Some of you might be asking yourselves, what exactly is a sports card bust? This is something I had to determine before I started dropping money on this different type of PC. So far I've come up with two criteria.
The first thing I decided was that it had to be someone who was drafted with one of the top 5 picks in the first round. This would settle any debate on whether or not people had high expectations for the player, because anyone chosen that early is expected to perform. Plus, it would save me money in the long run, since there are a lot of #6 thru 20 something picks floating around out there. Multiply that by 4 since I'm focusing on the 4 major sports (baseball, football, basketball, and hockey) and there's lot of opportunities for busts to pop up each year. I'm not trying to chase down every athlete who has a sub par career, just the top 5 from each draft.
The next criteria for my collection would be purchase price. I cannot and will not allow myself to spend more than $10 on any sports card bust, and that includes shipping.
With that being said, after starting this project less than 30 days ago, I'm already breaking one of my rules. Allow me to introduce the most popular name in football history (actually, I'm not sure if this is true... but there have been 8 different players with this name to put on an NFL uniform): Mr. Mike Williams. I'm not talking about the offensive lineman from Texas, nor am I talking about the wide receiver out of Northeastern. Nope, the one I'm talking about is Mike Williams, the wide receiver out of USC.
Mr. Mike Williams from the University of Southern California is a wide receiver who was recently signed by the Seattle Seahawks. He was originally drafted with the 10th pick in the 2005 draft by the Detroit Lions. There he played two seasons, starting a total of 6 games. He caught 37 passes, two of which were touchdowns, but unfortunately had difficulty holding onto the ball. He was traded to Oakland before his third season, but was released after dropping a ball that would have given the Raiders a 1st down in red zone.
So, did you catch me breaking my own rule? Well, if you pointed out that Mr. Williams is not a top 5 draft pick, then you've earned yourself a big pat on the back. I decided to break my own rule for two reasons. First, Mr. Williams is legitimately a sports card bust. I remember people chasing his cards back in 2005, now they're sitting in common bins. The second reason is this card was generously donated to me by a member of Sports Card Forum (username: danielsweeney). There was no way I could pass up this opportunity of a lifetime.
So thank you danielsweeney for pointing out Mr. Mike Williams and for generously adding to my sports card bust PC. And thank you to everyone who's been commenting on my SCF thread and/or my blog. Your ideas are awesome and I'm in the process of tracking down more cards for this PC.
By the way, if you have any additional criteria you think I should consider... please leave some feedback.
Have a great week!
3 comments:
"I'm not trying to chase down every athlete who has a sub par career, just the top 5 from each draft."
HAHAHA, that may be the best quote of the year!!!! I love it.
Anyways, i think this is my favorite running post on the net. Looking forward to the next "PS Addition - Sports Card Bust #"!!!
He's not a bust anymore now that his career has new life in Seattle! I'd be willing to trade you a card of a real bust for that!
dirtydistance - well... we'll see. after three weeks, he has seven receptions for 106 yards and zero touchdowns. i'm a hawks fan, so i wish him nothing but success. but as of right now...he's still on the "bust" list.
however, if he brings in 60+ receptions (what I would expect from a #1 draft pick) over the next few seasons... then i'll consider dropping him from the sports bust pc.
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