7000

Yesterday I was adding a whole bunch of Black Friday scans of Browns cards to The Trading Card Database, and adding serial numbers and team names to those cards when necessary. At one point, to find a card, I went to view by team and saw this:

Okay, a little fuzzy, but I was surprised to see the nice round number of 7000.

Now, I have more than 7000 different cards in my Browns collection. This only shows cards that are identified as Cleveland Browns. It doesn't count many 1996 cards that are listed as Baltimore Ravens even though they are clearly Browns cards with the players in Browns uniforms. And it doesn't count the various draft picks cards that are listed with their college teams, in their college uniforms. But it is a nice round number.

Offhand, I'm not sure what the last card was that I entered into the database, although I could look it up, but I do know that as I added one card, I added the team name as well which probably turned it into card 7000, and that was this card:



So, due to laziness and no real record keeping, I am declaring this as card number 7000 of my Browns collection.

According to the database, I have 100 different Antonio Langham cards in my collection, although some are college and Ravens cards. This is the third one that is autographed.

Quick post and thank you

I've noticed a few bloggers posting about receiving their Christmas cards from me. If anyone has come to my blog after reading one of their posts, it isn't too late to get your own card! Just read a couple of posts back and send me an email.

I'm glad to see that some cards have arrived so quickly, and that the cards looked safe. I still have more to mail out and will hopefully make another run to Ogdensburg on Saturday to put some in the mail.

While picking up my Black Friday purchases at my PO Box last weekend, there were also a few other envelopes waiting for me.

I want to give a thank you out to Tony for an envelope of Browns cards. Nice cards in there, but I'll show you guys the great addition to my collection:



Charlie Frye, number 9 of the 24 Browns starting QBs since 1999, and former Akron Zip. I love the old throwback Jim Brown jersey he's wearing!

Another envelope contained an e-bay win:



Colt McCoy, number 15 of 24. I'm not sure how many printing plates I now have in my collection, but I'm always happy to add another.

I own a Colt McCoy jersey, one of the first four Browns jerseys I've bought, all with the same theme. Well, the theme started accidentally and McCoy was the only time that I consciously added to it, but I'll have to see if I complete it in time.

My first jersey I bought was an Ozzie Newsome 82. It was followed by a Tim Couch 2, and a Courtney Brown 92. When I went to buy a new jersey in the Browns store while attending a day of training camp in 2011, I debated between a Peyton Hillis 40 or the McCoy. I chose the McCoy when I realized all of my other jerseys ended in 2, and giving me an excuse to buy more to complete the set. Why I don't have a Jim Brown 32 yet I don't know.

Anyway, since the McCoy purchase I added two player-worn practice jerseys at the Cleveland Browns Fan Fest last year but neither end in 2. (Chris Gocong 51, and Christian Yount 57 if you were wondering.)

2015 Topps Chrome blaster

I'm skipping a post I started mid-week about Austin Davis becoming starting quarterback number 24 for the Browns since 1999. I got too busy to finish it and post it when I wanted to. Perhaps I'll modify it and post it later.

Anyway, on Saturday I went down to Ogdensburg and picked up a whole bunch of Browns cards that were waiting for me, but feeling that I didn't have enough cards (I mean, really, over 200 new cards for my collection with many autographs and inserts of various sorts, that isn't much is it?) I decided to grab a blaster of Topps Chrome at Wal-Mart while I was down there. Here is what I pulled, and my thoughts. (Please don't mind my crooked scans, I didn't spend as much time on them as I should have.)



Pack 1: The Cooper Xfractor will go to a friend of mine. The Camo D'Joun Smith is #/499.



Pack 2: As you would expect, I always want to pull Browns cards so the Duke Johnson is very welcome. The Flacco must be a refractor, and is #/99.



Pack 3: The Artis-Payne appears to be a refractor, and it seems to fit in the positioning in the pack. I really prefer when they actually print "refractor" under the number on the back of the card.



Pack 4: The Nelson will go to a friend. I like the 1976 Winston - when I see that set I always think of the Brian Sipe rookie card. What can I say? My card collecting revolves around Browns!

Pack 5: Some people don't like horizontal cards but I like the action they can sometimes provide. I really like this photo of Gates.



