Sterling Sharpe

Sent: 5/3/13
Received: 5/16/13
Time: 13 days
Autographed Items Received: 1991 Fleer Ultra, 1993 Topps, 1993 Topps Team Leaders

Sterling Sharpe was, quite possibly, on his way to becoming a legendary wide receiver in the same conversation as a Jerry Rice. He was the Packers 1st round pick in 1988 and led the league in receptions by his second season. He made the Pro Bowl for five seasons, was a 5x All Pro, and is in the Packers Hall of Fame. In 1992, Brett Favre came to the Packers and Sterling would finally have a top-flight QB to throw to him. Sadly, in 1994, a neck injury ended Sterling's career. With another 5-6 seasons of Favre throwing to him, it's probably safe to say he would have been a first ballot Hall of Famer. Sterling's little brother, Shannon, followed his footsteps to the NFL and became a Hall of Fame tight end. In his induction speech, Shannon admitted that he wasn't even the best football player in his own family. Sterling went into broadcasting as soon as his playing career was over and is currently a studio analyst for NFL Network, which is where I sent this request.

I actually had gotten Sterling 1/1 c/o ESPN about 10 years ago. I noticed he was signing a lot on Sportscollectors.net lately. I had these 3 (and several more) and I wanted to take the opportunity to knock a few more out of my unsigned collection. They look great signed, even though it seems he got rushed and signed the 1993 Topps on the back!

Steve Nelson

Sent: 5/9/13
Received: 5/16/13
Time: 7 days
Autographed Items Received: 1980 Topps, 1985 Topps

Steve Nelson was a New England mainstay for 14 NFL seasons, all with the Patriots.  He came into the league as a 2nd round pick out of tiny North Dakota State. A burly, working-class kind of linebacker, Steve became a symbol of the New England teams and put together some brilliant seasons, culminating in the Patriots AFC Championship winning season in 1985. Steve made the Pro Bowl 3 times and, after retirement, had his #57 retired by the NFL. Following his playing career, Steve got into coaching and served as the Head Coach and Athletic Director for Curry College from 1998-2006. While there, one of his assistant coaches was the late Mosi Tatupu, a former teammate of Steve's with the Patriots.

Both of these cards came from big lots I got. My friend gave me the 1980 Topps back around 1999-ish and I bought the 1985 Topps off eBay around 2008. Neither was a complete set, I just wanted some older cards for sending out.

Kanavis McGhee

Sent: 4/20/13
Received: 5/16/13
Time: 26 Days
Autographed Items Received: 1991 Star Pics, 1993 Topps

Kanavis McGhee was a 2nd round pick of the New York Giants in 1991 after a stellar college career with Colorado. Kanavis played defensive end and on special teams for three seasons for Giants again. He played one season with the Bengals and his final NFL season with his hometown Houston Oilers before retiring after 1996. Following his playing career, he went almost immediately into coaching, serving as a high school coach in Houston and a NFL Europe defensive assistant. He also worked as a high school teacher. In 2010, Kanavis returned to his alma mater of Colorado as an assistant coach. He is currently their defensive line coach.

I took these cards to Houston Oilers training camp in 1996 in San Antonio for his one season there but was unable to get him to sign the one day I went that year. It was very good to get these signed and in the collection by writing to him via the University of Colorado. I plan on doing a mass mailing of NFL and college football coaches this year. I did it once before in 2008, and it was very successful. I guess Kanavis is my first start on that road.

Wayne Haddix

Sent: 4/27/13
Received: 5/10/13
Time: 13 days
Autographed Items Received: 1991 Score, 1992 Pacific

Wayne Haddix is a very interesting story. He attended Liberty University, a small fundamental Baptist university from the Jerry Falwell church. Undrafted out of college, Wayne managed to catch on with the New York Giants in 1987 and played cornerback three seasons in the Big Apple. In 1990, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him and, almost out of nowhere, he exploded into prominence, recording the only 7 interceptions he had his entire career. Wayne even made the Pro Bowl that year and gained notoriety for being a beast in Tecmo Super Bowl for the Super Nintendo. Wayne's level of play inexplicably dropped off the very next season and the Bucs cut him after 1991. He spent the 1992 season with the Bengals and then was out of football.

