Rockets from Sport Card Collectors

A while ago, Sport Card Collectors asked about a card I posted on my blog. I don't really like to trade, but I sent him some cards and he sent me some cards.

Most of the package centered around my favorite basketball team, the Houston Rockets. First up are some shiny parallels and inserts of Houston players, including three of my all-time favorite player, Hakeem Olajuwon. I don't collect basketball cards as much as I used to, so there are a lot of card designs here that are new to me.

There were a couple of UFC cards in the package, both from the 2017 Topps UFC Museum Collection product. On the left is a Copper parallel of Germaine de Randamie, and on the right is a Blue Sapphire parallel of Jose Aldo.

Last up are the hits. Shane Battier was one of my favorite Rockets while he was on the team. He was kind of the figurehead of Daryl Morey's analysis-heavy approach to team-building. Battier didn't put up huge conventional stats, but his positioning, shot selection, and cerebral approach to the game increased the team's win probability while he was on the floor. The Prestigious Pros relic from 2010-11 Panini Prestige is numbered # 121 / 499.

The Jason Terry die-cut autograph comes from 2014-15 Panini Donruss is numbered # 12 / 99. I don't know a lot about Terry, but he's been in the NBA for a long time and spent a couple years on the Rockets. He's also 3rd in all-time 3-pointers made, behind Ray Allen and Reggie Miller. I think maybe Steph Curry, Kyle Korver, and Klay Thompson have a chance at passing him if they play long enough, though.

The highlight of the package was this Apprentice Signatures autograph of Patrick Beverley from 2013-14 Panini Crusade. It is numbered # 05 / 10. I liked Beverley as a Rocket, although I thought at times he showboated a little too much. It wouldn't be a problem, but it felt like every so often he would have an unnecessary turnover or miss a shot because he was showing off. He's a good defender, though, and was overall a solid player for the team.

This was a pretty cool package from Sport Card Collectors. It was especially nice to add so many cards to my oft-neglected basketball collection. Thank you!

The Final Bolshoi, Thanks to an Assist from SumoMenkoMan

This card represents the finishing touch on one of my projects, collecting the full run of Command Bolshoi autographs from the BBM True Heart Japanese Women's Wrestling sets. For some reason, the 2004 set is almost impossible to find. As far as I can tell, BBM has produced the True Heart product every year from 2003 to the present, and I was able to locate her autos for all of the other years rather handily.

The 2004 proved elusive, but it finally popped up on Yahoo! Auctions in Japan, and SumoMenkoMan of the Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko blog was able to acquire it for me as part of a shipment he had coming in. I really appreciate his generosity in making this happen, as this is the first time I've even seen the card come up for sale. I think I now have every base set of the True Heart cards except for 2004, so tracking that down will be my next goal. I don't know why the 2004 set in particular is so hard to find. Maybe some of the print run got dumped in the river or something.

I guess it is technically not true to say that I have the full run of Command Bolshoi autographs or a nearly complete run of True Heart base sets, as the 2017 set just released and I don't have it in-hand yet. My initial order of three boxes just got through customs in California, though, so it should be in my hands soon. Odds are good that I will complete the base set from three boxes, but I don't know about pulling the Command Bolshoi signature. There are a few up on Yahoo! Auctions, though, so I shouldn't have a hard time getting one if my pulls are unlucky. I might be the only Command Bolshoi super-collector in America, so odds are good that I will be able to acquire a 2017 example.

Here is the 2004 autograph. It's signed in silver paint pen, and embossed with the BBM logo. The back is serially-numbered # 70 / 80. In most years the print runs on autographs vary widely, but for 2017 BBM somehow got 95 of each autograph on the checklist. The only variation in print runs comes from the Polaroid/cheki photos, which range from 3 to 9 copies each. There are 135 subjects in the base set, and 118 (87.4%) of them have regular autographs. Only 54 (40.0%) have Polaroid/cheki autographed photos. Command Bolshoi does not have cheki photos this year. I haven't put a lot of effort into chasing her photos from other years, but I was able to get one from the 2012 set. I'm really looking forward to busting this first batch of 2017 product. It's probably my most-anticipated release of the year.

Darth Bader and Star Wars Sketches from Corky

Corky from the Pack War blog recently sent me a package full of some of my favorite things: UFC autographs and sketch cards.

