Hoops Hobby

I’d thought about splitting this into two posts due to the number of players here, but I’m just going to let it be a longer post than normal.

Autographs of Pacers with Last Name starting with ‘H’ – 13 of 26, 50% Complete

Autographs In My Collection

Ben Hansbrough

Ben Hansbrough, not a player I would expect to have more than one autograph for necessarily, but I bought the one on the left from Panini Innovation quite some time ago to fill that spot in my collection. More recently, I’ve wanted to grab these film cards from 2012-13 Panini Signatures, and Ben Hansbrough was a cheap option that looks great in the binder.

Tyler’s younger brother had a limited role with the Pacers, averaging a little over 7 minutes per game in 28 games. As far as cards, if you’re going to have cards for a single year, 2012-13 isn’t a bad one.

Tyler Hansbrough

Psycho-T fit in great with the upstart Pacers of the early 2010s. He had a lot of hype and a large following in my area of the country when he came out of North Carolina. You either loved him or you hated him. I did a 180 on him when the Pacers drafted him 13th overall. I was one of the haters, being a Virginia Tech graduate with the Hokies having to face him at least once a year, but often twice or three times. Then all of a sudden all the hate turned into love once he was on my favorite team, getting to the foul line by throwing his body around inside.

The Panini Limited autograph goes in the binder not only because the Rookies & Stars is too thick, but because I like it better aesthetically too. Plus that R&S auto seems to get blurrier as time goes on, too.

Jerry Harkness

Another reason I’m thankful for the Lana Sports ABA rookie set existing, I was able to grab a Jerry Harkness autograph for the collection when it popped up for sale. Harkness played for the Pacers during the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons for the total of 81 games.

He won an NCAA Championship with Loyola-Chicago in 1963, leading the team over Duke in the semifinals and Cincinnati in the Finals. What’s interesting is that all five starters for Loyola-Chicago played the entire Championship game.

Harkness started his pro career with the Knicks in the NBA, then played several seasons in the NABL, a pro league that lasted for four seasons and ended in 1968.

Al Harrington

Out of all Pacers players, I have more autographs of Al Harrington (9) than of any other player. Why so many? it’s a product of him playing in an era of basketball cards that I collect heavily. He’s in autograph sets from the late 90s and 2000s from all the major manufacturers (Fleer, Topps, Upper Deck). Out of the 9, he is pictured in a Pacers uniform in 6, a Hawks uniform in 2, and a generic jersey in 1 (1998 SP).

Which is my favorite and makes the binder? It’s easily the 2000-01 Topps Heritage base card I had signed in person before a Pacers/Hawks game in Atlanta in 2003. It’s not his full normal signature, which is often the case with hurried autographs before or around sporting events, but I can picture exactly where I was, right along the baseline. It was part of a great weekend with my Dad, and it’ll always be one of my favorite cards in my collection.

David Harrison

Once 2004-05 hit, I was still collecting, but Harrison was the first Pacers rookie of the decade where I didn’t necessarily go all out of pick up every card I could. I would definitely still add them when they were offered up to me through trade, but I didn’t necessarily go out of my way to track them down. This was likely because I started college the Fall of 2004 and was more limited to when I could make trades. I do still have a couple of David Harrison autographs in my collection, and I appreciated his role on the team.

The autograph in my project binder for Harrison is a card from one of my favorite sets of the 2000s, 2005-06 Reflections. It reminds me of Showcase brands from 1999-00 and 2000-01. Just a simple, aesthetically pleasing design.

Luther Head

Part of a three-headed monster of a guard rotation at Illinois, Luther Head had a pretty solid career as a rotation player, particularly during his first several years in the NBA with Houston. He shot the 3-ball pretty well over the course of his career. Head started 10 games for the Pacers during the 2009-10 season, which I was surprised to see when I looked at his tenure there.

As far as cards, Luther Head doesn’t have any certified autographs in a Pacers uniform. I kind of like this ‘HOTagraphs’ set from 2005-06 Upper Deck Rookie Debut, and Head has a nice signature.

Roy Hibbert

What is there to say about Roy Hibbert? One of the last traditional centers in the league, perhaps? He provided some great moments for Pacers fans over the years, none bigger than a block on Carmelo Anthony in the 2013 Eastern Conference Semis.

I’m a huge fan of the 2008-09 Murad set, and Hibbert gives me the perfect opportunity to show another from that set, which happens to be his rookie year.

