NFL

Pastorini, Dante ‘Dan’

Card: Topps 1977
Acquired: In Person 6/11/2012 610 Houston Fan Fest III
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

Yeah! When I think of the old Oiler players- legends, I think of guys of both the late 70s and late 80s. Before Warren Moon, Dan Pastorini was a legend in his own light, with the Midwest swagger of Joe Namath, a pretty boy face, and a cannon for an arm. He went to tiny Santa Clara college because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his brother. There he set passing records and became a thing of legend at the tiny school.

The hungry Oilers, who were starving for wins, grabbed Dante with the 3rd overall pick of the 1971 draft.  (This draft is notable as it was the first time quarterbacks went 1,2,3, overall in a draft with Jim Plunkett and Archie Manning coming off the board before Dan.) It’s tough being hailed as the team’s savior, little less one for a team that hadn’t won since the days of George Blanda and Charlie Hennigan. The years were rough on Dan. Dan was a gunslinging wounded warrior with a cannon for an arm and a killer leg for punting, -but not all his injuries came from playing, which irked his coaches. Over his career Pastorini cracked ribs, separated shoulders, blew out a knee, and broke more fingers than he could remember.  He became quite the celebrity and also was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1975. During this time he’d help pioneer the flak jacket for the NFL, and only miss 5 games due to injury. Amazing considering the era it was. Fans loved him, and fans- well- hated him.  Still Dan was a darling of Hollywood, and Las Vegas, where the Oilers were known as winners, because of their penchant to beat the spread despite their losing ways.

In 1978 the team drafted Earl Campbell, and with that, teams began to fear the Tyler Rose more than the gunslinger from Sonora. Pastorini responded by having one of his best professional seasons throwing for 16 touchdowns and 2473 yards. A guy who called the plays at the line of scrimmage, Pastorini guided the Oilers to the playoffs 3 times over his career. The Oilers were truly the only team that could challenge the Steel Curtain Dynasty of the 70s.

In 1980, he requested to be traded to anywhere on the West Coast. Bum Phillips honored his wishes, and Pastorini was traded to the Oakland Raiders for Ken Stabler, but things went from bad to worse for Dan. He won his first Super Bowl title that year, standing on the sidelines in a drunken stupor sitting behind Jim Plunkett, not unable to play, but because the team went with the hot hand, and Al Davis had made it personal. Blackballed out of the organization, he’d spend one year in limbo with the Los Angeles Rams. Thinking his career was over, Dick Vermeil gave Pastorini a call in 1982 and gave him another shot because, well, Vermeil didn’t like how things turned out for Dan. It was a year of healing for Pastorini as he was reunited with the coach that drafted him, -Sid Gillman. While 1982 gave him a lot of closure and redemption on his playing days, 1983 brought in a new coach, and Pastorini hung up his cleats after the season.

Dan has passionately pursued his hobbies since retirement. He’s spent a lot of time drag racing, and dabbled in acting. He currently lives in Houston. I met him at the 610 Fan Fest this year, and he signed everything for fans. Dan was also selling his book, which he did like he always does and loves to do as a hands on kind of guy. I had no problem buying his book in exchange for an extra autograph inside the book. When he asked me what he should pen, I jokingly quipped, “To my illegitimate son, Lee,” which got a great smile out of him. He then suggested “Luv ya blue?”, and I nodded appreciatively.  Dan also markets a brand of bbq sauces and currently lives in Houston.

His book: “Taking Flak” is a wonderful read if you are a fan of the Oilers from any era. It really is an honest account from the man who was right at the center of it for nearly 10 years. It also chronicles the multiple deaths and rebirths of Pastorini, searching to find his place in society through his competitive nature and dueling with the demons of our days.  I really recommend it.

I had a second card for the event, but gave it away to another fan. He came up and begged me for the card since he forgot to pack something and offered me anything that he had to get it. I looked through and told him he had nothing, and told him just to take it. He gave me a bunch of Cowboys cards…

G/Gs     Att 3055    Comp 1556    Yds 18515    Pct 50.9       Td  103      Int   161    Rat 59.1
Rush 216    Yds 685     Avg 3.8     Td 8  Lg 27
P 316     Yds  12530    Avg 39.7    Lg 70   Blk 1

NFL

Yates, Taylor Johnathan “TJ”

Card: Score 2011, Austin American Statesman Sports Page Clipping Dec 12, 2011.
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 4/23       Received:  5/25  (32 days)

As I was sitting at home and heard the name TJ Yates come off the draft board to the Texans in 2011, I glanced up for a second and thought, “Why did they drop a 5th rounder on him? He’s going to be a third stringer behind Schaub and Lienart.” Analysts loved or hated the pick, but one thing was for sure at the conclusion of the Texans 2011 season, I was sure glad to be wrong about TJ Yates in what has become to be the steal of the 5th round of the much ballyhooed 2011 class.

