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.