Tag Archives: chiefs all time leading rusher

NFL, University of Texas

Charles, Jamaal (2)

2015 Panini Prestige, #167

Cards: Panini Classics 2016, Panini Rookies & Stars 2010, Panini Prestige 2015
Acquired: IP 2021, Grand Opening Restore Westlake
Failure: TTM 2020, C/o Home

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

Panini Classics 2016, #69 Panini Rookies & Stars 2010, #73

NOTES:

I had been itching to get Jamaal again on a few cards, but he’s been quite elusive to corral, even at in person events- I hadn’t seen one with him since 2018 or so. Knowing that Brian Orapko and him are good friends, I figured he might make an appearance at Brian’s grand opening of his Restore Westlake store, since he had also made a token appearance way back in 2018 for the grand opening of Gigi’s cupcakes.

After a long wait, Jamaal made a long awaited appearance. I was short some cards I really wanted him to sign since I had tried him last year TTM, but I still had these very strong ones to work with. In fact I had loaded up with 10 cards just in case, but just like last time, he stopped signing after 3 cards, which I was personally fine with. He was there literally 15 minutes and left- pulling an Irish goodbye.

I’d still like to get him on his Score 2009 and 2010 entries and a few others, but I did take a consignment on him for the Classics card, which I parlayed into Mel Gray and Rodney Peete.

Jamaal still has his blue Lambo. He told me he selected the color strictly because it’s pretty and easily recognizable- not because it’s old Houston Oiler colors. As he was preparing to leave I asked him what his favorite team was growing up, to which he surprisingly responded- The Denver Broncos.

NFL, University of Texas

Charles, Jamaal

Cards: UT Upper Deck 2012, UT Upper Deck 2012 Icons, Panini 2015
Acquired: IP 2018, GiGi’s Cupcakes Soft Grand Opening

Jamaal Charles represents one of the biggest in person coups in a while for me. I had been looking for him for a couple of years- hearing about and missing out on a few events he was at. I guess it all started in 2013, when I did the Spoodog Box Break with Mike-E and Spoodog. Spoo had 2 or 3 certified Jamaal’s and pulled another in the case, but I had no luck whatsoever.

After finding out that GiGi’s Cupcakes had a soft opening the previous day, I decided to go up to see if I could get Brian Orapko and Michael Griffin’s autograph. I knew that Charles had been there the previous day, and I was pretty disappointed to miss out on him, but I packed his cards anyway. When I arrived after driving across town and through an on and off ice storm, I saw this beautiful powder blue Lambo sitting in the parking lot. I walked in and exclaimed, “Who’s sexy car is that outside?”, and Brian responded to me, “Oh that is Jamaal’s. He’s here too.”  The game was finally over. I had found him. After getting Brian and Griff, I went outside, grabbed 3 cards and pushed my luck. Rak was very impressed that I came prepared and Jamaal was kind enough to sign all 3.

Jamaal Charles comes from a very long line of excellent runningbacks out of the University of Texas. A standout in track, Charles joined UT in 2005 winning the National Championship in his Freshman year. He averaged a whopping 7.4 yards per carry on 119 carries and scored 11 TDs. He’d have his best numbers in 2007, rushing for 1,619 yards and 18 touchdowns on 258 carries. After the campaign concluded he declared for the 2008 NFL Draft.  He finished 4th in career total rushing yards (3,328) with UT trailing only Ricky Williams, Earl Campbell, and Cedric Benson.

Surprisingly Jamaal did not get selected until the 3rd round of the 2008 NFL draft. He’d be chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs- a rush heavy team led by Larry Johnson. During his rookie season he saw the field seldomly but made the best of it rushing for 357 yards on 67 carries. Jamaal’s first TD was a 36 yard pass reception from Tyler Thigpen against the Bills in Week 12. In 2009, Jamaal had a breakthrough and became starter for the Chiefs. He’d rush for the first of 5 1,000 yard seasons that he’d post over the next 6 seasons. Jamaal’s biggest attraction as a runningback is his yards per carry. He led the league with a 5.9 yard per carry in 2009, and then in 2010 had a career high 6.4 yards per carry (1467 yards). After an injury plagued 2011, Jamaal returned to form rushing for a career high 1,509 yards, 70 receptions (693 yards), 7 receiving TDs, and a 91 yard scamper in 2012. 2013 saw him rush for a career high 12 TDs and 1,287 yards and likewise in 2014 another 1,033 yards and 9 TDs (206 carries).

