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.