CARD: Upper Deck Legends 1997
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2021
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
NOTES:
Bartkowski is sort of hit or miss TTM wise so I figured I might as well nab his certified autograph via EBay while I could cheaply, before the market blew up.
Card: Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 7/3 Received: 7/11 (8 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
NOTES:
I had been after Eric Jones forever and a day on this card, but due to the commonality of his name, I was unable to locate him. I had done some research that led me down a rabbit hole that he was working for a medical device manufacturer, but the trail went cold- so I gave up. Thankfully Mark, of Mark’s Signing Bonus came to the rescue. He shot me a line and I was able to get Eric on this card. He also included a nice note thanking me for being a fan. Unfortunately, I do not believe that Mark ever got his autograph back from Eric… And since that point the address has grown cold.
Skybox Impact 1992, #232 Action Packed Rookies & Stars 1992, #72
CARDS: Action Packed Rookies & Stars 1992, Skybox 1992
ACQUIRED: In Person, 2022
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
NOTES:
It’s been a long 30 years plus since I got Troy Aikman on a card so to get him on not one- but two cards, left me quite elated. I had seen that he was in town promoting his new beer line, Eight, and was kicking myself that I missed out on a previous event that he was involved in. Serendipitous timing led Aikman back to the area again, and I pounced when I saw that he was appearing literally 5-10 miles from my house at a local strip of bars.
It was a great event, as I caught up with my cohorts Jeff and Mark. I hadn’t seen Jeff since before the pandemic, and this was his first in person event since then. We sat around and tried out Eight beer. It was actually pretty good!
Soon thereafter Troy appeared behind the bar and began tossing out beers and handing out pints. I narrowly missed catching one of them, and then he started signing memorabilia in earnest. After I pushed Jeff into the crowd, he signed a mini for Jeff and then my Action Packed card- a dire set need. We bit our nails until Mark got his- the very last person on the first bar he visited.
We decided to take a shot at the second bar for another autograph. and after the same set up, came away with the same results. I was scratching my head between 3 different cards, but in the end decided to go with the Impact card. As he was signing the card, he smiled and stared directly into my eyes. I took it as quite genuine, but also as a warning to not try to press for three.