Cool Links - Coming Back

It's been too long since I posted on here. It's time to come back. I'm updating the checklists and will be posting them soon. Until then, here are a couple of links for you to browse and enjoy.

The UH Digital Library has a ton of cool stuff, but this page has scanned versions of some old Houstonian yearbooks including the first from 1934. I love looking through old yearbooks. You learn so much history and see how much things have changed.

Olajuwon Fan - This site doesn't look like it has been updated in a couple of years, but if you want to see images of Olajuwon cards, this is a fun place to go. The site owner claims to own 1830 Olajuwon cards, and if he doesn't have them all posted, he has at least hundreds of them shown.

1998 Hoops Shout Outs #22 Hakeem Olajuwon

Sometimes you may like a card because it has an autograph. Or maybe it has a piece of memorabilia. Or it has chrome or foil printing. Or maybe it is a refractor. Or over the top graphics. But sometimes a card is great due to its simplicity such as the 1998 Hoops Shout Outs #22 featuring Hakeem Olajuwon.

First you start with a good photograph from an interesting angle. Second you use a simple card design. Instead of using excessive graphics, the underutilized technique of using white space doesn't detract from the photograph. Instead it enhances the picture. Finally using a simple, understated font completes the less is more theme of the design.

My only problem with this card is the little "sh" and the large "out." The text appears to spell shouts instead of shout outs. That's a minor flaw in an otherwise great looking card.

1994-95 Hoops #257 Hakeem Olajuwon

Where have all the big men gone? Just look at this 1994-95 Hoops #257 featuring the scoring leaders from the 1993-94 NBA season.

The top 3 scorers are all centers, David Robinson #1, Shaq #2, & Hakeem #3. Patrick Ewing is also in the top 10.

Compare that to the 2008-09 NBA season. There is only 1 center in the top 10, Al Jefferson at #8. And he's only in the top 10 in points per game. He only played 50 games. The next center is Dwight Howard at #25, then Yao at #29.

Is the scoring big man a thing of the past?

1994-95 Fleer Towers of Power #7 Hakeem Olajuwon

I'm usually not a big fan of overly busy backgrounds on cards, but I'll make an exception for the 1994-95 Fleer Towers of Power #7 featuring Hakeem Olajuwon.

The front features Hakeem shooting in front of an electrical device straight out of Frankenstein or a Tesla laboratory.

The better photo is on the back. I don't know what was going through Olajuwon's head, but the look on his face is that of a mad scientist. That's a perfect fit for the card theme.

1995-96 SkyBox Premium #47 Hakeem Olajuwon

NBA Playoff time always brings back memories of the Houston Rockets' championship years. Today's card, the 1995-96 SkyBox Premium #47 featuring Hakeem Olajuwon, really makes me remember the 1994-95 championship finals.

The card front features Hakeem backing down Shaquille O'Neal of the Orlando Magic, the Rockets' finals opponent. The Rockets swept the Magic 4-0. Olajuwon averaged 32.8 points per game versus Shaq's 28. Olajuwon also won his second Finals MVP.

A Cougar bonus on the front of the card... Carl Herrera can be seen in the color-stripped background.

The back of the card features a fun photo of Olajuwon heading a soccer ball. It also features five years of stats and a translation of his last name. The card says "Olajuwon" means "always being on top." I'd never heard that before. Card collecting can be educational.

2007-08 Exquisite Collection Trios Patches Gold #OOR Hakeem Olajuwon

Today's card is the 2007-08 Exquisite Collection Trios Patches Gold #OOR.

Hakeem Olajuwon. David Robinson. Shaquille O'Neal. Possibly the three greatest centers from last 20 years. Three of the greatest centers of all time. And here they are on one card.

To that awesome lineup, add game used uniform pieces. Not just uniform pieces, but two and three color patches. For those who aren't regular collectors, multi color swatches and pieces of patches (letters, logos, etc) bring a premium in price compared to single color uniform material. Just think of how boring this card would be in comparison if the three uniform swatches were solid white.