I'll start off with the UFC autographs. Corky is one of the few bloggers I know of who collects UFC cards, and I believe his primary fighter collection is Ryan 'Darth' Bader. Apparently he's picked up some doubles over the years, and he sent them my way. This one is from 2010 Topps UFC.

The resemblance isn't really all that great when they are side by side, but whenever I see Ryan Bader, I think of Nick Frost, who played Simon Pegg's friend in Shaun of the Dead.

This one is from 2010 Topps UFC Knockout. It's on fancy thick stock, and also serially-numbered # 076 / 188. Even though Bader is the #4-ranked Light Heavyweight and has won 8 of his last 10 fights, he is currently looking at moving to Bellator due to the UFC refusing to renew his contract. There's always drama in the fight game.

Corky is an artist, and did up a Leia sketch for my collection. He even drew it on his own custom sketch card stock, with the artist's real name and blog link. It's always fun to add another sketch to my Leia collection.

He also included this Boba Fett sketch by artist John Soukup, whose work features heavily here on The Raz Card Blog. I remember seeing this sketch on eBay. I hope I didn't bid on it, as that would have been a bit rude on my part.

This was a pretty fun package to open, with plenty of good stuff for my various collections. Once again it is much too late for me to be awake, but I am trying to get through everything that other bloggers have sent my way. I don't want anyone to think I am ungrateful, because I am thankful to be surrounded (virtually) by so many generous folks. Thanks, Corky! I will try to get something decent put together to send back your way.

A Delayed Post About a Mail Day

I am pretty sure this package has been sitting by my desk for nearly a month, but for various reasons I never scanned the cards. I wouldn't feel too bad if it were an eBay purchase, but I try to be better about getting to packages from other bloggers. Things have felt a little hectic lately.

Jon from the blog A Penny Sleeve for your Thoughts sent me a mailer full of cards in early January. I scanned some of my favorites from the bunch for this post. I may not have as much commentary as I'd like, because my kids have had a hard time getting to sleep the last few nights and by the time they get to sleep it is usually time for me to get into bed and my patience is worn pretty thin.

That die-cut Damaryius Thomas Hands Team insert from 2014 Panini Prizm football is really cool. I don't think I'd seen one of those before. It hearkens back to the days of Flair's Hot Gloves inserts. I could never afford to buy Flair when I was a kid, but I remember seeing the Hot Gloves inserts in Beckett. That Jeff Bagwell Studio Stars insert from 2004 Donruss Studio comes from a time when I was out of collecting, so it was new to me. It also comes from a time when the Astros were an NL team.

There were a bunch of serially-numbered cards in this package, including the Evan Gattis from 2016 Donruss and the Brett Oberholtzer from 2015 Topps. Chris Holt feels a little left out because he doesn't have a serial number on his card, but he is a Refractor. Goose Gossage thinks that Refractors and serial numbers are ruining the game, because he played in the days when all you got was some thin papar and a little adhesive, and you were just grateful to have your picture on that sticker. Oh, how he pines for 1981-1983.

Back then, men were men, and Uncle Rico could throw a football over them mountains.

That 1999 Pacific Prism card of Shannon Sharpe is one of my favorite cards in the package, and it even has a serial number (# 101 / 480). I guess serial numbering was getting to be more common at the time, but if I'd pulled a card with a print run that small in 1999 it would have been like winning the lottery. Those Horace Grant cards are pretty sweet, too. The Upper Deck Black Diamond is also serially-numbered on the back, but with a much more era-appropriate number (# 0730 / 1500). I always like Horace Grant's goggles, and his reputation as a guy who was willing to go after rebounds.

Jon also plussed-up my Clyde Drexler collection with a few cards from The Glide's time in a Houston Rockets uniform. I especially like the Topps Finest card. That was another product I couldn't justify paying for at the time these were released. Backtracking a little in the scans, Randy Couture was a little before my time as an MMA fan, but I can respect what he did to help build the sport. I also can respect a die-cut insert from Goodwin Champions.

I skipped scanning a couple of cards from the package, but I made sure to get this graded Bob Abreu card, which had a note attached: "P.S. Hopefully you like this novelty item as well." I do like it, and not just because it will fund college for one of my children. I also like the gold foil. There's no mistaking that this is a 1996 ROOKIE. I think it's a little funny that those words are in a larger font than Abreu's name. I guess rookie cards were a big deal then. It didn't really matter who the player was, as long as the card was his rookie card.

