Derrick Walker

• Sent: 6/23/10
• Received: 6/30/10
• Time: 7 Days
• Autographed Items Received: 1992 Ultra, 1992 Wild Card, 1993 Topps

Derrick Walker was a tight end who had a great college career at Michigan, playin on the very last team ever coached by the great Coach Bo Schembechler and parlayed that into a decent 9 year career in the NFL. He spent 4 seasons with the Chargers, 4 with the Chiefs, and then finished out his career with 1 season in Oakland. I guess he really enjoyed the AFC West. He was used primarily as a blocker and never caught a whole lot of passes.

I hate the fact that 2 of these 3 cards smudged. I guess Mr. Walker signed and then immediately stuck them all together to put back in the envelope. The back of the 1993 Topps (the only one that came out great) has a big smear of the signature from one of the other ones. Oh well. They're still better than the not-signed versions that I had 8 days ago! Glad to have these go from the common box to the autograph binders.

Gerald Williams

• Sent: 6/16/10
• Received: 6/26/10
• Time: 10 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Pro Set, 1992 Pacific

I returned home just now from my weekend at the Coast, and found this return waiting for me. Gerald Williams was an interior defensive lineman for 12 seasons in the NFL. The bulk of that time was spent with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he played in Super Bowl XXX. At the end of his career, he spent two and a half seasons with the Panthers and finished up 1997 with the Packers. After his retirement, he returned to the Carolina Panthers organization, serving as a scout for many years. At different times, he was a pro scout and a college scout. In 2009, Williams joined the coaching staff of the Division II Catawba Indians, serving as their Tight Ends coach. He is still in that position today.

I truly appreciate every single autograph that I receive. These guys don't owe me anything, so anything they do for me is a bonus. Gotta admit, though...it sucks when these guys use Sharpies that are probably a hundred sigs past their prime. Oh well, I still appreciate the gesture.

Kent Hull

• Sent: 6/11/1o
• Received: 6/25/10
• Time: 14 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Pacific, 1991 Score 1992 Pacific, 1993 Topps, 1994 Topps

As a center, Kent Hull anchored the very good Bills offensive line of the 80s and 90s. Hull spent 11 seasons in Buffalo, where he was instrumental in the success of future Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas and Jim Kelly. He also played in 4 consecutive Super Bowls (unfortunately, losing them all). Prior to his NFL career, Hull was one of many future NFL starts to spend three years with the upstart USFL. His time with the New Jersey Generals was made notable by opening holes that allowed Herschel Walker to rush for 2400+ yards in one USFL season.

Nothing real special about these cards. Straight out of the commons box, but not common anymore! On another note, I sure am racking up the 1992 Pacifics. Maybe I should start thinking set collecting.

Naaahhhhhhh.

And with that, I'm off to Corpus Christi for a weekend of fun in the sun (and swimming in the oil slicks!).

Bruce Armstrong

• Sent: 6/16/10


• Received: 6/24/10


• Time: 8 days


• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Topps, 1991 Pacific, 1992 Pacific, 1992 Wild Card

Bruce Armstrong was an exceptionally good offensive tackle for the Patriots and played extremely solid ball for 14 seasons, retiring in 2000 after spending his entire career with New England. He was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2007 and should probably be getting more consideration for the NFL Hall of Fame, as you'd be hard-pressed to find a better Tackle during his career. In 1992, he suffered a tear of his MCL and it was thought that it could be a career-ender. He came back the next season and went on to make four more Pro Bowls. I played offensive tackle back in my pee-wee league days, so Armstrong was one of those guys whose career I followed when I could.

Who remembers the old Wild Card football cards? They were only produced for two years (1991 and 1992). In the packs, you could look for certain cards that had a numbered stripe in the lower left-hand corner. If you found one, you could send it in to the manufacturer and they would send you back whatever number of cards was on the stripe. Weird concept, and I never bought a pack. However, an older guy (a minister that came through our church a few times) was a big sports card collector. He found out I collected too, and gave me a box of about 300 "premium" cards that I wouldn't have normally bought. There were maybe 50 Wild Card cards in there. This Armstrong card was one of them.

Alfred Anderson

• Sent: 6/15/10
• Received: 6/23/10
• Time: 8 days
• Autographed Items Received: 1991 Score, 1992 Pacific

Alfred Anderson was a bruising runningback who spent his entire 8-year career with the Minnesota Vikings. He served as fullback, but also got his fair share of carries. I remember him splitting time with Darrin Nelson, Rick Fenney, and some of the other Vikings RBs of the day. He played his college ball up the road from me at Baylor University (just like his longtime teammate Ray Berry) where he was a superstar.

Grabbed these straight from the ol' common box. They turned out really nice with Mr. Anderson's blue sharpie signature.

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.