Don McCauley

• Sent: 7/20/10
• Received: 7/30/10
• Time: 10 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1980 Topps, 1981 Topps

Don McCauley was a college football legend at North Carolina back in the 1968-1971 time frame. While at North Carolina, he was a received, running back, kick returner, and even the friggin' punter. Talk about a jack-of-all-trades. He came into the NFL as the Baltimore Colts 1st round draft pick in 1971 and went on to spend 11 seasons with the team. He mostly played part-time in the NFL, but still became a fixture in Baltimore. In 2001, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Nothing really interesting of note with these cards. The 1980 Topps was one from that collection that my friend gave me. The 1981 Topps was a purchase from 5th Quarter. Really digging getting these guys that played juuuuust before I started watching football.

Mark Stepnoski

• Sent: 7/20/10
• Received: 7/29/10
• Time: 9 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1992 Ultra, 1992 Pro Set, 1992 Fleer, 1992 Topps

I was so excited about this return, and I'll explain why in a minute. First of all, though, Mark Stepnoski was one of the best centers that I ever saw play. Never mind that I'm a total Cowboys homer and he was on two of their early 90's Super Bowl teams and that right there gives him an elevated place in my memory. I ate, slept, and breathed those teams back then to the point of obsession. Stepnoski was something of an iconoclast with his long hair and his outspoken ways. He anchored that tremendous offensive line and a lot of good that Aikman/Emmitt/Irvin did started with Stepnoski's stellar play at center. Sadly for me, in 1995 he went to the Oilers. Granted, the Oilers were my second favorite team but I still hated to see him leave the Cowboys. In 1999, though, Mark Stepnoski returned to Dallas to spend three more seasons with the Cowboys and all was right in the world. After retirement, he's dabbled in things that interest him and has been active with some political movements that I find ridiculous (legalization of marijuana, 9/11 "Truth" movement, etc). Still, I loved him as a football player.

These cards are special to me because these are the very cards that I used to take with me to Dallas Cowboys training camp EVERY YEAR when they had it at St Edward's University in Austin. I would go multiple times a year and try to get autographs and Mr. Stepnoski would NEVER stop and sign. I was really stunned to learn that he signed through-the-mail and now, 16 years after trying in-person, these cards are finally part of my autographed card collection (and they look awesome!).

Jerry Cornelison

• Sent: 7/21/10
• Received: 7/29/10
• Time: 8 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1961 Topps, Photocopied picture

Jerry Cornelison was old-school. He began his career as a 16th round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 1958. He didn't make the team, so he went to Canada to play for the CFL's Saskatchewan Rough Riders. After spending 1959 out of football, he found a home in 1960 with the Dallas Texans. When the Texans moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs, he remained with the team. In 1962, he made the Pro Bowl. After spending 31 years as VP of Sales for Haggar Clothing, Cornelison retired in 1997. He now spends some time working as a "Chiefs Ambassador" making public appearances for the team.

This was probably the oldest football card in my collection. I came across it at at card show probably 18 years ago and had to buy it since I didn't have any Dallas Texans cards in my collection. I think it cost me $1 back then (which made it a significant percentage of my card show purchases). It's so cool to have this autographed now, as I wasn't sure if he was even still alive when I dug this card up. He not only signed by card, he was kind enough to include a personalized, autographed photocopy of his own.

Note: Topps got his name wrong. The correct spelling is "Cornelison", not "Cornielson". This was why I couldn't find mention of him for a while when I was researching him.

Steve Grogan

• Sent: 7/14/10
• Received: 7/29/10
• Time: 15 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1986 Topps, 1989 Topps Traded, 1990 Score

Steve Grogan was underrated. He's historically and underrated and he was under-appreciated by his own team during his playing days. He was replaced by such wildly successful QB's as Tony Eason, Doug Flutie, and Marc Wilson, yet he ALWAYS wound up coming off the bench to replace them. Through it all, he spent 16 seasons with the New England Patriots and played huge roles in their 1980's success. He essentially led the team to the Super Bowl in 1985, but Eason got the start. After Eason proved extremely ineffective, Grogan was inserted in the game and proceeded to throw the only TD that the Patriots scored against the magnificent Bears team. Grogan was extremely tough and physical for a QB and still holds the NFL single-season record for most rushing TD's by a QB. Nowadays, Grogan owns Grogan-Marciano Sporting Goods in Mansfield, MA.

