Category Archives: College Football HoF

College Football HoF, NFL

Brodie, John

Card: Topps 1970
Acquired: In Person 1993, CGA Youth Golf Tournament

I met John Brodie on the course early in the day on the golf tournament circuit with Steve Spurrier and Dick Anderson. He loved the drawing I did of him and he laughed because I didn’t have one of the old ball coach. Off hand I have 5 or 6 cards autographed out of this beautiful and classy set, perfect for autographing.

John Brodie was the strong armed quarterback who was the heir apparent to Y.A. Tittle in San Fransisco. One of the many overlooked legendary quarterbacks who came through the 49er organization before Montana and Young, Brodie was a passing machine throughout the 1960s and was the NFL MVP in 1970. A two time AP in 1965 and 1970, he’d retire in 1973 ranked 3rd all time in passing yardage. Brodie was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and his number retired by the 49ers, but at this time has not been enshrined into the NFL HoF. An avid golfer, he frequently is in the running on the Champions Tour.

G/Gs 259/201    Att 4491    Comp 2469   Yds 31548    Pct 55%     Td 214    Int 224    Rat 72.3

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Marino, Dan

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, Score 1990, SkyBox 1992
Acquired: In Person 1993, CGA Youth Golf Tournament

The crown gem of my celebrity golf tournament autograph requests, I’ve been dreading doing the bio for Dan Marino as he has so many accolades, it’s easy to miss some of them and his write up would be huge.

Well Dan Marino was quite nice at the tournament. He literally got swarmed and I dived into the fold. When he realized he was being surrounded he asked us to all line up in an orderly line and he’d sign a limit of 3 cards a piece for us. (The SkyBox and the Score cards are two of my favorite cards, while the Action Packed was just part of a set that I swore to complete and know I never will.) Anyway, I know now that Marino gets so overwhelmed with requests TTM it’s basically a waste of time now- and any sender gets their cards returned with a thanks but sorry letter, so I consider myself quite lucky in that regard to not only have 1 but 3 autographs from him.

Dan Marino went to the University of Pittsburgh, where he virtually shattered all the college quarterback records while leading them to some of their most memorable seasons ever but was unable to ever win the Heisman. Marino would be a part of the historic 1983 draft, that would include such notables as John Elway, Ken O’ Brien and Jim Kelly with so far 6 Hall of Famers have come out of this draft. His stock would plummet before the draft, and Dan would be passed up in favor for such notables as Todd Blackledge and Tony Eason. At #27 Dan Marino would drop out of the sky and into the Dolphins lap. Don Shula‘s Dolphins were at that time still a traditionally strong running team, but Marino’s imprint on the franchise would be so indelible, that the team would quickly become one of the most prolific air attacks in the league over the next 15 seasons. Dan Marino encompasses the definition of a traditional drop back passer. With a powerful arm, lightning quick release, great pocket awareness, and an intelligent understanding of the intricacies of the game, Marino would be named to the ProBowl and AP 9 times while making the playoffs 10 times out of 17 seasons. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, he held virtually every passing record when he retired, being the first player to throw for over 5000 yards in a season. In 2003 he was inducted into the college football hall of fame, had his number retired and has a statue also bearing his likeness outside of the Dolphins’ stadium. Dan has gone into broadcasting, been involved in charitable work, and has had lucrative endorsement spokesperson for Weight Watchers, Isotoner gloves, and Papa John’s Pizza.

G/Gs  242/240   Att 8358    Comp 4967   Yds 61361   Pct 59.4    Td 420   Int 252  Rat 86.4

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL

Brown, Tim


Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1991, Score 1989
Acquired: In Person, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 1990, 1992

In the history books of modern American Football, Tim Brown stands near the top of the elite wide receivers. The 1987 Heisman winner from the golden domes of Notre Dame (and the first wide receiver to win the honor), Brown was drafted  in the first round of the 1988 draft with the 6th pick overall by the then Los Angeles Raiders. An impressive physical specimen with a total package, of speed, quickness, hands, consistency, and durability, Brown in his first season in the NFL lead the NFL in a variety of kick and punt return categories while racking up over 700 yards receiving. When all was said and done and the dust cleared Brown would own many Raider records, including most games played (224), receptions, yards, and punt return yards.  In his rookie season  Brown would lead the NFL with 1542 punt and kick return yards, and in 1997 would lead the NFL with 104 receptions. He’d also be named to the Pro Bowl 9 times, and the NFL All 90’s team. Tim Brown was not a noisy playmaker, but he quietly amassed incredible numbers that at the time of his retirement left him tied for 3rd all time in receiving touchdowns,  second in yardage, third in receptions and fifth in yards from scrimmage.  He also had incredible streaks that underlined his longevity. An NFL record 10 seasons with 75 or more catches and consecutive starts at wide receiver at 176.

Brown may have even left a bigger mark on the record books if in his final 3 seasons he wasn’t slowly phased out of the offense by owner Al Davis and former coach Norv Turner. In his final season the team asked him to take an even more reduced role to which Tim balked and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a season. To say that owner Al Davis and Tim Brown had a difficult relationship (at least from the outside world) would be  considered a conservative estimate as Brown had no problem expressing his dismay for his treatment at the hands of his owner, but regardless of their feud and problems, after his final season in 2005, Tim signed a one day contract with the Oakland Raiders and retired.

Since football Tim has  been involved with NASCAR, on the FSN Network and was inducted into the College Football HoF in 2009. It was widely hoped that in 2010 he’d also make it into the NFL HoF in his first year of eligibilty, but he was passed by while the #1 receiver of all time Jerry Rice was enshrined. He made the first cut of the current list and hopes to make it to the HoF in 2011.

Josh and I had a certain respect for Tim Brown, who was a Dallas native. Josh had always hoped that Brown would hop ship from the Raiders to the Cowboys and I always would destroy Josh throwing to Tim Brown on Tecmo Super Bowl.

G/Gs  255/202   Rec 1094     Yds 14934     Avg 13.7    Td 100     Lg 80T
Kr 49     Yds 1235     Avg 25.2      Td 1    Lg  97   |
Pr 326   Yds 3230    Avg  10.2     Td  3   Lg 88