If that wasn't enough, let's make it EXTREMELY rare. Only three of these were made.

What else could you ask for? The only thing missing is their autographs. This card is expensive enough without that.

What an amazing card.

1996 Fleer USA #15 Hakeem Olajuwon

We covered how Hakeem Olajuwon became eligible for the USA Olympic team in an earlier post. So let's look at the results for 1996 Team USA basketball.

Like the original 1992 Dream Team, the 1996 team went 8-0 with blowouts in every game. The 1992 team won by an average of 43.8 points per game while the 1996 team won by 31.7 points.

The center depth for that team was amazing with David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem played in only seven of the games, starting two, and averaging 12 minutes per game. In those 12 minutes, he averaged 5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals, & 0.4 blocks.

Today's card is the 1996 Fleer USA #15. This is a By the Numbers card with Olajuwon's Team USA jersey number of 15 providing a background to Hakeem tossing up a hook shot.

Good luck finding this card. According to Beckett, the print run was only 35. There are five other Olajuwon cards in the 1996 Fleer USA set if you want an easier card to find from this set.

2007-08 Upper Deck Premier Franchise Faces Autographs #FFHO Hakeem Olajuwon

Let's look at a high end product today, Upper Deck Premier basketball. Many people collected cards at one point in their life and don't realize the massive changes in the hobby. For those unaware, there are several tiers and price ranges for products. Upper Deck Premier is on the very high end of the hobby.

Check out Upper Deck's press release for this product. First of all, look at the suggested retail price: $300 per seven card pack. That's right. Not $300 per case or even $300 per box. $300 for seven cards. Luckily I don't open boxes or even packs usually because I only collect Houston Cougars, but even if I did, I'd never pay $300 for a pack of cards unless I win the lottery. The good news is that people open these packs, keep what they want, and sell the rest of eBay, frequently at a decent price. That's the only way I'd collect a product like this

So what do you get for $300? One, you get a very limited print run. Second, you are guaranteed to get autographs and relics which is pretty cool. But what if you get a player you don't like or not worth much if you want to sell it?

The seven cards break down like this:
1 - Regular base card or non-autographed rookie card
2 - Rookie card with autograph and relic
3 - Patch card, possibly with autograph
4 - Autographed card
5 - Jersey card
6 - Patch/jersey card or autograph/relic card
7 - Another card from group 4-6

That's really exciting to get very cool cards like that in every pack, but again, what if you don't like the players in the pack?

This week's Olajuwon card is 2007-08 Upper Deck Premier Franchise Faces Autographs #FFHO. This is a gorgeous card with Olajuwon as the face of the Rockets franchise. I don't think there's any question that if you could only pick one player to represent the Rockets' history, it would be Hakeem. The card is very limited with only 34 made.

There is also an autograph directly on the card, not on an attached sticker. There is a problem with the autograph since it is on a very busy background. The autograph should be the highlight of the card so the card could have been designed to make the autograph stand out more.

1995-96 Collector's Choice #196 Hakeem Olajuwon

Collector's Choice was a brand from Upper Deck that was produced basketball cards from 1994-95 to 1997-98. It was designed to keep kids in the trading card hobby as the business was becoming geared towards premium cards. Collector's Choice was very inexpensive with more cards per pack, and it had cards designed for the kid market. Unfortunately most kids wanted the same things as most adults, to open the pack that would have the expensive, rare insert card or the card with the over the top special effects. Collector's Choice didn't have many special effects and insert cards were limited

Today's card is the 1995-96 Collector's Choice #196 of Hakeem Olajuwon. This is not the regular base card for Olajuwon. It is a Professor Dunk card. I guess the Professor is supposed to teach us how Hakeem plays basketball and dunks.

The front of the card shows Hakeem post-dunk against the Miami Heat. The card has a special treat for UH fans since it also features Coog Carl Herrera in the background. It also has a graphic of Professor Dunk on a very clunky red banner.

