For the Venerable but Not Forgotten Basketball Crowd - 1992 Draft Year Revisited
Stone193
Posts: 24,486 ✭✭✭✭✭
Well, it’s 1992 and the basketball hobby is buzzing like crazy! Everyone is anticipating the emergence of Shaq!
It was the hottest I’ve ever seen the new basketball season and it set the hobby on fire!
To boot, Shaq signed an exclusive with Classic Cards – so no one else had him until the next year – which is kind of silly since that’s 1993 – which is only a few months after the season opened. But still, Classic was hot. Upper Deck had its first big “redemption/trade” card!
So, lets look at the dirty dozen of the 1992 draft and we can look at the collective careers of these bright eyed draftees.
1. Shaquille O'Neal Louisiana State Orlando active
2. Alonzo Mourning Georgetown Charlotte active
3. Christian Laettner Duke Minnesota inactive
4. Jim Jackson Ohio State Dallas inactive
5. LaPhonso Ellis Notre Dame Denver inactive
6. Tom Gugliotta North Carolina State Washington inactive
7. Walt Williams Maryland Sacramento inactive
8. Todd Day Arkansas Milwaukee inactive
9. Clarence Weatherspoon So. Mississippi Philadelphia inactive
10. Adam Keefe Stanford Atlanta inactive
11. Robert Horry Alabama Houston active
12. Harold Miner USC Miami inactive
Instead of me writing volumes – lets just look at who’s left standing in 2007?
Well, it’s just O’Neal, Mourning and Horry. I will say most of these guys had pretty good careers lasting in the NBA for quite some time. The exception was Harold Miner at only 4 seasons.
So, any favorites? Comments? I’m an Horry fan since he played for the Spurs.
mike
It was the hottest I’ve ever seen the new basketball season and it set the hobby on fire!
To boot, Shaq signed an exclusive with Classic Cards – so no one else had him until the next year – which is kind of silly since that’s 1993 – which is only a few months after the season opened. But still, Classic was hot. Upper Deck had its first big “redemption/trade” card!
So, lets look at the dirty dozen of the 1992 draft and we can look at the collective careers of these bright eyed draftees.
1. Shaquille O'Neal Louisiana State Orlando active
2. Alonzo Mourning Georgetown Charlotte active
3. Christian Laettner Duke Minnesota inactive
4. Jim Jackson Ohio State Dallas inactive
5. LaPhonso Ellis Notre Dame Denver inactive
6. Tom Gugliotta North Carolina State Washington inactive
7. Walt Williams Maryland Sacramento inactive
8. Todd Day Arkansas Milwaukee inactive
9. Clarence Weatherspoon So. Mississippi Philadelphia inactive
10. Adam Keefe Stanford Atlanta inactive
11. Robert Horry Alabama Houston active
12. Harold Miner USC Miami inactive
Instead of me writing volumes – lets just look at who’s left standing in 2007?
Well, it’s just O’Neal, Mourning and Horry. I will say most of these guys had pretty good careers lasting in the NBA for quite some time. The exception was Harold Miner at only 4 seasons.
So, any favorites? Comments? I’m an Horry fan since he played for the Spurs.
mike
Mike
0
Comments
Arthur
<< <i>i still have some fancy wooden box set of classic cards from that year i think.. >>
Perry
Wasn't that the coveted "Gold" set?
mike
<< <i>Wasn't Latrell Sprewell in this class also? This was a deep draft but I remember thinking that alot of these guys were sure fire Hall of Famers when this set came out. Good times. >>
Spewell was #24.
mike
<< <i>
<< <i>i still have some fancy wooden box set of classic cards from that year i think.. >>
Perry
Wasn't that the coveted "Gold" set?
mike >>
probably.. i think it had a certificate and everything.. i'll have to see if i can find it sometime..
I don't think that you were implying anything by stating that most are inactive now as fifteen years is a long time for a pro basketball player.
And Robert Horry is a unique player. From start to finish a winner in every sense of the word! I think he has won six championships and could've won a few more. And might have never been on a team that didn't make the Playoffs. Contributing in every way necessary to the team and the goal of winning games. A true professional.
