Arena

Berry, PJ “Superman”

TNTAFL11 PJBerryCard: TNT AFL 2011
Acquired: In person, 3/1/14  Talons Season Ticket Party

Of all the players that the San Antonio Talons signed in 2014, I was most excited about PJ Berry. I had created a demo card of PJ back in 2011, when I was planning to do one shots of all the team’s best players in the AFL. While the project quickly broke down because of real life stuff, I always had it somewhat on the backburner. The cards are like nothing on the market, and that to me is very exciting. So to come back to this project and find that AFL players like it and some are even asking me for some is very flattering. When the Talons signed PJ I tweeted him a copy of his card. He really liked it a lot and retweeted it to his masses.  I told him I’d see him soon to have it autographed. Lo and behold at the Talons event, when the players swarmed me to look at my cards, they started shouting, “PJ! PJ! He’s got your card! Come see this!” As PJ came over I told him that I was a man of my word and here I was to get my card autographed. He shook my hand and made a good scene of it, and told me that he wasn’t Superman right now, -just Clark Kent.

PJ has quickly established himself as one of the most electrifying players in the AFL.  In his rookie season for Bossier-Shreveport, he recorded 118 receptions for 1,352 yards and 33 touchdowns. He also had 65 kick returns for 1,171 yards and 2 touchdowns to add to his totals in 2010.  While he’d be beaten out for rookie of the year honors by Rod Windsor, Berry was named AFL Ironman of the Year in 2011, after he set the league season record for all purpose yardage with 3,752 yards from scrimmage and kick returns (100) with the New Orleans Voodoo. Another fine season in Pittsburgh in 2012 with 1,282 yards and a franchise record 2,024 yards kick returning earned Berry his second consecutive Ironman award, but he’d have a down year in 2013, before being assigned to the San Antonio Talons for 2014.

Berry also played for the South Georgia Wildcats of AFL2 in 2008 where he was known as an explosive and dangerous kick returner, demonstrated by his 6 TDs during that season.  Its a shame really that PJ hasn’t been able to catch onto an NFL roster. He was given a tryout with the Saints in 2011 after he record breaking season, but because of New Orleans depth, PJ was unable to make the team. Still PJ is considered a budding star of the AFL at this time and he is considered my biggest catch of the league to date.

 

 

 

NFL

Allegre, Raul

sco89 allegreflr90 allegre
Card: Fleer 1990, Score Supplemental 1989
Acquired: 2/16/2013, Longhorn Neighborhood Foundation Bowling Tournament

Raul was the last autograph that I got from the LNF Bowling Tourney. It was one of the more memorable ones as Rod Babers came up and harassed Allegre about his picture on the back of his 1989 Score Supplemental card. He laughed and remarked about how young he looked, and Rod told Raul’s son that he looked just like him. Raul is an extremely active member of the NFLPA and is Vice President of the Austin chapter. He’s an ESPN Deportes commentator and has also handled the color commentary for Monday Night Football in Espanol.

Raul Allegre excelled at soccer in high school, which led him to become a kicker in football. He attended Montana and then later the University of Texas where he was 67/69 on extra points and 28/46 on field goals. A free agent signee by the Colts in 1983, Allegre stepped in and actually went to the Pro Bowl following the 1985 season going 16 of 26 on field goals and 36 of 39 on extra points. Following the 1985 season, Allegre lost a pitched training camp battle to Dean Biasucci. He did not see action until midway through the 1986 season, when he was an injury replacement for the New York Giants. He held the position down with the Giants through their 1986 and 1990 titles. He was notable during his stint with the Giants for his accuracy under pressure. Cut in 1991, he quickly signed with the Jets, but retired in 1992 after losing out to Jason Staurovsky in training camp, citing lingering back injuries. In 1992 he briefly entertained a comeback with the Houston Oilers and was considered for the kicker job there, but lost out to Al Del Greco. Raul is a member of the original Tecmo Bowl as the Giants’ kicker.

G/Gs  92/92    XPA  190    XPM 183   Pct 96.3%     FGA 186    FGM 137    PCT 73.7%    Pts 594

NFL

Smith, Kevin “Pup” (2)

spics92 ksmithsky92 ksmith

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, Star Pics 1992, GameDay 1992, SkyBox 1992
Acquired: 2013, Paid Signing via Houston Dallas Cowboys Fan Club
See Also: Kevin Smith “Pup”

gday92 ksmithOccasionally I’ll see a paid signing I want to get in on the ground floor at, and although I had the pleasure of getting Smith on a previous opportunity at Dallas Cowboys Training Camp way, way back in 1992, there were still quite a few cards I had of him that I wanted to grace with his autograph. These 4 cards represent my favorite sets at that time. Action Packed had these embossed edges that really made the cards pop with the strength that symbolized football. Their smaller Rookies set was a no brainer for me since it was easier to collect on the stiff price point of 2.25 per pack that included 5 cards in it. GameDay was just a beautiful set. It pretty much embodied everything I liked but its most outstanding feature was the ‘tall boy’ look that made these cards look like game tickets. Star Pics was a good college card. Unfortunately they over anticipated demand for their product. They were quickly ousted from the market, but their 1992 set was a beauty from its clean white edges to the strong player photos. Skybox on the other hand made a late splash to an already clogged market. With ProSet, Topps, Upper Deck, Fleer, and Score all fighting for a slice of the pie along with these lesser names above, Skybox had carved a niche in the basketball market and set its sights on football. It’s 1992 and subsequent 1992-1993 set were absolute models of beauty and simplicity. The base impact set from 1992 with its bold type gives the card a very poster like feel, while its action photos are some of the clearest in the market from that period. I was really happy to get these 4 signed by Kevin. For the most part I’m pretty much done with the ex-Aggie and Dallas Cowboy, unless there is a free signing there I just happen to be at.

aprks92 ksmithAn inductee of the Museum of the Gulf Coast, Kevin was not only a talented football player, but also a talented athlete playing basketball, baseball, and sprinkling in a bit of track too. During his time at A&M Smith during his Sophomore year intercepted a pass in every home game for the Aggies, including a 40 yard pick of LSU’s Tommy Hodson that Pup returned to the house. He finished that year with 9 interceptions. Kevin was named to the All-SWC team 3 times and played on some of the last great Aggie teams in the SWC before being taken by the Cowboys with their #1 pick of the 1992 draft. Injuries derailed what could have been an impactful career as Smith retired during the 2000 season, but he’s done a lot of things since including a brief stay as a color commentator for the Aggies.

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