The back has the Professor again with a small picture of Olajuwon attempting another dunk. The Professor's analysis of Hakeem's game is included. The funniest thing on the card is a quote from the Professor: "Don't even try blocking the Dream's shot. In da Face!!!" That's quite an analysis... in da face.

1991-92 Upper Deck #254 Hakeem Olajuwon

This week's Olajuwon card is the 1991-92 Upper Deck #254. This was Upper Deck's first basketball product. This product was highly anticipated when it came out as an improvement on Fleer and Hoops. Unfortunately this product was overproduced like almost all of the products during this timeframe.

This is a great looking card. First of all, I love the basketball floor border. Sure it's a little cliche now, but when used properly, it can look great. With the player name, team name, team logo, and Upper Deck logo integrated on the floor, I think this is a great design, especially considering it wasn't frequently used prior to this product.

The photo on the front is great: Hakeem throwing it down with Cassell, Thorpe, and Divac watching from below. This kind of photo raised the bar for the basketball card market.

The back is also solid. The white card stock looks pristine. The Upper Deck hologram was an innovation to verify the card was authentic, although I'm not sure how much value that adds. Six years of pro statistics are provided. Also there is another very nice picture on the back. I'm not sure what Hakeem's doing, possibly catching a pass on the break, but it's a very solid action photo.

I loved this card when it came out, and I still think it looks great.

1994-95 Stadium Club #79 Hakeem Olajuwon

The Stadium Club brand was best known for its photography. Today's card (1994-95 Stadium Club #79 Hakeem Olajuwon) is an example of the Stadium Club's stylistic photography, but I'm not sure it works on this card.

This photograph would probably work great as a print in a nice frame, but the card layout clashes with picture. The primary action in the picture is on the left side with Olajuwon beating Patrick Ewing to the hoop. Unfortunately the foil graphic of Hakeem's name covers Olajuwon's chest and Ewing's face. The middle of the card is just blank court space. The right side of the card has player spectators (including a Knick in a full face mask), but again, one of the players is covered by the Stadium Club logo.

So let's get the layout straight: Players on left, covered with graphic. Court in center, not covered by anything. Players on right, covered with graphic. Oops.

The back contains a couple more pictures and some basic statistics and commentary. There are also some odd statistics labeled Roundball Ratio. Your normal statistics usually include points, field goal percentage, etc. The Roundball Ratio includes Points to Field Goal Attempt Ratio, Free Throws Attempts to Field Goal Attempts Ratio, Offensive Rebounds to Total Rebounds Ratio, Steals to Turnover Ratio (that's fairly common for point guards), and Block to Personal Foul Ratio. I do like the Points to Field Goal attempt stat. That would be very beneficial in analyzing a player like Fluff McKiver. Since he shot so many three pointers, that really lowers the field goal percentage. By comparing points per shot, you can better compare three point shooters versus mid range and low post players.

1984-85 Star #237 Hakeem Olajuwon

While the 1986-87 Fleer is considered Hakeem's rookie card, it is not his first card. Star Company released five cards in 1984-85 and 1985-86.

Star cards were licensed by the NBA, but Star was not considered a major manufacturer with limited release and sometimes regional releases.

Today's card is Olajuwon's first card the 1984-85 Star #237. The front consists of an action photo with Hakeem holding the ball down low looking like he's about to blow by a much slower center. The border is yellow that ties in with the old Rockets logo.

The back is very basic with University of Houston statistics as well as other information like date of birth, height weight, schools, etc.

Overall a nice, but not great card. Good photography and layout, but it's very basic and a fairly low budget looking card compared to cards of today and even some vintage cards.

1997 Headliners Basketball #21 Hakeem Olajuwon

We previously looked at the Starting Line Up action figure for Hakeem Olajuwon. Today let's look at another action figure, Headliners.

