Arena

Berry, PJ ‘Superman’ (2)

tntafl14 berryCard:  TNT AFL Talons 2014
Acquired: IP 5/17/14, San Antonio Talons vs. New Orleans Voodoo
See Also: PJ Berry

PJ Berry is a model for the AFL as far as I’ve observed. He’s exciting to watch, posts big numbers, and above all else is extremely fan friendly. At games, I always see him talking to other fans, letting young kids hold his helmet, and he always gives a shout out to everybody in the stands to make them feel special and unique. That is the type of player that the league should tout. I lament at the fact it appears that PJ has never had his jersey printed for general fan consumption and hope that the AFL can capitalize off of this.

After a slow start, the team traded Jomo Wilson back to the Jacksonville Sharks. This cleared the way for Berry to start opposite DJ Stephens at receiver. In the meantime PJ tore it up on returns. With lightening speed and fluid hips, Berry’s greatest assets are his vision and ability to turn on a dime.

I made it down to the field after the Voodoo game and gave PJ his new card, which he really liked a lot. I’m glad I replaced the previous photo I had of Berry. This is a solid shot of him. I got a couple of requests for PJ’s card I went ahead and fulfilled for other fans. It always makes me feel good that other fans might just appreciate my work.  PJ had a decent season in 2014, but probably not up to his monster statistic levels. He finished with 61 receptions for 809 yards and 10 TDs, to go along with 36 kick returns for 689 yards, and 2 touchdowns, powering the Talons to one of the top ranked return units in the league.

NFL

Crowder, Tim

poff07 crowderCard: Playoff Prestige 2007
Acquired: IP 12/6/2014, Total Athlete ATX Grand Opening

Tim Crowder hails from Tyler, Texas – home of Texas and Oiler great Earl Campbell. Following  in the footsteps of the Texas legend, Crowder also went to the University of Texas, helping the Longhorns defeat the USC Trojans for the 2005 National Championship. In his finest season at UT, Tim had 50 tackles, 3 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, an interception, and a forced fumble.

Crowder was a second round choice of the Denver Broncos in 2007, and finished 4th among rookies at defensive end, with 4 sacks that year. A concussion wrecked his 2008 season, so his grade with the Broncos was incomplete. He’d sign with the Buccaneers in 2009 and make 3.5 sacks and 37 tackles. In 2010, Crowder started a career-high nine games and tied for third on the team with three sacks to go with 42 tackles. He resigned with the team in 2011, but was buried on the depth chart behind Michael Bennett, Da’Quan Bowers, and Adrian Clayborn. Still he contributed 14 tackles and 2 tackles for losses. With a new coach in town in Tony Schiano, Tim was cut by the squad in 2012. Currently he’s considered a free agent.

With the sacred box of Texas cards in my car, I got Crowder knocked out on the only card I had of him. The surprisingly lanky Crowder, was happy to sign and knock this card out for me at the Total Athlete event.

NFL

Johnston, Daryl “Moose”

Cards: Playoff 1992, Topps 1992, Upper Deck Legends 2011
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 9/14  Received: 10/2 (21 days)
See Also: Daryl Johnston

I used to go to training camp for the Cowboys way back when they were in Austin. On one of the first days that I was there I got Daryl Johnston on his Topps 1990 rookie card.

A few years later I got the Topps 1992 and this Playoff 1992 card. I took them both to training camp with me, but never was able to get Johnston again. I don’t know whether or not he recognized me as a regular at camp, or that the Cowboys were too big for their britches and didn’t sign anymore, but he went from being a stellar in person signer to the classic ignorer, within 2 years. Part of me didn’t blame him if that was the case. The fences at training camp were a difficult to navigate with the throngs of fans who wanted autographs. Not to mention there were a lot of kids running over to the local card shop and selling all those autographs right afterwards. 

 Needless to say it’s great to see that Johnston is a pretty good signer TTM. When I uncovered this Upper Deck Legends card recently I went ahead and shot out these cards to him.  

All of these are great cards of Daryl. Once the card companies got wind of his popularity, solid play, and the Cowboys rise to prominence again, he became a regular in most of the card sets. He has a beautiful autograph, with a solid, encapsulating loop on the ‘J’.

Johnston is not a member of the NFL concussion litigation group. He instead is an advocate of proactive brain testing for players.

Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.