Figure Spotlight: Upper Deck Michael Jordan Pro Shots

After Mattel totally flopped with their MJ figures, it seemed like the chances of quality Jordan figures being produced were slim to none. I'm guessing the costs of McFarlane to acquire the MJ License was way more than they were willing to spend so we'd never see a Sportspicks figure of him. Upper Deck did however in 2008 come up with MJ Figures. Called Pro Shots, Upper Deck made figures of some of Michael Jordan's most memorable moments of his career. I don't know everything about this set. I do know there were home/away versions produced for Retail/Hobby. I'm guessing I have the Retail versions because the 3 I have came from Champs Sports I believe. I think the only I'm missing is the Jordan Reverse Layup figure against the Lakers. I could be wrong though. I do have the 85 dunk contest, 88 Dunk Contest, and 97 Finals Last Shot. I love these figures. The detail is amazing down to the shoes MJ wore in that era. My favorite has to be the 85 Dunk Contest one pictured above. I love the old school Chicago Bulls jerseys with the cursive lettering. Definitely cool. Here's a closeup of that one, followed by the other two I own. Better than nothing, I say!

Awesome Autographs: Peyton Manning Autographed Denver Broncos Mini-Helmet

The newest addition to my signed mini helmet collection. This is a Steiner Certified Autographed Broncos Mini Helmet of Peyton Manning. I love the look of the Broncos Helmet, so this was no a brainer for me to pick up. I'm selling my Peyton Manning SP Authentic Sign of the Times card to help offset the costs of this but it's well worth the trade off. I prefer memorabilia that you can display anyway!

Game Used Greatness:11-12 Deron Williams Game Used Home Jersey

Got this in a trade. I traded away my Harden Shooting Stars Jersey for this D-Will Gamer. Steiner Certified, it also has the 35th anniversary patch and this would be the last season the Nets played in New Jersey. Very cool. I loved the Harden, but I really wanted this gamer and the Harden while awesome, was an All Star Weekend Event Used Jersey. Here are some more pics!

Game Used Greatness: 2011 Matt Garza Game Used Chicago Cubs Jersey

In my brief time of collecting game used jerseys I had yet to come across a jersey that actually smelled like a game used jersey....UNTIL NOW. This jersey...there's no way else to put it....STINKS..LITERALLY! No doubt it was definitely game used. I won this off Ebay last Monday and it finally came in today. I love the Cubbies Pinstripe Jerseys and the price wasn't too bad so I went for it. Comes with not only a Steiner LOA/Hologram but an MLB Hologram as well. You can see the dirt stains on it. All in all pretty cool, but there's no way this is going into the closet to stink up my regular clothes! Here are some more pics

My First "Valuable Card"- 1994 Fleer Ultra RBI King Frank Thomas

When I was a kid and collecting, I always wanted to own a card that was considered a "big hit". My collection was modest, and honestly in the early 90's there wern't many "high ticket" cards to own. As inserts got increasingly popular and became a staple of packs though, the demand for some of the harder to find insert sets grew and "high dollar inserts" were very desirable. I bought pack after pack hoping to pull the "motherload". One of those hard to find 1 out of bazillion packs insert cards. I had little to no luck until I finally hit the "big one" but not in a traditional way. Everyone remembers the card cubes that retail chain stores like Wal Mart used to carry. You got like 200 cards, mostly junk, but they'd always put superstar base cards in the front to entice you to buy them. 95% of them weren't really worth what you paid for, but this particular cube had this Frank Thomas insert card displayed. My heart jumped when I saw it, I then grabbed a Beckett and saw what they had it priced at. $75.00!!! I couldn't believe it. My lucky day!! I vividly remember a cube that had the exact same insert but of Carlos Bearga. I quickly snatched my find (I don't remember the price point, but it had to be no more the $5.00) and ripped open the cube to touch my beauty. Frank Thomas was one of my favorite baseball players to boot (even liked him over Griffey who was my 2nd) so this was beyond awesome. The insert itself is very nice looking. Makes me miss the days when companies put actual thought into their insert sets. This was my first "big card' as I'd never had a card worth more than $20.00 at the time. It was my favorite card for years. Unfortunately, I honestly don't remember what I ended up doing with it. I either traded it way down the road or even sold it but I no longer had it. Maybe one day I'll buy it again and relive the memories that card brought.

This Week's SLU PIckups

I'm really diggin finding SLU's on Ebay on the cheap. It might not be as exciting as it was when I was a kid, but it's so awesome to pick up pieces that I never owned because they were so expensive at the time. Now, I can pick those pieces up for a couple of dollars. Here are this weeks pickups

1993 Barry Bonds Pirates

Love the old school Bonds while he was still a member of the Pirates. 

1995 Marshall Faulk FP

Another one of those "must have" first pieces from back in the day. Another piece I definitely couldn't find in stores. First piece of the hall of famer

1994 Chris Webber FP

This along with the Penny were THE rookie pieces to have in the 1994 set.

1995 Grant Hill FP

I remember wanting this piece soooooo bad. I was even willing to settle for the K-Mart Exclusive which is the exact same figure just with a big K-Mart Sticker on the piece. I never found nor bought it. Feels awesome to FINALLY have it now!

1992 Larry Johnson FP

This piece came out during my pre packaged days. I was still opening SLU's and playing with them. LJ was the hot rookie piece at the time, and as easy as SLU's were to find I never had this one. I dunno why, but it's easily become one of my favorites.

Total Cost with Shipping for all 5 pieces? $18.08. I don't think that's bad at all. Very happy with these purchases and the memories that come with them

Today's SLU Pickup: 96 Grant Hill Extended Series

I remember being STOKED that Basketball was going to have an extended series in 1996. Extended series had always been in staple in baseball releases but for some reason never branched out to other sports. Until 1996 that is, when Basketball was rewarded a 2nd series. The checklist was awesome, First Pieces of Kobe and Iverson were the main chases but I always love the 96 series because of their inclusion of players in their throwback uniforms. Larry Johnson was featured in a throwback Knicks jersey, Damon Stoudemire in a Toronto Huskies jersey, Shaq in the awesome Powder Blue Lakers Jersey and this piece right here, Grant Hill in a throwback Ft. Wayne Pistons jersey.

Grant Rockin' the Throwback Jersey. Always a favorite of mine

In 1996 Grant Hill was STILL a HUGE DEAL, so this was a popular piece and it's one I never owned during my original run of collecting. I was browsing Ebay Saturday and found this and decided to throw a bid on it hoping I could get it on the cheap. Final price? $2.50 with free shipping. How can you beat that on Ebay! Figure is in great shape and I'm really having fun searching Ebay for bargains like this!