Headliners were three inch tall figures with a disproportionately large head. While Starting Line Up figures generally had more active poses, the faces didn't generally look a lot like the player. Headliners on the other hand much more closely resembled the player.

This is the 1997 Headliners Olajuwon. The 1996 Headliners featured dark uniforms while 1997 had white uniforms. Both years he was also included in a four pack of centers.

19933-94 Ultra Famous Nicknames #12 Hakeem Olajuwon

University of Houston basketball players historically have had some great nicknames. One of the most famous nicknames not just at UH, but in all of basketball is Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon.

In Ultra's 1993-94 set, they did an insert set dedicated to player nicknames so of course Hakeem had to be included.

The front of the card has a stylized background including images of a basketball floor and net and what looks like broken glass. Could this possibly be a broken backboard? This isn't an over the top background like too many cards as it doesn't detract from the image of Olajuwon shooting what appears to be a soft fade away.

What I really love is the back of this card. Another nice image of Hakeem, although he looks a little bored, with a basketball ball floor background covering about half the card. But that's not why I like the back. The text on the back starts out: "Hakeem Olajuwon earned his nickname as "The Dream" while at Houston. The University of Houston that is." It then proceeds to list several of his individual accomplishments as a Coog including being named the Southwest Conference player of the decade in the 1980s.

1996 Upper Deck USA SP Career Statistics #S6 Hakeem Olajuwon

USA! USA! USA! We all know that Hakeem Olajuwon comes from Nigeria. In fact, in 1979, he played for the Nigerian junior national team in the All-African Games.

In 1993, Hakeem became a United States citizen. Generally that would make him eligible to play for the USA national team, but because he had played for the Nigerian team, there was a question of whether that would disqualify him. Fortunately it was decided that since he was under the age of 18 when he played for Nigeria, he could play for Team USA. Olajuwon played in the 1996 Olympics where the team went undefeated.

Today's card is the 1996 Upper Deck USA SP Career Statistics #S6. This is a die cut card with a metallic finish on the front. Hakeem appears to be throwing up a weak hook shot in front of an American flag. The back features another posed photograph with full career statistics.

2002-03 Topps # 174 Hakeem Olajuwon

This week's Hakeem Olajuwon card is Topps 2002-2003 #174.

There is one thing I really hate about this card, the uniform Hakeem is wearing. Hakeem should not wear any uniform that is not Houston (either UH or Rockets). OK there are a couple of exceptions, All-Star and Team USA. Seeing Hakeem in the Toronto Raptors uniform is just painful to see.

But other than the uniform, I LOVE this card. Why? There's no autograph or relic. No serial number. No 1 of 1. No special effects. It's Beckett value maxes out at $0.50. But to me, this is what a base card should look like and if there were inexpensive, sharp looking base sets like this without a million gimmicks, set collecting would become more popular again.

First let's start with the picture. Good, but not great picture. It could have been cropped a little closer, but it's solid. Also featured on the front are the team and player name in silver foil, the team logo, and a nice blue border. That's a very sharp layout.

The back is really where this card stands out. Information and more information. There's basic life information like height, weight, date of birth, draft position, and most importantly college. Then there are career statistics, 18 years worth. All of the major categories are here. On top of that, another nice photo in the corner.

I hope you enjoy this card (except for the Raptor uniform). When I started this blog, I wanted to feature nice looking cards featuring University of Houston athletes, regardless of value. There are great cards in every price range so every UH fan can enjoy collecting their Coogs. Eat 'em up!

2005 SP Game Used Authentic Fabrics Quad Patches #GDOO Hakeem Olajuwon

We've previously discussed game worn jersey cards on this blog, but there is a a subset of jersey cards, the patch card. Patch cards contain parts of a patch sewn onto the jersey. Patches could include things like team logo, number, player name, league logo, or something like that. Patches are generally considered preferable to jerseys because they provide a more visually interesting card due to the variety of colors on a patch versus the single color of a jersey.

