After I got Len’s autograph back in 2016, a lot of rumors started up that perhaps he was being ghost signed. I did pay a small fee for his autograph and got these back quite quickly. The biggest hang up that the TTM community had over his autograph was the fluidity of it, and how the ‘L’ and the ‘D’ were just too… loopy, almost feminine, and that they changed styles.
I could see their concerns, but regardless felt confident enough to get Len on these two set needs. My reasoning is that as people do get older their autographs do change, and that I’d seen a lot of these ‘loopy’ autographs be passed off as certified and also as authentic. I, myself was very happy to not only get these two back in a very short period of time, but also that he inscribed them with his HOF year.
EPITAPH:
8/24/22- Len Dawson was moved to hospice in the last few days, where he passed away at the age of 87.
Harold Jackson played college ball at Jackson State from 1964-68.
Not only was a prolific WR, but also a speedy track man, setting a record 9.3 second 100 yard dash at the school.
Led the SWAC in receiving in both 1965 (46 catches for 612 yards and 11 TDs), and in 1966 (56 catches for 878 yards and 8 TDs).
12th round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 1968.
After appearing in just 2 games his rookie season, was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Led the league in receiving yards in ’69 with 1,116.
In 1972, led the NFL in both catches (62) and yards (1,048).
Harold was traded back to the Rams in 1973 for Roman Gabriel.
On 40 catches, he had a league leading 13 TDs.
Was traded to the New England Patriots in 1978.
In 1979, posted 1,013 yards receiving and a career high 22.5 yards per reception.
Played briefly in 1982 for the Vikings, and rounded out career in ’83 with the Seahawks.
Suited up during the Players Strike in ’87 for the Patriots, but didn’t play.
Has a long and prolific coaching career at a variety of pro, semi-rpo and college levels, as a positional and head coach.
Among his pro stops were with the Patriots (85-89), New Orleans Night (1991), Bucs (1992-93), Saints (1997-99), Hartford Colonials (2011), and Sacramento Mountain Lions (2012).
In 2014, Harold served as head coach for his Alma Mater Jackson State from 2014-15.
ACCOLADES:
AP 1973
2nd Team AP 1972, ’77
Pro Bowl 1969, ’72-73, ’75, ’77
Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame
NOTES:
I’ve never had anyone personalize my cards in quotations- but okay.
Despite finishing near the top of the statistical receiving charts at the time of his career- spanning 3 eras from the 60s to the 80s, Harold has not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Whether it’s a combination of the infamous logger jam at receiver, or the fact his stats just don’t stand out as much because it was during the dead ball era, Harold is still waiting to hear his name called.
It’s interesting, cracking down on Harold’s stats, that he has such a high yards per reception (17.9 on 579 catches), but his longest catch is just 79 yards.
Great cards- Always love the Topps 71 set. It’s classy, and it’s grown on me over the years specifically. It’s still a casual collect for me, but among Topps sets it’s one of my favorites.
John Hadl was a local hero to Lawrenceville, Kansas, and he stayed close to home playing offense and defense for the Kansas Jayhawks from 1959-61.
He played multiple positions for the Jayhawks: HB, QB, P, and DB.
He set multiple records at the school and was elected as an NCAA All-American at both HB (’60) and QB (’61).
Hadl was selected by both the Lions of the NFL and the Chargers of the rival AFL in 1962.
John opted to play for the Chargers, and although he contributed to the franchise’s AFL Championship run, he was relegated primarily to splitting time or backing up Tobin Rote.
Took over the reins of the starting QB job in 1965 and led the AFL in passing yards (2798) and yards per attempt (8.0) while posting a 9-2 record.
In 1968, he led the league in a host of categories: Attempts (44), completions (208), yards (3473), TDs (27) and unfortunately interceptions- 32.
1971 saw another solid output for Hadl as he led the league in attempts (431), completions (233), yards (3075), and TDs (21).
After his swan song in 1972 when John led the NFL in interceptions (26) a second time, he’d be traded to the Rams in 1973.
Hadl had an outstanding season with the Rams leading the team to a 12-2 record as a starter, leading the team to the playoffs.
He threw 22 TDs on just 135 attempts, and his receivers went for 14.9 yards after the completion.
After 5 contests in 1974, Hadl was traded again- this time to the Packers.
The trade itself is considered one of the worst in NFL history, as the Pack gave up 5 picks to get him, including first and second round picks for the next two seasons.
Hadl struggled with the Packers mightily posting a 7-12 record over the next season and a half, throwing 15 TDs to 35 interceptions, while be sacked mercilessly 44 times.
In 1976 John joined the Houston Oilers, where he saw mop up duty behind starting QB Dan Pastorini.
Retiring after the 1977 season, John wanted to stay close to the sport.
He worked at his Alma Mater, Kansas from 1978-81 as a QB coach and as offensive coordinator, but was run out of town basically by the NCAA as they felt he was giving ‘improper benefits’ to potential recruits.
John then moved to the Rams in ’82 as an offensive assistant, before tutoring future NFL HOF QB John Elway in 1983 with the Broncos.
At his final stop he coached for the Express from 1984-85, posting a 13-23 record.
ACCOLADES:
College Football Hall of Fame
Pro Bowl 1972-73
All-Pro 1973
AFL All-Star 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969
Chargers Hall of Fame
NOTES:
I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to writing John’s bio, but it could’ve been for two reasons. First, John has a laundry list of accomplishments and accolades. One could even argue that he’s HOF worthy based on his AFL contributions. Second, it was rumored that in his final years, John was really struggling, and that perhaps his autograph was ghost signed. I did kick in 20 bucks to grease the wheels, so the hope is he actually signed these, but they look really.. fluid and not like a struggling octogenarian signed it.
John quickly became a set need based on a variety of factors that did come into play, but most importantly I loved his Topps and Upper Deck entries.
EPITAPH:
On November 30, 2022, John Hadl passed away at the age of 82. No cause of death was given.
ATT
CPD
YDS
PCT
TD
INT
RAT
4687
2363
33503
50.4
244
268
67.4
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
