Tony Massenburg

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Tony Massenburg was the definition of a “journeyman”, playing for 12 different NBA teams throughout his career, including the inaugural Raptors.

Before Arrival

Tony Massenburg began his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs after being drafted 43rd overall in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft.  He then moved on to play with the Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics, and Golden State Warriors, before playing in Europe. From 1992 until 1994, Massenburg played for Pallacanestro Reggiana in Italy, then Unicaja Málaga, and Barcelona in Spain.

He returned to the NBA for the 1994-1995 NBA season with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Second round pick as the 43rd pick overall by the San Antonio Spurs in 1990

Toronto Raptors (1995-1996): 24 GP, 10.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 0.8 APG, 27.5 MPG

On 24 June 1995, Massenburg was drafted by the Toronto Raptors from the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA expansion draft.

Massenburg would have the same scoring average while with the Raptors (10.1 PPG) as Dee Brown. Coincidentally, both were drafted in the 1990 NBA draft (Brown was drafted in the first round, 19th overall).

His time with the Toronto Raptors was short-lived.

The Departure

On 22 February 1996, Massenburg was traded with Ed Pinckney to the Philadelphia 76ers for Sharone Wright. Philadelphia also had the option to swap 1st round draft picks with Toronto in either 1996 or 1997. If they did not use the option, they received the Raptors 2nd round draft picks:

• the 76ers received the 1996 2nd round draft pick (Ryan Minor was later selected) because the 76ers did not swap first round picks with Raptors in 1996; and
• the 76ers received the 1997 2nd round draft pick (James Collins was later selected) because they did not swap 1996 or 1997 first round picks with Raptors.

Massenburg had an extensive career and played in the NBA for 17 seasons (1990-2002), playing for twelve different teams. In chronological order, those teams were the San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Vancouver Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, and the Sacramento Kings.

Being an author

After retirement, Massenburg became a sports broadcaster covering the Washington Wizards, and the author of Lessons from Lenny: The Journey Beyond a Shooting Star with former Toronto Raptor, Walt Williams.

Tony Massenburg would team up with Walt Williams, both former Raptors and University of Maryland alumni, to write a book on basketball player Len Bias

The Card: 1995-96 Ultra #179

The 1995-1996 Ultra set contained 350 cards of NBA players. These sets were separated into two series. Cards numbered 1-200 were from Series 1. Cards numbered 201-350 were from Series 2, which were issued at a later date, also came with a different design.

Series 1 was one of the first sets to feature Toronto Raptors players picked from the 1995 NBA expansion draft. It was released early so the only way to tell it was a Toronto Raptors card was the team name in the card front, and the team logo at the back.

Series 2, released later in the 1995-1996 NBA season, would have the updated roster and players in their Toronto jersey.

Therefore, this Series 1 card featured Massenburg in a Los Angeles Clippers uniform.

As of the date of this post, Massenburg did not have an autographed or relic Toronto Raptors card issued by any trading card company. He does have autographed cards issued by Skybox as a member of the Vancouver Grizzlies.

Fleer owned the Ultra brand. To learn more about Fleer, click here.

Dee Brown

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The 1991 NBA Slam Dunk champion’s most important win in Toronto may have been in court, not at the Air Canada Centre, but at Ontario’s Court of Appeal.

Before Arrival

DeCovan Kadell “Dee” Brown began his NBA career with the Boston Celtics after being drafted 19th overall in the first round of the 1990 NBA Draft. Known as Dee Brown, he was popular for being the 1991 Slam Dunk champion. He spent seven and a half seasons with the Celtics, before he landed in Toronto.

Toronto Raptors (1997-2000): 118 GP, 10.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.8 APG, 25.1 MPG

On 13 February 1998, the Raptors first ever blockbuster six-player trade sent a disgruntled Damon Stoudamire, Carlos Rogers, and Walt Williams to the Portland Trail Blazers for Kenny Anderson, Gary Trent, Alvin Williams, two 1998 first-round picks and a 1998 second-round pick. Kenny Anderson refused to report to Toronto and was quickly traded away to Boston.

Dee Brown was part of this Boston trade. On trade deadline day 19 February 1998, the Raptors dealt Anderson, Zan Tabak and Popeye Jones to the Boston Celtics for the rookie point guard Chauncey Billups, Dee Brown, John Thomas, and Roy Rogers.

As reported after the trade happened, Doug Christie was less than thrilled to know that he was not traded away and was stuck with the Raptors. Butch Carter had to ask that Toronto fans not boo their own players.

Dee Brown is interviewed right after being traded to the Raptors

Dee Brown did not make a huge impact on the Raptors, but off the basketball court, he had to face the court of law.