This week's Olajuwon card is an amazing patch card. It's the 2005 SP Game Used Authentic Fabrics Quad Patches #GDOO. Not only does it contain a patch from Hakeem Olajuwon's uniform, it also has patches from Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kevin Garnett. That is uniforms from a player in the Hall of Fame, 2 more obvious first ballot HOFers, and one possible HOFer all in one card. That is amazing.

Good luck finding one of these to add to your collection, but I hope you enjoy seeing it.

1986-87 Fleer 82 Hakeem Olajuwon

I've been surfing the web lately to learn more about card collecting so I've been reading other collectors' blogs. Because I've spent most of my life in the DFW area, one of the blogs I read is Texas Rangers Cards. Something he does on his site is feature Ivan Rodriguez cards every Monday. I loved the concept so I thought I'd incorporate that here.

But who do I feature every week? There are several players in many sports that are worthy of being featured every week, but I think there is one clear cut choice. He has the most basketball cards and is the player with the most search referrals to this site. That player is Hakeem Olajuwon. So look forward to Hakeem Saturday on every week.

Let's start with the granddaddy of Olajuwon cards, the 1986-87 Fleer #82. This is considered to be Olajuwon's Rookie card. There were earlier cards published by Star, but this was the first licensed major release.

Because it is the rookie card, it is an important collectible, but I just don't find this card to be attractive. The red, white, and blue border is not very attractive and clashes with the rest of the card, especially the Fleer logo. The picture is an OK action shot, but a player trying to post up to receive a pass don't make for the most exciting photo. Usually you at least want a ball in a basketball action shot.

The back of the card is VERY plain: Two years of pro stats and some basic info. About half of the card is blank. I understand that photos weren't on the backs of cards in those days, but couldn't they at least put some fun facts or additional information to fill up the rest of the card?

Not the nicest card, but it is historical and this set re-started basketball card collecting. This card used to go for well over $100. Now you can find an ungraded card for under $20.

Congratulations Hakeem - Living the Dream

Congratulations to Hakeem Olajuwon for being selected for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Obviously this was a no brainer. He is still the all-time NBA shot blocker. #1 draft pick. 2 NBA championships. The only player in NBA history to win the MVP, Finals MVP, & Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. One of the NBA's top 50 players of all time.

Of course he has incredible college stats too. 3 Final Fours. Member of Phi Slama Jama. Consensus All-American. Southwest Conference Player of the Decade for the '80s.

Now if we can just get Guy V Lewis into the Hall.

Today's collectible is his autobiography, Living the Dream. This is one of the better sports autobiographies I've read. So many of these books are just a recounting of stats and games. Since Hakeem's life story is so different from most players, his biography is different too.

His story covers growing up in Nigeria, his time with the Cougars, and his time with the Rockets. But it doesn't just cover basketball. Not only was Olajuwon a great player, one of the reasons I like him so much is he's a great man. One of my favorite stories about Olajuwon's shoe endorsement. Unlike most athletes, he wanted his shoes to not only be high quality, but also to be affordable. But I think this story also reflects poorly on American society. Because they weren't the most expensive, trendiest shoes on the market, they didn't succeed at a high level in the market.

This book is definitely required reading for all UH and Olajuwon fans.

1991-1992 Kellogg's College Greats #11 Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon in his college uniform. How could it get better? Well... it's a food product based card which, until recently, have frequently been very cheap and cheesy looking. That's true here too, but it's still a nice card.

On the front of the card, Hakeem looks great going up for the dunk. The red border accents the uniform and picture well. The yellow Kellogg's logo stands out, but it doesn't distract from the rest of the card. The classic skinny UH logo is also on the front.

The back of the card is very basic... skinny UH logo, Kellogg's logo, & Raisin Bran logo at the top. The name, position, and jersey number are listed. Awards and honors as well as college stats for his enter Cougar career are listed. It's great to own a card that has fairly complete stats for reference.