Pack 6: I'm predictable - this is a great pack! Browns green parallel of Shelton - right into my collection. Last week I got a 89 Topps style Duke Johnson from a local card store; I was happy to pull another of the style but I'm not a 49er collector so hopefully I'll find a home for it.



Pack 7: Again I'm guessing the Johnson is a refractor. And as a Browns fan this isn't who I think of when I see/hear Kevin Johnson.

Each blaster also comes with an exclusive rookie relic card.



I like the design of the card. Looking at the checklist there are two Browns that I'll have to collect - Duke Johnson and Vince Mayle. After Mayle didn't make the team out of training camp you would think that they might have changed out their checklist. How far in advance are they printing these cards. I'm sure those people pulling a Mayle insert are going to love it.

All in all, I'm glad I picked up the blaster. I know it is cheaper to just find my Browns as singles but I do like opening packs. I like this year's Topps design, and find that the chrome translates well to it but I'm not going to try to build the set. Other than what I mentioned above, any of these cards are available to trade.

Also, while at the post office in Ogdensburg I sent out about a dozen Christmas card to people that replied to my last post. I still have some more to send out and will continue to send more to any new people that contact me.

I'm sure everyone is busy during the lead-up to Christmas. Commitments kept me from watching today's Browns game. You know what? It is a lot less stressful on me to just see a score telling me they lost as opposed to watching the game and seeing how they lost. I'm not in as bad a mood as I usually am after they lose. I've got more commitments next Sunday and will miss seeing that game as well. However I will still watch them whenever I can.

A very simple contest: 'Tis the season!

Here we are on the cusp of moving into December. Stores are all outfitted in Christmas decorations, some radio stations have switched to an all-Christmas music format until after the holidays, my choir had our first Christmas season concert out of ten last Thursday with number two on the schedule tonight...

What does this have to do with my card blog? Well, Gavin at Baseball Card Breakdown had an interesting post talking about how some trading seems cliquish, and how us members of the cardsphere (promoting the use of his word) could possibly reach out to each other more. (And at that, I'm not even on the Sports Card Blogroll that he mentioned. I need to reach out too!)

Anyway, what I'm getting to here is a very simple concept. I'll admit that I used contest in the heading to draw in readers, but it is going to be like a contest that everyone wins! To anyone that enters by sending me an email at my gmail account - armaclennan - I will send them a Christmas card with something hopefully relating to what they want. Send me your mailing address and what you collect (would prefer to hear it by teams but if you're only a player or non-sport collector I'll see what I can do) and I'll send you a Christmas card with a few cards, hopefully something you'll think is cool.

And what this will also do is allow me to have a better idea of who collects what so I can keep my eye out for neat things, and also build up an email and physical address list to mail things along to. Also, if you can, leave a comment here saying that you sent me an email - t will give other people an idea of if I've bitten off more than I can chew! This should be fun!

I'm very interested to see how many people will take me up on this, and when I hear from you, I'll try to get out the first batch of cards next weekend but no promises as to when things will get out because I do have to find something to put inside the cards.

Since I think that I need to have some pictures of cards in a blog post, here are some Santa football cards:

1989 Pro Set

1990 Pro Set

1991 Pro Line

1993 NFL Properties - Pacific



I know I have a few different Santas, and am sure that I have the second one shown here, but really don't remember all the ones that I have, or where they are. I would know if Santa were wearing a Browns uniform because then it would be in one of my binders!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Call from the local card store

After spending a fair bit of time and money acquiring a lot of new Browns cards on Sportlots and COMC, I got a phone call from the local card store letting me know that they had opened a couple of boxes of this year's football cards for singles. After spending a day getting my recertification for CPR and AED training, I popped over to the store. Let me show you what I found.

They opened some more of the regular Topps set and pulled a Browns autograph:



An interesting collection tidbit for a player that didn't make the team through his first training camp, this is the 7th autograph card I have of him.

I liked the 1987 Topps cards so I like this card, and the autograph is on card; you can pretty much feel the indentations from the pen. The back is interesting, though, it appears to be a UER - the text shows that he played for Washington State but the stats below list him playing for the Utah Utes, not the Cougars.

