COMC Black Friday: Part Three - Hall of Fame players

Every year, my sister gets me a Page-A-Day calendar for Christmas, usually sports related, but sometimes trivia instead. Today, I tore off the new page to see a picture of a Browns player tackling a Bronco. I was happy for a second, and then I realized what it must be. Sure enough, it was one of the "Who? What? When? Where?" pages (or something like that), and painfully it hit me that today is the 30th Anniversary of "The Drive". And people wonder why I hate John Elway...


Everyone knows that this last season was another lost season for the Browns, joining most of the seasons since they came back in 1999. (Their record since 1999 is 88-200.) Well, what you may not realize is that with the 1-15 record this year, the Browns all-time regular season record in the NFL slipped below the .500 mark. (Their all-time record is now 462-466-10.)


Finally slipping below the .500 mark after being 112 games under during the last 18 seasons is a credit to just how dominant the early Browns teams were to build that cushion for the franchise's record.


To go along with yesterdays card of Mike McCormack, here are recent cards of some of their Hall of Fame players that I picked up with my Black Friday shipment.


First we'll start with some cards that were shared by multiple Browns.

Top: 2005 Donruss Classics - Timeless Triples Bronze #TT-3 (#/1000)
Middle (l-r): 2008 Donruss Classics - Classic Combos #CC-6 (#/1000); Classic Combos Silver Holofoil #CC-6 (#/250)
Bottom (l-r): 2009 Donruss Classics - Classic Triples #7; Classic Triples Gold #7 (#/100)

By order of appearance on these cards, here are the years that these players were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame:


Jim Brown - 1971
Paul Warfield - 1983
Leroy Kelly - 1994
Lou Groza - 1974
Marion Motley - 1968


You'll see a few different variations and parallels in this post.


For the bottom two 2009 cards, it took a while to figure out how these cards were "Gold" other than by the serial number on the back. If you look at the border around the photos of the players, it is white in the base card, and gold in the other one. Very easy to miss, and that is why I'm happy for serial numbers that differentiate the two of them.


Looking at cards showing just the one individual player, I only picked up two new cards of the great Jim Brown.

L-R: 1981 TCMA Greats NNO Variant; 1985-88 Football Immortals #18

I already owned the numbered version (#8) of the TCMA card, but found and bought this unnumbered variant on COMC many months ago. Here is the back to the unnumbered variant.

After Jim Browns suddenly retired due to Art Modell's pressure to return to training camp from filming "The Dirty Dozen", on which filming was delayed due to bad weather, the new Browns starting running back became Leroy Kelly.

Left: 2004 Donruss Classics #127 (#/2000)
Middle: 2005 Donruss Gridiron Gear - Performers Silver Holofoil #P-33 (#/250)
Right: 2005 Leaf Limited #130 (#/599)

Kelly led the league in rushing twice, in 1967 and 1968, and also led the league in rushing TDs in three straight seasons, from 1966-68.

2005 Leaf Rookies & Stars - Great American Heroes #GAH-18
Top: Red (#/1250); Middle: White (#/750); Bottom: Blue (#/250)

There are still Jersey and Autograph cards to look for to complete Leroy Kelly's Great American Heroes set.

Top: 2008 Donruss Classics - Classic Singles Silver Holofoil #CS-26 (#/250)
Middle: 2008 Donruss Gridiron Gear - Performers #P-29 (#/500)
Bottom: 2008 Donruss Gridiron Gear - Performers Platinum #P-29 (#/25)

I still find cards numbered to 25 or less to be special. I managed to pick up a few with this purchase.

Top (l-r): 2008 Leaf Limited - Silver Spotlight #158 (#/99); 2010 Panini Limited - Silver Spotlight #138 (#/50)
Bottom: 2010 Panini Crown Royale - Majestic #23

L-R: 2010 Playoff National Treasures #163 (#/99); Century Silver #163 (#/25)

L-R: 2011 Panini Prime Signatures - Prime Proof Red #111 (#/99); Prime Proof Green #111 (#/25)

2012 Panini National Treasures - Century Silver #165 (#/25)

Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly followed another Hall of Fame running back with the Browns, Marion Motley.


Marion Motley played on the US Navy team in 1944, coached by Paul Brown. After the war ended, he was invited to try out for Paul Brown's new team in the AAFC. He led the AAFC in rushing in 1948, and is the all-time leading rusher in AAFC history. When the Browns joined the NFL in 1950, Motley led the NFL in rushing that year.