Steve Grogan was one of my childhood heroes and it all stems from TTM autograph collecting! Way back before I knew what it was all about, I wanted to write some fan letters. Because the backs of my cards showed that Steve Grogan was from San Antonio (as was I), I chose him even though as a 6 year old in Texas, I knew nothing about him. He quickly responded with a signed, personalized photo and I followed his career faithfully after that. 23 years later, he came through for me again with these beautifully signed cards.

Jim Dombrowski

• 
• Sent: 7/23/10
• Received: 7/29/10
• Time: 6 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Upper Deck, 1992 Topps, 1992 Pacific

First of all, I had a GREAT day today for returns. Best since I started collecting again. Days like today really make this hobby fun.

Jim Dombrowski was a spectacular college lineman and got some high accolades at the University of Virginia. So high, in fact, that he came out of college in 1986 as the 6th overall draft pick by the New Orleans Saints. He quickly became a fixture on the Saints o-line, and he remained there for his entire 11-season NFL career. Hard-working and extremely intelligent, he achieved his Master's degree while simultaneously playing NFL football. Talk about multi-tasking. In 2008, Dombrowski was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and his jersey number has been retired by Virginia. These days, he works as a financial planner in Louisiana.

These are my typical early 90's commons box cards. Weird thing is, I've been meaning to send these TTM for the past several years. Every time I get back into the hobby, I intended to send to Mr. Dombrowski but for whatever reason, I've neglected to all this time. I finally got around to it and I'm rewarded with great looking cards just 6 days later.

Joe Arenas

• Sent: 6/28/10
• Received: 7/26/10
• Time: 28 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1956 Topps Archives

What a great return. "Lupe Joe" Arenas was from the golden age of the NFL. In the 1950's, he was mostly known as a kickoff and punt return specialist, although he also played halfback and defensive back since a lot of players back then played both ways. He played his entire 7 year career with the San Francisco 49ers from 1951-1957. Arenas was one of the first Mexican-American to really star in the NFL. Prior to his time in the NFL, Arenas had an even more impressive resume. He served four years in the Army, participating in the invasion of Iwo Jima and earning a Purple Heart. My grandfather, who passed away in 2008, was a proud World War II veteran and I have a great affection for those who served in that war. After his playing career ended, Arenas got on the coaching staff of the Houston Cougars where he developed young players for 23 years. Even up in his late 70's, Arenas volunteered as an assistant coach a local Houston-area high school.

Again, this was a great return. He autographed my card and it looked great. Then, he added a color 4x6 photo of him in his 49ers uniform. He also wrote me a two-page long handwritten letter that stated, among other things, that it was his last photo but he thought I'd like it. He also mentioned that today's players have no sense of teamwork. Finally, he talked about his coaching days and how proud he was of how many players he helped to develop. He seems very alert and in great shape for an 85 year old man. I really appreciated this return.

Keith Kartz

• Sent: 7/14/10
• Received: 7/24/10
• Time: 10 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1992 Pacific, 1992 Upper Deck, 1992 Topps

Keith Kartz played center for 7 seasons in the John Elway era of Denver Broncos football. He was always solid and managed to protect Elway quite a bit. He came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 1987 out of the University of California. Kartz has quite a remarkable story in that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer when he was only 18 years old, but managed to beat it and go on to enjoy an NFL career. After his playing career ended, he did spend a year as an assistant coach with Arena football's Denver Crush. Nowadays, he's a real estate broker in Denver.

I've always wondered what the deal is with him and twirling footballs on his fingertips. Kinda weird that multiple different trading card companies featured that same exact pose on his cards those years. Must have been his talent!

Ozzie Newsome

• Sent: 7/1/10
• Received: 7/24/10
• Time: 23 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1985 Topps, 1989 Score

Ozzie Newsome is, quite simply, a football genius. He was legendary as a tight end, and in many ways a forerunner of the ultra-talented tight end that became a staple of NFL teams sometime in the 1980's. Ozzie spent his entire 13 seasons in the Dawg Pound with the Cleveland Browns where he was a 3-time Pro Bowler and a member of the NFL's All-Decade team of the 1980's. He is a member of both the College Football AND the NFL Halls of Fame. In 1996, he began his career as an NFL executive with the Baltimore Ravens and in 2002 he was promoted to General Manager. He's been great in that role and widely considered one of the NFL's top front-office men.

