2011 Panini National Treasures Chris Mullin Auto 10/25

2011 Panini National Treasures Chris Mullin Auto 10/25

I've got a few Chris Mullin cards in my collection that are worth a mention (click here), and this one is no different. I picked it up a few months ago and I'm pretty excited to show it off. The pic of Mullin is cool and the auto is as bright as it is big. For this collector, it doesn't get much better. Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball.

A Much Deserved Nod To HOF'er Chris Mullin

2010 Panini Classics Significant Signatures Chris Mullin #'d 15/25

Ok, Chris Mullin hasn't been enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame just yet, but he will be on August 13th. I watch the enshrinemnt ceromony every year, but I'll be extra excited for this year's ceremony to see one of my favorite players get his just due. Along with Mullin, Dennis Rodman, Tex Winter, Herb Magee, Artis Gilmore, Arvydas Sabonis, Teresa Edwards, Reece "Goose" Tatum, Tom "Satch" Sanders and Tara VanDerveer will all be inducted. It's a very nice class that I can't wait to listen to while they relive their basketball journeys.

As for Mr. Mullin, the former St. John's star was selected to five NBA All-Star teams, won two Olympic Gold medals, was a numerous All-NBA performer and the '85 John Wooden Award Winner. He averaged 18.1 points, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 4.1 rebounds/game during his sixteen year career. More impressive than all those accolades and stats, was Mullin's sweet left-handed jump-shot. The Brooklyn, NY native is well deserving.

As for the hobby side of things, I suppose more and more Mullin cards will be posted on the Bay as we get closer to the induction ceromony. That's a good thing for a Mullin collector like me, but hopefully the prices of those cards wont go up. Fortunately for me, I've been able to grab a few very nice on-card auto'd cards like this 2011 Panini Classics Significant Signatures 15/25 card of Mullin. This will look great next to my prized Mullin card seen here.

Here's a fun Nike Commercial from '93. I have several Mullin TV commercials bookmarked, so I'll most likely continue to post these videos right here on the blog and on the Hoopography Facebook page right up until the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony. For now, enjoy the nice work the marketing department at Nike did back in '93.

An All-Star Post For The NBA's All-Star Weekend: '93 Fleer All-Star Insert Set

1993 Fleer All-Star Michael Jordan

The NBA All-Star Weekend is almost upon us and I'm really excited. because of that excitement, I thought it only fitting to put up as many All-Star themed posts as possible. Some of these will be reposts from the past few months, but I'll mix in a number of new posts, videos and polls. Actually, I wrote a bunch of new posts last weekend that I have scheduled to be published periodically throughout the rest of this week. So stay tuned for all those posts and get ready for a fun weekend of basketball. With Blake Griffin in the Dunk Contest, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen squaring off in the 3-Point Contest and the game itself, it should be great!!!

One of the more popular basketball inserts of the early 90's was the '93 Fleer All-Stars set. This was a 24 card set that featured the Western and Eastern All-Stars from the '92 NBA All-Star Game. Hence, no Shaquille O'neal rookie all-star card unfortunately even though this is a set from his rookie year. However, the set is littered with tons of 90's stars and superstars like Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen and many more. The set featured a horizontal design with images of the players in their All-Star uniforms. There's a blue background that looks great, but is unfortunately susceptible to chipping. This is the biggest problem collectors need to worry about when attempting to put this set together and is very noticeable as you'll see the tail-tail white edges or chunks that indicate edge wear and chipping. Definitely look closely at any images if you are buying these cards on-line through the secondary markets or trading.

The set is not terribly difficult to put together. It only consists of 24 cards and they were inserted into series 1 pack at a modest rate of 1:9. It has a solid book value of $100, but you should be able to put the entire set together for well under that if you can save on shipping costs. Most of the cards sell as singles for around $2.00 to $5.00. The Jordan is the tough one, but can be had for right around $10.00-$40.00. Here's a BGS Graded 9 Jordan currently for sale on eBay as a Buy Now: (click here) and an ungraded Live eBay auction: (click here). Also, here's a complete set in a Buy Now eBay auction with a $60.00 reserve: (click here). I took the easy way out and bought the entire set all at once from a seller on eBay. I haggled the price down to $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping for the entire set. No question, good deals are out there if you are willing to be a patient collector.

Although this '93 Fleer All-Stars set is not my favorite insert set from the 90's, it's high on the list. Many of my favorite hoops stars are in this set and I love the overall design. Hope you enjoyed this All-Star themed post. Stay tuned for more NBA All-Star posts and remember to… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

2007 Upper Deck Ultimate Virtuoso Chris Mullin Auto/Jersey #'d 8/25 In The Hoopography House

2007 Upper Deck Ultimate Virtuoso Chris Mullin Auto/Jersey #'d 8/25

There are certain cards that collectors get excited about ever since the first time they lay their eyes on them. For me, this '07 UD Ultimate Virtuoso Chris Mullin auto/jersey card is one of those. It recently came in, and I'm really excited to add it to my collection. Mullin is one of my favorite players to collect (along with Anfernee Hardaway, Tyler Ennis, Bo Jackson, Warren Spahn, Danilo Gallinari, Billy Martin and 90's insert sets), and this is easily one of the best looking Mullin cards I've ever seen. It's on my Top 50 Wish List and it certainly feels good to cross it off.