In 1946, Marion Motley, along with teammate Bill Willis in the AAFC, and Los Angeles Rams players Kenny Washington and Woody Strode in the NFL, broke the color barrier in professional football.

Top: 2007 Playoff National Treasures #96 (#/100)
Bottom: 2007 Playoff National Treasures - Silver #96 (#/25)

Top: 2009 Donruss Classics #132 (#/999)
Bottom: 2008 Donruss Classics - Classic Triples Silver Holofoil #CT-7 (#/250)

Yeah, I know, the bottom card is multi-player, but the others are not Browns so I included it with Motley's individual cards.


To give credit to the other Hall of Famers on the card, Chuck Bednarik was a Philadelphia Eagle from 1949-1962. He was the last "60-Minute-Man" that played both Offense and Defense on a regular basis. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967, his first year of eligibility.


Dick "Night Train" Lane starred for the Los Angeles Rams (1952-53), Chicago Cardinals (1954-59), and the Detroit Lions (1960-65). He still holds the single-season record with 14 interceptions which he achieved in his rookie season in 1952. A ferocious tackler, he was named to the Hall of Fame in 1974.


Moving on to the next Hall of Fame cards from this order, we come to Dante "Gluefingers" Lavelli, who signed the autographed mini-helmet that I picked up at Christmas in Phoenix.

Top: 2007 Leaf Limited #117 (#/249)
Middle: 2008 Donruss Gridiron Gear - Performers #P-6 (#/500)
Bottom: 2010 Panini Crown Royale - Majestic #8

Lavelli had a 11-year career with the Browns from 1946-56, in both the AAFC and NFL and was named to the Hall of Fame in 1975. He had a fascinating life that I will have to try and detail in a future post.

L-R: 2010 Panini Threads - Gridiron Kings Framed Blue #24 (#/50); Framed Green #24 (#/25)

I really like these framed cards, but I'm curious as to whether there are any other Lavelli pictures out there that could be used.


The next Hall of Fame player had two stints with the Browns, beginning as a rookie on the Browns last Championship team in 1964, and playing with them until being traded to the Dolphins before the 1970 season. He then returned to Cleveland for his final two NFL seasons in 1976 and 1977.

Top: 2000 Quantum Leaf - All-Millenium Team #AMT-PW (#/1000)
Bottom: 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game - Green/Red #54 (#/500)

Top (l-r): 2004 Leaf Limited #136 (#/799); 2004 Playoff Prime Signatures #25 (#/999)
Bottom (l-r): 2005 Leaf Limited #137 (#/599); 2005 Upper Deck Legends #177 (#/1025)

Unlike Lavelli's cards, it is nice to see that they have a variety of Warfield photos to use.

2006 Donruss Elite
Top: Passing the Torch Blue #PT-4 (#/250)
Middle: Passing the Torch Green #PT-4 (#/500)
Bottom: Passing the Torch Green #PT-22 (#/500)

The Passing the Torch insert set comes in blue, green, red and autographed cards. There are two players for each team in the set, a veteran and a young player that he is passing the torch on to. They each have one individual card in the set, and then they have one card where each player is on one side. This is what the bottom card is, with Paul Warfield on the back, and Braylon Edwards on the front. A future Black Friday post will show one of the Braylon Edwards cards from this insert set.

Left: 2007 Playoff Contenders - Legendary Contenders #LC-14 (#/1000)
Middle: 2008 Leaf Limited - Team Trademarks Holofoil #T-33 (#/100)
Bottom: 2010 Panini Crown Royale - Living Legends #21

Top: 2011 Panini Gold Standard #122 (#/299)
Bottom: 2011 Panini Gold Standard - Golden Age #7 (#/299)

Left: 2014 Panini National Treasures #126 (#/99)
Middle: 2014 Panini Prizm - Red, White and Blue Prizm #103
Right: 2015 Panini Prizm - Prizm #42 

Although they aren't vintage, I am very happy to add all of these cards of past Browns legends into my collection.

COMC Black Friday: Part Two - One signed card of a Hall of Famer

While attending San Diego Comic-Con 2015, I stopped by a very cluttered card store a short walk from the convention center.