Don't waste your time and fees listing on ebay before getting in touch me by PM or at gregmo32@aol.com !
<< <i>and i remember people calling harold miner "baby jordan" or something.. >>
Perry, yes he was. The Atlanta Hawks were picking 10th in '92, and when their slot came up, the Hotlanta fans were vociferously chanting "baby Jordan, baby Jordan!" Immediately after making Stanford's Adam Keefe their selection, the crowd changed their tune to a derisive "baby Konkak, baby Konkak!"
Geordie
Dodgers collection scans | Brett Butler registry | 1978 Dodgers - straight 9s, homie
<< <i>I don't think that you were implying anything by stating that most are inactive now as fifteen years is a long time for a pro basketball player. >>
No Greg
In fact, it's a tribute to the 3 remaining out of 12! I mentioned just afterwards:
<< <i>I will say most of these guys had pretty good careers lasting in the NBA for quite some time. The exception was Harold Miner at only 4 seasons. >>
Perhaps this can start a trend where others post a year and review the top dozen or so players.
mike
<< <i>What about when 1996-97 Topps Chrome heated up nearly two years after its retail only release. Now that 1996-97 is a nice draft class that was also deep. >>
Allen
As I just said - it would be nice if people picked a draft year and ran with it.
I started with 92 since it was the first big 'buzz' year in card collecting during the "big boom" production.
Classic cards was hot - but not for long.
I have a bunch of these sets if anyone wants one - just pm me.
mike
Lee
<< <i>I remember the Hoops Magic's All Rookie Team insert set with all these guys and no card was worth less than $15. I remember thinking Shaq, Mourning, Laettner, Jackson, Googs, Walt, Day, and Horry would all be perrennial All Stars. Then the following year had Penny, Webber, Bradley, Hurley, Chaney, JR Rider, Vin Baker, Cassell and Mashburn who were all supposed to be great as well. What the hell happened?
Lee >>
Lee
These two cards were in big-time demand in 1993 - the Magic AR Shaq was selling for around 250 to 300$ if memory serves.
I bought one box of each - and got lucky.
Funny:
The rip was with my son - but my wife jumped in and wanted to open some packs...
So she says - "what are we looking for?" I tell her: "a needle in a haystack." She says: "this looks good, is it anything?" Well, it was the case card Shaq! Rumor was that in a 20 box case - only one box had a Shaq Magic card. My son went nuts since "HE" wanted to be the one to pull the card!
So, my guess? The card was more plentiful than originally rumored?
mike
THIS was the Shaq to supposedly end all Shaqs!!! I remember this selling in the thousands of $$ range! Then Wal-Mart came along and flooded the market with them. They still fetch maybe $50...... WAS another (maybe) 1 per case card. They also did that with the Upper Deck rookie insets. You'd get 2-3 per box out of a set of 20, then Wal-Mart comes along, waving their prix in the air and releases a 'special' product with 2 per pack.......
Don't waste your time and fees listing on ebay before getting in touch me by PM or at gregmo32@aol.com !
Don't know much about it at all. I really thought it had a shot at a 10 at the time when i sent it in
Dave
Somewhere around here I have a Drakes pack with a Shaq rc on top, a regular Fleer pack with Shaq on top and some sort of "book" that showcased the hot rookies from that year but included unnumbered Fleer cards. I bought all these in 93 thinking I may sell them for a nice profit in the future. What a fool I was!
Also around that time I sold one of my 1962 Topps Carl Willey aluminum plates....why? So I could buy a Shaq signed ball!
I am such a dummy!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Here's a couple of interesting Shaq cards.
One is the McDonald's issue and the other is the "header" card for the 1993 - June 30th NBA draft.
mike
<< <i>Bought this card wayyyy back at a card show
Don't know much about it at all. I really thought it had a shot at a 10 at the time when i sent it in
Dave >>
Dave
There's actually 3 variations to that card - I have the Tristar card you show - here are two more:
one is the regular PR1 - a promo with NO logo to the upper right and...
second is the "Classic Club" card with the C3 logo in the upper right:
It's like the card of Shaq I posted above from Classic - it also comes with two different promo backs - the STAT back promo and the 1992 National logo Promo.
mike
<< <i>What do you think two HOF'ers??? Mourning and Shaq...isn't Jimmy Jackson still active and playing for the Lakers? >>
I don't believe Mourning is HOF material. JMHO...
