Tag Archives: ttm football autograph

Driver, Donald

CARDS: Score 2009, Panini Prestige 2010
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, C/o Home
SENT: 12/22 RECEIVED: 1/23 (32 days)*
FAILURE: TTM 2015, C/o The Packers
* Fee Enclosed

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Donald Driver played WR at Alcorn State catching  88 receptions for 1993 yards over his college career.
  • Late 7th round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 1999 NFL Draft.
  • Stuck behind Antonio Freeman and Corey Bradford early in his career, but with Bradford’s departure to Houston in 2002, things quickly changed.
  • He’d start all 16 games in 2002, and go over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career on 70 catches.
  • After a down year in 2003, Driver went on a very improbable run, going over 1.2K yards the next 3 seasons, and over 1K yards the following 3 seasons after that.
  • In 2009, Donald became the Packers all-time leading receiver, finishing eventually with 743 catches when he retired following the 2012 season.

ACCOLADES:

  • Pro Bowl 2002, 2006-08, 2010.
  • Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame

NOTES:

I really wanted Donald’s autograph, but after missing out on him back in 2015, I didn’t really expect to get another shot, so I never reloaded. When he started signing, about the same time of year as he did back in 2015, I just grabbed what I could and sent it out as soon as I could with a small donation to grease the wheels.

RECYDSAVGTDLG
7431013713.66185t

Grogan, Steve (2)

Cards: Upper Deck Legends 1997, Action Packed 1990
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 2/2 Received: 3/5 (31 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

A venerable signer TTM, Steve Grogan wraps up his collection for me by signing these two set needs for me. I never saw his Action Packed in the wild so when I bought a box of the set before the market blew up, I was very inspired by his entry- even though it’s of him handing the ball off. The Upper Deck Legends, well, I didn’t see why I should spend a dime on a certified autograph from him when I could get it TTM for free. This too is a great looking card. Too bad it doesn’t feature the signature ‘Grogan Lob’ from Tecmo Super Bowl.

Beban, Gary ‘The Great One’

CARDS: Upper Deck College Legends 2011, Upper Deck College Legends 2011 Bowl Game Heroes
ACQUIRED: TTM 2023, C/o Home
SENT: 1/11 RECEIVED: 1/28 (17 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Played Quarterback for UCLA from 1965-1967
  • Threw for 4087 yards and 23 TDs (23 INT) on 465 attempts (243 completions) over college career.
  • Was a dual rushing threat, running for 1271 career yards and 35 TDs on 462 carries.
  • Rushed for a career high 590 yards and 14 TDs, while passing for 1483 yards and 9 TDs in 1965.
  • Threw for 8 TDs and 1359 yards, for a career high 55.8 completion percentage (87/156), while rushing for 227 yards and 11 TDs in 1967.
  • Selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft, but would be traded to the Washington Redskins after the team couldn’t agree on contract terms with Beban.
  • Sat on the bench behind Sonny Jurgensen and was released in 1970.
  • Signed with the Broncos, but was cut in camp and retired soon afterwards.

ACCOLADES:

  • Heisman Trophy Winner 1967
  • UCLA Bruins Jersey Number Retired (#16)
  • Unanimous All-American 1967
  • Rose Bowl HoF
  • UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame
  • College Football Hall of Fame

NOTES:

Gary is a legend at UCLA, but over the years, he’s signed less and less due to the resell market that exists pervasively on EBay and in other places. (In fact, he’s gone so far as to discourage people from writing him due to this problem.) These cards were awesome, and I have always liked this set to some degree, so I took a shot in the dark at him. There had been very little TTM activity on him over the last few years so, I thought no risk, no reward right? I was so happy to get these two cards back from him emblazoned with a Heisman inscription.

I’ve started getting a little too conservative with my send outs, trying to up my successes and success percentage, and I realize I’ve grown a bit bored because of it. Beban is one of those players, I should’ve written sooner and you just don’t find in every fan’s collection.