Ozzie has been FANTASTIC to TTM autograph seekers for a whole lot of years. He's a widely-recognized Hall of Famer who is also still actively involved in the NFL and yet he signs and returns all his mail. What a great guy. In all these years of him being so good, I've never gotten his autograph because I just never had any suitable cards of him to get signed. When I bought the 1985 Topps lot, I finally got one and then I picked up the 1989 Score from 5th Quarter because I had a card like that back in the day.

Rich Camarillo

• Sent: 7/14/10
• Received: 7/23/10
• Time: 9 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1988 Topps, 1991 Topps, 1991 Pacific, 1992 Ultra, 1993 Topps

Rich Camarillo was one of the premier punters of the late 80's and early 90's. I think about him in the same category as the late Reggie Roby. He lasted 16 years in the NFL, with most of his success split between the New England Patriots and the Phoenix Cardinals. He also had stints with the Rams, Oilers, and a final year with the Raiders. He was named to 5 Pro Bowls during his career and holds a few NFL punting records that are still standing. Camarillo was selected as one of the Patriots 50 Greatest Players. In 2006, he coached his son's little league baseball team all the way to the Little League World Series. He currently resides in Arizona.

I actually received 3 signed cards from Mr. Camarillo in 2007 and I was extremely impressed with how great his signed cards look. I found that I had 5 more of his cards in my collection so I wrote him again. I told him straight-up that I had already gotten his autograph semi-recently, but that I would love it if he would sign whatever he wanted and keep the rest of the cards. He graciously signed all five of them for me. Like always, they look fantastic.

Ethan Horton

• Sent: 7/14/10
• Received: 7/23/10
• Time: 9 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Score, 1992 Pacific, 1992 Ultra, 1993 Topps

Ethan Horton was very underrated throughout his NFL career, mostly with the Raiders. He was a standout QB in high school, and then was moved to running back when he went to the University of North Carolina. He quickly excelled at his new position and did so well as to be drafted in the 1st round and 15th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1985. For whatever reason, he was absolutely not good for the Chiefs and was released after only one season. He went from being a #1 draft pick in 1985 to being completely out of football in 1986. In 1987, the Raiders came calling and he played that season with them. He then spent 1988 out of football again. Amazingly, in 1989 he got another chance and yet another new position. The Raiders brought him back and converted him to Tight End. That turned out to be the saving grace of his NFL career. He spent 5 seasons with the Raiders, even earning a Pro Bowl trip after the 1991 season. From there, he moved on to a final season with the Washington Redskins. Nowadays, he's back in Charlotte, NC where he's involved in radio broadcasting and youth football camps.

These are just four of the 8 or 9 Ethan Horton cards that I found in my commons box. Always good to convert some of those commons to autographed cards, and he certainly does have a nice looking, clear signature.

Kyle Brady

• Sent: 6/15/10
• Received: 7/23/10
• Time: 38 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1995 Score Summit, 2000 Pacific, Fellowship of Christian Athletes card

Kyle Brady was a solid tight end who lasted 13 seasons in the NFL. He came out of Penn State (a team that I have already documented my love for) in 1995 as the 9th overall draft pick by the New York Jets. He was a bit of an underachiever considering his draft position and who we was drafted in front of, and lasted only 4 seasons with the Jets. In 1999, he moved on to the Jacksonville Jaguars where he came into his own as a tremendous blocking TE and he was extremely reliable, rarely missing playing time. He finished his career off in 2007 with one season with the New England Patriots (the season where they alllllmost went undefeated....except for that Super Bowl). Wasting no time at all, Brady got into broadcast when his playing career ended, and he is now an analyst for the Big Ten Network.

I've had the 1995 Score card since, well, 1995. It was a little bit after my football card obsession, but I had wondered into a card shop that was open for all of two weeks, and they had a lot of 1995 Score commons out. I picked up this card and one of Todd Collins (that I got signed TTM that year). Took me 15 years, but now I got this one signed too. Mr. Brady was very kind to add the signed religious testimony card. That's always a nice touch and one that I'm very appreciative of.

