Tag Archives: ttm autograph

NFL

Merriman, Shawne ‘Lights Out’

Cards: Score 2009, Score 2010, SP 2011
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Work
Sent: 5/29 Received: 6/29     (31 days)

“Sometimes that flame burns bright. Sometimes it burns so fast and bright it inexplicably burns itself out.”

This makes me think of Shawne Merriman- a dominating force who wrecked havoc around the NFL for a short period of time.  Merriman was a first round selection (#12 overall) by the San Diego Chargers, who had gotten the pick as part of the Eli Manning trade, during the 2005 draft. Shawne was an interesting specimen. He clocked in at 6’4″, 272, with a 4.6 40, and an impressive 40 in vertical jump.  Shawne also had pretty solid stats while playing at Maryland, posting back to back 9 sack seasons, and 140 career tackles. The Chargers were going to use Shawne as a tweener both a linebacker and a defensive end.

Shawne did not get into the starting lineup until almost the mid point of his rookie year- but he made the best of it, blowing by defenders for 10 sacks, 43 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 5 pass deflections. For his efforts, he earned Defensive Rookie of the Year Honors in 2005, and captured his first Pro Bowl Honor. He returned in 2006 on a rampage, racking up 17 sacks, 48 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 8 pass deflections, and an interception. It goes without saying that Shawne was named to the Pro Bowl and earned All-Pro, playing all 3 positions in the Chargers linebacker front.  He did this only in 12 games, and was suspended for 4 contests due to a violation of the NFL’s drug policy. Merriman continued his banner play in 2007, earning a Pro Bowl Honor on the back of 12.5 sacks, a career high 54 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, and 4 pass deflections.

It all came apart in 2008. Shawne played the first game of the season on a pair of torn ligaments in his knee, ending his year. He came back for 2009, but nagging injuries kept him down to just 4 sacks and 26 tackles in 14 starts.  Things just kept breaking into 2010, with IR his final destination after 3 games and just 1 start. He’d be released by the Chargers after the season, but not before being named to the Chargers 50th Anniversary Team.

Shawne soon found himself on and off the roster of the Bills. Again persistent injuries played a huge part in the end of his season, and his career in 2013. He’d register 2 sacks, 19 tackles, and 1 pass deflection in 6 starts for the Bills- over two seasons.  He’d retire at the grand ‘old’ age of 28.

Shawne lives in the Los Angeles area. He’s gotten into different types of adrenaline sports- NASCAR, WWE, martial arts, and has made cameos on TV shows. He also has a foundation and a clothing line named after his moniker ‘Lights Out’.

G/GSTACSACFUMINTYDSAVGTDLG
75/5919645.5811010.0010
NFL

Talley, Darryl ‘Spider-Man’

Cards: Action Packed 1991, SkyBox Colors 1993/94, ProSet 1991
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent: 12/6/16 Received: 7/30/18    (599 days)

A second round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1983, Darryl Talley never missed a game in 12 seasons for the Bills. The unusually injury immune linebacker was also a model of consistent play over his long career- that spanned in the end, 14 seasons and 4 Super Bowl appearances. Talley is the Bills’ all-time leading tackler with 1,137 takedowns, to go along with  38.5 sacks, 14 fumble recoveries, 12 interceptions and 2 touchdowns.  After the 1994 season, Talley hit the open market and signed with the Falcons, playing 1995 with them and 1996 with the Vikings before retiring.  He was inducted into the Bills Wall of Fame in 2003, and named to the Bills 50th Anniversary team in 2009.

Darryl has battled severe depression and financial hardship since his retirement, however he’s worked hard to conquer his demons, partially in part due to his wife and children. As of 2018 he acts as a football ambassador for the NFL Legends community of players. The goal is to reach out and help as many former players and let them know of the different programs that are available to them from the league. Here’s hoping things continue on the up and up for Spider-Man.

Darryl Talley had some fantastic cards over his years in the league. I was pleased to add these 3 interesting designs and/or dynamic photos to the Encyclopedia. His Action Packed 1991 card embodies everything I want to see in an exciting solo shot of a linebacker, with Talley in full pursuit about to pop a ball carrier. The card itself on the front is minimally designed, and this appeals to me, and Darryl inked this card in the right spot to accent it perfectly. – High marks indeed. Skybox had a smart debut with their base set in 1992. Their subsequent releases, not-so-much. It didn’t help that they along with their counterparts flooded the market with so much content it was impossible to stay loyal to any card company and follow a release schedule. Mind you this was the high days of adventure before the internet!

The ‘Colors’ 1993-1994 Skybox set was a really slick look but by the time this set came out, I had already had my bank account plundered regularly by the discovery of girls. Both this card and the ProSet 1991 showcase Darryl’s nice arm sleeves, that intentionally were in a webbed pattern to harken to his nickname- Spider-Man.

ProSet set the standard from 89 to 92 really. (Nobody talks about ProSet 93.) That was also their problem. I felt the cards were the minimum I’d expect from a company to show me, even though what ProSet showcased with the minimal design was really outstanding for its era before Photoshop. Great photo of Darryl. It is too bad that ProSet ate itself out of the market. I wonder what their brand would look like today if it still existed.  Overall though Darryl signed 3 of 4 cards, and has a great signature. I think I sent him a donation but honestly it was so long ago I can not recall.

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216/187119038.5141218915.7261T
NFL

Case, Scott

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, Action Packed 1990, Action Packed 1991
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 7/9    Received:  7/19      (10 days)

Scott case played JC ball at tiny NE Oklahoma A&M in Miami, OK before catching on with the Sooners. He played for the Norsemen from 1980 to 1981 earning JC All-American Honors (’81). He joined Oklahoma in 1982. There he quickly cemented himself as the starting cornerback and had 2 interceptions that year. In 1983, Scott jumped to Free Safety and tied a school record with 8 interceptions that year. He’d be drafted in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.

A headhunter in the secondary at corner, Case developed a reputation as a reckless ballhawk, and an aggressive enforcer at the line of scrimmage. In 1988, he had a career high 10 interceptions, earning him his only Pro Bowl berth. 

With the arrival of Jerry Glanville in 1990, Case moved to free safety and saw his tackle numbers explode and in both 1990 and 1991 he posted 160+ tackles on the season, and 100+ tackles through 1993. While there were some spectacular names that came and went through the secondary, Case’s consistent presence allowed him to move up the career stat charts to finish second in tackles (946) and fourth in interceptions (30).

After 11 seasons with the Falcons, Scott joined the Cowboys in 1995 where he played one final season under his college coach from Oklahoma, Barry Switzer. Case at long last earned his due and won Super Bowl XXX, retiring after the season.

As of 2018, Scott lives in Georgia and owns a construction company. He is very good to the TTM community and signed these 4 cards for me in no time flat. 

Scott’s first cards appeared during the big boom of collecting during the late 80s. (After his 10 interception season, nobody could really ignore him anymore.) All the major brands (Topps, Score, and ProSet) put out cards of Scott in his glory. Thankfully the Falcons hadn’t made the jump to black yet, and there were a few cards that existed of him in the old school red uniform. Sifting through the piles of cards that I had available, I came across these 4 that really stood out to me. My favorite is either the Action Packed 1990 card or his ProSet 1989 card, as their photos stood out a bit more than the others. Scott has a nice autograph, and it is complimented well by his choice of marker and strength of signature.

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178/1249607.57302678.9147