Both these cards turned out very nice signed. I'm very happy to have them in the binders now.

Chuck Howley

Sent: 5/6/13
Received: 5/13/13
Time: 7 days
Autographed Items Received: 1990 Pro Set Super Bowl MVP

It's funny how a player can be a huge part of your childhood even though they were already long-retired before you were born. I grew up watching and being obsessed with the Cowboys based on my grandpa's love of them. I used to listen with complete attention when he would tell me stories of the early days of the team and the players he had liked. Chuck Howley was one of those players. A Chicago Bears 1st round pick way back in 1958, Chuck played two seasons with them before suffering what he thought was a career ending knee injury in 1959. After a couple of years being retired, he decided his knee was strong enough for a comeback and the Bears traded him to the Cowboys. Chuck was known for his speed and quickly became a huge part of the Dallas Doomsday Defense. Chuck went on to turn in a terrific performance in Super Bowl V and, to this day, remains the only player from a losing team to win the MVP. The Cowboys made it back to the big game against the Dolphins and this time Chuck got his Super Bowl ring. All in all, Chuck played 13 seasons for the Cowboys after his "career ending" injury. After retirement, he owned a successful uniform company down here in Texas. I vividly remember knowing that when I was a kid and thinking that every uniform truck I saw was driven by Chuck Howley.

As for the card, I generally don't like cards issued after a player's career. I don't know why, I just don't. But I do like getting all my cards that I've had for over 20 years signed. I've had this card that long and I felt I really needed to get Chuck's autograph into my collection.

Blaine Bishop

Sent: 4/25/13
Received: 5/10/13
Time: 15 days
Autographed Items Received: 1997 Topps

Blaine Bishop was one of my favorites. I was a big time Oilers fan until their sad defection to Tennessee. Blaine was one of the big stars at the time they moved to Nashville. A hard-hitting safety who was an 8th round steal out of Ball State in the 1993 draft, Blaine went on to make 4 pro bowls and played for the Houston Oilers, Tennessee Oilers, and the Tennessee Titans. Blaine spent his final season in 2002 with the Philadelphia Eagles. After retirement, Blaine got into broadcasting and now hosts a sports radio talk show on Nashville and coaches defense at an area private high school.

1997 represented the last year I really tried to collect football cards. I bought a few packs of Topps, one of which produced this card. After that, I really changed my focus to strictly autographed cards and rarely bought new packs of cards.

Vinnie Clark

Sent: 4/30/13
Received: 5/9/13
Time: 9 days
Autographed Items Received: 1991 Wild Card, 1992 Pro Set, 1992 Pacific, 1994 Topps

Vinnie Clark was a solid cornerback in the early part of the 1990's and was one of those guys who had a common card in every set from around 1991-1994. Vinnie came into the league in 1991 as a Packers first round pick out of The Ohio State University. Vinnie never fully lived up to that draft status but did put in two good seasons with the Packers and two more with the Falcons. Injuries started adding up, and Vinnie had a season with the Saints and then a season and a half with the Jaguars before retiring after the 1996 season. Since retirement, he dabbled in coaching as an assistant to his old college teammate, Chris Spielman, with the now-defunct AFL team the Columbus Destroyers. Vinnie currently resides in Cincinnati.

This is a nice continuing trend of guys who weren't really on the TTM radar turning into good signers. Great to get these 4 cards out of my commons box.

Hassan Jones

Sent: 4/27/13
Received: 5/8/13
Time: 11 days
Autographed Items Received: 1990 Pro Set, 1992 Pacific

This one is still perplexing. I had seen several people report successes from Hassan Jones on Sportscollectors.net so I dug up the only two cards of his I have in my commons box and mailed them off. A week later, I got my envelope bag only to find the cards unsigned along with a handwritten note from Hassan. Hassan said that I was just in time because he had started collecting fan information and wanted me to send a signed resume and a contact number and then he would sign my cards. After a few minutes of debate, I made an accurate but condensed version of my résumé and sent it off again. Guess it worked!