Thanks for the package, Jon! I had a lot of fun sorting through the cards, even if it did take me nearly a month to get them onto the scanner.

At the Trade Deadline 50: Secret Santa Delivery from Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle

In a bit of a twist, Greg Zakwin of the blog Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle and I were assigned as each other's Secret Santas in the Bob Walk the Plank gift exchange organized by Matthew Scott. I received a big stack of cardboard in the mail from Greg, touching on many of my collecting interests.

As with most very large trade packages, I just scanned many of the highlights from the bunch. It's Christmas Eve as I write this, and there are family events to participate in. There are some big names here, but I think my favorite card of this bunch is actually the 1975 SSPC card of Roger Craig. He is pictured on the front as a coach for the Astros, but on the back he is listed in his new position as a coach with the Padres. As a player, he was on three World Series-winning teams and also lost the first game in Mets history. I've been meaning to pick up some more of those SSPC cards, but as with many of my hobby aspirations, I haven't really got around to it yet.

Other sports were well-represented in the package, as well as non-sports, like NASCAR (lol!). Von Miller is the cornerstone of the Denver Broncos right now, a team that is clinging to playoff hopes at the moment. I think that to get in, they have to win tough games against Kansas City and Oakland and hope that Miami loses to New England next week and that Pittsburgh beats Baltimore this week. Basically, the defending Super Bowl champions need to take care of business, and they need some help elsewhere to get into the postseason tournament.

It's always nice when I get some Yao Ming cardboard in my hands. He was a great player, but his career happened when I was out of collecting, so I have very little of his cardboard. There were plenty of Rockets from several eras in the package. How charmed was Robert Horry's career? He has seven NBA Championships with three teams, more rings than greats like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Shaquille O'Neal.

Here's some horizontal cards, with some Broncos wearing college uniforms and a Max Scherzer/Bartolo Colon sighting. I still haven't been able to decide on a favorite card of 2016 for P-Town Tom's contest yet, but I think Colon's Topps NOW Home Run card is in the running.

These are cards for TV shows that are very popular, but that I have never watched. I pretty much checked out of watching television a decade or so ago. I will watch a movie from time to time, and I watch sports occasionally, but I can't remember the last TV series I watched for more than an episode or two. Ron Swanson, however, has been the subject of enough memes that I have a pretty good handle on the character. I think he is the official mascot of Greg's blog. Archer is something I'm only vaguely aware of, mostly due to reading about Greg's pursuit of the set and its sketch cards.

This is a terrible picture, but this is a 1967 Coke cap of Harmon Killebrew. It looks better in person. Killebrew was from a town not far from the town I spent my teen years in, and is probably one of the few positive things that have ever come out of that place.

This Rashad Evans card hails from 2010 Topps UFC, and is the Onyx parallel numbered # 067 / 188. Evans had a pretty good run to start his UFC career, but appears to be on the downside of things now, losing 4 of his last 6 fights.

Jay Cutler spent a couple of seasons as the Broncos' starter at quarterback. He had plenty of talent, but attitude questions and injuries (and interceptions) have made him a polarizing figure in Denver and then in Chicago. His trade to the Bears led to the Kyle Orton era in Denver, which eventually led to Tebowmania, which was a bright spot after many years of less-than-exciting football. I am pretty sure that this is my first Jay Cutler relic. It comes from 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces.

This card could cause a lot of contention in my household. For some reason my eldest son decided that he hates the Broncos and loves the Bengals. Seeing both teams together on one card could totally blow his mind. Terrell Davis helped the Broncos win a couple of Super Bowls and racked up plenty of awards in an injury-shortened career. His inclusion in this TD Threats relic set is somewhat questionable, as the main stat highlighted is the number of touchdowns each player scored in 2001. Corey Dillon scored 13 TD's, while T.D. scored 0 TD's in an injury-plagued year. But this is a cool card in spite of that, as it is pretty rare for me to make an addition to my Denver Broncos collection.

This is probably my favorite card of the package, as I don't think I had a Clyde Drexler relic in my collection yet, and he played a role in helping the Rockets win their 1995 Championship, reuniting with his college teammate Hakeem Olajuwon. The relic is contained in that basketball die-cut window, and this is just a good-looking Championship Material relic card from 2009-10 Topps Basketball.