Todd Blackledge

• Sent: 7/14/10
• Received: 7/22/10
• Time: 8 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1985 Topps, 1989 Topps Traded

Todd Blackledge was a mostly backup quarterback in the NFL for 7 seasons with the Chiefs and Steelers. Considered quite a huge bust, Blackledge was the 7th overall pick of the vaunted 1983 draft and was taken ahead of Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, and Bruce Matthews. His NFL never materialized the way it was supposed to. However, Blackledge was a tremendous college QB and led the Penn State Nittany Lions to the 1982 National Championship under Coach Paterno (who is one of my personal heroes). His career in football was definitely not over when his playing career didn't pan out, as he has been a very active college football analyst for many years now. He is currently teamed with Brad Nessler on ESPN.

It's weird that both of these cards came from the only two large football card purchases I've made in the past ten years. I bought the 1989 Topps Traded set on a whim, and I bought that large lot of 1985 Topps because I had great memories of that set from my childhood. They both contained Blackledge cards and he really does have a nice signature. Great additions to my collection.

Duval Love

• Sent: 7/14/10
• Received: 7/22/10
• Time: 8 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1992 Pacific

Duval Love was a guard for 12 seasons in the NFL. His initial success was with 7 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. In retrospect, those Rams teams had some pretty doggone solid offensive lines considering how awful the rest of the team was in those days. Jackie Slater, Doug Smith, Duval Love, Tom Newberry...that was really good for that time frame. Anyway, after his time in LA, Love moved on to three seasons in Pittsburgh where he enjoyed opposite fortunes. He played in a Super Bowl and went to his only Pro Bowl while a Steeler. He finished up his career with two seasons in the desert with the Cardinals. Since his playing career ended, Love has pursued a coaching career, landing some internships with UNLV and the Philadelphia Eagles.

I really thought I would have found more cards of Duval Love in my commons box, but this is the only one I had. It looks great and he's certainly not shy with his signature.

Tim Goad

• Sent: 7/7/10
• Received: 7/21/10
• Time: 14 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1990 Fleer, 1991 Topps, 1997 Pacific Philadelphia

Tim Goad was a rock solid defensive tackle for 9 years in the NFL. Most of that time was spent with the New England Patriots, where he plugged the middle for many years. In 1995, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns. He spent a year there and then moved with the team to Baltimore where he finished his NFL career as a Raven in 1996. His post-NFL career is actually just as interesting, as he is now the jackman in the pit crew for Kevin Harvick Racing. Also, he's recently gone into professional bass fishing. He's a renaissance man!

1991 was the first year that I started somewhat thinking about the condition of my cards. I started reading a few old Becketts and Tuff Stuffs, so I made a half-hearted attempt in 1991 to keep them in good condition. Well, a 10 year old wasn't going to do that great a job of keeping them pristine. I did, however, keep them in their own box. This 1991 Topps card came from that box. The rest of the cards were add-ons that I picked up from 5th Quarter.

Bill Maas

• Sent: 6/2/10
• Received: 7/19/10
• Time: 47 Days
• Autographed Items Received: 1985 Topps, 1991 Score, 1992 Upper Deck

Bill Maas was a standout nose tackle for 9 seasons with the Chiefs. He made two Pro Bowls in that time frame and anchored the defensive line (including during a few seasons with the great Derrick Thomas). He finished his career with his final season spent with the Green Bay Packers. Maas entered the league as the 5th overall draft pick in the 1984 NFL draft. After his career ended, Maas joined the broadcasting team of FOX. He spent four seasons as a color commentator on NFL broadcasts and was then moved into the studio up until 2007. He's also had his fair share of issues since 2007, including a drug arrest and a couple of weapons issues. I found a 2008 article that indicated that he has experienced some mental issues stemming from his days in the NFL.

The 1992 Upper Deck card is one that I found in my garage. It was just kinda laying there in another box of cards for years. I came across it the other day when my wife was yelling at me to clean out the garage! Sent it off and a month-and-a-half later it's signed and in my collection.

Kyle Clifton

• Sent: 7/14/10
• Received: 7/19/10
• Time: 5 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1992 Fleer, 1992 Pacific, 1992 Topps, 1993 Topps

Kyle Clifton spent 13 years as a solid linebacker for some pretty bad Jets teams of the 80's and 90's. He routinely racked up 100+ tackle seasons and he was the undisputed leader of the team's defense for many seasons. A 3rd round draft pick in 1984, Clifton came from TCU. I seem to be adding a lot of good ol' Horned Frogs into my collection lately. Nowadays, Clifton lives in the tiny but wealthy Texas town of Aledo, a suburb of Fort Worth.