Well TJ was a pretty decently regarded quarterback at North Carolina, but you see we are talking about the Tar Heels- a college that has never had a quarterback from its school start a game at the NFL level, and is more regarded as a powerhouse in basketball than ever in football. Yates wasn’t even technically invited to the combine. They needed a local guy who could sling the rock to the talent at the combine. It was there that TJ raised some eyebrows, making every throw and strike after strike to receiver. This got him on the radar of many scouts, as while marquee quarterbacks such as Newton, Gabbert, and Andy Dalton, did not attend or were limited in their repetitions, Yates did everything they wanted and was on target with his audition at the combine.

Yates started off quietly enough after a prolific career at North Carolina, where at the time of his graduation he held the school records for single season passing yards, and most yards passing (career) with 9,337.   TJ clawed his way onto the Texans depth chart beating out Dan Orlovsky for 3rd string, but fate had something much more in mind for Yates and the Houston Texans in 2011.  The Texans clearly were the lead dog in the division after the sudden fall of the Manning-less Colts. Guided by a rebuilt defense and a strong offense, there appeared to be no stopping the Texans and their destiny as division champs, but then that’s when injury struck the team. With the Texans easily powering by the Buccaneers in week 11, quarterback Matt Schaub took a meaningless dive to get his team out of the shadow of his own endzone. Unfortunately for him, Albert Haynesworth ‘fell’ on his leg during the play causing Matt to be lost for the season with a Lins Franc injury. Matt Leinart stepped in, and played well in the first half of the next contest against the Jags, but he too would succumb to injury, so the Texans turned to young TJ Yates- their 3rd string quarterback to lead the charge for the remainder of the season.

He’d take the reins over for the team and lead the Texans into the postseason for the first time in the team’s 10 year existence, clenching the division in exciting fashion by driving the team down the field on the final drive against the Bengals to throw a last second strike to Kevin Walter, and then later help the team win its first playoff game against the Bengals again 31-10.  While the Texans did lose the next contest against the Ravens in Baltimore, all things considered, the Texans and Yates were able to make the best of the season. He’d finish with 949 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 61.4% completions, and an 80.4 quarterback rating in 2011.

Going into 2012 it appears that the Texans backup job is now comfortably in Yates hands, as the team opted not to resign Leinart or make any splashes in the free agent market. I saw Yates address on Sportscollectors.net and immediately wrote him a letter, including the newspaper clipping of him beating the Bengals during that exciting contest to clinch the division on December 11th, and a card. He signed both in a bit over 30 days, and thanked me for writing him on the clipping. Class act!

 

NFL, University of Texas

Young, Selvin

Card: SP 2008
Acquired:4/9/12, Target Authentic Memorabilia Autograph Edition

Selvin Young joins a string of recent UT starting backs, (dating back to Priest Holmes) who made it good in the NFL.  Selvin struck me as an under the radar player, and with his 5-11, 207 frame, he was slightly undersized to be an every down back. Deceptively speedy, he ran a 4.58 40, but could really cut on a dime and explode which was really his best attribute. As a backup to Cedric Benson his rookie season, he split time as the primary kick/punt returner for the Longhorns. Young started in the 2005 championship over the Trojans, and finished his career with 3,060 all purpose yards and 29 touchdowns at UT.

Selvin was not taken in the 2007 draft and elected to go with the Denver Broncos, – a team that employed a zone blocking system, and really appealed to his strengths as a one-cut runner. He’d work his way into the lineup spelling time for former Bill Travis Henry as well as a 3rd down back, finishing his rookie season with 729 yards and a 5.2 YPC in 8 starts. His numbers led all AFC rookies in rushing yardage. It was an incredible rise for the young rookie, but a herniated disc, (similar to what had troubled former Texan Steve Slaton,) and a torn groin muscle sidelined him for much of 2008. In 2009 it was determined that Selvin needed more time to rehab his neck injury, and with the Broncos now sporting a full stable of runningbacks, -Denver opted to give Selvin an injury settlement. He has not been signed since, but from what I saw on Twitter, he continues to work out and claims now to be 100% rehabilitated.

Great card actually. I really like the super close up on the threads, and overall its a superior effort by SP. I was really happy to get this card, as I had hoped that the UT Upper Deck set would have spotlighted Young, but in the end, it was the luck of the draw from the Target Memorabilia Collection that got me this one. The best part about it is I was just talking about him at the Orange-White Scrimmage!

G/Gs 23/13    Rush 201    Yds 1032    Td 2     Lg 50   |   Rec  38   Yds 247   Avg  6.5   Td 0

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