Tag Archives: new orleans saints

NFL

Mauck, Carl

Cards: Topps 1971, Topps 1980
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 9/7    Received: 9/13   (6 days)

In the Jurassic Era of AFL football, even before offensive linemen Mike Munchak and Bruce Matthews roamed the gridiron for the Houston Oilers, perhaps one of the most solid technicians to play OL for the team was Center Carl Mauck.  Originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts way back in 1969 in the 13th round of the NFL draft, Carl bounced around his first 3 years in the league. After only 4 games under his belt in 1969, Carl moved to the Dolphins for a season for another 3 games experience. It’d be in his time in San Diego in ’71 he’d finally position himself as an outstanding lineman, leading the Chargers from center for the next 4 seasons.

The Oilers signed him in 1975. With a new head coach in Bum Philips, the team was trying to change its losing ways and signing Mauck was a way of stopping the revolving door on the offensive line. The 6-4, 243lb, offensive lineman had 55 games under his belt, and immediately became a guiding force in young quarterback Dan Pastorini‘s football life. Mauck was also a road grader, providing great inline blocking for Earl Campbell. In 1978 the offense set an NFL record with the least sacks allowed on the season with 17. He’d also succeed in stabilizing the line woes starting 94 games over the next seven seasons, retiring after the ’81 season.

Carl went straight into coaching, following Bum to New Orleans. Considered a virtuoso at coaching offensive line blocking, Carl spent the 1982 through the 1985 seasons with the Saints, before coaching with the Chiefs, Buccaneers, Chargers, Cardinals, Bills, and Lions. In his first coaching stint with the Chargers, Carl was reunited with Bum Philips’ son, Wade, where the team appeared in Super Bowl XXIX following the 1994 season.  From 2006-2007 he coached tight ends at his Alma Mater, Southern Illinois. Carl is an active NFL alumni and frequently gives his feedback on the state of the NFL, players and coaches. He also appeared at Fan Fest II in Houston. Currently he lives outside of Dallas, Tx.

 

Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL, University of Texas

Williams, Ricky “Little Earl” (2)

Cards: Donruss Rookies & Stars 09, UT Upper Deck 2011 MM x2
Acquired: In person, Ricky Williams Tailgate 9/8/2012.
See Also: Ricky Williams, Ricky Williams (3), Ricky Williams (4)

Late in August, I got an email in the evening from the Ricky Williams Foundation.  When I opened it up I couldn’t believe my eyes. The Foundation was holding Ricky’s First Tailgating event, for only a small donation of $25.00. Included in the price was BBQ, beer, games, meeting Ricky, and getting a few autographs.  It was a no brainer for me, and I bought two tickets immediately, so that I could drag Josh along this time. We arrived a bit after twelve, and parking was a hassle because of the pregame stuff going on for New Mexico. After a lot of blind wandering, we located his event that was being treated very low key. The BBQ was great, and eventually we got Ricky’s autograph on a few items. I was really pleased to get him on these 3 cards this time.

Ricky was very friendly with fans and many of them he was happy to speak to or allow to pet his Heisman. He allowed everybody to take photos and grab autographs.  I got to share Ricky’s Heisman with him which is a bit unwieldy. I’d guess the trophy was about 20 pounds or so, and there was some nicks and tears to the foundation of the base. Still it was very kind of him to let me do it, since I have been getting into doing poses with players other than the normal conventional, ‘stand there and smile pose’. Overall I think it was a great PR move by him and his team, and since I had a great time volunteering at a Christian Okoye Foundation event, I volunteered to help Ricky Williams Foundation at other events, if they needed assistance.

A bit about these cards. I really like the treatment that the Rookies & Stars went through for 2009. It still remains one of my favorite modern day sets and this card is exceptional. I got an idea after witnessing a Texans fan at a Mario Williams signing last year toting around jersey card, that I should consider getting a few of them signed. The red cards, are jersey cards and they are absolutely beautiful with it placed right below the player’s image on the card. It’s a very well integrated design, even if they use the type font ‘Birth of a Hero’.

With the UT Upper Deck Monumental Moments cards, we have two cards that frame Williams’ contributions to the history of Texas football.  First
up is the card in which he broke Tony Dorsett’s career rushing record against A&M. It’s not a bad card at all.  The action is framed well and you get the point of the card in its summation of his achievement. The second card, which highlights his school record 350 yard stomping of Iowa State,(which broke the record previously held by Roosevelt Leaks) is an equally nice card with the same warts. It really showcases how hard Ricky as to take down as 4 defenders are frantically in frame trying to catch him. I did have to use the baby powder on both cards to remove the sheen, but it worked like a charm so there was no marker loss there.  I did not like how
they used the ‘fat T’ logo on the right hand side of the card. It feels too University of Tennessee. (Any well minded UT fan would’ve used the combined UT logo to differentiate from the Volunteers.) In the meantime, I had a great time and look forward to going to and or working other events and getting a few more cards signed by Ricky in the future.

NFL

Jeffires, Haywood (2)

Cards: SkyBox 1992, SkyBox 1992 Major Impact
Acquired: In Person, 6/10/12, 610 Houston Fan Fest III
Failure: TTM 2010
See Also:  Haywood Jeffires

Well another former Oiler that I was trying to get is off the list. Haywood Jeffires is known in autograph circles, at least TTM as a very difficult autograph to acquire.  On many websites that post autograph percentages through the mail, he rates at a fat 0%.  Unfortunately I sent off 5 cards to him in 2010- and never saw them again.  So when I got word that Ernest Givins and Haywood Jeffires were going to be at the same table for Fan Fest this year, I immediately penciled them near the top of my list to get.  I had many more that I intended to get autographed, but with a limit of one per person, I was fortunate to get two from him. To get the additional card signed, I cited his zero percent signing rate, to which he coyly admitted that he does not sign anything through the mail. Haywood looks almost the same as he did when he retired, and he still wears those turtlenecks, even if it is 90 degrees outside. I told him he was always my favorite player when he joined the team when I was a kid because we shared the same birthday. He tested me and asked the date which surprised him. In order not to scare him any further, I quickly thanked him for his time, shook his hand and was on my way,  pleased with my acquisition on these two very fine cards.