I don't know if the Postal Service has just gotten faster and faster or if players are returning their mail in quicker time nowadays. However, since I got back into collecting this time, I've noticed some really fast return times. It used to be pretty standard that I wouldn't start looking for returns until a full week after I sent the request. This request took 5 days to come back and it is one of several sub-7 day returns I've gotten lately.

Steve August

• Sent: 6/28/10
• Received: 7/16/10
• Time: 18 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1984 Topps

My parade of older offensive linemen returns keeps on rolling. Steve August spent 8 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks when they were still a fledgling franchise. He was their first-round draft pick in 1977 (14 pick of that draft overall), when the Seahawks were only a year old. Though never quite living up to his draft status, he still made a nice career at the tackle position. Midway through 1984, he went to the football mecca of Pittsburgh to play his final year for the Steelers. He is now a financial planner based out of Tulsa, Ok. He returned the letter I wrote to him with a note on the bottom answering my question about his most memorable moment. It was beating the Dolphins, led by a rookie Dan Marino, in the second round of the 1983 playoffs.

I actually have NO idea why I bought this card. I came across it years and years ago at a card shop singles box. I bought it for a few cents and kept it all this time. I had never heard of him prior to buying that card and I have no idea what made me buy it. Pretty cool that now it's wound up being a part of my autograph collection!

Larry McCarren

• Sent: 7/7/10
• Received: 7/15/10
• Time: 8 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1980 Topps, 1983 Topps

Larry McCarren was nicknamed "The Rock" for starting 162 straight games for the Packers at center, anchoring their offensive line for 12 very solid years. He made the Pro Bowl twice in that time span. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame which is no small feat considering who that franchise has had throughout the years. All that is pretty good for a guy who came into the league as a 12th round draft pick! McCarren has proven to be just as successful after his career, and since 1988 has been the head sportscaster on WFRV in Green Bay. He's also still very involved with the Packers, serving as their color commentator on radio broadcasts.

This is what an autograph SHOULD look like, by the way. What a nice signature. I was wondering about the 1980 Topps because it's not exactly ideal for autographing, but he found the perfect place on the card to sign and it looks great. The 1983 Topps is a card I bought from the good folks at 5th Quarter Sports Cards (http://www.5thqtr.com/). I bought it specifically to get signed and I'm glad I did. It looks great too (and my collection has a dearth of 1983 Topps).

R. C. Thielemann

• Sent: 7/1/10
• Received: 7/15/10
• Time: 14 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1983 Topps, 1985 Topps

R. C. (which stands for Ray Charles, incidentally) Thielemann spent 8 seasons as the anchor, along with Jeff Van Note, on the Falcons offensive line. This time frame included 3 Pro Bowl trips. Unfortunately, the Falcons never really turned the corner into a winning team at that point, and he toiled in relative obscurity. In 1985, his fortunes turned when he signed with the Washington Redskins and joined the famous "Hogs" offensive line. After the 1987 season, Thielemann finally got his Super Bowl ring. He then played one more season and retired after a fulfilling 12 year career. He now works as the president of a mortgage company in Alpharetta, GA.

I had the 1985 Topps as part of the large lot of them I purchased on eBay a couple of years ago. I had a soft spot for these cards because they are some of the first I remember begging my mom to purchase for me when I was a kid. I remember them coming in the cello blister packs with the three different stacks and you could see the top card in each stack. That was different than anything Topps did for a few years after that. I collected a lot of these back then, but my older cousin ripped me off all the time and wound up with most of them!

Renaldo Turnbull

• Sent: 6/16/10
• Received: 7/14/10
• Time: 28 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1990 Pro Set, 1990 Score, 1991 Upper Deck

Renaldo Turnbull was a very solid OLB for the Saints back in their "dark days". The team's #1 draft pick in 1990 out of West Virginia, he spent 7 seasons with the team. He finished his career with one season with the Carolina Panthers. In 1993, Turnbull racked up 13 sacks and was named to his only career Pro Bowl. The story of his path to the NFL is fascinating as somehow West Virginia was able to recruit him even though he grew up and went to high school in the US Virgin Islands. He didn't move to the States until his freshman year of college. He went on to be absolutely dominating in college and was a huge reason why West Virginia played for the National Championship in 1988.