I have Refractoritis!!!

As you all know, I have a great appreciation for various trading card technologies and designs. Lately though, it seems I've caught a nasty case of Refractoritis. Think it's not a true illness? Checkout the symptoms below. These are some of the various refractors I've managed to add to my collection recently.

So I certainly have a nasty case of Refractoritis, but is there a particular set, player or trading card technology that has infected you?

Should Panini Use Sticker Designs of Old?

I'm sure many of you remember the Panini sticker albums of old. Actually, Panini still produces these sticker albums, but they're not as popular as they once were here in the U.S. during the early 90's. I was one of those collectors who completed both the '91 and '92 NBA Panini albums. It was a lot of fun ripping open the little packages looking for the last few stickers to complete an entire album. Undoubtedly, I always needed one of the "insert" stickers. These were usually groups of ten or twelve stickers that featured NBA All-Stars or All-NBA performers. It was a savvy marketing scheme by the Panini brass. I bought a lot of little packs just to find those last one or two "insert" stickers, but it sure was fun.

Besides the fun of opening those sticker packs and the thrill of completing an album, the stickers themselves were actually pretty cool looking. One could say they were even a bit ahead of their time. The "inserts" actually featured either a prism design in '93 or a foil design in '92. The designs are admittedly simple, but effective. The focus is on the player entirely with a full body silhouette action shot and cool backgrounds. I like the designs of the '93 Prism Mullin and '92 Foil Jordan so much that I think Panini should bring these them back.

('93 Prism C. Mullin) ('92 Foil M. Jordan)

It seems that the trading card industry is consumed with auto's and relic pieces these days and not as much on design. If Panini wants to make a short print auto'd parallel of these, that's fine. I just think it would be so cool for Panini to reuse these designs that I remember so fondly from my youth.

My proposal and subsequent question are simple:

- Proposal:

Bring the '92 foil and '93 prism designs back as trading card insert sets in upcoming Panini trading card products. The sets could feature a "Legends" set and "Rising Stars" set. There's no need to alter the designs other than to enlarge them to fit the standard trading card size (2.5 inches x 3.5 inches). On-card auto's would be cool too for a short print run. If I'm going to have cake, I mine as well eat it too.

- Question:

Ok collectors, is this a good idea/proposal? Would you buy/collect these cards? I think my opinion is obvious, but what's yours?

Another 90's Insert Set: '93 Fleer All-Stars

As many of you know, I collect a lot of different players, sports and types of cards, but my main passion is 90's basketball inserts. I simply can't get enough of them. I feel this time period produced some of the most creative and best designed cards in the hobby's history. It also didn't hurt that this was a golden age for the NBA as well. This was also the time when companies couldn't rely on the player auto or jersey relic. Although there were a few on-card autographs being produced during the 90's (click here), they were not as heavily produced as they are today. Whether it was a hologram, die cut, refractor, great photography or simply a well thought out design, 90's inserts had it going on.

One of the more popular basketball inserts of the early 90's was the '93 Fleer All-Stars set. This was a 24 card set that featured the Western and Eastern All-Stars from the '92 NBA All-Star Game. Hence, no Shaquille O'neal rookie all-star card unfortunately even though this is a set from his rookie year. However, the set is littered with tons of 90's stars and superstars like Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen and many more.

The set featured a horizontal design with images of the players in their All-Star uniforms. There's a blue background that looks great, but is unfortunately susceptible to chipping. This is the biggest problem collectors need to worry about when attempting to put this set together and is very noticeable as you'll see the tail-tail white edges or chunks that indicate edge wear and chipping. Definitely look closely at any images if your are buying these cards on-line through the secondary markets or trading.

The set is not terribly difficult to put together. It only consists of 24 cards and the cards were inserted into series 1 pack at a modest rate of 1:9. It has a solid book value of $100, but you should be able to put the entire set together for well under that if you can save on shipping costs. Most of the cards sell as singles for around $2.00 to $5.00. The Jordan is the tough one, but can be had for right around $15.00. Here's a PSA Graded 9 Jordan for sale on eBay as a Buy Now: (click here) and a BGS 9 Live eBay auction: (click here). Also, here's a completed set in a Live eBay auction with a $59.00 reserve: (click here).

I took the easy way out and bought the entire set all at once from a seller on eBay. I haggled the price down to $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping for the entire set. No question, good deals are out there if you are willing to be a patient collector. Although this '93 Fleer All-Stars set is not my favorite insert set from the 90's, it's high on the list. Many of my favorite hoops stars are in this set and I love the overall design. Hope you enjoyed this installment of yet Another 90's Insert Set and of course… "Every Bounce of the Ball"!