Category Archives: NFL

NFL

Prentice, Travis “Touchdown Travis”

ud00spx prenticeCard: SP 2000
Acquired: 2013, Target Autographed Memorabilia

When the Miami (OH) Redhawks were really good, three names always come to mind on offense for the school over roughly the last 15 years: Ben Rothlisberger, Martin Nance, and Travis Prentice. Prentice was a touchdown machine, evidenced by a whopping 25 TDs his Sophomore season, 19 in his Junior season, and finally 17 as a Senior. At the time of his departure from Miami (OH) Travis was a multiple NCAA record holder, most notably with 78 career TDs, -shattering the record previously held by Ricky Williams. His career numbers included 5,596 yards on the ground and an amazing 862 carries without a fumble.

Travis didn’t turn in exactly Earth shattering combine numbers, and came in as the 9th rated back, but the perennially rebuilding Browns under Chris Palmer tabbed Prentice in the 3rd round of the 2000 draft. Behind Cleveland’s shoddy line, things were difficult for Travis. Expected to be the back of the future for the team, he played in all 16 games and rushed for 512 yards and 7 touchdowns- but only averaged 3.0 yards a carry.  The Browns finished at a dismal 3-13 and Palmer and his staff were dismissed. With a new coach in Butch Davis, Travis was cut and signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2001, adding 2 more touchdowns to his resume by the end of the season. Again on the street after the season, Travis signed with the expansion Houston Texans in 2002. Reunited with his head coach Chris Palmer, who was offensive coordinator for the team, Prentice lost out on final cuts to veteran James Allen and 3rd rounder Jonathan Wells. He’d sign with the Cardinals later and looked to make the roster, but at the last second the team signed NFL All-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith. Tired of the journeyman life and the NFL business approach Travis elected to retire. He doesn’t look back on his time in the league with any regrets, and currently works as a professional health and rehabilitation specialist. While many of TD Travis’ records are now being broken, one would suppose it is only a matter of time before he gets into the College Football Hall of Fame with his impressive numbers.

This is a pretty nice card. I was surprised to get not only an autograph, but a patch card to boot.  For a profile shot, it appears that there was some care or design taken in creating it. The 2000 ‘limited’ print run on this card only underlines the circulation problem in the industry.  Overprinting players that are not high in demand is an issue still even today for many of the card publishers and hurts the collectible side of the market. Still I was excited to add TD Travis to my collection. It is these guys who have a heavily accoladed, yet short and rich history that sometimes really catch my eye, almost like a musical one hit wonder.

G/Gs   30      Rush 187      Yds 525     Avg 2.8          Td   9        Lg 17      |
Rec   38        Yds 201    Avg  5.2     Td  1    Lg   13

NFL, University of Texas

Koy, Ted

utud11 ted koyCards: UT UD 2011, All Time Alumni, 69 National Champs
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 10/31       Received: 11/4       (4 days)

Ted Koy followed in the family footsteps after his brother Ernie and father Ernie Sr. who also played football at the University of Texas.  He was the captain of the Longhorns’ undefeated National Championship squad from 1969 and played alongside such players as James Street, Jim Bertelsen, Steve Worster, and Cotton Speyrer in Coach Darrell Royal‘s wishbone offense. Ted would plow ahead for 441 yards and 4 touchdowns that utud11 ted koy ATAyear and was one of the members of the backfield when the wishbone was introduced in 1968. Currently his 1,397 career rushing yards rank 28th all-time at Texas.

The Oakland Raiders drafted Ted with their second round pick in 1970 but he did not see the playing field. In 1971, Koy joined the Buffalo Bills where he saw action at the tight end position. He played for them over the next 3 additional seasons, recording 151 yards from scrimmage and 1 receiving touchdown.

Ted received his veterinarian medicine degree in 1980 from Texas A&M and runs an animal clinic in Georgetown, Texas. He and the other members of Texas’ 1969 National Championship team remain close to this day and many of them surprisingly reside in the Austin area.  Ted is as good a signer as his brother Ernie, and signed these 3 cards in 4 days as well.

NFL

Lewis, Albert

to86 a lewisCard: Topps 1987
Acquired: Canton Acquisition, 2012

Albert Lewis was part of a fearsome secondary and special teams for the Kansas City Chiefs. With breathtaking speed for his size, Lewis could have easily been an wide receiver with his far reaching talents. Paired with Kevin Ross, Lewis and him made an impressive duo that shut down opponents passing games and frustrated receivers week in and week out. Lewis’ physical play and speed allowed him to handle both man to man and zone coverages with ease.  Jerry Rice, arguably the greatest receiver of All-time called Lewis, his most difficult opponent.  Still the Hall of Fame eludes Albert, since it seems to view the work of the secondary with some disdain.

A 3rd round pick out of Grambling in 1983 by the Kansas City Chiefs, Albert spent 11 fine seasons as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. He started 128 games recording 4.5 sacks, 38 picks for 329 yards, 555 tackles, and 7 FF. Deciding to go younger at the position, Albert signed with the Raiders in 1994, starting an additional 61 games for LA/ Oakland retiring after the 1998 season.

G/Gs 225/189    Tac 797       Sac  12.5      Fum  13      Int  42     Yds 403    Avg 9.6      Td  1   Lg 74t