only have autos in this set and a Parkhurst release. And you get the bonus of an appearance of the old school Jets logo.

The backs of these usually contained some interesting fact about the player's life that one really wouldn't find just by looking at the stats. I wouldn't have known that Mullen was a stick boy at MSG if not for the back of the card.

Well-loved vintage for a quarter!

Unfortunately for me, there were only two of these wire photo cards out of 2011 Parkhurst in the quarter bin. Otherwise, I would probably have bought one of each. An interesting concept for a card, and one that will make a return in a few weeks when Upper Deck Masterpieces returns. I'm trying to resist the urge on that and limit my purchase(s) to just a couple of packs before just grabbing the singles for my PC at the Expo a week later.

And a mention of Masterpieces seems like a nice lead-in to posting this Renditions card, also from 2011 Parkhurst.

So, I picked up a grand total of 6 loose cards for myself totalling $5. Hey, big spender!

COMC Challenge Cards Part 90: All About The Penmanship

If you've read some of my posts with autographed cards, you'd know that I'm a snob for penmanship. It is to the point I'd rather have a card of someone with nice penmanship than one that hits one of my PCs. For these cards, I either added them to my watchlist after seeing one of their autos pop up during challenges, or simply looked at the cheapest autographed cards, and selected ones where I liked the handwriting.

This is the only baseball one in a group of football. And it is one with an interesting player on it. Alibay Barkley only had a handful of at bats in the minors. But, he was baseball's version of Mr. Irrelevant. It says it right on the card - the 2009 Final Draft Pick. This is also his only card. Given that placement, I guess he wanted to make sure he had a memorable autograph on his card. And it was, with a very legible stickergraph.

Off to football for the next one. Unfortunately, the placement of the sticker does harm the legibility of the autograph as a whole, but it is consistently legible on the other cards. This one was just the cheapest of the bunch. Shay Hodge also had a short stint with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before retiring.

The stickergraphs continue! I love how the H at the end of his first name continues to the P of his last name.

Glenn loses some points for just the initial on the first name, but it makes up for it with a really nice stylization of the letter, as well as adding the small star, his number and the number symbol to his name to his name.  Of the three football players featured, he's the one with the longest NFL career, topping out at 3 years.

And to wrap it up, someone who is still active in the NFL! Tavon is still with the Patriots, and will be picking up a Super Bowl ring at some point. A nice looking T to start. And proof that you can have a compact signature that is still legible.

I'm still considering picking up one of those 10 page binders with 4 pockets each, and having it exclusively for my all penmanship team. If I do, here are 5 contenders to make it in.

Outgoing Mail Alert

If these Zip Codes seem familiar:

26505
55419
80308

There will be a small package on its way to you.

ObCard:

While I don't have too many NCAA level football cards in my collection, I can say with incredible certainty that this is the best one in a photographic sense.

Just One Pack...of 2015 WWE

Since Wrestlemania goes tonight, now is as good a time as any to post one pack of the 2015 Topps WWE release. 21 cards in a rack pack.

And we're off:

Roman Reigns - My first card last year was Daniel Bryan. So, it looks like I'll be going back-to-back with cards of guys that might walk out of the big dance with the belt. The design should be familiar to fans of another flagship design.
Cesaro

Big E - No more Langston, I guess.

Jimmy Uso - There really doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why some have blue borders and some have red.
Nikki Bella

Crowd Chants Wooooooo! - Flair defeats Savage - I'll take a Ric Flair subset anytime.

Crowd Chants - Oh No! - Lesnar ends The Streak - I would have gone for a pinfall photo myself, but commemorating the most famous moment from last year's Mania is still nice in cardboard form.
AJ Lee - And we're back to base cards again.
Curtis Axel
Diego
Jack Swagger

Brie Bella - No Daniel Bryan in this year's pack, but I did get his significant other.

David Otunga - My first "He's still on the roster?" card.

Jason Albert - Even though I always catch NXT, getting this card of the former Albert/A-Train/Tensai in a suit is a little surprising.

Lana - I guess the Rookie Card logo is back as well.

Hulk Hogan defeats King Kong Bundy - If not for the gloss, this card really has an old school Heritage-ish feeling to it with the photo and the classic blue bar cage.
Crowd Chants You've Still Got It! - Rob Van Dam

Mark Henry - He's another one of my guilty pleasure wrestlers.

Tom Phillips - The second broadcaster card of this pack. I guess the roster is too small to power its way to 100 on its own.
Undertaker
Summer Rae

And there's the pack.

Just One Pack...of 2014 Topps Chrome Mini

I went to the local card show this morning. I really didn't get too much for myself. Mainly, I got cards to send off as part of trades. So, if you  are a Penguins fan in WV or a Ducks fan in CO, keep your eyes peeled, as I hope to swing by a post office Monday.

I'm going to hold on to the Wolverines for now, unless it becomes more financially advantageous to mail 2 packages instead of just 1. Canada Post can be as strange as the USPS with postage.

Since I really hadn't grabbed too much for me, I decided that I should pick up, and at least bust one pack of something. Lots of hockey options, but I opted for football.

Mainly because I can add the empty pack to my Bills binder.