Then there was some Topps Chrome:



More Mayle, along with 1st Round Pick Danny Shelton. And once again, another reach back to an old Topps set, this time Duke Johnson in the style of 1989 Topps.

Continuing with Topps, another reach back to an older set, and another Mayle, here is some Topps Finest:



The Duke Johnson is in the style of 1995 Finest. The Mayle is a Rookie Atomic Refractor Die Cut.

The card on the left is the Black parallel, along with the regular base card on the right.



I was disappointed in Johnny Manziel's actions over the bye week. Whether or not he should be drinking after being in rehab over the summer, he is legal to do so. However if the coach asks you to behave and not drink, and you agree to that then it is disrespectful to the coach and the team if you do. Even if he was not asked to not drink, he seemed to be lying about his actions when he got back to Cleveland. Again, disrespectful. The coach has said that Johnny always seems to say the right things but doesn't back up his speech with his actions.

Too bad, I was looking to see what he would do over the rest of the season. I still think that he will start more games before the end of the season. They still need to see what he can do. If he doesn't start any I don't think he'll be on the opening day roster next year.

On to some Panini Gridiron Kings:



A couple more Johnny Manziels, red-framed and base, and a red-framed Taylor Gabriel. Hey, look! No Mayle!

And on to Panini Prizm:



The McCown is my first of him in a Browns uniform, and allowed me to add him to my list of Cleveland Browns Starting Quarterbacks on The Trading Card Database.

It is nice to see Paul Warfield in the set again. Always good to see a Hall of Fame player included in the team set.

The Dwayne Bowe is a Prizm parallel - and the back is great!



I love the optimism! Reality? Well, so far he's played in 4 of the 10 games this year and has 3 catches for 31 yards. Two year contract with $9 million guaranteed. Hopefully he'll turn it around.

Anyway, some interesting cards well worth the short trip to a local card store.

Weedenaholic

Having my PO Box in the US, I very rarely get the experience of coming home and finding an envelope waiting for me, but yesterday gave me that pleasant surprise! The funny part was that I arrived home late after my choir's first concert of the Christmas season.

Why did the envelope arrive to my home? Well, to avoid having to go through customs. It came from the waxaholic, Captain Canuck, in Calgary.

I had no idea what to expect, and when I opened it I was pretty shocked:

A whole lot of rookie year Brandon Weeden cards, and a note hoping that I can give these Brownies a good home.

Amazingly, with all the memorabilia and autographed Weedens I already had, I needed all of these cards but one, the Topps Platinum Xfractor top center. But I've already got a home in mind for it.

I believe that Brandon Weeden is number 18 out of 24 Browns starting QBs since 1999.

That seems like a lot, but for fun, and comparison purposes, I decided to check what number starter he was for the Dallas Cowboys since 1999. I was rather surprised. He was 17th out of 18. The Cowboys used 9 different starters from 1999-2002. I so forgot about that.

Anyway, a big thank you to Captain Canuck. They have found a home, even though he didn't give me great memories. Anyway, I've got a couple of things in mind to send you in return. Expect something soon.

Binder page

So, like a lot of other bloggers, I'm going to follow the Junior Junkie's lead and create a page of nine favorite cards from my collection.

Right off the bat, I knew what four of the cards would be, there wasn't even a question that they wouldn't be included. Some of the others surprised me since I bypassed some very nice cards, some great autographs and low numbered cards in putting this together. And I did put the cards into a page to scan, taking one card out of a protector that it had been in for over 20 years!

Here is the page that I came up with in the last few days:



My collection is a Browns collection, so people should have been expecting to see the Browns cards, but the place of honor in the center had to go to my all-time favorite player from childhood. Go figure, a baseball card.

Anyway, on to the reasoning for each.

Top left: 2013 Topps Archives - Fan Favorite Autographs #FFA-BG Bob Golic

I found this card at a card show in Albany when I drove down there for a Straight No Chaser concert, and happened to spot a sign for a card show on the outside of a hotel. At the show, flipping through one dealer's cards, I found this card for $4.00. There was no doubt that I would buy it - I needed it for my collection - but my first thought in buying it was to show one of my oldest friends, my old roommate that gave me my Kosar rookie card that I mentioned in a previous post. He is a Raiders fan, and I knew he'd get a laugh out of me finding a Browns Golic autograph instead of a Raiders one that he would like. Second of all, I've always liked the 1985 Topps design, and lastly, how could I not love one of the stars of Saved By The Bell: The College Years?