When I mentioned that I was looking for Browns cards, the dealer pulled out some cards that I was unfamiliar with. They were from a 1998 set of postcard sized cards - Ron Mix Hall of Fame Platinum Autographs, and the cards are hand numbered out of 2500. Among the cards that he showed me he had a Leroy Kelly card that I bought from him.


I came across, and bought, the following card while browsing through Browns cards during the COMC Black Friday sale.

Isn't this a great card? Great art on the front, with a nice clear signature, and a lot of good information on the back.


Mike McCormack was born in Chicago on June 21, 1930, and passed away in Palm Desert, California on November 15, 2013 at the age of 83.


As noted in the last line of the card above, he helped establish the Panthers franchise and there is a statue of him outside their stadium.

COMC Black Friday: Part One - A six-pack of plates

Having just received my COMC Black Friday order shortly before going to Phoenix for Christmas and New Year's, I really didn't have time to sit down and show off what I picked up.


Most of my order was ordered during the Black Friday sales, but there were a number of cards that were picked up earlier in the year and held in my account for the free shipping that came with this order.


My order was just over 200 cards, and got me 20 COMC scratch cards that yielded two $3.99 shipping credits. I will likely take advantage of one of them to ship whatever cards are sitting in my account when the expiry date comes around.


Anyway, we'll start with the 1 of 1's from the order, the printing plates that I picked up.

I was happy when the Browns signed Lewis after the 2006 season because it meant that he wasn't going to be playing against them anymore. It seemed he always had big games against the Browns.


He rushed for over 1000 yards in each of his first two seasons with the Browns, and then retired after the 2009 season, his third with the Browns.

Greg Little caught 155 passes for the Browns in his three years with the team from 2011-2013.

Although it looks the same size, this is a printing plate from a mini set. I would like to see Haden stay healthy. He's had too many injuries the last few years and the Browns really don't have the depth to replace him.

Sadly, a concussion ended Jordan Cameron's season with the Dolphins early this year, and may jeopardize his career in the NFL. He had a great season with the Browns in 2013, catching 80 passes and making the Pro Bowl.

 I was disappointed when Crowell fumbled near the goal-line in the season finale against the Steelers, but was really happy with the season that he had and I think he is one of the bright lights to look forward to next year.

I thought that Danny Shelton progressed well this year. It was nice to see one of the Browns recent first-round picks look like he may be a building block for the team. Although that statement seems obvious, it hasn't been the case with the Browns for a while.


I'm still trying to figure out how to post most of my COMC shipment. These were easy to group together and provided a nice start.

Late Christmas present

I'm still down in Arizona, and am not looking forward to leaving on Wednesday, but one advantage to being down here is the opportunity of a late Christmas present from my mom.

I mentioned to her that I had been eyeing a framed autographed photo and when she found out who it was of she told me that she would like to buy it for me as a late present since she said she didn't get me much other than socks. (She was right about that but I wasn't expecting anything else since she also wrote me a cheque to cover some of my travel expenses.)

Anyway, the reason she understood is that she knew who my childhood hero was.

The Kid

Thanks, mom!



BTW, my trip home on Wednesday is going to overnight in Chicago, and I arrive just before 9:00 pm. If anyone wants to get together for a drink near O'Hare with a fellow blogger, let me know.

Another overdue trade post - ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession

I find that I'm like a lot of bloggers in the fact that I like sending out packages to others. When I know what people are collecting (team bloggers make that easier) I tend to keep a little bit of an eye out when I'm looking through piles of stuff at shows, and then every now and then I try to mail out a bunch of shipments. I really don't care if I get anything back or not, but I do love it when others keep me in mind when they see interesting Browns cards.

After sending such a package to ARPSmith, he sent me a note saying he would put together a package of Browns for me. Woo hoo! But, before he did so, and after I had made a post about the various 2008 Score parallels, I decided to look through Sportlots to see if I could find any missing parallels, and what did I find? A seller named arpsmith that had a couple of cards that I wanted/needed. After a quick email to him to ensure it was the same person, I spent some time going through his football listings to find Browns cards that I needed. There was a lot, but he said that he would send them along as a trade instead of having me buy some of them. Thanks!

So, what did I find?

(I had scanned all these cards onto a memory stick when I was home in Ottawa before Christmas, hoping to post them then. Now, still in Arizona, I'm looking at all the files, and not remembering what order I planned on putting things in. Ah, who needs organization? I'll make something of this post.)

