Peyton Manning Rookie Ticket With Lots of Stars and History Behind It!

I went on a big, big ticket kick in 2021 and 2022. I gobbled up as many cool moments and fun finds as I could get my grubby hands on. One such addition was a rookie stub from Peyton Manning's 1998 season. My only criteria was to make sure it was from a game where Peyton balled out.

A November 29th showing against the Ravens was the perfect pickup and it recently returned from PSA as a 6. Manning threw for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns in a one-score defeat. Other notable performances/facts about the contest:

• Marshall Faulk -- 17 carries, 192 yards rushing, 1 TD
• Marshall Faulk -- 7 catches, 75 yards receiving, 1 TD
• Ray Lewis -- 10 solo tackles
• Priest Holmes -- 22 carries, 103 yards rushing, 2 TDs
• Jim Harbaugh -- 198 yards passing, 2 TDs

This was also the first game for the Colts back in Baltimore since leaving in 1984.

PEYTON!

Getting Handed The Entire Contents of a 6-Hit Box.

One day a couple of weeks ago at work a really good customer was in selling some stuff to us. He bought a box of 2015 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Football while he was there and we were talking about some of his pulls as he broke the box. Right as he was about to leave he came over and handed me the box and said he wanted it to go to somebody who would better appreciate it. I thought he meant the store. He actually meant me. So yeah, I was handed the entire contents of a more than $100 box for absolutely nothing, just because. Thanks KN!

Todd Gurley is the only name I recognized from the six autos in the box, and that's both because he was suspended last year and was the best running back in college, going 10th overall in the draft to St. Louis.

Some random cards will dominate the final two scans. Melvin Gordon was the Chargers' first-round selection this year. The Welker is #'d out of 99 and shiny. Beckham is a beast.

A few cards of former UCLA QB Brett Hundley.

My First Peyton Manning Auto!

Peyton Manning is my second favorite football player of all-time, clocking in right behind LaDainian Tomlinson. I consider him the greatest QB ever and his signature was high on my want list, but price was a deterrent in picking one up. Last year I decided that had to change and with some extra dough to play with I hit eBay. I found the below, out of 2002 UD SP Authentic, and thankfully my bid held true.

I spent about 70% of my birthday cash on this. My birthday is in July. So yes, I'm only a bit behind on posting certain things. This card has everything I would want in a Peyton John Hancock: the signature is on-card, the design and photo are very good, and Peyton is pictured as a Colt. Unlike 99% of athletes today -- even guys I collect! -- Manning has gorgeous penmanship.

Trade With Cardboard Collections: Peyton Manning Is A Bronco, But He'll Always Be A Colt To Me.

I completed my first trade with Colbey from Cardboard Collections. Colbey posted some sweet rookies as bait, and I jumped on them. I've been on a bit of a QB RC kick this year (check in tomorrow for some more of that), and the two players he had rookies of are two guys I love to watch play. As the title alludes to, the first is future Hall of Famer, newest Bronco, and in my estimation, the greatest quarterback in football history, Peyton Manning.

Colbey had a number of Manning rookies available (six in all), and I cleaned him out of all of them. My favorite, by far, is the above, from 1998 Topps Season Opener. Number One in the set. Just a truly awesome card all around, and a classic in my mind. The remainder of my Manning and non-Manning loot follows these here words.

My scanner clearly hates shiny, awesome goodness. This card is truly Brilliant in person, as Fleer intended it to be. I love how Peyton is sort of coming out of the card, and his body is in mid-motion.

Another number one in a set, this time from 1998 Bowman. The back of the card informs me that not only is Peyton an "accomplished motivational speaker" and an excellent student who earned his degree in three years, but most importantly, he has "read all of John Grisham's legal novels." Seriously. He and Koothrappali are the only two who can lay claim to that feat.

We now move from a Colts uni to his Tennessee threads. An absolutely fantastic action shot makes this 1998 Fleer Ultra RC a phenomenal card. That intense look on Manning's face is the cherry on top of a great design and great everything.

1998 Fleer makes another appearance in the form of Tradition. Simple, clean. More cards should strive for those qualities.

The final Peyton Rookie comes from 1998 Upper Deck Choice. An interesting design, and one I'm not terribly fond of, but I'm also not looking for any other cards from this set other than the Manning, so it's all good.

I mentioned there was a non-Peyton Manning aspect to this trade. The above Drew Brees - from 2001 Upper Deck Vintage - fits that mold, and is my first RC of the former Chargers' QB. Brees looks positively bad ass here. The hand on his shoulder could possibly belong to LaDainian Tomlinson, considering they were drafted in the same year. This here is a set I could see myself putting together, if I were the kind of guy who put football sets together.

The final card is another Brees rookie, and comes from 2001 Topps. Another simple and clean card, although the border color could use some actual color.

Colbey threw in another card which I was not expecting to find: a David Gettis autograph, repping Wayne Gretzky with a serial number of 099/199. I know Colbey collects the Panthers, so I wasn't sure if this was an intentional inclusion or an accidental one. I checked, and it was accidental, so it'll be heading back his way. I must say, I do love the Crown Royale die-cut design. A really tremendous design in my opinion.

Thanks for the awesome trade Colbey! I'm still hoping my LCS can find that Adams auto, but if not soon, I'll replace it with something and get everything out to you.

Repping my Manning jersey on campus today. First time in a long time I'll be sporting that jersey.

Oh, and a Manning auto is on my Bucket List. One day....