However the real reason I included it here was seeing him at the Cleveland Browns Fan Fest that I went to. After finishing his panel, he went to the side of the stage and sat there and signed autographs until I think everyone around got one. (I asked him to sign my Fan Fest ticket.) He had a great attitude, and joked with people as he signed. A true class act, and that small personal connection was enough that when I saw this card in my collection, that I wanted to add it to my page.

Top center: 1993 SP #58 Steve Everitt

This card is another one that is pulled due to a personal connection. Steve Everitt is the first former Browns player that I was lucky enough to meet, and even though I was a big fan of his while he played for them, I became that much more of a fan after talking to him. I'm going to have a spotlight post on him later this week where I will tell the story.

As for this card, as common as can be, the reason that I chose it is because the Browns were playing the Raiders. Those games are always fun to watch with my friend.

Top right: 2013 Topps Valor - Valor Autographs #VA-JG Josh Gordon

I love the design of the Topps Valor sets, and this has nothing to do with the rather boring autograph, but everything to do with the background on the card. It looks much better horizontally.

Middle left: 1950 Bowman #45 Otto Graham rookie card

Football cards have taught me a lot of the history of the game. I discovered Otto Graham's career thanks to an old Pro Set insert card. I then did my own research to find out more about him. Then when my friends and I went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one turned to me and commented that the first half of the Hall seemed to be the Otto Graham Hall of Fame.

When I had the opportunity to buy this creased copy in Binghamton this summer, there was no way I was going to pass it up. It is the oldest card in my collection, and one of the four sure things for this page that wasn't going to change.

Middle center: 1975 Topps #620 Rookie Catchers-Outfielders aka Gary Carter rookie card

Gary Carter was my hero growing up. He will always be my hero. After watching him in Montreal, I became a catcher. I wore number 8. And when he was traded to the Mets, I became a Mets fan. I loved his smile and his love of the game.  I was so happy to get his autograph on the back of my ticket stub through the netting behind home plate in Montreal before a game. I still treasure it.

There was no doubt that this card would be the featured card in my nine. And frankly it is the only baseball card I wouldn't want to do without. I always wanted a copy of this card, and bought this one on ebay last year when I decided to get back into card collecting, even though it isn't football, and it isn't the Browns.

Middle right: 1965 Philadelphia #41 Paul Warfield rookie card

This is another of the four sure things of the nine. This card sat in the display case at a local card store for years while I was in college and the card explosion hit and football cards became readily available to me in Canada. I kept looking at the card, and looking at it, wanting it, but not being able to justify spending the money on it. Finally I broke down and bought the card in the early 90s, and it had been in a protector ever since. Today is the first time in a long time that I've held the actual cardboard of the card in my hand.

Bottom left: 1992 Sunoco Browns Hall of Fame #5 Lou Groza

In a visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame last October I picked up one of the those packages of 50 Cleveland Browns cards. In it was a Jim Brown card that I couldn't identify. After doing some online sleuthing I found it was from the 1992 Sunoco Browns Hall of Fame set. I quickly found and bought a copy of the set on ebay, and then added it scans and all to the Trading Card Database. There were great action shots in the set, and this was probably my favorite of them. A great shot of "The Toe".

Bottom middle: 1991 Pro Set Platinum #PC5 "Touchdown!" featuring Kevin Mack

This card immediately came to mind as a definite when thinking about this page. As I previously wrote in my showcase on Kevin Mack, this card might be my favorite Browns card ever.

Bottom right: 1991 Pro Set #699 Ozzie Newsome

Ozzie Newsome and Clay Matthews are my two favorite Browns players. They were both drafted by the team in the first round of the 1978 draft, and I guess I was at the right age to watch both of them in the peak of their careers. Hopefully Clay will join Ozzie in the Hall of Fame.

I loved this card when I pulled it from a pack and own many copies of it! I'm a little surprised that I put it ahead of so many of the action shots that are out there, but I also feel a lot of the art cards are amazing as well.

I'll have to make a post some time later with a bunch of the honorable mentions that didn't make this page.