Some Auto's Are Just Plan Classics

I know… most post titles don't get any more cheesy than that. As you can see, the three auto's are from the early 90's Classic company. I'm a big fan of many of the Classic auto's. One of my favorite Classic auto's even made it all the way to forth place on my Top 25 PC Countdown. The fact is, Classic put out some of the best on-card auto's of superstar players like Shaquille O'neal, Alex Rodriguez, Drew Bledsoe, Chris Webber, Pavel Bure, Desmond Howard and many more. The really cool thing about many of these auto's is that there were plenty made. That means that every collector can pickup a sweet college era auto of their favorite player.

Speaking of favorite players, Chris Webber and the Fab Five had me hooked from day one. I attribute my craziness for kicks directly to the fab freshmen. Looking back at hoops trading cards of old, I'm also glad C-Web and the Wolverines got the shorts lengthened a bit. The '93 Webber Classic Gold Auto is from a special set that Classic limited to 9,500 and shipped to collectors in a swanky wooden box (click here). This is a must have for any Webber or Fab Five fan.

The Mashburn card is from the same '93 Gold set as the Webber. It's definately a cool card. I like it better than the Webber card. First off, Masburn has one of the coolest nicknames ever, "Monster Mash". Yeah… that's right, I said it. Plus, checkout those Converse kicks the "Monster Mash" is rockin'. Mashburn was a beast at Kentucky and I'm glad to add this one to my collection.

Finally, there were a number of collecting crazes during the '92-'93 collecting season. We had the "Shaq Attack" and of course Michael Jordan, but Manon Rheaume cards were hot as well. Rheaume is the first woman to play in an NHL contest. She competed in games during the '92 and '93 preseasons for the Tamp Bay Lighting. At one time, her Classic auto's were selling for similar amounts as the O'neal auto's. That's really saying something, If you know how hot those O'neal cards were.

If you're looking to pick up an auto or two of your favorite 90's athletes, take a look at the Classic auto's. They're not to shabby. As always, happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

KICKS: NIKE AIR FORCE MAX AND THE FAB FIVE

              Image Courtesy of NKETLK.com                                          '93 Classic Four Sport Tri-Card (Hardaway, O'neal, Webber)

The Air Force Max Nikes are one of the most iconic kicks of the mid 90's. These hardcore baller kicks were originally released in 1993 for Sir Charles himself. No, not me. Actually, they were released for Sir Charles Barkley. There's no denying Barkley's influence as a spokesperson for Nike, but it was Michigan's Fab Five that shot this sneaker into the pop culture stratispher.

These were cool kicks that an all freshmen, baggy shorts, black socks wearing starting five wore while they took the collegiate basketball ranks by storm. Truth be told, the Fab didn't actually start wearing these as freshmen. Actually, it was the Nike Air Flight Huaraches that the Five first started rockin' that fateful freshman year, but they did wear the Air Force Max Nikes during their sophmore seasons. Checkout the '93 Classic Four Sport Tri-Card featuring Anfernee Hardaway, Shaquille O'neal and Chris Webber. First, this is a really cool card and I'm excited that this KICKS series post allows me to show this card off. Second, checkout what Webber is got on his feet. It might be a little tough to tell, but those are the AF Max sneakers. Sure, those Converse kicks Hardaway was breakin' ankles in are cool, but the Nikes are iconic.

The Air Force Max sneakers were rereleased as retro's a year or two ago. They're a pair I would have loved to add to my collection, but it just wasn't in the cards. How's that for a play on words? I know a number of people who bought a pair and they love 'em. The unquestioned best design feature is the visible heel air sole. The mostly all black color scheme with a pair of black Nike socks is a nice look too.

In honor of the Tri-Card and the fact that the three players featured are some of my favorites to collect, here are the videos of their NBA Draft selections:

Anfernee Hardaway '93 Draft	Shaquille O'neal '92 Draft	Chris Webber '93 Draft

(Third party site and RSS readers, click here to view media/videos)

Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown #4: '92 Classic 4 Sport Quad Auto

('92 Classic 4 Sport Gold Future Superstars Quad Auto 5,510/9,500:
Phil Nevin, Shaquille O'neal, Roman Hamrlik & Desmond Howard)

The O'neal theme continues in my PC Top 25 with the #4 card in the countdown. This early O'neal auto was a card I bought almost two years ago on eBay and I'm still excited about the purchase. If you've been following this countdown, you'll know I'm obviously an early O'neal collector. This card is certainly a gem in my O'neal collection, but what's really cool is "The Heisman" himself is also featured on this sweet quad auto:

(Third Party and RSS Feed readers, click here to view media/video)

Hoopography Top 25: #12

Here's the number 12 card in my personal collection Top 25 countdown. This 1993 Shaquille O'neal Classic Future #NNO is really a no brainier for me at the number 12 spot in this countdown. It's an extra large acetate early Shaq' card. As many of you know, I love the acetate plastic cards. This Classic Futures card is translucent, but it's tough to tell from the scan. It's really one of those cards that looks better in hand than on scans. Checkout the basketball Shaq' is dunking. He truly had the world in his hands when he came into the Association.

These cards are not terribly scarce, and usually pop up on eBay every couple weeks. The book value is $30.00, but typically sells for right around $10 - $15 (click here). This is just a really neat card that I'm excited to have in my collection and at the number 12 spot in the Hoopography Top 25 countdown.

Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

The First Lady of Hockey

There are many great women athletes that have pioneered there respective sport over the past century. Many of those women from Babe Didrikson to Billy Jean King helped to change the perception that women could not participate in sports. One of those women with equal importance to her respective sport is Manon Rheaume. She certainly has not enjoyed the same long lasting notoriety as maybe a Jackie Joyner-Kersee or Mia Hamm, but her contribution to women's sport and sport in general should not be overlooked. Rheaume was the first female athlete to ever play in an NHL preseason hockey game.

She was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Lighting and competed in an NHL exhibition game during both the '92 and '93 preseasons. After her time with the Lighting, she went on to win two gold medals for the Women's Canadian Hockey Team at the Hockey World Championships in '92 and '94. She also won a silver medal in the '98 Winter Olympics for team Canada.

Although brief, her stint with the Lightning set off a collecting frenzy in the trading card hobby. Her '92 Auto'ed RC's from the Classic company were so hot that their retail prices rivaled fellow hobby star Shaquille O'neal. Both were rookies at the time and had some great cards produced by Classic. The '92 Classic Four-Sport Rheaume card you see in this post is generally regarded as her true rookie card, even though there are a number of Rheaume cards that were produced during that time.

I'm still looking for a few of her certified auto'd cards produced by Classic. I remember when her cards came out and the frenzy they created in the hobby. I'd love to add a couple of those auto'd cards to my collection.