These are fun cards to get signed. I've had all three of them for at least 18 years and they've been stuck in my commons box that whole time. I heavily collected Pro Set back in the day. They were something "different" than Topps with slightly glossier stock and some players that weren't on the Topps card. Plus, they came out with player's cards the very first year they were drafted - which was unheard of from Topps back then. Score quickly followed suit. These two rookie cards were among the first of these kinds of cards.

Revie Sorey

• Sent: 7/6/10
• Received: 7/14/10
• Time: 8 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1980 Topps

Revie Sorey played 9 seasons in the NFL, all with the Chicago Bears. He had the good fortune of being taken in the same draft as the great Walter Payton and spent his entire career opening holes for Sweetness. Sorey made the All-NFC teams every year from 1977 through 1980. After his retirement in 1983, Sorey became extremely involved in charitable and philanthropic activities including football camps and extensive work with the Boys and Girls Club. In 2002, he suffered a major stroke but has rehabilitated well from it.

This marks another autographed card from the lot of 1980 Topps that my friend gave me 10+ years ago. Again, not in great shape but it looks a whole lot better signed than not!

D. D. Lewis

• Sent: 7/6/10
• Received: 7/10/10
• Time: 4 Days
• Autographed Items Received: 1980 Topps, 1981 Topps

D. D. Lewis was a name that I heard a lot in my childhood. He was "before my time", but my grandfather (who instilled in me the love of football) was a huge D. D. Lewis fan and talked about him all the time. Lewis spent 13 seasons in the NFL with my favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys. His rookie year was actually 1968, but he then spent 1969 serving in the military. Coming back to the NFL in 1970, he settled into a backup role with the Cowboys that he served in for four full seasons. He finally earned a starting job in 1973 and became a fixture. He played in FIVE Super Bowls and won 2 rings out of that. He also uttered the famous line that there was a hole in the roof of Texas Stadium "so God can watch His favorite team play". In 2001, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame based on his heroics at Mississippi State.

The 1981 card was one that I bought back in 1990 at the very first card shop I ever went to (The Sports Page in New Braunfels, TX). They often had "old" Cowboys cards in their 25-cent box and I would pick one out every time I went with my lawnmowing money. The 1980 Topps is in horrible condition (I'm not sure what's up with the white line on it) but I had it as part of that 1980 Topps lot that my friend gave me years ago. At least it looks a lot better signed than it did plain!

Billy Sims

• Sent: 7/1/10
• Received: 7/10/10
• Time: 9 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1985 Topps, 1997 Upper Deck Marquee Matchups, Free Drink Coupon for his Restaurant

Billy Sims was a phenom. All the way back at tiny Hooks High School in West Texas, he played for three years and SHATTERED all the state records that were on the books at the time. He went on to play for Barry Switzer's team at Oklahoma (and yes, it's hard but I can sometimes like ex-Sooners). While at OU, he put up amazing stats including one year in which he rushed for an average of 7.6 yards per carry. In 1978, his success was ratified with the Heisman Trophy. Moving onto the NFL as a highly-touted No. 1 overall pick by the Detroit Lions in 1980, Sims looked set to continue his stellar career. He made three straight Pro Bowls to begin his NFL career. Unfortunately, tragedy struck midway through the 1984 season when he suffered a career-ending injury. In 1995, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

This was such a great return. I only sent one card to be signed and wound up getting three things back! He added the card that pictures him and Chuck Foreman and he signed his side. Then he also added an autographed business-card sized coupon for a free drink at his restaurant, Billy Sims Barbecue. Great return! Now I feel obligated to pay Chuck Foreman's $5 signing fee to get that card signed by both.

Gary Plummer

• Sent: 6/8/10
• Received: 7/10/10
• Time: 32 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Pacific, 1992 Pacific

Gary Plummer was a hard-nosed blue-collar inside linebacker for a whole lot of years in the NFL. Coming out of the University of California, Plummer went undrafted in the 1983 draft. Undeterred, he then spent 3 years making a name for himself in the upstart USFL for the Oakland Invaders. After the league folded, he caught the attention of the San Diego Chargers and earned a starting spot with them in his very first season. He stayed there for 8 seasons before moving back upstate to the 49ers. He spent four more years in San Fran, and earned a Super Bowl ring with them (coincidentally, by defeating his long-time team - the Chargers). Nowadays, he is a radio color analyst for 49ers games.