Hassan Jones was a solid third receiver to compliment the great duo of Anthony and Cris Carter for the Vikings from 1986-1992. Hassan finished his career playing 7 games for the Chiefs in 1993. Unfortunately he's had a string of poor choices post-retirement including several criminal acts (domestic violence, DWI, etc). I kinda had a hard time with this one, since he hasn't been the most upstanding person, but still....his career and these cards were part of my childhood so I went for it. Incidentally, the cards look awesome signed.

Jerry Markbreit

Sent: 4/25/13
Received: 5/4/13
Time: 9 days
Autographed Items Received: 1991 Pro Set, handwritten note.

Jerry Markbreit was on my television constantly during my golden era of football watch. He was the premiere referee of the 90's and worked 4 Super Bowls, still a record. At age 78, Jerry was still working for the NFL training refs up until the ref strike last year. Roger Goodell, however, is an idiot and fired all the longtime refs for refusing to train the replacements. Jerry was kind enough to write me a note back, saying that the most exciting game he ever worked was the 1990 NFC Championship, which the Giants won over the 49ers 15-13. Jerry also said that he had a high school teacher who was an official, and he influenced him to become one. Since being an NFL referee is "part-time", Jerry was a trade manager for 3M and worked in advertising sales. Jerry has also authored three books.

Pro Set included a group of referee cards in their 1991 set, which I believe to be the only cards of these guys. I've had this one in my "to send" section for years, and I realized I needed to get it done this time. Glad it's in my autograph binder now.

Kenny Walker

Sent: 4/20/13
Received: 5/3/13
Time: 13 days
Received: 1991 Star Pics, 1992 Pacific

Kenny Walker was one of only two deaf players to play in the NFL. Kenny was left deaf at the age of 2 due to a bout of meningitis. Undeterred, Kenny pursued his athletic career and wound up starring for the great Tom Osborne coached Nebraska Cornhuskers teams. The Broncos took a chance on him with an 8th round pick in 1991 and he played two seasons with the team, including a starting role in 1992. Sadly, the Broncos and the rest of the league in general were just ill-equipped to handle Kenny's disability and he was out of the league after 1992. Since then, Kenny has gone into coaching, briefly with Gallaudet University, and he is currently employed with Highland Ranch High School working with deaf students.

The Star Pics card was from the complete set I bought for $5 20 years ago. Always fun to add more of them signed to my collection.

Dan Williams

Sent: 4/25/13
Received: 5/3/13
Time: 8 days
Autographed Items Received: 1993 Topps

I have a soft spot for so-called draft "busts". Dan Williams was the 11th overall pick in the 1993 draft, and the Denver Broncos traded up to snag him at that spot. Dan saw his first three seasons plagued by injuries and he did not claim the starting defensive end role until 1996, which happened to be his last year in Denver. In 1997, Dan signed with the Chiefs and came alive with 10.5 sacks. The Chiefs tagged him as their "transition player" similar to today's "franchise" tag. Dan was extremely bitter about this and refused to play the 1998 season. He never regained form after that and his career came to an end after the 2001 season. He now resides in Roswell, GA.

This card came from my "special" binder where I had all my 1993 rookie cards. That class was supposed to be outstanding but turned out to be mostly pedestrian with a few big exceptions. Glad to have this one in the autograph binders now.

Jackie Harris

Sent: 4/25/13
Received: 5/1/13
Time: 6 days
Autographed Items Received: 1993 Topps

Jackie Harris was a workman-like tight end with good blocking skills and better pass-catching skills. A 4th round pick of the Packers in 1990, Jackie spent four seasons with Green Bay, including a couple of them as a target for a young QB named Brett Favre. From there, Jackie spent four seasons with the Buccaneers and two seasons with the Oilers/Titans. In 2000, I was a happy Cowboys fan when Jackie signed with Dallas. However, with a horrible team around him and no good QB to get him the ball, Jackie had a low-key two seasons in Dallas, retiring after the 2001 season. These days, Jackie and his wife own a string of Christian radio stations in Arkansas and are successful business owners in his hometown of Pine Bluff.