Unfortunately both Jamaal’s 2015 and 2016 season were marred by back to back season ending injuries, so the Chiefs decided to let Jamaal test the free agent waters for 2017. It ruffled some feathers when Charles- the career yardage leader for the Chiefs- signed with the division rival Denver Broncos. (I even picked up Jamaal late in one of my fantasy drafts and stashed him on my bench.) During his lone season at Mile High Jamaal hard charged to 296 yards on 69 carries. Unhappy with the runningback situation there, he asked to be released and is currently a free agent.

NFL

Holmes, Priest (2)

Cards: Upper Deck 2006, Fleer 2003 Top Prospects, Upper Deck 1999, SP 1999, Leaf Rookies & Stars 2005 Longevity (146/250), 2003 Upper Deck Sweet Spot, Leaf 2005 Certified Materials Gold (228/750), Upper Deck 2002 All-Star Authentic.
Acquired: IP 9/26/15, Little Taco Factory Magic Show, 11/6/16, 3rd Base Round Rock.
See Also: Priest Holmes

I had enough notice but for some reason did not order the cards I wanted for the Priest Holmes show. Still these two gems look immaculate with Holmes’ autograph on it. Priest has a great autograph with a firm signature. It looks good on nearly any card and stands as one of my favorites. On top of that he’s pretty engaging with fans. This was the second time I’ve met him in person and he takes the time with each fan to engage them for as long as they’d like.

Twitter pays would be the lesson of this story.  Priest put the word out that he was going to be at the Little Taco Factory with the members of the Austin-San Antonio NFLPA.  Shawn, my recent cohort (who went with me to the Lone Star Challenge) decided to attend this event with me because he really wanted Priest. While the tacos were pretty good and there was a magic show to boot, the true prize was when Priest arrived nail bitingly halfway through the event. We talked about the good old times, Raycom sports, and how Austin has really changed over the years, making the drive from Austin to San Antonio totally worth it.

One of my friends, Anthony, (is not only Native American,) is a huge Chiefs fan.  During  the season he frequently met up with other members of his Chiefs group to watch the game on Sundays. It just so happened that he gave me a lead in 2016 on Priest- not even knowing that I was a collector. It was a perfect storm for me to nab Priest again, as it was an off week for the Texans. I packed to the brim as usual with cards knowing that I’d give a few away to other fans to keep people from getting upset when I would get Priest to sign 4 or 5 cards.  It turned out to be a really good event.  I patiently waited for the chance, and he signed everything I had on me. I even ran into Longhorn Legend John Walker who reconnected with me about the customs I did for him.

Priest was kind enough to sign everything for fans and patiently took photos with everybody. He very much enjoyed the photo of me with the sleeping mask on too!  Priest has recently also been found to be a decent signer through the mail as of 2017. Currently he signs for a nominal donation to his foundation. In 2016 Priest made the list of semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Again there was no end to the amazing cards in Holmes’ pantheon of cards. I had been kicking myself after I missed out on the stellar die cut star patch AFC ProBowl card that Upper Deck did. Just a superior piece here. I love how they wrapped it with All-Star Authentic around the card and then separated Priest from the canvas. I also really wanted to get a few of his Baltimore things signed since that’s where he started it all.  The Upper Deck Blackud06 holmes 4x1kRDiamond card has an odd cut to it, but still it’s a very interesting and unique design. The Sweet Spot Classics 2003 is gaudy, and the patch leaves little room for a signature, but it’s still pretty nice looking. Priest is active in the Austin-San Antonio Corridor, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I get him on a few more of those cards that he has still out there.