Collectors Corner #22: The Mike Modano Collection

Just a few of the 1700+ Mike Modano cards inside Carlos' collection.

You may already follow this collector on YouTube, but today's article will introduce Carlos under a new persona:

​The Mike Modano collector.

The Introduction

I started collecting in 1990. Baseball was the first sport I began with since it was my
favorite sport.

Before getting my first packs, my introduction was through those “collector kits” that
were available for a long time. The same ones with the random mix of junk wax that
went all over the late 80s and early 90s with the ever so scarce early 80s Topps mixed
in from time to time. The first actual packs I opened were the uber-scarce 1991 Donruss baseball (they may still be printing them to this day).

In the mid 90’s I started to follow hockey a lot more and started collecting more
seriously into the late 90s (still my favorite era of collecting by far), spending many
hours in the card shop hanging out while searching insert boxes for cards to add to my
player collections mostly. The Mike Modano collection started around this time right in
1995, so I have been collecting his cards and items for going on 25 years.
Unlike most collectors around that time frame, I never actually stopped collecting. There was a definite slowdown during University as beer money took priority, but even then, I would still troll eBay and pick up a card here and there, slowly picking up more cards for my sets and interesting inserts when I had a few extra dollars to devote to the cause.

What has kept me going is that there’s always another chase. Even as one ends there
another around the corner, and that’s always been the fun part of curating and building
the collection.

What/Who Do You Collect?

My main collection is Mike Modano cards. I recently passed 1650 different, but another 100 or so new ones are sitting with COMC so once those come in, I should be over 1750.

Why Did You Start Collecting Mike Modano?

Modano was one of my favorites to watch in highlights, especially in that early-mid 90s
period with him showcasing his speed. It was fun to see as he was still a younger player and hadn’t taken on the two-way play responsibilities that would help the team as they grew into contenders but slow down his scoring somewhat. From that point I followed the team, became a Dallas Stars fan and just kept following the team in the years since.

A Upper Deck The Cup Foundations Quad Patch Autographed card /5 from Carlos' extensive Mike Modano hockey card collection.

What Are Your Favourite Cards in Your Collection?

My current favorite is the 1997-98 Pinnacle Totally Certified Platinum Gold Mirror, but depending on the day it alternates with the 1997-98 UD Sixth Sense Wizard card.

The technology on both really plays well with the light. Cards like those are just fun to look at, let alone own and they were definite grails for the younger collector version of myself.

What has been interesting is that even though I have been collecting Modano for so long many of these cards have started to come out of the woodwork in the last few years. The two I mentioned above both came into my possession in 2020 along with other great cards that had eluded me for a long time. It’s been interesting to see them pop up suddenly after searching consistently for them for years with nothing coming up.

1997-1998 Pinnacle Totally Certified Red, Blue and Platinum Gold Mirror parallel cards of Mike Modano.

What Is On Your Mike Modano Wantlist? Are There Any 'White Whales' That You'd Like To Add One Of These Years?

​The ultimate white whale for me still is a (Modano) game-used Shield card. I’ve taken a few runs at them and they’ve been just out of my reach. A favorite insert I have my eyes peeled for is the 1996/97 Black Diamond Run for the Cup of Modano. That would be another of those late 90s inserts I dreamt of getting as a younger collector.

How Can Other Collectors Find You?

I can be best reached @carloscards12 on Instagram and my YouTube Channel “Because I’m Carlos”

The Mike Modano Card Gallery

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If you want to get in contact with me about getting ​YOUR Collection featured on my blog, feel free to leave a comment on this post below, fill out a contact form on my Contact Page, or send me an email at creasecollector@gmail.com and we will be in touch very soon. :)

​Happy Collecting

​- Creasecollector