Well, after the long intro, was anyone surprised to see some 2008 Score parallels? All except the Scorecard parallel of Martin Rucker are Glossy parallels. The Scorecard is numbered out of 649.

Continuing with Score, these cards are all from the 2009 Score Inscriptions set. You have to love when they put out a whole different parallel set! The Hot Rookies parallel is numbered out of 499.

Some collectors out there collect the players in their college uniforms. Here are some.

Top left: 2005 Topps All-American #14
Bottom left: 2005 Topps All-American - Chrome #50 (#/555)
Right: 2008 Press Pass Legends - Silver Holofoil #92 (#/499)

I was wearing my Ozzie Newsome jersey last weekend in a bar in Phoenix, watching the Browns win their first game of the season. He's still one of my favorite players, but I can't say I cheer for his success as the GM of the Ravens.

Former Heisman winner Charles White let drugs and partying ruin the start of his NFL career in Cleveland. He had success with the Rams, and his old college coach, after joining them following his release from the Browns. I think that I've mentioned in my blog before that I really had neglected picking up White cards because, frankly, I just forgot about him.

Top: 2006 Topps DPP #161 - Chrome Black and Chrome Black Refractor
Bottom (l-r): 2006 Topps DPP - Chrome Black Refractor #134; 2006 Press Pass SE - Gold #12; 2006 Press Pass SE #12

D'Qwell Jackson was a successful 2nd round draft pick out of Maryland. He had some injury issues with the Browns but played well for them before being signed by the Colts after the 2013 season.

Darrell Hackney was an undrafted free agent out of UAB. He didn't make the team yet I now have 18 different cards of his in my collection, including four autographs on cards where he is in a Browns uniform.

L: 2008 Press Pass - Reflectors Blue #83
R: 2008 Upper Deck Draft Edition - Exclusives Green #237

For the Mizzou collector, here are a couple of cards of former Tight End Martin Rucker, He only played in a handful of games with the Browns, catching two passes. I now have 33 different Rucker cards in my collection, including nine autographed cards.

L: 2009 Bowman Draft Picks #141
R: 2006 Fleer - Silver #149

I had a parallel of the Alex Mack card, but didn't have the base card, The Browns missed him at Centre this year, but had to know that he was going to opt out of his contract when he was able to last season, and that he wasn't going to re-sign with them. He wanted to go to a winning situation, and has really helped the Falcons. I wish him luck in the playoffs!

An old roommate is a big Washington State fan so I knew quite a bit about Jerome Harrison before the Browns drafted him. I'm always happy to add more of his cards to my collection.

Top: 2009 Playoff Prestige - NFL Draft #4
Middle: 2009 Press Pass #95
Bottom: 2009 Donruss Certified #237 (#/399)

The Browns don't draft many players out of Ohio State, and I'm not sure why. I believe that Brian Robiskie was the last Buckeye that the Browns drafted.

The bottom Robiskie card was one of a few cards that were thrown in that I needed. Either I missed it, or it wasn't listed, but I am very happy that it was included.

Top: 2007 Leaf Rookies & Stars - Rookie Crusade Purple #RC-9 (#/25)
Bottom (l-r): 2007 Topps DPP - Chrome Black #115; 2009 Topps - Gold #14 (#/2009)

Joe Thomas is, without doubt, the most successful Browns player since expansion in 1999. It was announced that he made his tenth straight Pro Bowl this year, one of very few players to have ever done so. He has made the Pro Bowl each year that he has spent in the league. Not knowing this year's All-Pro team, he has made eight of the nine All-Pro teams in his career (seven 1st team and one 2nd team). He will be in Canton one day which is why I was thrilled to get these cards.

Moving on from Thomas and his success, let us go to Browns Quarterbacks.

Top: 2004 Fleer Platinum - Pro Material Jerseys #PM-LM (#/250)
Bottom Left: 2006 Leaf Certified Materials #34
Bottom Middle: 2006 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia - Retail #37
Bottom Right: 2006 Topps Chrome - Blue #40 (#/50)

Top (l-r): 2008 Bowman - Blue #12 (#/500); 2008 Topps Chrome - Refractors #TC18
Bottom (l-r): 2007 Bowman - Gold #112; 2010 Topps Chrome - Refractors #C70

Staying with the skilled positions, lets see some other offensive players.

