Category Archives: NFL

Irwin, Tim

Card: Score 1990
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

6’7″, 300, Tim Irwin was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 3rd round of the 1981 draft. He’d ride the bench while learning the finer points of the craft from legendary offensive tackle Ron Yary, pretty much his whole rookie season. It’d be in 1982 that he’d start a really nice run of 181 consecutive starts playing right tackle for the team. Tim played for the Vikings through the 1993 season.  In 1994 he started 6 games for the Buccaneers before finishing his career with 5 more for the Dolphins.

While still playing for the Vikings in 1990, Irwin went back and finished his law degree at his Alma Mater, Tennessee. He is well rounded in many fields of practice and was appointed a juvenile judge in 2005. Tim also has devoted much of his time to Boys & Girls Club sponsorships, and promoting youth football in Tennessee.

G/Gs 201/187

Hess, Billy “Bill”

ULT92 hessjo95 hess

Cards: Ultimate WLAF 1992, Jogo 1995
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Work
Sent: 7/15    Received: 8/24  (40 days)

Billy Hess at the time of his departure from West Chester University was the school’s all-time leading receiver with 2,729 yards and 19 touchdowns. Playing both ways at the tiny college, in his senior year he caught 47 passes for 833 yards and 11 Tds while also recording 23 tackles and 3 interceptions.  He’d be signed by the Eagles as a free agent in 1989, and then by the Cardinals in 1990.

The San Antonio Riders decided to draft Bill in the 4th round with the 37th pick of the 1991 WLAF wide receiver pool draft.  A crafty receiver who runs good routes and has solid hands, Hess caught 28 passes for 399 yards and 2 touchdowns from quarterbacks Jason Garrett, Lee Saltz, and Mike Johnson.  He had his best game against the Skyhawks catching 2 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. After the season he resigned with the Eagles.

Later on he’d go on to play for the San Antonio Texans of the CFLUSA in 1995. A possession receiver, Hess caught 28 passes for 333 yards in 12 games from QB David Archer in the slot. He’d play one final season in the CFL after it folded the USA franchises with the Ottawa Rough Riders before retiring.

As of 2013 he works in real estate in the greater Philadelphia area. I was scouring the web and got lucky on this hit. As I get further and further along in my attempts to track down members of the WLAF, it has gotten progressively more difficult to find some of these players. Bill was also nice enough to include a Jogo 95 and a note for me as well thanking me for bringing back some great memories.

WLAF    Rec  28    Yds 399    Avg     Td 2

 

Walsh, Steve (2)

pset89 walshCard: Pro Set 89
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 5/3     Received: 5/13  (10 days)
See Also: Walsh, Steve

Steve Walsh is really fair to the TTM community, -well at least at the moment. He signs exactly one piece of memorabilia for fans, and mails it back out, even if you send 3 or 4, he just signs 1. Still he does sign, and he signs for nearly everybody, which is really nice of him to do. This brings up a great topic: sending multiples. I almost always will send at least 2 with few exceptions. It allows me to compare the autographs, and it makes my stamp go a little further. I try not to send more than 4, unless I include a donation or it’s an extremely special circumstance. I don’t want to be an inconvenience and be that guy who ran the well dry.

When I was at Cowboys’ training camp back, oh now, 20 years ago, that first year, I got Steve Walsh in the first few days I was there on a Score 1990 card. I later got this Pro Set card that I intended to get signed, but by the end of that time, Walsh was already traded to the New Orleans Saints. I had a tough choice in the end. There were many fine cards of Steve printed, from his Action Packed 1990 and 1991 cards, to his Score 1990 Supplemental or Pro Set 1990 card and update. In the end I chose this one, as Steve played for a bevvy of teams over his career, after following in the footsteps quarterback greats such as Vinny Testaverde, Bernie Kosar, and Jim Kelly, I felt he was best represented in his college colors from the University of Miami. Great Pro Set card here. I really liked the touch with the helmet up in the top left and the corner flag indicating that he was a #1 pick.