1996 Score Board Autographed Collection Autographs #21 Jimmy Herndon

Jimmy Herndon played offensive lineman for the Cougars from 1992 to 1995. Unfortunately for offensive lineman, they don't publish many stats for them, but we can look at some of the awards he won to consider how good a player he was at UH.

Jimmy was named 2nd team All-Southwest Conference in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, he made 1st team All-SWC.

On top of his conference awards, he was named 3rd team All American by College Sports Magazine and was named Honorable Mention by the UPI.

Herndon was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 5th round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He played 8 seasons in the NFL, 1 with the Jaguars, 5 with the Chicago Bears, and 2 with the Houston Texans.

Today's card is the 1996 Score Board Autographed Collection Autographs #21. There is also a Gold variation hand numbered and limited to 350 cards. Both versions feature an autograph.

The best part of the card is that he is featured in a UH uniform. It's great to see any Cougar on a card, but to me it is extra to see them in their UH uniform. Someone should create a list of all cards featuring UH players and indicate if they're in their UH uniform. That would be a nice set to collect.

1997 Pacific Prisms Gems of the Diamond #GD19 Vaughn Eshelman

Vaughn Eshelman pitched for the University of Houston from 1990 to 1991. Those were very solid years for UH baseball as the Coogs went 44-23 in 1990 and 37-19 in 1991.

Vaughn led the team in strikeouts in 1991 with 78. He also threw 2 one hitters for the Cougars.

Eshelman was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 4th round of the 1991 MLB Draft. He played for 10 Minor League teams over 8 seasons. He also pitched 3 seasons in the Major Leagues for the Boston Red Sox from 1995-1997, going 15-9.

Today's card is the 1997 Pacific Prisms Gems of the Diamond #GD19. The style is very much like early '90s cards. Very nice.

1998 Bowman #217 Dustin Carr

Today's player is another four year letterman at the University of Houston, Dustin Carr. He played center field for the Cougars from 1994 to 1996 and third base in 1997.

In 1997, he led the team and the league with 32 doubles and 108 hits. He also was named 3rd Team All-American, 1st Team All-Conference USA, and shared Team MVP. Later, he was named third baseman on Rayner Noble's All Decade Team.

Season UH records:
#1 in runs (80 in 1997)
#1 in hits (108 in 1997)
#1 in doubles (32 in 1997)
#8 in batting average (.399 in 1997)
#2 in total bases (177 in 1997)

Career UH records:
#4 in runs (161)
#4 in hits (225)
#2 in doubles (51)
#5 in total bases (337)
#6 in steals (54)


Dustin was selected by Tampa Bay in the 22nd round of the 1997 MLB draft. He played five seasons for four Minor League teams, but never made it to the Majors.

Today's cards is the 1998 Bowman #217 and several of its variations. Yesterday I said that one of the good things about collecting these days is that there is something for every collector's taste. The number of variations can also be considered a negative. In the case of today's card, there are nine variations of the same card: Base, Golden Anniversary, International, Chrome, Chrome Golden Anniversary, Chrome International, Chrome Refractors, Chrome Golden Anniversary Refractors, and Chrome International factors.

In some cases there are even more variations. Refractors often come in a rainbow of colors, the only difference being the border color and the print run. One of the funniest jokes is that someday there will be a set where there are so many variations that every card will be a one of one. To me, that's just a little too much.

Base



Chrome



Chrome International



Chrome International Refractor

1999 Topps Chrome #119 Jason McDonald

Jason McDonald played just one season for the University of Houston after coming from Sacramento City College. He was the Cougars' shortstop in 1993.

He was selected by the Oakland A's in the 4th round of the 1993 MLB Draft. He played for the A's Minor League clubs until he was called up in 1997 to play outfield. He continued to bounce between the Major and Minor leagues for the A's until 1999. In 2000, he played for the Rangers' Minor League teams and for the Major League team. He played a couple more seasons in the Minors before his career ended.

Today's card is the 1999 Topps Chrome #119. I'm not a big fan of Chrome cards. I think they detract from the picture which should be the focus of the card. But some people absolutely love Chrome. While I love the simplicity of the old days of card collecting, one of the positives of the modern era is that there is something for almost every collector regardless of their tastes.

