Tag Archives: ttm autograph

CFL

Elgaard, Ray

Card:  All World 1991
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent:  3/17  Received: 3/21  (7 days)

After playing at Utah on scholarship as a tight end, Ray Elgaard returned to Canada to play for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. A second round pick in the 1983 draft, Elgaard was 6’3″, 220, which made him a mismatch for many of the defensive backs that were currently playing in the league. He not only had soft hands and the speed to play slotback in the league, Ray also could just bowl over defenders en route to the endzone.

He’d have a pretty soft rookie season, but after that, the rest is stuff made of legend, as he recorded 8 1,000+ yard seasons over a 14 season stand with the Roughriders. His best season came in 1990, when he recorded 94 receptions for 1,494 yards and 11 TDs. He’d also pull down 11 TD receptions in both 1991 and 1992.  Ray retired after the 1996 season.

Over his career Elgaard was named an All-Canadian 3 times, and the Outstanding Canadian in the CFL in 1988, 1992, and 1993. At the time of his retirement, Ray was the career league leader in receptions and yards. He was inducted into the Saskatchewan Roughriders Plaza of Honor and into the CFL HoF in 2002.  Elgaard also was named one of the CFL’s top 50 Players in 2006.

Retired, Ray lives in Las Vegas and works for a brokerage firm.

All-World 1991 was quite an ugly card set. They looked like they were trying to spoof the ProSet 1989 set hard. They just put diagonal pinstriping on the cards. Yes, the red was hard to read on the blue cards, and the CFL logo was easier to read than the team logos that just looked sort of stuck on there after the fact. It also didn’t help that the photos were not always action shots, which left a curious speculative collector such as myself really confused.

REC 830        YDS 13,198       AVG 15.9        TD 78          TD 81

NFL, University of Texas

Akins, Marty

Cards: University of Texas Upper Deck 2011, UT UD 2011 ATA, UT UD 2011 NC
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 5/5  Received: 5/12   (7 days)

Marty Akins played for the Texas Longhorns from 1972 to 1975 and is considered legendary coach Darrell Royal’s favorite quarterback. Oddly the Longhorns starting quarterback first got noticed as a dangerous kick and punt returner during the 1973 Cotton Bowl. He became the starting quarterback for the Longhorns in the 1973 season and led the school to Conference Championships in both 1973 and 1975.

At the time of his departure from the school, Marty earned numerous school records and finished with a 27-9 record. Among his QB records were the school career rushing record (2020 yards),  career rushing TDs (26), and the single game rushing yard record (188), which all stood until the Vince Young era. Marty capped his 1975 by earning NCAA All-American Honors, and numerous SWC and National honors. The Wishbone never caught on at the pro level, so the NFL was at a loss as what position a gifted athlete like Marty should play.

He’d be selected in the 11th round of the 1976 Draft by the then St. Louis Cardinals. Although a featured member of the scout team who could play a variety of positions in a pinch, he saw no significant playtime during his stint in the league.  Later in 1977 he’d be traded to the New Orleans Saints, but retired before the regular season began.

In 1995, Akins was inducted into the Longhorn Honor Roll, and has received many other post retirement honors for his time at Texas. He went into law, coached golf at the college level, and as of 2017 lives in the Austin, Tx area.

Wow. Great find in Marty here. With 3 superior action shots of him here, this is a great example of a canvas made better by an exquisite autograph. Marty has solid curvature to his signature, with all the loops and hooks at the right place. He wrote me a warm return letter and included a copy of a nice note that Darrell Royal sent Marty, telling him that Marty was the best quarterback he ever coached.

NFL

Dryer, Fred ‘Hunter’


Cards: Topps 1971, Topps 1976
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Work

I think the first time I saw Fred Dryer was during the mid-80s. It was premiere week and NBC was eager to find a competing product to Magnum PI. They cast Fred Dryer as the lead in the TV show Hunter and the rest was history.  As a kid I never really knew about Fred nor was I observant enough to know that he was a former football player, but when I became aware of football and the LA Rams were fast becoming my favorite NFC team, I knew eventually I wanted to get Fred’s autograph.

A first round pick of the New York Giants in 1969 Fred wrecked opposing offensive lines from the start of his career recording 8.5 sacks in his first year from his defensive end position.  Considered a wild man by teammates, Fred lived out of a van and grew out his hair and beard. He even offered to set his hair on fire whenever he scored another TD later in his career.  In 1970, he had 12 sacks and 69 tackles earning his first Pro Bowl honors. After recording 8.5 sacks in 1971, Fred was traded to the New England Patriots for a bevvy of picks. Refusing to report, the Patriots were left with no choice but to deal Fred to the Los Angeles Rams.

During his 1972 season, the Rams used Fred as one of the first situational pass rushers. He’d put up 4.5 sacks. LA started him full time at defensive end the following year and he made history sacking Green Bay quarterback Scott Hunter twice in a game for a safety.  Fred finished with 10 sacks in 1973.  His best season as a pro came in 1975 when he earned another Pro Bowl honor, with 61 tackles, 12 sacks and a 20 yard interception for a TD against the Eagles.

Fred helped the Rams make Super Bowl XIV in 1979. During the season he had a 5 sack game against his former team the Giants, en route to a 10 sack season.  He retired after the 1981 season.  A well decorated member of the NFL, it’s disappointing that Fred has not received a call to the HoF, however during the period he played, sacks and tackles were not an official statistic.

Fred has been a pretty busy TV and film actor since retirement. Before the TV show Hunter made him a star, he was also considered for the TV show Cheers to play the main role of Sam Malone.  In the past few years he’s seen a renaissance of sorts cast in a variety of diverse roles, including a brief appearance on Agents of Shield as Octavian Bloom- a HYDRA leader.

G/GS 176/165     TAC  N/A      SAC  104.0    FUM 20
INT  1     YDS 20      AVG 20.0    TD 1     LG 20T