The criminal trial and appeal

The facts are simple. On 1 November 1999 at around 12:55 a.m., a Toronto police officer engaged in general patrol duties on the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, signalled Brown to pull over to the right shoulder of the road. The officer informed Brown that the speed limit was 90 kilometres an hour and that the respondent had been travelling “in excess” of that speed. According to the Canadian court records, the officer detected the odour of alcohol on Brown’s breath and suspected that he had alcohol in his body. Brown was on his way home from a Halloween party and said that he had consumed a couple of drinks. Brown produced a Florida driver’s licence on demand and told the officer that he played professional basketball for the Toronto Raptors. He failed the roadside screening test demanded by the officer who then arrested him for “driving over 80”.

“Driving over 80” in the province of Ontario means means that if you drive with more than 80 mg of alcohol in your 100 mL of blood, you count as driving under the influence of alcohol (“DUI“) and can face an impaired driving charge.

Brown was taken to the police station at 45 Strachan Avenue, which was the closest location where breath-testing equipment was set up. The subsequent breath analysis showed that the respondent’s blood-alcohol concentration was 140 mg of alcohol in 100 mL of blood.

Under Ontario law, this would fall within the definition of DUI. Brown was ultimately charged with driving over 80. He was convicted of DUI at first instance. This initial conviction would be the first battle before important appellate court battles for Brown.

Brown’s defense lawyers won his appeal. The summary conviction appeal judge, Trafford J., set aside Brown’s conviction based on his conclusion that the trial judge’s conduct of the trial gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. Note that this was a procedural appeal in law, meaning the defense did not dispute that Brown did in fact commit DUI. The judge relied, inter alia (among other considerations) on the trial judge’s suggestion to Brown during sentencing that the accused apologise to the officer for the allegations against the officer for committing racial profiling against Brown.

The Crown prosecutor appealed to the Court of Appeal of Ontario. The court process had moved to 2003. Brown had since retired but flew back to Toronto to face the legal court one more time.

In Her Majesty the Queen v. Brown, there was only one issue raised at the ensuing trial: what was the reason for the officer stopping Brown on the Don Valley Parkway? Was it because the respondent was speeding and had twice crossed out of and back into the lane in which he was travelling, as testified to by the officer, or was it because he was a young black male driving an expensive car?

On 16 April 2003, the judges found for the latter. The Crown’s appeal was dismissed and Brown ‘s conviction was set aside. Brown may have won the most important court battle and it was not on an NBA court. For those interested in all the legal details detailing the explaining the legal reasoning behind a judge’s reasonable apprehension of bias, read the full judgement here.

Brown was not the only Raptor that had alcohol issues. Keon Clark was sentenced to prison for crimes related to his alcohol and drug abuse after his NBA career ended.

The Departure

Brown left via free agency in 2000 and on 3 August 2000, signed a contract with the Orlando Magic. He retired in 2002. He has been in NBA management and is now a Director of Player Programs of the Los Angeles Clippers since 2019-2020.

The Card: 1999-00 Topps Chrome #85

The 1999-2000 Topps Chrome set contained 257 cards of players. The Chrome brand was extremely popular when the basketball set began back in the 1996-1997 until 2008-2009. The chrome effect on the standard base cards elevates the look of the card with a shiny effect.  The card back contains a complete NBA record and a short highlight.

Topps left producing NBA basketball cards when it lost its NBA license to the Italian group Panini S.p.A, which signed an exclusive trading card agreement with the NBA beginning the 2009-2010 season.

As of the date of this post, Dee Brown did not have an autographed or relic Toronto Raptors card issued by any trading card company.

As for the card itself, was using a photo featuring two “Browns” (no relations) on the card an Easter egg by Topps? The player on the left of Dee Brown was Charlotte Hornet’s #52, Chucky Brown. Brown had an extensive career and played in the NBA for 13 years (1989-2002). During that span, he played for twelve different teams, but never for the Raptors. Those teams were the Cleveland Cavaliers, the New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, and the Sacramento Kings. He won a championship with the Houston Rockets.

Resource:

• CANLII; https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2003/2003canlii52142/2003canlii52142.html?resultIndex=1

Garth Joseph

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He was the first NBA player from Dominica. It remains a mystery as to why his nickname is the “Angel of Death.”

Toronto Raptors (2000-2001): 2 GP, 1 PPG, 1 RPG, 0.5 APG, 4 MPG

Even entering the Vince Carter era, the Raptors struggled to attract players from free agency, so they internationalised by bringing in “firsts” from different nationalities. Similar to Sean Marks being the first New Zealand NBA player two years prior, Garth Joesph followed by being the first Dominica NBA player. Dominica, not to be mistaken with the Dominican Republic, is a mountainous Caribbean island nation with natural hot springs and tropical rainforests.

On 2 October 2000, Joseph signed as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors at the US$316,969 minimum NBA salary.