George Hill

George Hill is one of my favorite Pacers because of his ties to Indiana beyond the Pacers. He went to High School in Indianapolis, played at IUPUI, and was a key part of some great playoff runs with the Pacers. I remember being a fan of his from his time with the Spurs when he was essentially their 6th man, playing as a psuedo-Tony Parker when T.P. wasn’t on the floor. When the Pacers traded a first round pick for George Hill on draft night, it was one of those unique moments when a favorite player gets traded to your favorite team. It rarely happens but when it does it’s a great feeling.

Most of my George Hill autographed cards picture him in a Spurs uniform. Some are rookies and one is even pack pulled, from a Panini Season’s Best product, which was another memorable box break. The one I chose for the binder though, has to be my lone autographed card where Hill is a Pacer.

Jordan Hill

Jordan Hill is a good autograph project use case and example of my hierarchy of cards in action. Initially, I looked for an autographed card where Jordan Hill is pictured in a Pacers uniform. To my knowledge there is only one product where this is the case, from 2015-16 Gold Standard. I grabbed a patch/auto card from that product, despite the patch being likely from a Lakers jersey. It’s still a great looking card. However, it is too thick for the autograph binder, so I grabbed a secondary autograph for the binder, from another brand that I typically enjoy as well, Crown Royale, from Hill’s rookie year with the Rockets.

Solomon Hill

I’m a fan of this card and this brand. I had lots of options for picking up a Solomon Hill autograph, but the on-card translucent card was a winner for me.

Hill was a valuable rotation piece for the mid-2010s Pacers, and had some moments in the playoffs, particularly in a first round series against the Raptors in 2016, which ultimately led to a big contract in free-agency and his move to the Pelicans in the Summer of 2016.

Fred Hoiberg

Hoiberg is likely more well known these days for his coaching at multiple levels, in the pros for the Chicago Bulls, and at the college level at Nebraska and Iowa State.

As far as his playing career, Hoiberg started out with the Pacers as a second round pick, unable to break into a deep playoff roster full of veterans. He signed with Chicago and immediately had a much larger role. He finished his career with Minnesota, having a solid 10-year NBA stint.

This autograph is one of my least favorite in my Pacers autograph binders, if I’m being honest. It’s a dark card overall, and in person the autograph is hard to see. For the binder project, I would appreciate having a Pacers card signed, perhaps one from 1997-98 Fleer which has a surface conducive to an on-card autograph.

Aaron Holiday

Holiday brother #1, a late first round pick of the Pacers, ultimately was a solid rotational guard, but wasn’t in the long term plans for the team. He’s shot very well from 3-point range the last several seasons in particular.

I need to do some statistical posts about types of autographs (TTM vs In-Person vs Pack Pulled, breakdown of card brands, a uniform tracker post, that kind of thing). While I would expect Prizm to be a pretty popular brand to have autographed cards from, it’s only 1 of 2 Prizm cards in my Pacers binder project so far (out of about 145). The other player is Kyle O’Quinn. I’m not including Prizm Draft in that number.

Justin Holiday

Holiday was a solid player for the Pacers and an occasional starter. He played for the Nuggets this past season, his 11th in the NBA, and saw meaningful minutes in the playoffs.

From a card perspective, Holiday has on-card autographs from premium products such as Impeccable, but those are thick cards that won’t fit in a z-folio binder. I went with an autograph from Illusions because it flashes me back to the designs the Showcase brands of the 90s and 2000s.

Players with Pacers autographed cards

Some big ones in this small group that I am missing where Pacers autographed cards exist.

Tyrese Haliburton – Obvious one here, and with plenty of good, but pricey, options for autographed cards to pick up. Since the Pacers added him by giving up Sabonis, Haliburton’s been a joy to watch and it’s been fun to see the Pacers surge in offensive pace and transition offense.

Tim Hardaway – Hardaway Sr was a midseason acquisition for the Pacers and the last stop in his NBA career in 2003.

The nature of his time with the Pacers makes it surprising that he’s in this category, where he actually has on-card Pacers autographs. Hardaway is included in 2014-15 Luxe and Flawless pictured in Pacers uniform. I assume the Luxe cards are thicker cards not suitable for a binder, but I’d like to grab one regardless to commemorate his time with the team, especially with him being the prominent player that he was.

For the binder, I have my eye on a 1998-99 Upper Deck Century Legends Epic Signatures autograph. It is a neutral looking set without team names or logos, which would work better than a Warriors or Heat autograph in a Pacers binder.

