Category Archives: Pro Football HoF

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Dorsett, Tony ‘TD’

udldg97 dorsettCard: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: IP, 11/22/14 Star Power Signing, Dallas,Tx

So Josh and I went to Dallas to nab Tony Dorsett. We thought that by leaving a few hours early, it’d get us a decent place in line. We got lucky. Encountering 2 hour delay due to an overturned semi on I-35, we arrived with only an hour and 15 minutes before the event. Still we hopped in line and took our place 3 quarters of the way around the building.

Two observations about the actual event:

I have never been to a ‘Star Power’ location. I probably would never go there again. Glitz, glamour, and a lot of the usage of the word ‘affluent’ to put off anybody who would ask, “How much is this?” It screamed of excess and the place flat out embraced it. To them, most of us who showed up were just a working class sideshow at the event.

In my time collecting, I have never been as incensed by the amount of flagrant double-dipping going on. There is no need for you to get your children to go and get the same item signed. 3 Tony Dorsett helmets, with one for each kid who didn’t care about football or who they were meeting.  It was just so obvious that there was a lot of people getting paid for this and that there was going to be an Ebay flood of items later that day.

Tony Dorsett was a one man dynamo for Pitt from 1973-1976, leading the school to a National Championship, Heisman accolades, and was the all-time leading rusher in college history with 6,082 yards.  A first round choice of the Cowboys (#2 overall) in 1977, he won NFL Rookie of the Year Honors  with 1,007 yards and 12 TDs. Over the course of his 11 year career in Dallas, Dorsett was named All Pro 4 times and won a Super Bowl title. He also holds the NFL record for longest TD run with a 99 yard gallop against the Minnesota Vikings in 1983. As injuries began to take their toll on the venerable back and the arrival of fresh legs in the form of Herschel Walker in 1987, Dorsett was traded to the Denver Broncos in 1988 playing one season before he retired.  At the time of his retirement, Dorsett was the second All-Time leading rusher in NFL history, and of a less distinguished note, was top 5 in fumbles with 90. He is the only player in NFL history to win the Heisman, and then win the Super Bowl and NFL Rookie of the Year the following season. To top it all off, Tony was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994, and had his number retired at Pitt.

Dorsett is one of the major names that has come out in regards to concussion litigation against the NFL. Tony in particular has suffered so many concussions he lost track. He suffers from memory loss, depression, and dementia due to CTE.  He was not in in great shape when I saw him, but Tony very graciously stayed over his appointed time to get everybody knocked out who was in line. He signed this one card for me, and tried to interact with every fan he met.

G/Gs 173/152      Rush 2936     Yds  12,739   Avg  4.3    Td 77     Lg 99t
Rec  398      Yds 3,554    Avg 8.9     Td 13    Lg 91

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL, Pro Football HoF, University of Texas

Campbell, Earl “Tyler Rose” (3)

mem campbell 2Photo Memorabilia
Acquired: IP 2013, GMC Texas Tour November
See Also: Earl Campbell, Earl Campbell (2) “The Tyler Rose”

Well Earl Campbell puts the saying, “You can’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”, to the test with this autographed photo. While I was happy to once again get Earl on something I would have been a bit happier if it was on a card. I had even ordered a couple thinking I might have a chance at getting him, but when I arrived at the event, the promoters and handlers for the event made it clear he was only going to sign the stock photo memorabilia. Still when Earl was chauffeured up in his signature black GMC with a handicapped placard I couldn’t help but feel slightly sorry for the guy. He’s been through a heckuva lot, and people just keep heaping more on him, in addition to treating him like a demigod. A woman in front of me said he had a responsibility to sign autographs, and basically make people happy because of his celebrityship. I really disagreed and tried to be more diplomatic about it. We are all human after all.

IMAG0531When Earl emerged from the passenger side of the vehicle, I’m sure many fans were surprised to see what condition their hero of lore was in. (It’s hard to live in an information vacuum, but it’s much easier if you are only a casual fan of sports and did not see the 30-30 ESPN presentation on him.)  Earl was clearly using a walker, and had to be helped to the table.  While I had heard differing tales of his stubbornness at events, such as when he only signed “E Campbell” at the Fan Fest in 2012, or how he both refuses to allow for personal photos with him or outside personal items now at non-paid signings, Earl for the most part seemed in good spirits. While I was not going to poke the bear, I noticed that on a few larger families of autograph seekers at the beginning, he simply penned “Earl”.

First his legs. Now his hands. As the line coiled through the queue and out into the street, I realized how thankful and fortunate I should be to even get an autograph. A few people who were there went up and complained to his hapless son about how they had driven from here or there and wanted to get Earl’s autograph on some sort of memorabilia they had packed, but they really had no excuse, especially after receiving a charity autograph from a Texas and NFL great, clearly doing this out of the kindness of his heart and for some pocket change.

Again, the GMC event was very mechanical. When I said to Earl: “Luv’ Ya HOUSTON OILER Blu’ “, he was too busy talking and smiling at his handlers, that were interfering with the whole mystique of the event. I doubt he even heard me.  It was a poignant end to an uneven event.

 

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Dickerson, Eric (2)

sky92 dickerson aprks92 dickersonCards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, Skybox 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 6/10   Received: 7/13  (33 days)*
See Also: Eric Dickerson, Eric Dickerson (3)
*included donation of $10 per card.

Really pumped about these 2 coming back to me as I had followed this address on a hunch. At his website,  it stated very plainly that he does not sign free autographs, so I sweetened the pot a bit to see if I could game a response. It worked like a charm and I was shocked to receive a response in such a short time, as both of these cards were ones I really wanted signed. The Skybox was just a great photo of Dickerson. It really screams ‘poster card’. The Action Packed Rookies 1992 is from a set that I unabashedly collect. It is from his one season with the Los Angeles Raiders and I wouldn’t have gotten it signed otherwise.

I had decided to write Eric after going to the Houston Fan Fest this year. We were driving through Sealy, Tx on the way home from the event and passed by the stadium he ran to High School glory on, which prompted me to start thinking about Eric’s legacy.  A few days later Eric got into a brouhaha on Twitter with an unnamed child musical artist who can’t seem to drive safely in their shared neighborhood. I took it as though fate was slapping me on the face and took pen to paper that evening.

Dickerson is unabashed when asked about Adrian Peterson’s recent run at his record 2,106 single season rushing record, and said that he’s glad he still holds the record. While other more… let’s say modest… players might say otherwise, I actually agree with Eric. There are certain records that I hope never fall again. Some things such as 2,106 should stand the test of time, and I am glad Dickerson (HoF Class 1999) holds it. Eric is also a member of the 2,200 strong NFL alum that won litigation against the NFL for concussion related injuries. His name is the largest name in the hat, statistically, as he piled up over 13,000 rushing/receiving yards in his career.

At this time he does a lot of charity work, speaking, and golf tournaments to pass the time.