L-R: 2004 Fleer Platinum #125; 2009 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia - Retail #25

Top (l-r): 2008 Donruss Gridiron Gear - Performers Silver #6 (#/250); 2001 Pacific Private Stock - PS2001 #116
Bottom (l-r): 2004 Fleer Platinum #104; 2008 Stadium Club #167

The Dante Lavelli card is nice following my last post of buying a mini helmet with his autograph, and is also a preview of an upcoming Black Friday COMC post.

Any time I look through my cards, or assemble a post like this, I miss Fleer and Pacific. Even if their cards weren't original I enjoyed them.

Top (l-r): 2007 Topps DPP #75 - Chrome Black Refractor and Chrome Bronze
Middle: 2007 Upper Deck Artifacts - NFL Facts #NF-KW
Bottom (l-r): 2008 Donruss Threads - Silver Holofoil #131 (#/100); 2008 Stadium Club #64 

Top (l-r): 2005 Topps - Black #415; 2008 Leaf Rookies & Stars - Gold Retail #25 (#/349)
Bottom (l-r): 2009 Donruss Elite #26; 2009 SP Authentic #73

A couple of play-makers that the Browns drafted. Although each made the Pro Bowl in 2007, neither had quite the career with the Browns that fans were hoping for. 

Hmm, looking at it, that SP Authentic card doesn't belong in my collection, it's a Jets card. Oops. Well, I did ask for it.

That brings me to confusing Browns cards. Well, I know they are Browns cards, but sometimes other people think differently.

Top (l-r): 2005 Donruss Throwback Threads #33; 2007 Playoff Prestige - Xtra Points Gold #11
Bottom (l-r): 2009 Donruss Elite #25; 2010 Panini Prestige - Xtra Points Gold #47 (#/250)

The cards on the left show the Browns uniform but have that small print mentioning they are with different teams. The cards on the right have the different uniforms but are indicated to be with the Browns. All have good enough reasons to be in my Browns collection.

And I did get a few cards of defensive players.

Top (l-r): 2006 Leaf Certified Materials #185 (#/1000); 2009 Topps Mayo - Silver #57
Bottom (l-r): 2007 Playoff NFL Playoffs - Red Metalized #167 (#/399); 2007 Score - Gold Zone #201 (#/600)

Some more D'Qwell Jackson, along with a couple of parallels. You would think that finishing with a final Score parallel would be a good way to bookend the post, but there are a couple more cards to show.

Some other cards were thrown into the package outside of what I requested, and they were beautiful vintage ones.

Top: 1957 Topps #102
Middle: 1957 Topps #114
Bottom: 1958 Topps #17

Aren't they pretty? 

The Don Paul was needed for my collection, but I have yet to look to see if the other two are upgrades or not. In any case it was a great surprise to get them.

ARPSmith, thanks again for the wonderful cards, and I'll keep looking for interesting Giants to send your way!

Browns win! Thank you Santa Claus!

I went into today's Browns game hoping for a win tonight regardless of whether it cost them the first overall draft pick. As it turns out, my Christmas wish came true! The Browns won their game and then the 49ers also won leaving the Browns in position to keep the first pick.

I really didn't want the Browns to join the Lions as the only 0-16 team in NFL history and now I don't have to suffer the jokes that would come along with that record.

I'm thankful for the win. It really puts me in a good mood for Christmas.

Yesterday I bought myself a Christmas present with money that my boss gave me for Christmas. It isn't a card but it is Browns related.

Getting a mini helmet signed by two Hall of Fame players, with a display case for $50? Yeah, I'm okay with that! What a nice Christmas present from my boss.

I think that I mentioned that my choir had a busy Christmas season. What I didn't mention is that I had a solo this concert season. Our director approached me before the season and said that she had a solo she would like me to perform. I was flattered and then she said that it was a non-singing solo! I didn't know what to think of that!

Anyway, she asked if I could learn a version of "'The Night Before Christmas". After listening to an audio recording of what she wanted me to do I said that I would give it a try.

One of my friends recorded it at our final concert and sent me a copy that I will share with you. I hope you enjoy the effort that I put into this.

Thank you to Dr. Jim Henry of the Gas House Gang barbershop quartet for this version.

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope Santa is good to all of you!