CARDS: Upper Deck Legends 1997, Upper Deck College Legends 2011, Action Packed Whizzer White Award 1991 ACQUIRED: TTM 2019, C/o Home* SENT: 2/27 RECEIVED: 3/11 (12 days) *Fee Enclosed
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Rocky Bleier played RB at Notre Dame from 1965-’67.
Over his time playing for the Fightin’ Irish, he ran for 786 yards and 11 TDs in 29 contests.
In 1968 he was selected in the 16th round of the joint NFL/AFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He seldom saw the field his rookie campaign, but in his 6 carries had a 21 yard long, and in his 3 receptions had a 54 yard catch.
Drafted to serve in Vietnam late in ’68.
Rocky was badly injured in South Vietnam- shot in the thigh and grenade shrapnel almost took his right foot.
Spent all of the 1970 on IR was buried on the depth chart while returning to playing speed.
He played special teams and contributed any way he could, seeing action at FB for Franco Harris.
Although on and off the roster- Bleier kept at it, and eventually secured a starting spot in 1974.
Playing time increased and in 1976 he and Franco Harris became the second duo in NFL history to post over 1k rushing.
Rocky’s 1,036 yards rushing, and 294 yards receiving that year would be a career high.
Retired after the 1980 season as a 4x NFL Super Bowl Champion.
Played in 140 contests (starting 74) rushing for 3865 yards and 23 TDs.
Bleier has been quite active since retirement, writing numerous books, and has spent time on the radio as well helping people with financial management.
ACCOLADES:
Bronze Star (Army)
Purple Heart Recipient (Army)
International Sports Hall of Fame
Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor
George Halas Award 1975
Whizzer White Award 1975
Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame
NCAA Inspiration Award 2020
Rocky Bleier Stadium (Xavier, WI)
NOTES:
Rocky got lost in the returns, as I honestly kept misspelling his unique last name. He signs for just a nominal fee and is a voracious signer with a great autograph.
Cortez Hankton played WR at Texas Southern from 1999-’02.
At the time of his departure, Hankton was the all time leader in many categories for the Tigers, and finished with 3,400 career yards, 175 receptions and 30 TDs.
Undrafted he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003.
He managed to make the Jags roster, catching 17 passes for 166 yards his rookie season.
In 2004, Hankton only had 9 receptions, but scored his first and second professional TD.
After the 2006 season, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but didn’t make the squad.
Joined the Bucs in 2008- but was injured and spent the entire year on IR.
Released in 2009, Cortez joined the fledgling United Football League, signing with the New York Sentinels.
He’d catch 11 passes for 144 yards, as the Sentinels were euthanized after the season, in favor of Hartford.
Hankton played for the Florida Tuskers in 2010, where he started 6 games, and caught 23 passes for 283 yards and 2 TDs.
As the Tuskers then moved themselves- he’d join them in Virginia as the Destroyers in 2011, adding 12 catches for 151 yards to his resume.
Went straight into coaching after that and has travelled the college circuit, first at Dartmouth (2012-’14) and then later at Vanderbilt (2015-’17) as a WR coach.
In 2018, Cortez took his skills to Georgia as their WR Coach and then also as a Pass Game Coordinator.
He’d hop to LSU in 2022 where he shared the same duties from his time at Georgia.
Cortez in ’24 also picked up co-offensive coordinator duties as well.
ACCOLADES:
UFL Offensive MVP 2010
NOTES:
All of a sudden the guys who played in the UFL- no not the ’24+ iteration, but the ’09 version have started popping up. I got teammates Cortez Hankton and Brooks Bollinger back to back TTM. I have to thank my friend Lance who sent out to Cortez a few months ago and let me know that he was coaching with the Tigers.
It took me a hot minute to send out to him all I had of Cortez was an early beta version of my custom that was on some pretty weak paper, so I decided to go ahead and do it right and reprint it on some nice card stock. It’s a great looking card.
Well I tried to add Marquette on an extra base card, but he glanced at me- gave what I thought was a snooty look and trotted off. After the game, he b-lined for the locker room without signing for anyone.
It’s okay. I already had his certified card and this nice duo autograph of him and Brad Wing.
TRADE DETAILS:
Traded: 1/1 Alex Mollette BLACK Upper Deck 2024 UFL
Received: Sal Cannella, Marquette King, Mark Gilbert, and Jace Sternberger Upper Deck 2024 UFL autographs.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