<< <i>Alse there was the Ultra Rejectors Shaq. In 12 years will this all be about Lebron autos and the once coveted exquisite? >>
Allen
Hard to say but one thing's fer sure...
it's 15 yrs since these guys were drafted and it aint about them?
Why step over the dollar to get to the cent? Because it's a 55DDO.
1992 NBA was good times. I'm currently building the ultimate shrine to my main man and all around loveable poor sap, Harold Miner. My pals and I all had our 'horse' back then, back when we hooped it up every day after school. One buddy had Larry Johnson, another wavered between Anthony Peeler and Alonzo Mourning, another had Spree, and so on. I of course had Harold Miner. Everybody had Shaq; he was an event when he broke. I alo remember when Jim Jackson and Doug Christie had their rc cards delayed because of what...contract disputes or holdouts? Anyway theri Skybox draft pick inserts were delayed until the next year and inserted with Series 1 of the 1993 product, haw haw!
Hoops Magic's All Rookies were insane, I remember pulling a Todd Day at a show and was able to trade it for...jeezus, can't think of it now, probably a "rookie" SLU or something. I'll never forget how the Miner was going for it's all-time high of 95 bucks...I almost pulled the trigger back then but then didn't quite have the money so I said forget it...good thing. Best day for me at a card shop back then was pulling two of the Shaq "All RC" inserts from the Ultra Series II. They were hands down the hottest thing in my neighborhood going. This was when they were at their highest price-wise. The shop owner offered 100 bucks for one of them and I turned him down, thinking they were going to sky rocket. Bad thing. Recently bought a box for kicks and busted it, and sure enough my fingers sought the upper right stack and out of the 5th or 6th pack pulled the All RC...and it was a Shaq. Good times. Those damn Ultra cards still smell the same, just lovely!
So...Harold Miner. I love his cards to this day, but I collect them more as a reminder of the good times I had with my friends back then as I do to remind myself that collecting is a bit absurd and silly and shouldn't be taken so seriously. What better way to that than to champion the only guy to win dunk titles in two different jersey numbers and who licked his kicks?
His "career" was, much like collecting, a bit absurd and silly and shouldn't be taken so seriously. I don't even remember him getting traded to the Cavs for those final 19 games, or him getting cut from tryouts with the Raptors the next season. Then, just like that, he was gone. And, quite literally, never really seen or heard from again.
Still his cards from those 3 seasons and change are pretty sweet. Favorite all-time has to be the iconic 92-93 Fleer Ultra rc where he is shooting over an absolutely stretched out Jordan. Some price guides listed that card as "Harold Miner w/Jordan" back when it actually charted, gotta love that hype. Still, awesome shot, especially for a rookie card.
Funny written highlights on card backs include:
Blurb on the back of his Hoops Magic's All Rookie card (which I bought much later for pennies) in which "Magic Johnson" writes: "One look at this guy on the floor and you can see why they call him Baby Jordan. He's only 6-3, but he's got some of the best aerial moves I've seen since Michael Jordan. I mean, this kid gets out of the gym. He can take just about anyone to the hole, and if someone cuts him off, he's got a reliable jumper out to about 20 feet. All he needs to do is work on his passing and his defense and he's going to be a force to reckon with."
Just his passing and defense, huh, Magic? Is that all? No problem, he'll get right on that!
Oh, and how about this priceless poem on the back of his Rim Rockers insert from Stadium Club in 93?
ahem...and I quote:
"A Miner Note"
Call him Baby Jordan
Prince of the Jam
The '93 champ
of the dunk and slam
College boy busted
2,000 pts in just 3
Wearin' the score-
crown at U.S.C.
Scorchin' the Heat
Razzle n dazz
B. Jordan playin'
smoothe as jazz.