And this was the first card. I guess this was my promised rookie card. Given that this was a later release, I would have at least hoped that they might have updated the photo. Especially since Silas made the team as an undrafted free agent.

So, if anybody out there wants to pay for a flight and accommodation, I'll gladly try my hand on grabbing packs at your LCS. This is the second time that picking up one pack of a product lead to an Andre Williams autograph for my collection. Since he's pictured as a giant here instead of a photoshopped college uniform, I like this one a little more than the first. This is also /99.

Of course I pulled a Wolverines alum for Dennis @ TMM. Why would I not?

And the final card. Great photo of a nice catch to end it. I love how the design and the chrome contrast the white jersey against all the opposing jerseys in the field and in the stands.

Fairly standard backs to those who busted both flagship and regular Chrome.

And there you have it.

The First 2015 Trade w/ Too Many Manninghams - Part 2 of 3

I was planning on doing this Sunday, but since that's also Wrestlemania, I'll be busting a pack of WWE 2015 to celebrate. So, I'll continue on with the latest envelopes from Michigan instead.

Today, all the football, leaving the basketball and hockey for the last post, whenever that may be.

It always amazes me what can be cut up and put into a card. If you can't read it through the foil, that piece of blue isn't from a jersey - it is from the goalpost padding at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. But, getting a Price relic reminded me of some football game I played with questionable licensing - meaning the Bills WR corps featured the great Sterling Cost.

More WR relics, this time with far more traditional jersey swatches. In both blue...

and white.

And one last WR hit, this time a manu-relic with the autograph of Roscoe Parrish.

From Rookie of the Year Contender in 2013 sets, to "backup of whatever the hell we find on the QB scrap heap" in '14 and '15. Ouch. I'm glad the defense looks strong.

The best thing about Jim Kelly cards is that if they're dupes, I can put them in either the Bills or 2/14 binder. These are going into the the former.

And finally, a who bunch of shiny cards. The orange are unnumbered retail parallels, while the top are numbered to 260, 249, 1250 and 2500 respectively.

And to wrap up the football, here's 4 new additions to the Steve McNair portion of the 2/14 collection. The lower left card has the most groan-inducing subset name I've come across in a bit - Gold Flingers. Steve is now solidly in 2nd place for football cards with 27 cards, a 3 card lead over Drew Bledsoe.

And to wrap this up, my Patrick Ramsey collection has exploded in terms of hits with these 4. The best thing is that, although you can't tell from the scan, his penmanship will contend with Darius Songaila for the best in the collection.

And that's another portion of the trade box. Thanks for these, Dennis! I've already got something nice for your next envelope, but I don't think I'll be sending it until after the Expo in early May.

COMC Challenge Cards Part 89: The last 2/14 cards in the box

Time to close off one portion of the COMC box. I've still got over 100 cards to get to though, so that should last well into the summer.

I actually showcased this as one of my favourite cards from the past year of releases that I had added to my collection in the past year. Even though the shipment had yet to arrive. Which only makes sense to me. Anyhow, this one will contend with my America's Pastime release of Paul Clemens for the title of "Brightest Card In The Binder".

Faux vintage, with this parallel throwback to Fleer's famous 1986 release out of their 2006 release.

But nothing beats real vintage. And it is my first Baltimore Bullets card that isn't part of a veteran subset in a modern release. This is my 3rd Fred Carter, and, like with Bernie Geoffrion, a player that I have both cards of as a player and a coach.

Cartoon on the back! Dog on the back! Cartoon dog on the back!

And finally, one last card is out of a WWF Action Packed release from the mid 90s. This is my 3rd card of the late Nelson Frazier, and my first of him under the Mabel gimmick. It takes just 3 cards to move him into a tie for the lead overall in my miscellaneous category, alongside lady wrestler Ayako Hamada.

And now, I've got to find another way to group the cards in the COMC box.

2015 Adventures in Repacks: Part 10 - Early Morning Dollarama Hockey Repack

Because why not?

2006 UD - Adrian Aucoin - The visible card. I went for the one with the most interesting visible photo that I doubted I already had. And that was this.

1992 Score (American Edition) - Pat Conacher - I don't think I busted any of the US packs at the time, so I like adding this one.
1991 Score (Canadian) - John MacLean

1991 UD - Leafs Checklist (Dave Ellett) - Drawn cards are always welcome.

1991 Pro Set French - Georges Vezina - Pro Set might be the junkiest wax of the junk wax era, but these cards are highlights.

2002 Topps - Lukas Krajicek - Looking at COMC, this might be the factory set foil variation.
1990 Pro Set - Bob Kudelski
1992 Parkhurst - Gary Leeman
1989 O-Pee-Chee - Leafs Team
1993 Stad. CLub - Matthew Barnaby

1994 Score - Craig McTavish - A Very 90s base design.

1991 UD - Corey Millen - An a very UD photo choice for the back.

2005 Rookie Class - Keith Ballard - I guess this is kinda unexpected for one of these.

1990 Bowman - Shayne Corson - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

2013 SPX - Andrew Ladd - And the last visible card. Horizontal designs on front and back. Kinda neat.

And there you have it.