Buddy Hield

I enjoyed watching Hield launch the three-ball for the Pacers in recent seasons. He’s an easy guy to cheer for and I hope he finds success on the 76ers as long as it doesn’t come at the expense of the Pacers.

I really enjoy the Photogenic brand and I’ve seen some Hield autographs out of that product that I think would look great in the Pacers autograph binder.

Certified Non-Pacers Autographs

Marcus Haislip – A rookie with the Bucks during the 2002-03 season, I remember opening several of his rookie cards from packs during a time when I was opening them fairly regularly. Haislip appeared in 9 regular season games for the Pacers during 2005. He played in Turkey and Spain for several years after his time with Pacers before making an NBA return with the Spurs in 2009, where he appeared in 10 games. The lottery pick has good, on-card autograph options from his rookie season, all with the Bucks, of course.

Players with Pacers Cards

Reggie Harding

Harding was an interesting person to read about with a sad story. While he is noted as being the first player to be drafted into the NBA out of high school (college eligibility issues), he had serious off the court troubles, and that’s putting it lightly. A 6-10 tremendous on the court talent, his repeated off the court crime led to his NBA career only lasting four seasons. He then signed with the Pacers in the ABA in 1968 and played in 25 games. He died at the age of 30 after being shot in an altercation. I won’t go into other details here, as there are plenty of articles detailing his life, and a sample of his time with the Pacers is talked about in the book ‘Loose Balls’.

Reggie is included in the 2020 Lana Sports basketball card set, which talks about his season with the Pacers in 1968. Despite it not being signed, I’m putting this card in his spot in my Pacers autograph binder, as I don’t expect to obtain his autograph.

Scott Haskin – Haskin’s time with the Pacers was short after being a first round pick in 1993.

I found an article from the LA Times from 1992 talking about Haskin from his time at Oregon State and what he had to overcome, including recovering from back surgery for a herniated disc, to get to the point where he was in position to be a first round NBA draft pick.

I couldn’t find much related to injury during his NBA career.

The 1993-94 Fleer rookie card would be my preferred signed card for the binder, but his 1993-94 Skybox Premium Draft Picks card would also be a nice one.

Darnell Hillman – It was fun to see Dr. Dunk at the 2024 All-Star game. Hillman won ABA championships with the 1972 and 1973 Pacers, and continued his pro career with the NBA Pacers, Nets, Nuggets, Kings, and Warriors.

As far as Pacers cards, of which Hillman has a handful from the early 70s, his 1974-75 Topps is my favorite.

Players with Non-Pacers cards

Joe Hassett – While Joe technically doesn’t have any Pacers cards, his Mavericks rookie card from 1980-81 Topps pictures him in Pacers warm-ups. He’s on card #66 which has two different pairings of tri-panel cards. He played with the Sonics for two seasons and the Pacers for one before joining the Mavericks. Makes for an interesting rookie card with one team when he’s pictured with another, and even that one wasn’t his first team.

Players with no cards

Rudy Hackett – An All-American with Syracuse, he helped the Orange reach the Final Four in 1975, and played in 5 games for the Pacers in November of 1976. Only Pacers image I can find is one of him matched up with Bill Walton on the Blazers from a Sports Illustrated cover.

His son Daniel does appear in the 2009-10 Upper Deck Draft Edition set, with some autographed cards included. Rudy served as the strength and conditioning coach at Southern Cal, at least while his son was there, it appears.

Earle Higgins – While he is included in the 1970-71 Marathon Oil Pacers set, these aren’t traditionally sized cards, sizing at 7.5 by 10 inches, so I’m putting Higgins into this category.

Higgins played 53 games for the 58-26 Pacers during that season, averaging nearly 9 minutes and over 4 points a game.

His son, Sean Higgins, played in the NBA for a handful of teams in the 90s, his career spanning from 1990-1998.

Nate Hinton – Appeared in two games for the Pacers in 2022, averaging a minute per. The Gastonia, North Carolina native played in 15 games for the Houston Rockets this past season. He also played in 24 G-League games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, where he played over 30 minutes per game and averaged nearly 15 points a game.

Bobby Joe Hooper – Recently passed away in May 2024. Hooper played in 54 games for the ABA Pacers during the 1968-69 season after a 3-year collegiate career with the Dayton Flyers. The Flyers lost in the National Championship game to UCLA in 1967 with Hooper as the team’s point guard.