Wow, come on people, how can you not love that?
Harold's cardboard connection with Jordan is interesting, but I'll have to fully chronicle it later. All I know is that I'm willing to bet on every "Face To Face" insert graded by PSA they've sealed the card in the holder back-side showing, because Jordan was on the back and Harold Miner was on the front.
Oh, he was part of Jordan's "Flight Team" inserts back in Upeer Deck's 93-94 issue. Jordan "wrote": "I should have put a trademark on sticking out your tongue on the court. Harold is an explosive offensive performer. While in the air, he is able to twist and turn around defenders popping in front of him. I was happy to see him win the 1993 slam dunk championship because he is fun to watch in the sir.
Anyway, one day I'm going to start a master player set for him in the registry and grade it all out. Of course it'll be the most worthless way to spend money to everybody but me, because I can't think of a more hilariously fitting way to honor my guy than to have the number 1 set of all time, uncontested or not. And I'll get them to holder that Face to Face card correctly, with the front of the card showing a dribbling and care-free Harold Miner.
ps
Here's an interesting article on him when USC tried to contact their all-time leading scorer, to no avail of course, Harold is the biggest NBA recluse around...
http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/usc/la-sp-crowe12feb12,1,3435686.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-coll-usc
It's too bad Miner's career wasn't longer. His is the shortest of the top 12 draft picks by quite a bit.
Now, if someone wants to look at the group 1 yr before and after? Very interesting also.
When UD debuted in 1991 - there was a frenzy of attention to the Mutumbo and Johnson cards - I think each one was in the 20+$ range?
Now? A buck?
mike
<< <i>"A Miner Note"
Call him Baby Jordan
Prince of the Jam
The '93 champ
of the dunk and slam
College boy busted
2,000 pts in just 3
Wearin' the score-
crown at U.S.C.
Scorchin' the Heat
Razzle n dazz
B. Jordan playin'
smoothe as jazz. >>
Seriously, is that on a card?
<< <i>Seriously, is that on a card? >>
i think thats what jinxed his career..
Thanks for sharing some of the card stories and pics everyone. By 1992 I had been out of collecting a couple of years ( not to return until '02 ) so I didnt have a clue as to the buzz, hot cards, etc. from that era.
-- Yogi Berra
My Auctions
1. Larry Johnson UNLV Charlotte
2. Kenny Anderson Georgia Tech New Jersey
3. Billy Owens Syracuse Sacramento
4. Dikembe Mutombo Georgetown Denver
5. Steve Smith Michigan State Miami
6. Doug Smith Missouri Dallas
7. Luc Longley New Mexico Minnesota
8. Mark Macon Temple Denver
9. Stacey Augmon UNLV Atlanta
10. Brian Williams Arizona Orlando
11. Terrell Brandon Oregon Cleveland
12. Greg Anthony UNLV New York
13. Dale Davis Clemson Indiana
14. Rich King Nebraska Seattle
15. Anthony Avent Seton Hall Atlanta
16. Chris Gatling Old Dominion Golden State
17. Victor Alexander Iowa State Golden State
18. Kevin Brooks Southwestern Louisiana Milwaukee
19. LaBradford Smith Louisville Washington
20. John Turner Phillips Houston
21. Eric Murdock Providence Utah
22. LeRon Ellis Syracuse LA Clippers
23. Stanley Roberts Louisiana State Orlando
24. Rick Fox North Carolina Boston
25. Shaun Vandiver Colorado Golden State
26. Mark Randall Kansas Chicago
27. Pete Chilcutt North Carolina Sacramento
My Auctions
13. Bryant Stith Virginia Denver
14. Malik Sealy St. John's Indiana
15. Anthony Peeler Missouri LA Lakers
16. Randy Woods La Salle LA Clippers
17. Doug Christie Pepperdine Seattle active -kinda...2 10 day contracts this year
18. Tracy Murray UCLA Portland (*)
19. Don MacLean UCLA Washington (**)