Sources online stated that his full name was Garth McArthur “The Angel of Death” Fitzgerald Joseph, although it is a mystery why he had that nickname. At the time, people compared Joseph to Shaquille O’Neal.

Not many fans will remember Joseph as he only played two games for the Raptors. He may be most remembered as one of the pieces that brought Keon Clark to Toronto.

The Departure

On 12 January 2001, Toronto traded away Garth Joseph, along with Alek Radojevic, Kevin Willis, Toronto’s 2001 2nd round pick, and a traded player exception (TPE), to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Keon Clark, Tracy Murray and Mamadou N’Diaye.

Garth Joseph would go on to play two more games with the Denver Nuggets before being waived on 29 January 2001. He would later sign for the Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls in 2001 and 2003 respectively, but he did not end up playing an NBA game for them.

After retirement, Garth Joesph was inducted to the College of Saint Rose Hall of Fame, a private college located in Albany, New York.

Garth Joesph is inducted in the 2017 College of Saint Rose Hall of Fame.

As a side note, Toronto’s 2001 2nd round pick to Denver would later become Ousmane Cisse, a player that never appeared in the NBA due to injury issues. In 2003, Cisse signed with the Toronto Raptors but was released after a couple of days without ever playing with the team.

The Card: 2000-01 Fleer Futures #236

The 2000-2001 Fleer Futures set contained 250 cards of players and including 52 rookies. Players from the 2000 NBA draft, including Hidayet (Hedo) Turkoglu (201) was in part of the rookie set. Morris Peterson was the other rookie (225) in the set that was on the Toronto Raptors at the time.  The card back included 2000 preseason statistics and also college statistics if you were a rookie.

The player on the right of Joseph is #24 Charlotte Hornets player Jamal Mashburn. This was the only basketball card produced for Garth Joseph (the other 2 being parallels of the same card – Gold and Black Gold).

Fleer owned the Futures brand. To learn more about Fleer, click here.

Donald Whiteside

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Not every story here ends in a fairy tale. Professional sports is a business, and the reality is that only a select few players can stay in the NBA. As for Donald Whiteside, he can be proud that he went straight from being a high school teacher in Chicago to a player for the Toronto Raptors.

Toronto Raptors (1996-1997): 27 GP, 2.2 PPG, 0.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 9.6 MPG

On 3 October 1996, Whiteside signed as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors at the $220,000 minimum NBA salary. Whiteside’s life prior to arriving in the NBA was interesting. The Chicago Tribune wrote a feel-good story on Christmas day about Donald Whiteside here. He actually taught the history of Catholicism at his alma mater, Leo High School before signing with the Raptors.

“Donald’s a great guy to have on the bench…he’s a good person to be around, he’s a spiritual guy, and he kind of leads by example.”

– Toronto coach Darrell Walker

Glimpses of his talent is still on Youtube, but unfortunately, not every story is a fairy tale like that of Anthony Parker.

Donald Whiteside’s video featuring his second NBA game

The Departure

On 6 January 2007, just weeks after the Chicago Tribune article, Whiteside was waived having just played 27 games as a Raptor. He signed with the Atlanta Hawks in September but was waived in November, ending his NBA career.

The Card: 1996-97 Bowman’s Best #R16

The 1996-97 Bowman’s Best set contained 125 cards of players and including 25 rookies, denoted by the R in front of the number. Players from the 1996 NBA draft, including Kobe Bryant (R23) was in part of the rookie set. Marcus Camby was the other rookie (R4) in the set that was from the Toronto Raptors. 

The base card contains the NBA license and shows Donald Whiteside playing in the Raptor’s jersey. There is a parallel refractor version where it would state “Refractor” under the R16 at the card back. The card back provides an interesting player biography in bullet points.

It appears that #10 on the card back is a card error since Donald Whiteside was playing in #12, as seen in the video above.

Bowman

Founded by Jacob Warren Bowman in 1927, the Bowman Gum Company first began as a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of bubble gum and trading cards in the period surrounding World War II. The other competitor at the time was Topps Chewing Gum. After a battle to sign players to exclusive contracts for their cards, Topps bought out Bowman in 1956 for $200,000.

Bowman’s Best is a division of Topps, and is made famous for its refractor cards. The “Best” line of cards is highly regarded for producing high quality rookie cards.

Resources:

• L Nickel. Chicago Tribune, 25 December 2006. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-12-25-9612250018-story.html

William Cunningham

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Do you remember who he was? He never had an NBA card produced. He played only a minute for the Raptors, and if you happen to have the footage, it was the game on 11 February 1999.

Before Arrival

William Cunningham started out in the NBA when he was signed on 22 August 1996 by the Phoenix Suns. However, he was waived on 13 October 1997 when he was waived. He had 10-day contract stints with both the Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers in February to March 1998.

