2009-10 Prestige #123 Elvin Hayes

Hooray! New Elvin Hayes cards are starting to come out for 2009. This is the 2009-10 Prestige #123 from Panini.

It's not the best looking card. Layout? I guess it's OK. The picture? Again OK. Are the edges washed out from the lights or is that a poor Photoshop effect?

One thing I do like is the classic Rockets uniform. I like the red and yellow so much more than the red and white or the red, white, and blue.

2005-06 UD Portraits Signature Portraits 8x10 #EH Elvin Hayes

OK... time to get serious about this blog again. Sorry for the vacation.

Here's my latest Elvin Hayes "card" acquisition, 2005-06 UD Portraits Signature Portraits 8x10 #EH. Why "card"? This is definitely not your standard sized card. Instead it's an 8x10 autographed "picture". But it's not just a picture either because the backs of pictures are generally blank. It has a certification that this is a legitimate autograph. I also has a short narrative on Hayes' skill set and career.

Obviously this didn't just come in the classic wax pack. 2005-06 UD Portraits was sold in a box that came with 6 more traditional cards and one autographed 8x10 per box. Of the 6 cards, 2 were memorabilia cards.

To me, the best thing about this collectible is the ability to display it. While standard size cards can look amazing, they can also look very cheesy when you attempt to display them. With an 8x10, this can be framed and displayed like any picture. Pair it up with a Hayes Bullets or Cougars uniform, and you've got a nice Elvin Hayes shrine to be proud to display.

1969-70 Topps #75 Elvin Hayes

After almost two years of blogging about University of Houston collectibles, primarily just learning about Cougar history and the card industry, I've come to a decision. I've decided to focus on collecting Elvin Hayes.

There are several reasons for this:
1) Elvin was the most successful team sport athlete to ever play at UH. I don't think there is any doubt about this. He holds almost ever scoring and rebounding record at UH. He was the only Cougar basketball three time All American, was a two time consensus All American, and was the National Player of the Year. He was the first Cougar to have his number retired. Imagine if he could have played for the varsity as a freshman. That's not even considering his impact as one of the first African Americans recruited to UH along with Don Chaney and Warren McVea.

After his incredible college career, he also had an amazing pro career. He was the 1st pick in the NBA draft and was the last rookie to lead the league in scoring. Twice he led the league in rebounding. He was a 12 time All Star, won an NBA title in 1978, and was named one of the Top 50 All Time NBA players. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
2) I love the collecting options for Hayes. Vintage cards are available back to 1968, but I can also collect modern cards still being released including autographs and relic cards. Cards are available in both pro & UH uniforms. Plus the number of cards available for Hayes is enough to keep me interested for a lifetime, but not so many to be ridiculous. Elvin currently has 236 cards to collect that I know of. That's an achievable goal except for the 1 of 1 cards and maybe some of the super low print runs. Compare that to someone like Olajuwon who has 2148 cards. That's just a crazy amount.

So to start my Elvin Hayes collection, I bought his rookie card, the 1969-70 Topps #75. While this is not his first card (that would be the 1968 Jack In the Box card), it is considered his rookie card because it is the first mainstream release.

This is an oversized card featuring Hayes in his San Diego Rockets uniform. The layout on front is classic with a clean design that really focuses on the player even with the black and white illustrations of basketball players surrounding the photo.

The back features rookie stats and comments on his first season. It also features a graphic noting that he had 40 schools offering him a scholarship and he chose Houston.

I look forward to obtaining more Hayes cards although I'm also picking up other players on occasion. My blog will continue to focus on on UH athletes, but whenever I acquire a new Hayes card, you can bet it will be featured here.

1969-70 Topps Rulers #4 Elvin Hayes

If you think gimmick cards and crazy cards are a recent invention, think again. Today's collectible is the 1969-70 Topps Ruler #4 featuring Elvin Hayes.

These cards were an early insert set. To make them fit in the pack, they were printed on very thin stock and folded. When unfolded they measure 2-1/2" x 9-7/8".

This card features a drawing of Elvin Hayes next to a "ruler." This is a very odd ruler. It shows the players height and is numbered in feet, but the markings between the numbers are broken down more like inches. But it's not inches because it old measures about 8-1/2 units, but the card is 9-7/8" long. OK... I majored in math at the University of Houston so I'd prefer the cards to have a real unit of measure.

I love this card anyway. I love art cards. I wish it looked more like him, but it's a fun card and a fun concept.

2008 Donruss Sports Legends College Heroes #7 Elvin Hayes

It has been 40 years since Elvin Hayes' first basketball card was released. Amazingly, new Elvin Hayes cards are still being manufactured. That is a testament to how great a player Hayes was.