I enjoyed plucking this card out of the commons box and getting it signed. Fr what I remember of a few years ago, Jackie was a non-signer, so it was good to see him signing now. Also, the card really looks exceptionally good signed.

Sam Graddy

Sent: 4/20/13
Received: 4/30/13
Time: 10 days
Autographed Items Received: 1992 Pacific

I love this one. The only sporting event that rivals the NFL in my esteem is the Summer Olympics. The 1984 Olympics, in particular, are special to me since I've had a big book about it since I was a little kid. Today, I killed two birds with one stone.

Sam Graddy was a world-class sprinter at Tennessee-Knoxville and won the national championship in the 100m in 1984. At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Sam won the silver medal in the 100m and a gold medal in the 4x100 relay. Amazingly, one of his teammates on that relay team was Ron Brown, and the two of them went on to play in the NFL together for the Raiders. In 1988, Sam signed with the Broncos and he only appeared in 7 games. Out of football in 1989, Sam appealed to Al Davis' eternal love for speedy receivers and was signed by the Raiders. He spent three seasons with the Raiders where he served as primarily a return man. Today, Sam works as a Development Director for University of Tennessee.

Sam was kind enough to write me a nice handwritten note back. He mentioned that he and Ron Brown are still good friends and that he will always be grateful to Al Davis for his opportunities.

Perry Williams

Sent: 4/20/13
Received: 4/27/13
Time: 7 days
Autographed Items Received: 1989 Pro Set


Perry Williams played 12 seasons as a very underrated corner back for the great Bill Parcells-lead Giants team. He was a starter on two winning Super Bowl teams. Perry retires after the 1993 season, never playing for another team. Impressively defying the "dumb jock" stereotype, Perry has worked for Farleigh-Dickinson University since 1995 as an administrative director and as an adjunct professor. He also moonlights as a motivational speaker. Interestingly, I found an interview in which he says he hasn't watched an NFL game since he retired.

This card was from a couple of packs of 1989 Pro Set that I bought on a whim a few years ago. I never send my cards in a protective top loader because, quite honestly, I don't care about condition that much. Perry, however, was kind enough to put the card in his own protective sleeve to send it back. Nice gesture!

Peter Tom Willis

Sent: 4/20/13
Received: 4/26/13
Time: 6 days
Autographed Items Received: 1991 Pacific

Peter Tom Willis is now finally a resident of my autograph collection. I sent one to him several years back c/o Florida State when he was still part of their radio broadcast team, but never got those back. I located one last card of his in my commons box and decided to give it another shot. Less than a week later, he came through.

Peter Tom had a tremendous year in 1889 for Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminoles back in the Florida college heyday. He led the team to 10 straight wins, including a Fiesta Bowl victory per Nebraska. On the heels of that, he was drafted in the 3rd round by the Chicago Bears. Peter Tom never really found his groove in the NFL, appearing sparingly in 4 seasons with the Bears and never claiming the full-time starting job. After being out of football for almost 4 years, he came back with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League and had two tremendous years with them. Following his playing days, Peter Tom became the color commentator for Seminoles Radio, however he was fired for being "too critical" of the program. In reality, he was just being honest. Nowadays, he's working as a buyer for an industrial metals company.

Hokie Gajan

 

• Sent: 4/20/2013
• Received: 4/25/2013
• Time: 5 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1985 Topps

I'm back! First TTM batch since mid-2010. Life got crazy for me for a little bit, but now I've come back to my favorite hobby.

The first one back came in a lightning quick 5 days from former New Orleans Saints running back Hokie Gajan. Hokie was a Louisiana native who was a high school star in the state, then went on to play for LSU. In 1981, Hokie was drafted by the Saints to complete the cycle, staying in the state. And with a name like Hokie Gajan, he was pretty much a symbol of the state of Louisiana. In 1984, Hokie actually averaged 6.0 yards per carry making him third all time in NFL history for average rushing yards in a season for any back with more than 100 carries. Hokie has managed to prolong his Louisiana football career even more and is currently the color commentary man on Saints radio broadcasts.

This card was from the lot of 1985 Topps that I bought on eBay a few years back. I honestly didn't know much about Hokie until I got this card and started researching him. A fun way to learn more about football history.