Tag Archives: birmingham stallions

AAF, NFL

Richardson, Trent

CARDS: Topps AAF 2019 Certified, Panini Playbook 2011 Doak
ACQUIRED: EBay 2019
FAILURE: TTM 2019, C/o The Birmingham Iron
Paid Signing, 2024

NOTES:

Going off topic on this one today.

Trent was considered the crown jewel of the Alliance of American Football. League executives had already tossed around the idea that once the league took off and found its foothold that there’d be a place at the table for Trent once he retired to become a brand ambassador of sorts.

Initially his certified autograph was hard to come by, but eventually I was able to get a reasonably priced version of the autograph. His Panini Playbook card was another matter.

At the beginning of COVID, way, way back in 2020 initially there was panic about a nationwide shutdown. Nobody was on EBay, and I was able to snag quite a few really nice autographs of players that were just hanging out there, including this fun little Panini Playbook of Trent.

How patient am I? Way, way back in March of 2024, I committed to a paid signing quickly after I had missed out on the only other previous one I’d seen for Trent. I piled in all my set needs and rareties knowing this was the best way to get him, because he’s a zero signer TTM. Then I waited. The deadline for the signing got moved- then passed. I started to worry.

I contacted the promoter, (who I choose not to identify) and he patiently kept me up to date as to what was going on. Delay after delay. It got to a point where Richardson was saying, “I’ll get it out to you this weekend dawg.” Eventually days turned into weeks, into months… and finally, in December of 2024, the promoter, sensing his good name was being besmirched by Trent’s lack of follow through, hit Richardson with a legal letter.

This jostled Richardson into admitting there were some things going on around his house that was making it difficult for him to get back to get these things signed and into the mail, as he had promised. I quickly quipped to the promoter that I’d be surprised if Trent got the autographs back to him before March 2025.

Then in April of ’25, the promoter offered a full refund on Richardson. He still held out hope that Trent would return the items. In the meantime, all my precious rare Topps AAF Now cards are nowhere to be seen.

CFL, ufl, usfl

Smith, J’mar

CARD: Upper Deck USFL 2023, Upper Deck UFL 2024 Dual Signatures
ACQUIRED: IP, 2024 Birmingham Stallions v the San Antonio Brahmas.
2025, Epack

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • J’mar Smith played QB at Louisiana Tech from 2016-’19.
  • He completed 759 of 1280 passes for 9,523 yards and 51 TDs over his college career.
  • In 2019 he’d be named Conference USA’s Offensive Player of the Year.
  • Undrafted, he spent camp with the Patriots in 2020, and had a tryout with the Packers.
  • Signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in ’21 but was released.
  • Joined the USFL in 2022 and led the team to a win the USFL Championship Game in 2022.
  • On the season he completed 131 passes for 1573 yards and 10 TDs, while rushing for 191 on 37 carries scoring 2 TDs.
  • Placed on IR for the 2023 season.
  • Returned to Birmingham for the 2024 campaign, but saw little action.
  • Signed a letter alongside other quarterbacks and refused to report to the opening of camp until concessions were made by the league.
  • Cut by Birmingham but returned a few scant weeks later.

ACCOLADES:

  • USFL Player of the Week 2023 (Week 1)
  • Birmingham Stallions Best Hair Award

NOTES:

J’Mar was wandering off the field after their loss to the Brahmas during the 2024 season. He and Marlon Williams ambled up and signed their cards for me. It was a good double hit.

I had been having a lot of success with the Upper Deck UFL set. I pulled this dual autograph from a group of 8 packs I opened. I was pretty satisfied with this hit- although I am unsure if J’mar and Amari have ever been on the field at the same time.

NFL, ufl, usfl

Williams, Marlon

Upper Deck USFL 2023, #14

CARD: Upper Deck USFL 2023
ACQUIRED: IP 2024, San Antonio Brahmas v Birmingham Stallions

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Marlon Williams played WR at UCF from 2017-’20.
  • In each year he saw his playing time and catches increase.
  • During 2020 he had 71 receptions for 1039 yards and 10 TDs.
  • Went unselected in the 2021 NFL Draft.
  • Signed with the Houston Texans but was cut before camp.
  • Joined the USFL in 2022 and played for the Birmingham Stallions.
  • In the inaugural season he caught 32 passes for 474 yards and 4 TDs.
  • His yards ranked 3rd in the league while his receiving TDs ranked second.
  • Contributed mightily to the Stallions USFL Championship that season, catching 7 passes for 105 yards and a TD.
  • Resigned for the 2023 season, injuries limited him to just one start.
  • Returned in 2024 for Stallions’ 3rd season, and caught 26 passes for 313 yards and 4 TDs.

NOTES:

Marlon was one of the few Stallions I caught walking off the field at the end of the contest. He saw the card and flashed a smile and came over and signed two for me. It’s a great looking card bordered by some boring looking design work.