Today's card is the 2008 Donruss Sports Legends College Heroes #7. I love this card. One of the main reasons is that it features Elvin in his University of Houston uniform. What Coog fan wouldn't want a card of him in his Cougar jersey? The background is a little busy for my taste. I prefer solid backgrounds when it's a cropped photo. But the background isn't distracting. The photo itself is a little disappointing. Instead of an action photo of Hayes going to the hoop or pulling down another rebound, we get a hand on hip, walk down the floor, look up at the scoreboard pic. Are there no good pics of Hayes as a college player? I guess I should be happy that at least you can see his face unlike the cover of Sports Illustrated after the Game of the Century.

The back is fairly bland. No picture. A short description of some of his college achievements. There is a UH logo which I like, but it is a logo that Elvin never wore. Old school players should have the old school logo.

This card shows so many of the differences between cards today and Hayes' early cards. The card stock and print quality is amazing today compared to the old cards. Many cards are now numbered to assure customers that there wasn't a ridiculous print run. This card is numbered to 1000. There are also several variants which were not available in vintage cards. This card comes with gold, autographed, and relic variations. That's great if you like those things. If you want to collect every card for a player, the variations make it very difficult.

Cougars of Any Color by Katherine Lopez

Jerry Wizig's Eat 'Em Up Cougars: Houston Football is a classic book that should be required reading for all University of Houston students, alumni, and fans. I'm happy to say that Katherine Lopez's Cougars of Any Color just published in 2008 is another must read.

Cougars of Any Color tells the story of the integration of UH athletics with the recruitment of Warren McVea for football and Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney for basketball.

The book begins with the story of integrating the University in general. Like most southern Universities, UH was an all-white institution. Unlike many universities, once integration finally occurred it was basically a non-event. There was no violence, no protests, and no decrease in enrollment.

Next the book provides a brief history of the football program including its attempts to join the Southwest Conference. For those Coogs who think of Rice as a lovable loser sister school, please listen to the story of Rice's actions when UH tried to join the SWC in 1964. Rice had agreed to be UH's sponsor, but they asked that UH not contact any other school for sponsorship. When it came time for consider UH's membership, Rice backed out and said that Houston belonged in a smaller conference with less competent schools. Due to Rice's backstabbing, UH was again left on the outside looking in.

The remainder of the book covers every aspect of integrating the UH basketball and football teams. And when I say the book covers every aspect, I mean EVERY aspect. It starts with the recruitment of the players from the high profile story of McVea to the relatively low profile stories of Hayes and Chaney. It tells of the newspapers' and opponents' reactions to that recruitment.

It covers the housing arrangements for the players and the on and off campus social life. It talks about the reaction of the African American community in Houston as well as some national reaction. It covers the reaction of the opponents's fans from booing, to racial taunts, to death threats. It covers the reaction of UH fans which in some cases also included booing and racial taunts, but also includes the embracing of these great athletes and Cougars.

Finally it covers the careers of the players. The coverage of the careers though is not solely from an athletics perspective. Their careers are considered for their impact on integration.

This book exceeded every expectation I had. I love Wizig's Eat 'Em Up, but it is almost a marketing piece with all positive stories. Written by a UH grad student, Cougars of Any Color could have easily followed that path. Starting off as a graduate thesis, it could also have turned into a very dry recitation of facts, but instead it is very entertaining.

The book prevents a very balanced story including both very positive and very negative aspects. One of the most amazing aspects of the book is the documentation of the facts and stories in the end notes. I guess I should expect that since it started as a thesis, but even the notes are sometimes entertaining. Reading the notes, I had wished this book was online instead of on paper because I wanted to open and read every newspaper or magazine article and listen to or watch every interview. I hope to follow up and read (or collect) many of the articles in the future.

Before I read this book, I really didn't understand UH's role in the integration of college athletics. UH fans are proud of our role, but I was concerned that they were overstated. After all, major programs in the north and west had already integrated. Schools like North Texas had also recruited African American athletes. UTEP won a basketball championship with an all African American starting lineup.

So how did UH contribute to the integration of college athletics in the South? The biggest impact may not have been having the players on the team, but it was who they played against. McVea was the first African American to play at an SEC stadium. That alone is an important footnote. It is also important that UH's African American players weren't just guys on the team. They were leaders and superstars. By having superstars playing in previously forbidden places, Southern teams realized that they could no longer recruit just White athletes if they wanted to remain elite. By seeing UH players on their fields and seeing that the world didn't end, it became a little more acceptable to consider adding players to their own teams.

So my recommendation? READ THIS BOOK!

1971-72 Topps #142 Elvin Hayes

Generally League Leader and All-Star cards aren't high on many collector's list. They just aren't considered as appealing or valuable as a player's regular issue card. To me, an exception is the League Leader cards of the early 1970s. There is just so much star power on these cards that make them hard to pass up.