2000 SP Top Prospects First Impressions Gold #GG Gee Gervin

Being the son of a legend must really have its positives and negatives. Positive: You get to do things, go to places, and meet people the average person doesn't. Negative: People may expect the same talents, interests, and levels of success as the father.

The son of NBA legend George "The Iceman" Gervin, Gee Gervin may not be an NBA Hall of Famer, but he is definitely a Cougar great.

Gee played for the University of Houston in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. He was team co-captain both years. He led the team in scoring (both seasons), 3 point percentage (1998-99), free throw percentage (both years), assists (both years), and steals (1998-99). Despite playing on losing teams both seasons, he was All-Conference USA 1st Team both years. He was the first Cougar to be named 1st Team All CUSA in 1998-99, probably because he was the first player to lead the conference in both points and assists. He was even named All American Honorable Mention in 1999.

Gee never made it to the NBA, but he has been playing professionally. He played in the ABA for the Detroit Dogs and won the first-ever ABA Championship Game MVP Award. He played in the International Basketball Association, in Mexico, in Cyprus, and for the Harlem Globetrotters. Most recently in 2009-10, he played for the Norrkoping Dolphins in the Swedish league.

Today's card is the 2000 SP Top Prospects First Impressions Gold #GG. It features a picture of Gervin in his UH uniform and an on card autograph. The Gold variation is limited to 25 cards and is hand numbered. The base variation is not numbered.

2001 Fleer Platinum #248 Alton Ford

Sometimes you wish a player could just hang around a little longer. Alton Ford is one of those guys. Coming to the University of Houston as a High School All American and the Texas High School Player of the Year, expectations were high.

Ford showed flashes of that greatness as a Freshman. He played in 26 games and started 18, including the last 7 where he led the team in scoring and rebounding. His 10.8 points per game ranked him #7 in all-time Freshman scoring and his 5.9 rebounds per game ranked #5 for Freshman. He was even named to the 4th team All American on one list.

But because expectations were so high, they weren't met and areas of improvement were noticeable. But instead of staying in school to improve, he declared for the NBA draft. He was selected by the Phoenix in the 2nd round, played for the Suns in 2001-02 and 2002-03. He then played for the Houston Rockets in 2003-04.

After leaving the NBA, he has played in French, Chinese, Polish, and Bosnian leagues as well as the NBA's D-League.

If he had stayed at UH, would he have been a college star? Would he have developed more in college and been a better pro? We'll never know. But what we do know is that we love our Coogs whether they were at UH for a short time or 4+ years, whether they are Hall of Famers or don't play a minute in the pros. They are part of our Cougar family.

Toay's card is the 2001 Fleer Platinum #248. The design is based on the famous 1986-87 Fleer set which features rookie cards of Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler as well as an Otis Birdsong card. If you want to do a retro card in basketball with a recognizable design, this set is the obvious choice.

2002 USA Baseball National Team Signatures #SN Shane Nance

Several pitchers at the University of Houston have had one great season, or maybe even two or three. But few if any had a four year career like Shane Nance. He played baseball at UH from 1997-2000. Not only was he a starting pitcher, but he was also a designated hitter.

As a freshman, he made Collegiate Baseball's 1st team Freshman All-American list.

He was 1st team All Conference USA in 1998 and 2nd team All Conference in 1999 and 2000. He was Team MVP in 1998 and was named to Rayner Noble's All Decade team.

Shane Nance's UH Accomplishments:
#1 career wins (32)
#1 career innings pitched (411.1)
Tied for #7 career complete games (12)
Tied for #3 career shutouts (5)
#5 season strikeouts (119 in 1999) & #7 (106 in 1997)
Led team in ERA in 1997 (4.53), 1998 (2.96), and 2000 (2.31)
Led team in victories in 1998 (9)
Led team in strikeouts in 1997 (106), 1998 (93), and 1999 (119)

Nance was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2000 MLB draft. He played for 7 minor league teams. Shane also had limited appearances in three seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Unfortunately he never stuck in the Majors and retired in 2005.

While at UH, he also played for the USA National Team in 1998 and 1999. His time on the national team is the inspiration for today's card, the 2002 USA Baseball National Team Signatures #SN. Limited to 375 cards, it features Shane in his Team USA uniform and includes an autograph.