Category Archives: University of Texas

NFL, University of Texas

Thomas, Sloan (2)

bow04 thomasCard: Bowman 2004
Acquired: IP 4/16/2015, Sam’s Wholesale Lakeline Grand Opening
See Also: Sloan Thomas

Again, big props to Nathan for ID’ing Sloan Thomas, who just walked up during the event to say hello to Vince Young and Kasey Studdard. The ‘box’ also came in handy again. I keep it packed full of Longhorns just in case one shows up at an event unexpectedly, and luckily I was packing a card of Sloan that I had gotten a few months ago.

I’m sure he was surprised that so many fans recognized him.  Noticing my Oilers hat, he struck up a conversation about Houston, and how I had to have been a tough fan to be with them through those good years, and bad post season games (- in particular the Buffalo collapse), as he was apparently a big fan too. He asked me if I was a Texans fan or a Titans fan, and I explained how I tuned out pro football for a few years after the Oilers moved to Tennessee- so I obviously wasn’t a tacks fan.

After going out to my car and retrieving the Texans card of him, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “Look at that!”, before happily signing my card.  Otherwise Sloan looked quite dapper, and it appears life has been treating him well.

CFL, NFL, University of Texas

Gardere, Peter ‘Peter the Great’

UTUD11 PGardereCards: UT Upper Deck 2011, UT Upper Deck ATA 2011
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Work, IP 9/19/15, UT Coop Fan Fest
Sent: 6/30     Received:  7/10     (10 days)

Pete Gardere is one of these dark horse Texas legends. I mean outside of Texas- if you weren’t a Longhorn fan, I’d be verily impressed if you knew who he was, and his contribution to the school. Pete played during the dying years of the SWC, when the way you got to watch games was on the Raycom Sports Network on that Fox affiliate- before it was Fox. Texas had David McWilliams at head coach, who was an acorn off of the Darrell Royal tree.

peter the greatGardere arrived at Texas and quickly assumed the starting quarterback duty as a true freshman.  Over his time at UT Gardere brought Texas painfully into the modern era of quarterbacking in a pro style offense. He also moonlighted as a punter. While playing for the school he set over 15 school records, which were broken and rewritten by the likes of Colt McCoy, Vince Young, James Brown, and Major Applewhite over the next 25 years.

The one record that still stands at this point- much to the chagrin of Sooners fans, is that Peter was 4-0 in the Red River Rivalry versus Oklahoma. In every contest, Gardere found a way to beat the Sooners, and even more impressive was that everytime the Longhorns were nationally unranked. Gardere finished with a record of 25-16 as a starter for the Longhorns.

UTUD11 PGardere ATADespite his resume, Pete was not drafted, however he was given an invitation to camp with the Seattle Seahawks in 1993. He’d be cut, but quickly scooped up by the CFL, and signed by the Sacramento Gold Miners. He’d be the team’s punter and serve as emergency quarterback from 1993 through 1994. In 1995, Pete was the punter for the Memphis Mad Dogs- but the team contracted after the season. Gardere then signed with the New Orleans Saints, but after he was cut in camp, elected to retire from football. Currently he lives in Austin. He served as a filming consultant for the quarterbacks on the movie Varsity Blues, and has been involved in real estate in the lucrative Central Texas market for many years.

I met him at the UT Coop Fan Fest in September where he penned two more cards for me. He then mused about how old he was because I could remember watching him as a kid on Raycom Sports Network during those dying days of the SWC.

University of Texas

Walker, Adrian

utud11 awilsonCard: University of Texas Upper Deck 2011
Acquired: 2015, Spoodog Box Break

Adrian Walker played for the University of Texas from 1989 through 1992.  During his time with the Longhorns, Walker played in 42 games and was second in SWC rushing attempts during his Redshirt Freshman year with 193 carries. In 1989 he finished with over 1,000 total yards from scrimmage. Walker’s finest season came during 1992, when he ran for a career high 852 yards on a whopping 6.6 yards per carry.  He finished his Longhorn career with 501 carries for 2,473 yards, 17 TDs rushing,  and 36 receptions for 250 yards and a TD.  Adrian also saw time on the kick return unit with 41 returns for 838 yards.  At the time of his graduation Walker was ranked top 10 in Longhorn history in both rushing yards and touchdowns.