Today's card is the 1971 Topps #142 Rebounds Leaders card. Look at the stars here. First you have Wilt Chamberlain looking very intimidating. Sorry Mike, but to me he's the all-time greatest basketball player. In the 1961-62 season he averaged 50.4 points per game and 25.7 rebounds per game including a game where he scored 100 points. WOW! He had 55 rebounds in one game. Too selfish? He once led the league in assists. Not the league leading center, but the league leader. On this card he's the league leading rebounder by a fairly hefty margin with 1493 rebounds vs 1362 for 2nd place.

Also on the card is Lew Alcindor aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. That's just the player with the most points in NBA history.

Finally, and most important to us Cougar fans, we have Elvin Hayes. Top 50 player in NBA history and possibly the greatest Cougar cager of all time. Coming in second in rebounding in 1970-71 as a member of the San Diego (not Houston) Rockets.

Now that we've looked at the players, let's look at the card itself. While it may look cheesy by today's card standards, I love the look. First we've got the brightly colored background '70s style with the Cougar red. The picture of Wilt is great. He looks unhappy and like a man you don't want to mess with his head popping out of the frame trying to contain him. Kareem also looks good with the frame not being able to control his afro. Unfortunately the Elvin Hayes picture is the worst of the bunch. While the other two players have portraits, Hayes' picture looks like a cropped staged action shot.

As for the back... well, it has a lot of information. Nothing exciting here like most vintage cards. You do get a listing of the top 10 rebounders of 1970-1971. That actually served a purpose in those days. You couldn't just go look up the leaders for a season on the internet. It also helped kids learn who the star players were. I prefer statistics on the back of the card to some of the crazy graphics on the backs of some of today's cards.

Beckett currently lists this card as valued from $6 to $15. Recent eBay auctions range from $4.58 to $9.12 plus a couple of dollars for shipping. What a great value for that many stars on one card especially for a card that's 35 years old.

Autograph Cards - 1999 Upper Deck Retro Inkredible Antowain Smith #AS and 2006-07 Press Pass Legends Alumni Association Autographs Drexler Hayes 3

The other insert card type that I enjoy is the autograph card. Collecting autographs is a way to feel closer to the athlete because you know he personally had contact with the signed piece.

For a personal collection, the best way to get an autograph is in person. The autograph is a physical reminder of your interaction with the athlete. When you look at the autograph, you can reminisce about the excitement of the moment. If your collection is more than for personal enjoyment, even if you document your interaction with a photograph, the authenticity of the autograph can come into question. Also it can be very difficult to obtain an autograph in person. Some athletes may not come to your town, may no longer travel, may not sign autographs are card shows, or may just not make many public appearances.

Another way to collect autographs is through dealers and online auctions. Unfortunately there are frequently fake autographs on the market and authenticity verification can be virtually impossible.

An insert card is an excellent way to collect the autograph of your favorite player. While you don't have the personal interaction with the the athlete, you do know that there was contact with the card. You also have some confidence that the autograph is authentic due to the reputaion of the card company.

The first autograph card below is the 1999 Upper Deck Retro Inkredible Antowain Smith #AS. This is one of the first autographed Cougar cards I ever bought.

The second card is the 2006-07 Press Pass Legends Alumni Association Autographs Drexler Hayes #3. What a great card to represent the fine history and tradition of UH basketball. Clyde Drexler and Elvin Hayes autographs on the same card with the fat UH logo on the card. I'd prefer the skinny UH logo since that's still my favorite. Also that was the logo when both players were at UH. But you won't hear me complain too much with such an exquisite card.

1968 Jack In the Box Elvin Hayes

Keeping with the theme of the last post of learning UH's history, let's look at an old school legend, Elvin Hayes. Hayes was probably the greatest college player in UH history. Winning the The Sporting News College Basketball Player of the Year award in 1968, Hayes scored 39 points and pulled down 15 rebounds per game.

Probably his most famous game of his college career was in The Game of the Century at the Astrodome where UH snapped UCLA's 47 game winning streak. 52,629 attended the game (a record at the time for any basketball game), and it was the first nationally televised regular season college basketball game.

Hayes was selected #1 in the NBA draft and led the NBA in scoring his rookie year. He had a fabulous NBA career spanning 16 seasons. He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and was named one of the 50 greatest players of all time.

For today's collectible, let's look at an oddball card. For those unfamiliar with collecting terminology, an oddball is a card not part of a mainstream set. Frequently these cards come with food items or only have a limited regional release. Today's collectible is the 1968 Jack In the Box Elvin Hayes card. This card pre-dates Hayes' "official" rookie card in the 1969-1970 Topps set.