Tag Archives: ttm football autograph

Faulk, Marshall


Card: SP Game Used Authentics 2002
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home*
Sent:  1/5/2016     Received: 6/11/2016     (158 days)

Nobody told Marshall Faulk about running too much in college. The 2nd pick of the 1994 draft, averaged over 1500 yards each year he was at San Diego State from 1991 to 1993.  He also demonstrated a nice penchant for catching the ball out of the backfield, with 82 receptions. At runningback, the Colts had a platoon of Roosevelt Potts, Anthony Johnson, and Rodney Culver that just wasn’t working in Ted Marchibroda’s offense in 1993.  Faulk gave the Colts the needed flexibility at the time to do a lot of things with their offense, and he responded by being named offensive rookie of the year in 1994.  His rookie totals included 1282 yards on 314 carries, 11 of which went to paydirt. He also chipped in 52 receptions out of the backfield for 522 yards. Faulk would continue to be the bell cow runningback for the Colts through the 1998 season- fellow teammate Peyton Manning‘s rookie season.

At a bypass in 1999 and wanting a new contract the Colts were unwilling to pay, the St. Louis Rams under Dick Vermeil traded for Faulk the evening before the draft.  Faulk became the catalyst of the Rams Greatest Show on Turf offense. As the Rams felt around in the dark until they found Kurt Warner shortly afterwards, Faulk rushed for 1381 yards and 7 TDs to go along with 103 receptions for 1048 yards and 5 TDs- an NFL RB single season record. The Rams were able to capitalize off of their offensive bonanza and win the next two Superbowls. The wear and tear of the football rigors were catching up with Faulk. In 2004, he’d share the backfield with Steven Jackson, and 2005 was completely injury riddled.  Marshall spent the entire 2006 season on the shelf, and retired in the Spring of 2007.

Marshall left an indelible legacy on the league. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (2011). A member of the 10,000 yard club, at the time of his retirement Marshall led all runningbacks in career receptions yards and was second in career receptions.  He also is the only runningback to have over 70 TDs rushing and over 30 TDs receiving.

So I remember when the Colts drafted Faulk. I was like, “Oh no,” because I knew he was going to run all over the Oilers in the first game of that season.  And true to form his rookie year, he dominated the Oilers in a lopsided upset, running 23 times for 143 yards and 3 TDs in his rookie debut.

Faulk is a respected commentator on NFL Network. He also has a charitable foundation. I follow him on Twitter where one day he frustratingly Tweeted that all the autographs that people receive from him through his foundation are signed by him personally. He takes a plastic bin with him everywhere and tries to do his best to respond in a timely manner. With this information I scoured the internet and learned of the Marshall Faulk Foundation.  So the trick is, Marshall will sign whatever item you have provided you send a check/money order to the foundation for the total amount of the jersey pictured on the photo or card of him. So the above autograph for example, cost me $28.00.  He does not sign without a donation.

G/GS 176/156    RUSH 2836   YDS 12,280   AVG  4.3  TD 100   LG 71t  REC  767        YDS 6875       AVG 9.0       TD 36       LG 85T

Boselli, Tony

udmvp02 tboselliCards: Upper Deck 2002 MVP, Upper Deck Inaugural Houston Texans 2002
Acquired: 2012, C/o Home
Sent:   3/25/2012      Received: 7/28/16  (1586 days)

Wow. Tony Boselli really made me wait on this one, signing 2 cards in almost 1600 days.  You have to hand it to the mailman. Just as you think they are stealing your mail, you get a long shot wait like this one.

Tony Boselli was the anchor of the Jacksonville Jaguar franchise at left tackle. He was their first draft choice in 1995, and quickly established a reputation as one of the finest linemen in the NFL. A very popular player during his tenure in Jacksonville, he provided a much needed face and leader to the young franchise as it matured under Tom Coughlin’s watch. A 5 time Pro Bowler from 1996-2000, and 3 time All Pro from 1997-1999, Boselli was named to the 1990’s All Decade NFL Team. He’d sign a massive, new contract with the Jaguars, but by 2001 the injuries and weightlifting had caught up with him.  It was possible that Tony’s bad shoulder might end his career.

Facing salary cap hell, the Jaguars made Tony available for the Houston Texans Expansion Draft in 2002. The deal was, if the Texans took Boselli’s massive contract hit, they’d leave NT Seth Payne and DE Gary Walker on the table for the Texans to draft as well.  For the Texans, the risk was Boselli might never be able to return form and Houston  would have to absorb his salary cap hit.  It seemed that the benefits outweighed the risk, so the Texans selected Boselli first overall during the expansion draft. He’d be the first and only player in the history of the league selected first by two expansion franchises.  The Texans immediately trotted Tony out as an ambassador of the franchise. He’d appear in numerous photoshoots and in pads touting the young Texans franchise, but as time and seasons passed, it became more and more obvious that Boselli was not going to see the field again.

He’d retire from football in 2004 or 2005,  and sign a one day contract to retire as a Jaguar in 2006, and joined the Pride of the Jaguars Hall of Fame. While Tony has been nominated numerous times as a preliminary candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he never made it past the first round until 2016 where he made it to the final round.  Perhaps due to his injury history, short career, playing for a smaller market, and at a relatively unglamorous position, has kept Boselli out of the Hall at this point, but in the meantime that has not slowed him down any.

A humanitarian at heart, Tony has his own charitable organization, and gives back to the community primarily in the Jacksonville area. He coaches football and does color commentary as well and was a minority owner at one point of the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League.  A savvy businessman, he owns some local Whataburger franchises, and a marketing company.

G/GS   91/90

Phillips, Darrell

Card: ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent: 12/9   Received:  12/29   (20 days)

Darrell Phillips was a stud in the middle of LSU’s defense during his time playing for the Tigers during the mid-late 80s. In his Junior year, he had 100 tackles, 4 sacks, and 5 TFL. A versatile player, he also blocked 3 kicks on special teams and was named the team’s most valuable defensive player. In 1988 he was a First-Team All-SEC selection with 76 tackles and 3 sacks.

He wasn’t drafted but saw time in the camps of both the New Orleans Saints (1989) and British Columbia Lions (1990) before being selected in the first round of the WLAF positional draft by the Birmingham Fire in 1991. Phillips helped pace the stingy Birmingham Fire defense with 38 tackles and 2 sacks, which earned him second team All-World League Honors.  He returned to the team for the 1992 season and again notched another 2 sacks.

Darrell was one of the few members of the Birmingham Fire that escaped me when I was trying to get autographs back in 1992 during that humid night game against the Riders.  After some sleuthing, I was able to track him down on Facebook, where he was displaying his LSU pride.  He kindly responded to my message and agreed to sign this card for a few extras that he could keep.  Phillips has split his time between the US and Canada for the past few years.

His favorite memory from the league was: “Coach Chan Gailey and the defense. He was a great coach who treated you like a man and the players… all of them were a great inspiration one way or the other…”

WLAF     Tac N/a    Sac 4.0    Fum 0   Int 0   Yds 0   Avg -.-   TD 0   Lg -.-