Category Archives: University of Texas

NFL, University of Texas

McCoy, Colt (2)

utud11 mccoy mmCards: UT Upper Deck 2011 Memorable Moments, Panini Absolute 2011,  Playoff Prestige 2012
Acquired: IP 4/17/2015, Sam’s Wholesale Lakeline Grand Opening
See Also: Colt McCoy

I had long debated going to the second day of the Sam’s Wholesale Grand Opening, but with a perfect storm of days I had to take off anyway, it made sense that I go ahead and dive in for the former Longhorn signal caller. I had 5 or 6 cards of him, but outside of the Longhorns card here, I really wasn’t that jazzed about anything I had. Thankfully Spoodog offered me a fairly nice Playoff 2012 to get autographed.

pres11 mccoyColt’s career has been… bumpy… since getting traded from the Browns in 2013 to the San Fransisco 49ers for low end picks. He didn’t look all that spectacular in the preseason, but still managed to do mop up duty in 4 games behind Colin Kapernick. After the season Colt signed with the Washington Redskins. The collective brains of the NFL yawned at the signing. (I myself had hoped he’d be brought in by the Texans.) Most pundits had written McCoy off and now going up against RGIII and Kirk Cousins, Colt managed to claw his way onto the roster and patiently bide his time as the best 3rd string quarterback in the NFL. McCoy eventually got his shot as injuries and inconsistency plagued the Redskins at quarterback. He’d lead the team to back to back exciting victories over the Titans, and then the heavily favored Cowboys.  Injured late in the season, his performance was good enough to earn him a new contract with the Redskins.

Amem11 mccoyThe first few people through the line got way too many multiples signed. This ruined it for the rest of us. Colt’s signature is not a quick one, taking roughly 15 seconds to complete for each card. With a decent line building, this caused the gatekeepers to ask us to limit our requests to two a person. It was not unreasonable at all- but with them not patrolling the fans at the front with McCoy, people abused it anyway. I decided 3 was not unreasonable for me to get signed as that was my original thought. When I spoke to Colt, I told him that his heroics in the Redskins Cowboys game was the stuff of legend. He grinned from ear to ear and told me it was one of his fondest memories in the NFL. He also told me that he prefers Colossians 3:23 as his testament verse of choice.

NFL, University of Texas

Jackson, Lee ‘Lee J’

tntcol ljackson Card: TNT College
Acquired: In Person 2016, Mighty Fine Burgers Battle of the Beast

Lee Jackson has had an interesting football career. He arrived at the University of Texas in 1998, in the same year the school hired coach Mack Brown. He overhauled the defense, and Jackson got the nod at Free Safety in 1999, and was named as Texas’ Most Outstanding Defensive Newcomer.  In 2000, things went sideways when Jackson suffered a nagging season long hamstring injury.  Buried on the depth chart, Jackson was given an opportunity to shift to linebacker by the coaching staff in 2001 and after an encouraging Spring things were looking up.  Lee then had a toe injury that sidelined him for the season. In the meantime the Longhorns saw the emergence of All American Derrick Johnson at linebacker.  Still it was onward and upward for Jackson in 2002.  With a full injury free season at linebacker in 2003,  Lee capped his career recovering a pair of fumbles and returning one 46 yards for a touchdown to help the Longhorns earn a 35-20 win against LSU in the Cotton Bowl.

With an intriguing pro day, Jackson became a priority free agent after the 2003 draft. He’d be signed by the Tennessee Titans but did not make the squad.  Jackson quickly found his footing… as an actor, joining the cast of Friday Night Lights.

Lee is frequently seen at UT events- or at least the ones I go to. I first met him way back at the UT Neighborhood Alumni Bowling Tournament in 2013. He and I just sat there chilling while everybody else bowled talking about football. Later I ran into him at the grand opening of Derrick Johnson’s new sport performance gym in 2014. I caught up with him and I brought up football cards and how he was on Tecmo Rose Bowl. He was excited to know I was involved with those things. It took me a long time to find a photo, but eventually I got his card made. In 2016, I ran into him at the Mighty Fine event and gave him his card. He was very touched by what I did and I know it meant a lot to him. We exchanged pleasantries and talked for about 15 minutes.

Some of my fellow collectors call him ‘Hollywood Longhorn’,  but I scoff at that notion, because Jackson’s career contributions are frequently overlooked due to his injuries and position changes. To me, his LSU game alone justifies him in any course.

 

NFL, University of Texas

Baab, Mike ‘The Baabarian’

sky92_mbaabudut11_mbaab
psetplat93_mbaabpset90_mbaabpset91_mbaabscosup90_mbaabCards: ProSet 1990, Pro Set 1991, ProSet Platinum 1993, Score Supplemental 1990, Skybox 1992, UT Upper Deck 2011
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent: 2/16/15    Received: 4/3/16  (416 days)

Mike Baab was a fixture at center for the Cleveland Browns after being selected in the 5th round of the 1982 draft.   He is remembered perhaps most strangely for a film that he put together with his Browns teammates called “Masters of the Gridiron”, which was not only inspired by the Chicago Bears Super Bowl Shuffle, but also He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and the section of the crowd at the stadium that called themselves Baab’s Barbarians.

Mike played with the franchise through the 1987 season where he became a leader in and out of the locker room.  He then was unceremoniously traded to the New England Patriots one week before the regular season was to began in 1988.  (Apparently head coach Marty Schottenheimer wanted to start Gregg Rakoczy at center and Mike did not want to be a backup.) The move so angered Baab that he stormed out of the team facilities and players began to openly dissent- most namely starting quarterback Bernie Kosar who criticized the move.

While Baab toiled away in New England in 1989 and 1990 (which back then amounted to a Siberian prison camp) starting 28 of 32 games, the Browns offensive line suffered and the quarterbacks took a vicious pounding. Suprisingly he was left unprotected by the Patriots following the 1990 season, so Baab put his feelers out about returning back to the place he called home for most of his football career: Cleveland.

Mike returned to Cleveland and anchored the Browns line through the 1991 season.  He’d be lured to Kansas City for one final season before finally putting up his cleats and moving back to Central Texas.

Mike was inducted into the Longhorn Athletics Football Hall of Honor in 2008.  A letterman at Texas from 1978 to 1981, Baab was voted team captain for the Longhorns as a senior. That year, he helped Texas post a 10-1-1 record, including a 14-12 upset of then-No. 3 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, en route to second-team All-America honors.

There were so many good past and present cards of Mike, I did abuse this one slightly.  Baab was kind enough to sign these cards for me, albeit after a long wait.

Some real solid cards of here of Mike. I think my favorite of this group is the Skybox entry. The framing element that they use with the last name, really gave these cards a nice poster effect.  At the time I was surprised that these cards didn’t get more traction in the market because they were very cutting edge. I have a soft spot for the ProSet 1991 card. It’s got a nice rough close up of Baab backing up and demonstrating some sleight of hand technique while his pad rolls up his hand.  These cards pretty much encapsulated the height of my collecting days and the rebirth of it with the Upper Deck UT 2010 entry.