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.

2003 Leaf Rookies and Stars #198 and Leaf Rookies and Stars Longevity #198 Hanik Milligan

Today's featured player is Hanik Milligan. He played for the University of Houston football team from 2000-2002.

Some of his highlights:
Tied for #4 in tackles in a game (22 vs TCU in 2001)
#2 in season tackles (174 in 2001) and #7 (149 in 2002)
#3 in season solo tackles (102 in 2001)
Tied for #4 in season tackle assists (77 in 2002)
#3 in career tackles (405)
#5 in career solo tackles (235)
#5 in career tackle assists (170)
Tied for #5 in career fumble recoveries (5)
#2 in career forced fumbles (9)
Led team in interceptions in 2000 with 5.
Led team in tackles in 2001 and 2002.

For his efforts, he was named 2nd Team All Conference USA in 2001 and 1st team All Conference in 2002.

He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the 6th round of the 2003 NFL Draft. played for the Chargers from 2003-2005, the Arizona Cardinals in 2006, and the St Louis Rams in 2007. In 2005, he was selected as to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro temas as a special teams player.

His older brother Hamin also played for the Cougars from 2000-2001. Although he didn't make it to the NFL, he did play for five Arena Football League teams and does have a couple of AFL cards, 2006 Upper Deck AFL #59 and 2006 Upper Deck AFL Gold #59. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of those cards for you.

Today's card is the 2003 Leaf Rookies and Stars #198 and the Longevity variation which is restricted to 50 cards. The graphics are a little busy for my tastes, but I'm more of an old school, simple design guy. I do give bonus points for graphics matching the team colors. I also think that the base card is more attractive than the Longevity variation. That's probably because I like the color coordinated graphics though

2004 Bowman Heritage #287 Jesse Crain and #306 Brad Sullivan

A special 2 for 1 today! Not because these players don't deserve their own posts, but because we'll be looking at the same cards for both players.

The first player is Jesse Crain. He played at the University of Houston in 2002 coming from San Jacinto Junior College. He had a huge impact that one season though playing both shortstop and relief pitcher.

He led the team in saves in 2002 with 10. That is good enough to be 3rd on the UH season save list and 5th in career saves. He is also 2nd in consecutive shutout innings (35.2)

His amazing season won him several honors. He was team MVP. He was the 1st player in school and Conference USA history to be named 1st team All-Conference at two positions. He was also named as a 1st team All American and made Rayner Noble's All Decade Team (1995-2004) as a Relief Pitcher.

After his Cougar career, Crain was 2nd round pick in the 2002 MLB draft by Minnesota. He has played for Twins from 2004 to present.

You can also check out his website.

The second player is Brad Sullivan. Brad player for the Cougars from 2001-2003 and was a dominating starting pitcher who holds several UH pitching records.

#1 wins in a season (13 in 2002)
#1 strikeouts in a game (16 three times)
#1 strikeouts in a season (157 in 2002)
#1 career strikeouts (409)
#1 career strikeouts per nine innings (10.6)
#3 career wins (25)
#9 career ERA (2.64)
Tied #1 season wins (13 in 2002)
#9 season ERA (1.82 in 2002)
#3 Consecutive Shutout Innings Pitched (30.2)
#3 season strikeouts per nine innings (11.2 in 2003) and #5 (11.0 in 2002)

Sullivan led team in ERA and victories in 2001 and 2002. And he led team in strikeouts and innings pitched in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

He was given several awards for his magnificent efforts:
Freshman All American and All Conference 2001
CUSA pitcher of the year 2002
1st consensus All-American in UH and Conference USA history in 2002
All Conference 1st team for 3 years (2001-2003)
Rayner Noble's All Decade Team (1995-2004)

He was selected in the first round (#25) of the 2003 draft by Oakland. Unfortunately he never got to pitch in the Major Leagues.

Today's cards are the 2004 Bowman Heritage #287 and #306. The card design is based on the 1955 Bowman design which was previously posted featuring Bill Henry. The design is identical with the exception of the Bowman Heritage logo being added. As usual, there are variations. There are black and white and mahogany variations as wells printing plates.

2005 Greats of the Game #155 Andre Owens

Andre Owens played basketball for the University of Houston from 2002 to 2005. He was one of the team's leaders since his first game as a Cougar where he was the high scorer. He had a very solid career at UH.