I actually sent 4 cards with this request, but he kept 2 of them. Not a problem at all to me. Hopefully, he uses them well. HOWEVER, he did answer the questions I asked on my letter. I always love that.

As a side note, I always ask three questions in all my request letters and they are generally personally tailored to that specific player. Makes for some great information!

Dan McGwire

• Sent: 7/1/10
• Received: 7/9/10
• Time: 8 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Star Pics, 1991 Score

Oh, Dan McGwire! Unfortunately, he is widely regarded as one of the bigger "busts" of the NFL draft. I, however, have a soft spot for a lot of these so-called busts. It wasn't their fault that expectations got so high, and at the end of the day....these guys got to spend a year or two playing in the NFL. Every kid's dream and they got to live it. Sure, things may not have turned out the way they had planned or hope, but they still had their time. Dan McGwire was the 15th overall pick of the 1991 draft and was tabbed the Seahawks "QB of the future". A towering 6'8", he was one of the tallest quarterbacks ever and he enjoyed a great college career at San Diego State (with some guy named Marshall Faulk in the backfield). The college success did not translate, and McGwire only started a handful of games in his four seasons with the Seahawks and by his second year he was number three on the depth chart (behind those stellar NFL QB's Stan Gelbaugh and Kelly Stouffer). A final season as a reserve for the Miami Dolphins in 1995, and his career was over. Nowadays, he works for a vitamin water company and lives in Reno, NV.

Oh, and he had a brother that played a little baseball.

The 1991 Star Pics cards are favorites of mine and I think I might start hitting that set pretty hard soon. Back in 1993 or 1994, I picked up the complete set at the local card shop for $5. It has a whole lot of players who never really panned out, but it's also got some fun "pre-rookie" cards. I've got a handful already signed and they usually look great.

Lewis Tillman

• Sent: 7/3/10
• Received: 7/9/10
• Time: 6 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1989 Topps Traded, 1992 Pacific

Lewis Tillman was a change-of-pace back for 7 seasons in the NFL. Starting his career as a 4th round draft pick out of Jackson State (the same college that produced the great Walter Payton), Tillman spent his first five seasons with the Giants. Tillman earned a Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants Super Bowl XXV Championship team. Despite never getting over 600 yards rushing in a season, he was a sought-after free agent in 1994, and the Bears wound up signing him. He then enjoyed his best pro season, rushing for almost 900 yards and becoming a receiving threat out of the backfield. Losing his starting job, 1995 was his last professional year. By all accounts a great guy off the field, Tillman is currently heavily involved in charity and volunteers as an assistant coach for a local high school in Mississippi.

Not sure what happened on the Pacific card. Looks like he signed it with a dying blue sharpie, although the personalization came out fine. The Topps Traded card, however, looks fantastic. Great addition to my collection (and that 1992 Pacific set grows every day!).

Rob Moore

• Sent: 6/23/10
• Received: 7/8/10
• Time: 15 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1992 Pacific, 1992 Ultra, 1995 Upper Deck Collectors Choice

Rob Moore was one of those upper-mid-level receivers of the 1990's. He was very, very good but never quite in the category of the Jerry Rice's and Andre Reed's. Part of that was that he spent his career in the NFL netherworlds that were the Jets and Cardinals of that decade. Without a steady QB to throw to him, he still managed to rack up some impressive numbers. He went to the Pro Bowl twice in his career, once with each team. In 1997, he caught 97 passes for 1,584 yards for the Cardinals for the best season of his career. In 2009, Moore returned to his alma mater of Syracuse as a Wide Receivers coach. I sent this request in c/o of the Orange athletic department.

Mr. Moore is a prime example of the benefit of studying trends in the TTM collecting hobby. I don't profess to have a lot of knowledge in this hobby, and I get out of the hobby quite often for months. However, one thing that I do when I'm involved in it is religiously follow who is receiving who through the great website http://www.sportscollectors.net/. The last time that I was involved in the hobby on a regular basis, Rob Moore was a total non-signer TTM. Even back in his playing days, he was hit or miss. I was checking out his trends and noticed that he had been signing for a few people recently. I quickly grabbed my cards, wrote my letter, and sent it out. 15 days later, I have 3 BEAUTIFULLY signed Rob Moore cards for my collection that I never really expected to have! I love this hobby.