This was a fun package to open, and I was very happy to add some cards to player collections that I often neglect, especially the relic cards for players I didn't have relics for. I'm glad that I decided to participate in the Secret Santa project. It was fun to shop for my person, and it was fun to receive a surprise package in the mail. Thank you to Greg Zakwin for the cards and Matthew Scott for organizing the exchange!

At the Trade Deadline 49: Jaybarkerfan's Holiday Tradeathon

I participated in the recent Holiday Tradeathon at Jaybarkerfan's Junk. Throughout the month of November, jaybarkerfan put various trade bait up for readers to claim, with the condition that anyone claiming cards would send him a trade package in return. I believe his plan is to open all of the return packages on Christmas. I already knew what I had claimed, so I didn't feel compelled to hold onto the package until the holiday, but I guess this post is scheduled for the 25th anyway. I hope he finds my return package acceptable.

This first card in this post is this Peyton Manning Noodle Golden Arms insert from 2015 Panini Black Gold Football. The Broncos were able to win the Super Bowl in spite of his arm last year, but the team's offensive woes combined with a surge from the Raiders and Chiefs means they are on the brink of elimination this year. I guess he deserved to be carried by his team at least once in return for all the years he spent carrying the Colts around. This is a cool shadowbox-style card, and it is serially-numbered # 085 / 199. Going back and looking at the Holiday Tradeathon posts, it looks like there was another Peyton Manning card offered up that I failed to claim, but this was the one I really wanted anyway.

The second card I claimed actually was a bit of a surprise, as jaybarkerfan just posted a picture of a box of 2016 Topps Archives Signature Series with the caption, "Not just an empty box here.  If you select this prize you will receive the same O Shucks card I did but it's a mystery." That was enough mystery for me to jump in and claim it. There are plenty of guys in that set who I would be excited to get an autograph from.

Well, it does pretty well match the description that jaybarkerfan gave it. It is a decent-looking autograph of a pretty good player. This buyback autograph of Darren Daulton's 1993 Topps Stadium Club card is numbered # 09 / 38. He had some decent years and won a World Series ring. I learned from his Wikipedia page that he had a couple of DUI's and wrote a book on occultism.

That was my haul from the Jaybarkerfan's Junk Holiday Tradeathon. I had a good time watching for his posts to pop up so I could see if there was anything I wanted to claim, and it was exciting to wait and see what the mystery autograph would be.

At the Trade Deadline 48: A Vintage-Packed Envelope from Mark Hoyle

Mark Hoyle is a regular in the comments sections of trading card blogs around the universe, but I don't think he has a blog of his own. I recently sent him a card from my 2016 Topps Update box break, and in return I received an envelope stuffed with vintage cardboard. I think I definitely got the better end of the stick in this exchange.

First up is this Astros team card from 1972 Topps Baseball. I really should make an effort to gather more vintage cardboard. There is so much neat stuff out there from the past, but I find myself so caught up in all of the shiny new stuff that I neglect to chase the older cards. I purchased a complete set of 1975 Topps Baseball back in 2015 and I made a half-hearted start on the 1973 Topps Baseball set in 2014, but beyond that and my Mario Lopez player collection I haven't done much else in the world of old cards.

Speaking of 1973, Mark included a couple of cards featuring my favorite teams from 1973 Topps Football set and 1973-74 Topps Basketball. I have to admit that I don't know a lot about any of these players (they all retired 4-8 years before I was born, and I wouldn't really discover sports cards until 9 years after that), but the cards are definitely cool. Something about the photography on these old sets gives them a character that isn't matched by the ultra-slick stuff produced today.

Here is a six-pack of Astros from the 1972 set. I can't get over the painted-on cap that Dave Roberts is sporting in his photo. That's one thing that hasn't changed much for Topps, as you still get some pretty ham-handed photo alterations on modern cards. Bowman products have a lot of them, but flagship Topps is plenty guilty as well.

The envelope also contained a quartet of 1974 Topps cards. I think my favorite photo in this bunch has to be the Lee May card, although the Larry Dierker follow-through is pretty good. I also like the INF.-OF position designation  on Dave Campbell's card for some reason.

I don't know if 1988 Fleer counts as vintage, but here are a pair of Astros, Goose "Get Off My Lawn" Gossage, and some Dodger taking up more than his share of Mike Scott's card. They may not be vintage, but they are still cool bits of paper.

Thanks for the awesome cardboard, Mark Hoyle! This was a dangerous package for me to receive, as it turned my mind back to an era I'd been ignoring for a while.