20. Hubert Davis North Carolina New York
21. Jon Barry Georgia Tech Boston
22. Oliver Miller Arkansas Phoenix
23. Lee Mayberry Arkansas Milwaukee
24. Latrell Sprewell Alabama Golden State
25. Elmore Spencer UNLV LA Clippers
26. David Johnson Syracuse Portland
27. Byron Houston Oklahoma State Chicago
2nd Round
---------
28. Marlon Maxey Texas-El Paso Minnesota
29. P.J. Brown Louisiana Tech New Jersey active
30. Sean Rooks Arizona Dallas
31. Reggie Smith Texas Christian Portland
32. Brent Price Oklahoma Washington
33. Corey Williams Oklahoma State Chicago
34. Chris Smith Connecticut Minnesota
35. Tony Bennett Wisconsin-Green Bay Charlotte
36. Duane Cooper USC LA Lakers
37. Isaiah Morris Arkansas Miami
38. Elmer Bennett Notre Dame Atlanta
39. Litterial Green Georgia Orlando (*)
40. Steve Rogers Alabama State New Jersey
41. Popeye Jones Murray State Houston
42. Matt Geiger Georgia Tech Miami
43. Predrag Danilovic Yugoslavia Golden State
44. Henry Williams UNC-Charlotte San Antonio
45. Chris King Wake Forest Seattle
46. Robert Werdann St. John's Denver
47. Darren Morningstar Pittsburgh Boston
48. Brian Davis Duke Phoenix
49. Ron Ellis Louisiana Tech Phoenix
50. Matt Fish UNC-Wilmington Golden State
51. Tim Burroughs Jacksonville Minnesota
52. Matt Steigenga Michigan State Chicago
53. Curtis Blair Richmond Houston
54. Brett Roberts Morehead State Sacramento
My Auctions
<< <i>Wasn't there a Shaq 92-93 McDonald's card? I think I have it somewhere. It may be the same Shaq as Mike showed, as that is a McD'd card, but is that the UD? And if so, that is from 93? >>
Zef
That's the 93UD Shaq card - I don't think ya gonna find a '92 card since as I said - the ONLY company who had rights to him after the draft in June is Classic Cards - the other companies had to wait till 1993.
That's why UD had the "trade card" insert (1a) in their product in 1992 - so when ya mailed it in ya got a 1b - Shaq card with "Trade card" on top and then in 1993 - high series I believe - ya pulled the real Shaq #1 card with #1 NBA Draft Pick on the top.
mike
Tim Hardaway
Glen Rice
Danny Ferry
Larry Johnson
Mutombo
Kenny Anderson
Then all those guys from 92, 93. Just stuffed with rookies.
I had some of them back then...Danny Ferrys, the 90 Fleer Rookie Sensation set, a few of the 92's, and that was a big deal! I didn't have the money for most of them.
A few years ago, I bought a lot of 92/93 boxes to fill in my childhood collection. I ended up with 4 or 5 Shaq rookies from each manufacturer, and the Skybox DP Shaq, which was cool.
I miss the excitment from those days, the excitment of pulling something incredible, with your hands shaking, and hyperventaliating. Honestly...when was the last time you saw that at a card show?
When was the last time you saw a crowd gather around someone about to rip a pack at a card show?
Here's a Classic blister with the Shaq RC:
And here's two highly sought after promos of the Shaq RC - they were given out at the National in Atlanta but then HSN or QVC a la Kenny Goldin dumped a ton on the market!
So a 200 buck promo was now worth like 10?
One was called the "National" promo and the other the "Statback" promo.
Also scanned is a promo ya don't see as often with Shaq, Nevin, Howard and Hamrlik.
mike
<< <i>
<< <i>What do you think two HOF'ers??? Mourning and Shaq...isn't Jimmy Jackson still active and playing for the Lakers? >>
I don't believe Mourning is HOF material. JMHO... >>
Mark, I COMPLETELY agree with you. Unless he plays the "kidney card" ....
He is a whiny jerk though.
Don't waste your time and fees listing on ebay before getting in touch me by PM or at gregmo32@aol.com !
<< <i>how many more ancient threads can you pull to the forefront this evening
I got LOTS of time
not really headed to NYC in an hour or so