Felix Wright

• Sent: 7/3/10
• Received: 7/8/10
• Time: 5 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1989 Pro Set, 1991 Fleer, 1992 Pacific, 1992 Pro Set, 1992 Stadium Club

Felix Wright was a ball-hawking safety best known for his time with the Browns and the Vikings. He spent 6 seasons with the Browns where he enjoyed his best seasons. In 1989, he was the led the NFL in interceptions with 9. He came from a small-school, Drake University, and went undrafted in the NFL. Undaunted, he spent 3 seasons starring for the Hamilton TigerCats in the CFL. That led him to the NFL. After his stint with the Browns, he went on to have two productive seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He ended his career with a season with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Again, I always feel kinda uncomfortable sending 5 cards. Felix Wright, however, has a history as a VERY willing signer. Also, I've never sent to him before and now I've gotten every card of his that I could dig out of my commons box signed. I won't bother him again for a while. Even though he has a long history of signing in pen, some of these cards still come out looking pretty good.

Curtis Duncan

• Sent: 6/14/10
• Received: 7/3/10
• Time: 19 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Score, 1992 Ultra, 1992 Score, 1993 Pro Set, Index Card

Curtis Duncan was a part of one of the golden eras of my football watching....the old Oilers Run n' Shoot offense. He was part of the receiving corps that also consisted of Haywood Jeffries, Ernest Givins, and Drew Hill. Duncan was immensely talented and put up great numbers despite being not exactly the prototypical wide receiver. Around 1992, he actually became one of Warren Moon's favorite targets and racked up almost 1000 yards receiving that season.

Mr. Duncan was one of my favorites and I actually got to meet him way back in the day. In the late 80's, the Oilers had their training camp in San Marcos, TX which was near my house. I spent a LOT of time there (thanks, Mom!). I met him there and he was EXTREMELY pleasant and gracious to everyone he came across. Just a great, great guy. This definitely continued with this autograph request. He signed all 4 of my cards (and they look great, by the way) and included his own index card with a quick note thanking me for writing and he signed that also. 17 years after his career ended, he's still one of my favorites.

Walter Abercrombie

• Sent: 6/28/10
• Received: 7/3/10
• Time: 5 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1985 Topps

Walter Abercrombie was an early-80's Pittsburgh Steelers mainstay in the backfield. He also had great hands and usually caught a fair number of passes out of the backfield in the old Mark Malone days. He finished off his career in 1988, moving across the state to play 5 games with the Philadelphia Eagles. Prior to his NFL career, he was a standout at Baylor University. Today, he is back at Baylor serving in an admin role in the alumni department.

Way back in 1988, during his stint with the Eagles, a little 7 year old me wrote one of my very first "fan letters" to Mr. Abercrombie. With no idea of the etiquette of autograph seeking or anything of that ilk, I just straight-up wrote him a letter and my mom mailed it off. A couple of weeks later, there was an envelope in my mailbox with an Eagles letterhead. Opened it up and inside was a full-page letter. Mr. Abercrombie simply wrote me back. It was a great letter, not talking down to me at all (i was pretty smart for a 7 year old, lol). One of the classiest moves ever and I STILL have that letter and cherish it. I really wanted to get a signed card of him to add to that collection since he became one of my football heroes. Glad to get this one back and in only 5 days, too.

Jim Morrissey

• Sent: 6/24/10
• Received: 7/1/10
• Time: 7 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Score, 1992 Topps

Jim Morrissey was a solid starting inside linebacker for the Chicago Bears for 9 seasons. He finished up his career with a few games in Green Bay. When Morrissey first entered the league, he got to spend his rookie season with that awesome Bears team that dominated the entire season and easily won Super Bowl XX. In fact, he was part of the "Shuffling Crew" in the wildly popular Super Bowl Shuffle video. I was 4 years old that year, and that's the first Super Bowl I have a memory of watching. I even remember the hoopla that accompanied the Bears. They were brash, they were arrogant, and they backed it up. I really feel the need to find that video and watch it again. The 80's were awesome.

As for the cards, the 1991 Score cards was the first "box" of cards I ever got. 36 packs. My mom bought them for me for my birthday. I spent hours opening and savoring all those packs. Then, I tried putting together a complete set but never quite made it. I sent a lot of my doubles off for TTM autographs back in the 1992-1994 time frame during my first round of TTM collecting. I would never send out a non-double though because I always thought I was going to finish the set. Well, I never did and now I'm sending 'em all out. Glad to have the Morrissey card in my collection.