Cards: Upper Deck 1991, Topps Stadium Club 1992, Skybox ‘Colors’ 1992-1993, ProSet 1991, Photo memorabilia, Fleer 1991, Topps 1990
Acquired: IP, 10/21/14 GMC NFL MNF Tour
See Also: Curtis Duncan
A great example of planning ahead, I didn’t miss a beat when they had a last second cancellation of Ernest Givins for the GMC Event in Katy, Tx. With Curtis Duncan in the fold as Givins replacement, I merely went out to the car and dug around in the Houston Texans Ambassador box I had until I located the extra cards. I am fond of the Skybox ‘Colors’ set. I stopped collecting roughly about the time that this set came in. On all the cards that I have of Curtis, he is never smiling- but he was just all that at the Monday Night Football event. From what I could gather, Curtis had not seen Haywood in some time.
Again, just with Haywood, there wasn’t too much of a demand and since the gatekeepers were so weak I just used my ‘Jedi autograph collecting mind tricks’ to get all of these signed items from Curtis. I recited most of his bio correctly, and then talked to him about being one of the most underrated receivers and one of the best late round finds (10th round) in league history. He asked me about my hat, which I clarified was classic and not vintage, because I was the original owner from 1992. When he signed all my cards I disappointingly looked at him and said, “Why didn’t you sign it with a Bible inscription, like you do through the mail?” Curtis’ eyes widened and he got up from behind the desk with a giant smile on his face. He said, “Oh man! Well let me sign this,” Handed me the photo and continued, “Tell me, did you ever think you were going to get those back from me? It’s always good to meet one of my real fans.” He took this great photo with me and said, “Take care of that awesome hat Lee!” It was an awesome experience and I will definitely go out of my way to see Curtis again.
We talked briefly about how teams were keying in and figuring out the Texans offense last season. Cory stopped for a second to try to phrase it as delicately as possible, then just told me that the offense was simple. You could tell when a certain set of personnel was coming into the game, and when receivers lined up just outside the slot, what the team was going to run. The Texans offense also had very simple set of routes for their receivers, so their defensive backs knew when to come up to the line of scrimmage and just sit on the routes, especially when 
Word was that the venerable Redding might retire after the 2014 season. Cory was brought in by coach Chuck Pagano from Baltimore in 2012 to be a mentor to the younger bucks on the Colts D and teach them the ins and outs of the system. His initial plan was to retire after year 10, but here he is now in 2015 still chugging along, signing as a Free Agent with the Arizona Cardinals. Cory finished his degree in education and was inducted into the UT’s Hall of Honor in November of 2014.