Case Keenum Cards

A special bonus today to break up the countdown. Let's talk about Case Keenum cards.

One of my many followers (OK, I have 2 public followers. If you want to follow this blog, click the Follow link at the top of the page) sent me an e-mail recently with a very interesting card. It is what appears to be a 2009 Topps Heisman Watch card.

I was intrigued. I didn't think that cards could feature active players. So I did a little more research. I checked Topps' website and found nothing. I checked Beckett's site and found nothing.

Finally I checked eBay and found this listing. In the description, it states this is an ACEO card.

If you're not familiar with ACEO, it stands for Art Cards, Editions, and Originals. Most frequently ACEO cards are drawings, paintings, or prints that are on card stock and are the size of baseball cards. I have a few myself, little miniature pieces of artwork that you can collect, trade, or display.

But as an ACEO, I think this card is an original creation, not a Topps card. It looks sharp though, better than some of the designs I've seen from card manufacturers. There are people who make very high quality, non-licensed cards and sets, sometimes of cards that were never made that should have been or designs they'd like to see. This card may fall into that category.

If you're aware of this and know what you're buying, that's great. It's a nice looking card. If not, I think it's a little questionable by the seller to not make it more clear, especially since in the description it states the manufacturer is Topps.

As far as I know, there are no Case Keenum cards made by any of the card manufacturers. I'm looking forward to seeing plenty of them next season though.

There is another Case Keenum card of which I'm aware. UH Professor Simon Bott released Cougar Cards to students at school activities last year. In that set was a Case Keenum card.

Dr. Bott said he plans on releasing another set this year, so UH students should be on the lookout for them. He said there may be fewer student athletes this year due to some logistical issues, but anything that promotes the university and increases our knowledge of our school should be treasured.

1995 Collector's Edge Rookies Black Label 22K Gold #7 Billy Milner

Today's Cougar is another offensive lineman, Billy Milner. He played for the University of Houston from 1993 to 1994. He was co-captain of the 1994 team along with Clay Helton, Mike Meux, and Alfred Young.

In his senior season, he was named Honorable Mention All American by Football News and Second Team All Southwest Conference.

Milner was selected by the Miami Dolphins at #25 in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft. His career started well playing 16 games and starting 9 as a rookie for the Dolphins. Unfortunately his career didn't pan out after that. He only played one more season after that, playing in 4 games for the Dolphins and 10 games for the Saint Louis Rams in 1996.

Today's card is the 1995 Collector's Edge Rookies Black Label 22K Gold #7. Other Collector's Edge Rookies variations include the base card, 22K Gold, and Black Label.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I love cards featuring players in their UH uniform. So what do I think of today's card?

I'm very conflicted by this card. That's a Cougar uniform, but where's the interlocking UH? Either this is a practice/all star game uniform or more likely, this card wasn't licensed by the NCAA and/or UH, so no logo. This isn't uncommon.

I think I actually prefer the pro uniform and logo more than a modified, airbrushed UH uniform.

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.