Tag Archives: ttm football autograph

NFL, XFL

Potts, Roosevelt

Cards: Topps XFL 2001, Classic 1993, ProSet 1993, GameDay 1993
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home (x2)
Sent: 2/27 Received: 3/28 (31 days)
Sent: 4/18 Received: 4/27 (9 days)

Bruising fullback Roosevelt Potts reminded many of Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward coming out of college from NE Louisiana. A tireless runner with a low center of gravity, Potts had 558 carries for 3,061 yards and 17 TDs- finishing as the school’s all-time leading rusher, and earned the Southland Conference Player of the Year Honors in 1992 when he ran for 1,266 yards.

Potts was selected in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He’d finish his rookie year with 900 yards from scrimmage- 771 on the ground on 179 carries used primarily as a RB his rookie year. With the arrival of Marshall Faulk in 1994, Potts switched primarily to a blocking role. He scored his lone rushing TD of his career in 1994, posting 336 yards on 77 carries and catching 26 passes for 251 yards. After a 1995 with relatively the same results- Potts was a restricted free agent with a few caveats. First he had to have reconstructive knee surgery, and second, he had been found in violation of the league’s drug policy. It was his 3rd strike and he had to serve a mandatory season long suspension covering all of 1996.

Roosevelt returned to the Colts in 1997, but for the most part that season was a wash too. He played 2 games for the Colts, and 6 games for the Dolphins. He took his skills to Baltimore in 1998 where he served another 16 game stint at fullback, rushing 36 times for 115 yards, and catching a career high 30 passes. A sneaky backfield option with a downfield bulldozing motor- Potts caught 4 TDs in his career on 106 receptions.

But wait- Potts story doesn’t just end there! He joined the XFL in 2001 playing for the Memphis Maniax after a 2 year layoff. Still displaying his hard nosed and devastating blocking up front, Potts played in 4 games catching a pass for 5 yards.

He signed this Topps XFL card for me very quickly- but included a nice note indicating that he had accidentally sent my other cards to somebody else, and if I wanted to send more- he’d be happy to sign. Eager to take him up on his offer I dropped another Gameday 93 and Classic 93 into the envelope along with this ProSet 93. He signed in no time flat and kindly answered my questions telling me that he loved watching the Alliance and will watch the new XFL when it comes out. What a guy! I feel like I could sit down with Potts, have drinks and talk Spring football with this guy all day.

Potts is an Honorary Horseshoe Legend for the Colts, and was named into the ULM 2016 HoF class.

NFL G/GSRUSHYDSAVGTDLG
71/6135914754.1152
RECYDSAVGTDLG
1068638.1452
XFL GRECYDSAVGTDLG
4155.005
NFL

Hoge, Merril

Cards: Score 1989, Score 1990, Action Packed 1991, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 10/20   Received: 10/27      (7 days)
Failure: 2011, C/o Home

Merril Hoge. Few players angered me more than Merril Hoge during the Red Gun/ Run ‘N Shoot era of the Houston Oilers. I considered him an ‘arch’ and he loved saying nasty things about the upstart Oilers, who by 1987 had started becoming bullies in the AFC Central under head coach Jerry Glanville. The Steelers had finally gone into a deep depression, and the Oilers were eager to take the stick to their rivals. Nobody expected much of the Steelers in 1989 as they had just come off of a 5-11 record from the previous year. Despite this they rallied down the stretch and put together a 9-7 record. The Oilers had thumped the Steelers twice during the regular season, but they’d be denied in the playoffs losing 26-23, causing Jerry to lose his job. I want to even say that Hoge said something to the media nasty about the Oilers, and it just stuck with me all those years.

I remember opening up my first packs of cards, and in a lot of cases, there was a Merril Hoge card to twist the knife just a little more. Even when I played Tecmo Super Bowl, I was reticent to use Merril because of the fact that he epitomized that Steelers working man mantra and the upset that made me so sore. Then after his playing days concluded, he became a commentator, and the Oilers left Houston even- I still got a furrowed brow when he’d come on ESPN. 


Dependable fullback Merril Hoge played for the Idaho State Bengals (a fact often repeated by national commentators almost every time he touched the ball) from 1983 to 1986. He finished his 4 years there with almost 5500 all-purpose yards, but more importantly the Big Sky Conference despite its trappings, prepared him for the rigors of pro level offenses.

After being selected in the 10th round of the 1987 draft, Merril played 7 seasons for the Steelers at fullback.  A versatile player out of the backfield, Merril was an excellent receiver and blocker who was rarely missed an assignment.  He had a career high 772 yards rushing in 1990, and a career high 487 yards receiving in 1988.

In 1994, Merril signed with the Chicago Bears, but suffered a terrible neck injury ending his career. Merril is also a cancer survivor beating non-hodskin’s lymphoma. 

Merril had a great selection of cards, so it was tough to even settle on just these 4. His Score 1990 is one of my favorite, and was from a rain soaked affair versus the Miami Dolphins that year. (Sammie Smith has a corresponding card from that game, and Mike Mularkey has been immortalized in a sports photo from that game that ProSet did.)  His Action Packed 1991 card does everything right in this one, and the determination on Merril’s face really makes you feel as though you are a part of the action.

G/GSRUSHYDSAVGTDLG
114/8482531393.82141
RECYDSAVGTDLG
25421338.41340
University of Texas

Stafford, Bret

Cards: UT Upper Deck 2011, UT Upper Deck 2011 All Time Alumni
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 9/17   Received: 9/27    (10 days)

Bret Stafford was a prototypical drop back passer and one of the first modern era quarterbacks to stand tall in the pocket for the University of Texas, from 1984-1987. He set the school record for most passing yards in a season (2223, 1986), and also career passing yards (4731)- both since surpassed.

Frequently engaged in a quarterback competition or sharing a two-headed quarterback rotation with Todd Dodge for the majority of his time at Texas, Stafford’s numbers were largely skewed by his lack of playing time and having a different offensive coordinator every year. He also transitioned through the Fred Akers era into the David McWilliams epoch.

Although largely forgotten in the pantheon of Longhorn greats, Stafford was a winner with the Longhorns posting 19 victories as the starting quarterback including a 32-27 win over Pitt in the final Bluebonnet Bowl in 1987, when he threw for over 360 yards and 3 TDs.  

Stafford was probably the first quarterback I watched play for UT. I had a middling interest in the sport at the time, and I remember reading about the highlights of the Bluebonnet Bowl and being very proud of him going out like that in his final game.

I liked both his Upper Deck entries, but I wasn’t really a fan of the sepia toned All-Time Alumni card- considering how much color photography was used by then in sports.

As I have continued to mature in the hobby, I’ve become stale. I take less and less risks when I send out to addresses. I just haven’t been sending out to unproven addresses. Stafford had no successes on any of the autograph boards I frequent, but he had no attempts, little less an address to send of to, so I figured I’d give it a shot.  It didn’t take Bret long to respond to me- and I was pretty excited about receiving these two back.