Fred Smerlas

• Sent: 6/14/10
• Received: 6/23/10
• Time: 9 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1985 Topps, 1992 Pacific

Fred Smerlas was a standout nose tackle for 13 seasons in the NFL. His best years came with the Buffalo Bills where he made 5 Pro Bowls and stuffed the middle of that defensive line against the best running backs they could throw his way. He played with a gritty, blue-collar style and was not afraid to get dirty. He finished up his career with a year with the 49ers and then two years with the Patriots (who were his hometown team). Smerlas has made quite a career for himself. He has written an autobiography (By a Nose), co-hosts several radio shows during football season, and has shown an interest in politics. He has considered running for Congress as a Republican and has indicated that it still may happen in the future.

I was a big Fred Smerlas fan growing up. When I was 4 or 5 years old, my grandpa and I would sit for hours every Saturday and sort my football cards into piles. For whatever reason, our favorite "pile" was the pile of Nose Tackles. Sure enough, a few years later, I wound up playing nose tackle for several years throughout junior league and my first couple of years of school ball.

I knew I wanted to send these cards out, but for some reason it took me FOREVER to find the 1992 Pacific. I knew I had a card somewhere in my collection that had Smerlas in a Patriots uniform. I went through my box multiple times before finding it. Turned out, it had stuck behind another 1992 Pacific card. Glad I found it, makes a nice addition to my collection.

Bobby Hebert

• Sent: 6/14/10
• Received: 6/21/10
• Time: 7 Days
• Autographed Items Received: 1993 Topps, 1992 Stadium Club, 1992 Pacific

Bobby Hebert, aka "The Cajun Cannon", was a Quarterback who was wildly popular for 8 seasons with the New Orleans Saints. In 1993, he signed with the Falcons and had a spectacular debut year for them, culminating in his only career Pro Bowl appearance. The next year, he was replaced with Jeff George, but stuck around as a backup. He got his chance again 2 years later after George's infamous sideline dust-up with June Jones. Hebert retired in 1996. Nowadays, he's back in Louisiana and hosts a Sports Radio talk show. 14 years after his retirement, he is still a very popular figure across the state.

I went through my collection and found that I had about 9 Bobby Hebert cards in various places. I chose these three to send this time. Maybe I'll send some more to him a few years from now.

Ray Berry

• Sent: 6/12/10


• Received: 6/19/10


• Time: 6 days


• Autographed Items Received: 1990 Fleer, 1990 Pro Set, 1991 Score, 1992 Ultra, 1992 Pacific

Ray Berry was a solid linebacker for 7 seasons with the Vikings. Prior to that, he played his college ball up the road from me at Baylor. He spent his final NFL season in 1993 with the Seattle Seahawks.

I sent more cards than I normally do, but Ray Berry is one of those guys who showed up in every single card set issued from about 1989-1992. As such, I had a bunch of his cards in my collection. The 1990 Fleer is actually a card I found in my garage and dates all the way back to my "playing with the football cards" days. The corners were pretty rounded, but I thought it would be neat to get it signed since it was a card that I actively "used" a lot as a 9 year old kid. The rest of the cards were just plucked right out of my big box o' commons.

Natu Tuatagaloa

• Sent: 6/8/10
• Received: 6/17/10
• Time: 9 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1992 Stadium Club

Natu Tuatagaloa was a reserve defensive lineman who floated around to several teams in the early 90's. His biggest success was with the Bengals, but he also spent time with the Seahawks, Saints, and Oilers. He was known for his work ethic and drive and was a Captain of the California Golden Bears football team during his time there. Since his retirement, he has become a successful business man and local politician in his California hometown.

This is one of those everyday cards that had been relegated to my commons box for 15+ years. I was really excited about this return because #1) the autograph looks great and #2) it was totally random that I sent to him. Usually, I'll send to people who I see a success for on Sportscollectors.net or some other site. In this case, I just came across his card and did a quick Google search. 9 days later, I've got a nice new sig for the collection.

Dan Doornink

• Sent: 6/9/10


• Received: 6/17/10


• Time: 8 days


• Autographed Items Received: 1980 Topps, 1985 Topps

After spending his first season with the New York Giants, Dan Doornink went on to become a mainstay in the backfield for the Seahawks for seven seasons. He was actually born and raised in Washington, played his college football at Washington State, and then spent the majority of his pro career with the Seattle Seahawks. Talk about being a hometown hero! Fascinatingly enough, during his football career, Mr. Doornink kept up with his medical studies and became a medical doctor upon his retirement from the NFL in 1985. He currently practices Internal Medicine in Yakima, WA. This request was sent to his office!

Now for a note about one of the cards. When I was 19 or 20, I was friends with a guy from church who was a little bit older than me. He had a large football and basketball card collection and when his wife got pregnant, she made him trim the collection down. He sold a lot at a garage sale, but he brought a box of about 300 1980 Topps football cards to me. This card came from that group.

Todd Christensen

• Sent: 6/9/10
• Received: 6/16/10
• Time: 7 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1984 Topps, 1985 Topps, 1988 Topps

Good return today from one of the premier tight ends of the 1980's. Todd Christensen came into the league and didn't make it out of preseason with the Cowboys and then spent a lackluster year with the Giants. The Raiders took a chance on him (back when they still made good decisions) and he spent 9 stellar seasons in Oakland/Los Angeles, making 5 pro bowls and being an integral part of two Super Bowl winning teams. After his career ended in 1988, Christensen moved into broadcasting including stints as a color commentator for NFL broadcasts (I remember his as being knowledgable and extremely opinionated) and hosting the original version of American Gladiators. Today, he is a color commentator for the MountainWest Sports Network.

Last year, I was going through the cards in my garage when I discovered about 50 cards that I have NO recollection of. One of them was this 1984 Topps. I seriously have no idea how or when these cards came into my possession. The 1985 Topps was part of a near-complete-set of them that I bought off eBay last year. I got the 1988 Topps from the good people at 5th Quarter Football Cards.

One last fun note, Mr. Christensen, who is a devout Mormon, signed two of the cards with Bible verses (Jude 22 and Romans 13:7-8). The third card, he signed with "XV, XVIII" to indicate the Super Bowl winning teams he played on. Nice extra touch.

Rick Mirer

• Sent: 6/1/10
• Received: 6/14/10
• Time: 14 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1993 Topps, 1995 Pinnacle, 1994 Score Future Franchise

I remember 1993 as what was supposed to be a huge rookie class. Firmly at the top of that class were two young quarterbacks - Drew Bledsoe and Notre Dame's Rick Mirer. Notre Dame was still quite a QB factory in that day and he was highly touted coming into the pros. Unfortunately, that didn't quite work out. Bledsoe turned in a solid-but-not-spectacular career as a starter, but Mirer only spent a couple of years as a full-time starter with the Seahawks. He did manage to spend many years in the NFL, bouncing from team-to-team as a journeyman backup. His stops included the Bears, Jets, 49ers, and Raiders. He retired in 2004.

This was a great return, in that I only sent two cards and I received three! Mr. Mirer was kind enough to enclose one of his own cards signed (the 1994 Score Future Franchise). He also put all three cards in his own protective sleeve for the trip back to me. He's a class act.