Toronto Raptors (1998-1999): 1 GP, 0 PPG, 0 RPG, 0 APG, 1 MPG

On 22 January 1999, Cunningham signed as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors. To be fair, Cunningham was not given a chance, having played only a minute in a Raptors uniform during the 11 February 1999 game against the Miami Heat.

The Departure

On 17 February 1999, Cunningham was waived having spent less than a month as a Raptor. He spent the rest of the season, his last as an NBA player, with the New Jersey Nets.

The Card: 1996 Score Board Rookies #64

The 1996 Score Board Basketball Rookies set contained 100 cards of players after the 1996 NBA draft, including Kobe Bryant.  The base card contains the NCAA license and shows William Cunningham playing for the Temple Owls and was a non-drafted player.

The card back provides college statistics and a player biography.

As far as we can find in our research, this is the only basketball card produced for William Cunningham.

Read more about Score Board, Inc., the contract, and the money behind the cards here.

Toronto Raptors Logo

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From being called “NBA Barneys” to 2019 NBA Champions, the Raptors have come a long way since 1995.

The Card: 1994-95 Fleer #237

This is considered the first card produced for the Toronto Raptors. It was released in 1994 by Fleer, featuring the team logo in front of the Toronto skyline and CN Tower.

The card back provides a note of Toronto’s expansion franchise, mentioning Isiah Thomas as the team’s Vice President of Basketball Operations. For a brief backstory of the card company Fleer and Bill Ripken, click here.

Looking back at name, it is believed that the popular 1990 science fiction novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton at the time was the reason that “Raptors” was chosen as the name.

The Law Student that became Famous

How did this law student end up inside packs of baseball cards?

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Future Star Kazuo Uzuki

On 6 February 2008, a “Future Star” card was released for a supposed high school superstar named Kazuo “The Uzi” Uzuki. Uzi was a type of rapid-firing submachine gun, so his nickname was a homage to the speed that Kazuo could pitch.

The set was 2008 Topps Baseball Series 1 and the #FS1 card was included at a rate of 1:72 packs. The card stated that Kazuo Uzuki’s home was Sarufutsu, Japan. This was a real location and was the northernmost village in Hokkaido, Japan.

Kazuo Uzuki should not be confused with Kazuo Matsui, who was the first Japanese infielder to sign with a Major League Baseball team when he signed with the New York Mets on 17 December 2003. At the time, Kazuo Matsui was an active player on the Houston Astros. His card was released in 2008 Topps Baseball Series 2 at #581.

The person actually depicted on the card was, at the time, a New York University law student who grew up in Maryland named Sensen Lin. He was not even Japanese.

“I’m Chinese and I don’t collect baseball cards…I’ve never played [organized baseball], I’ve been to like one or two Baltimore Orioles games and did more drinking than watching the games. I’m probably pretty sorry [at baseball] to tell you the truth…I’ve played catch with friends and I’m just no good…they (Topps) put me in all these funky poses. I don’t know that much about baseball so I didn’t exactly know what I was doing. Turns out, the guys at Topps added some things. I wasn’t wearing that necklace and the glove in the picture is different. They also photoshopped in the background.”

– Sensen Lin (a.k.a. Kazuo Uzuki)

Lin said he was involved because of his friend who worked for Topps. He was paid $600 to be photographed in a baseball jersey and to appear in a YouTube video, which was probably this one:

The video was made 8 March 2008 for the hoax as a future baseball prospect in Central Park, New York. Surprisingly, the video did not catch on with only 1,290 views.

As a side note, the 2008 Topps set had some non-baseball cards, such as their Campaign insert set which included a rare Sarah Palin card in an old pageant dress (#C08-SPb) as well as Barack Obama (#C08-BO) and Joseph Biden (#C08-JB).

Topps’ Response

The card was meant as an April Fools’ Day joke. In Japanese, Kazuo Uzuki means “the first son of April.”

According to the New York Daily News, Clay Luraschi, Topps’ baseball brand manager, said the card was intended to celebrate the opening of the baseball season and was inspired by Sports Illustrated’s notorious 1985 April Fools’ hoax article “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch” written by George Plimpton about a fake New York Mets pitcher.

Where is Sensen Lin now?

According to his LinkedIn page, Lin, a former Ropes and Grey LLP law firm associate, is now the Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel in New York at Singapore’s GIC.

If you want to read more on this story, the resources below will provide you with a great source of additional information.

Resources:

• R Cracknell. Beckett. https://www.beckett.com/news/2008-topps-kazuo-uzuki/
• B Hutchison. New York Daily News, 1 April 2008. https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/card-flamethrower-april-fool-article-1.282772
• G Pimpton. Sports Illustrated, 1 April 1985. “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch”. https://www.si.com/mlb/2014/10/15/curious-case-sidd-finch