Career stats
Points: 1,407 Avg 16.2
3-Pointers Made: 227 (a career high for UH at the time)
Career high points: 41 (1 of 11 Coogs to score 40+)

Team leader
Scoring: 2003-04 (16.0) and 2004-05 (18.3, also led Conference USA)
Free throw percentage: 2002-03 (.764) and 2003-04 (.733)
Assists: 2002-03 (3.2)
Steals: 2002-03 (0.9) and 2003-04 (1.2)
Three Pointers Attempted: 2002-03 (198) and 2003-04 (197)
Three Pointers Made: 2003-03 (65), 2003-04 (62), and 2004-05 (100)

He was team co-captain in 2003-04 (with Marcus Oliver) and 2004-05 (with Lanny Smith). For his efforts in the 2004-05 season, he was named All Conference USA 2nd Team.

As an undrafted free agent, he signed with the Utah Jazz for the 2005-06 season where in played in 23 games. He played 31 games for the India Pacers in the 2007-08 season. Since then he has played in Serbia, Turkey, and Russia.

Today's card is the 2005 Greats of the Game #155, one of Owens' rookie cards. This card has a limited production of 99. There is also a gold variation limited to 25.

I have mixed opinions on the design of this card. I really like that the card is designed to make the player's photograph the focal point. But to do that, almost all color is removed from the card. The background of the photo is grayed out to a distorted black and white. Then you have a border that's a gray/silver overlay of a parquet floor. An odd choice because when I think of parquet floors, I don't think of gray. Finally with the exception of the red Fleer logo, all of the other text and graphics are black and white. Add it all together with a white basketball uniform with a primarily black team logo, and this card is essentially colorless.

2006 Bazooka Rewind Relics #RWA Ryan Wagner

Today's player is an all-time Cougar great baseball player, relief pitcher Ryan Wagner. He played for the University of Houston from 2002 to 2003. His 2003 season was spectacular and the Cougars won the College Station regional, losing to eventual champion Rice.

He led the team in ERA with a 1.93 (excluding pitchers who pitched less than 10 innings). He went 6-5.

His impact on the UH record books:

• #1 in strikeouts per 9 innings for a season (16.8 in 2003). This is also an NCAA record.


• #1 in appearances in a season (38 in 2003)


• #1 in saves in a season (15 in 2003)


• #4 in strikeouts in a season (148 in 2003)


• #2 in holds in a season (5 in 2002)


• #1 in career saves (16)


• #7 in career strikeouts (213)


• #6 in career holds (6)

He also holds several postseason records.

He was named All American and 2nd team All Conference (behind teammate Brad Sullivan). He was also named to the 1995-2005 Rayner Noble All Decade Team.

He was selected #14 by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round of the 2003 MLB draft. He played in his first Major League game later that year. This made him the 1st player in UH, CUSA, and Cincinnati Reds history to play in the Major Leagues during the same year he was drafted.

He played for the Reds from 2003-2005 and the Washington Nationals from 2006-2007. In 2007 he suffered a shoulder injury and was never the same player again. He announced his retirement in 2009.

Today's card in the 2006 Bazooka Rewind Relics #RWA. There are so many things I do not like about this card. First, the design on the front of the card takes up so much space that it detracts from the player who should be the focus.

Next, the cut out to display the jersey piece. The small triangles become the focus instead of the jersey piece. I give them credit for trying to be creative with a different concept. It just fell short.

The final problem is the jersey piece itself. Most of the card emphasizes the achievement on a particular day. Although it does not say so, you get the feeling that the relic was from that day. But on the back, it states "The relic contained on this card is not from any specific event, game or season." So not only is it possibly not from that game, it may not be from that season. Even worse, it may not be from any game at all. It may be from an event. Maybe he wore the jersey at practice or even at an autograph signing session or meet and greet. So much for "Topps pledges to bring you closer to the game and its leading players from the past, present and the future." If they don't know if the jersey is from a game, season, or event, how do they even know it is real?

Relic/jersey cards are very cool things, but using random jerseys from unknown non-game related events just so you can claim jersey pieces are in your cards make all jersey cards, even legitimate game worn ones, less desirable.

2007 Leaf Limited Printing Plates Cyan #245 Biren Ealy

Today's card is the 2007 Leaf Limited Printing Plates Cyan #245 featuring Biren Ealy. I don't own many rare cards, but this one is actually in my collection. It is the only one of its kind, a 1 of 1.

For those who don't collect cards, printing plates are one of the rarest cards available. These really aren't cards. They are the plates used by the card manufacturers to print the cards. Instead of paper, they are generally made of aluminum.

Four different plates are used to create a card. There are cards to apply cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks. For this reason, some people debate whether a printing plate is actually a 1 of 1 card or just four variations. In my opinion, as long as people are considering different color variations, refractors, superfractors, xfractors, etc as different cards, then each individual printing plate must be treated as a separate card since they do not look the same.

Some critics also say that printing plates aren't very attractive. They're right. Plates aren't as attractive as a well done card. But I must admit, knowing that I own a card that no one else in the world has is a pretty cool feeling.