Tag Archives: Denver Broncos

AAF, NFL

Stewart, Orion

Cards: Topps AAF 2019, Topps AAF 2019 Certified
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, EBay 2019
Sent: 4/11 Received: 5/3 (22 days)

When the different AAF groups were talking about what players they were impressed by, I was surprised that they brought up the lumber laying Orion Stewart. He was apparently really impressing in camp for the Commanders. He quickly proved to me during that first game what a force he was for SA in the secondary, laying down the law against the Fleet. In that first game he hauled in a pick, deflected two passes, and made 6 tackles. At the end of the game, he and a gaggle of players came over to the visitor’s endzone and mugged my sister and me for hugs… well primarily my sister- but still it was a great memory to make- and Stewart became one of my favorite players.

Orion was a 3 time All-Big 12 safety at Baylor, playing in 49 games while starting 36 of them. He recorded 12 interceptions over his time playing for the Bears, and ended up third on the school charts with 227 career interception return yards.

Stewart was not selected in the 2016 NFL Draft- and saw brief stops with the Broncos, Redskins, Giants, and Bills. In 2018 he signed with the Commanders and he and Derron Smith made the most fearsome safety duo in the league. He also came up with a nickname for the secondary (- which was one of the league leaders in creating turnovers), calling their group “Area 51”. In fact at the last game, I brandished a homemade sign with it on there as well.

After the league collapsed, Orion signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. He signed his base card in 22 days- which was a day after his certified arrived in the mail. I got an incredible deal on the certified autograph. I got 4 for about half the price of a hobby box, and a hobby box typically comes with 3 autographs, so you do the math.

AAF G/GSTACSACFUM
7/72500
PDINTYDSAVGTDLG
329045.0068
CFL, NFL, WLAF, XFL

Moore, Shawn (2)

Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992, Upper Deck 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Work
Sent:  8/28     Received: 9/12    (16 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Virginia
See Also: Shawn Moore

Shawn Moore eluded me a few years ago and it was really a pants down situation. I mean, I sent him a nice group of cards but never heard back. Luckily, I always have made it a habit to reload on WLAF cards I only had singles on; However, I didn’t have an extra copy of Shawn’s Star Pics 1991 that I really wanted to get signed so I ended up sending this terrible Upper Deck 1992 card of his with it. Still I should be happy to finally knock of this retry reply from my list. 

My friend Deadhorse got a trial subscription to Star Tiger, which is a competitor to sportscollectors. He loaned me the login since I was curious so that I could take a look. I found the hierarchy to be terrible, and most of the sports addresses were consistent with what I had already found, but I did find Shawn’s most recent address on there and decided to give it a shot. A few weeks later, a water soaked return envelope arrived at the house with Shawn’s autographs inside. (Thankfully the cards were not damaged.)

Shawn moved on from coaching at his alma mater after 2012. He’s had a few football related positions since then including working as the Director of Community Relations for the College Football Playoff system. Currently he works in administration system of a private school in Virginia.

NFL

White, LenDale (2)

Cards: Donruss Rookies & Stars Longevity 2009, Score 2009
Acquired: In Person 2018, Heisman House Tour
See Also: LenDale White

Rumor swirled that maybe some former USC alumni would be in attendance for ‘Part III’ of the USC v Texas matchup and I figured the Heisman House would probably be the best place to catch some of them. This added up with the fact that Vince Young was already hosting a get together of sorts between the 2005 National Championship teams (USC v Texas) in Austin during this period. I pulled some cards from the 2005 USC team. I speculated Reggie Bush was too controversial to be there- since he had to forfeit the trophy he lost that VY later rejected. I thought well maybe Matt Leinart, or another USC Heisman winner. My friend Deadhorse suggested Charles White or Marcus Allen. I then thought, maybe LenDale White since he and Bo Scaife are good friend and have their own show called “The Players’ Lounge”- and packed them all in the infamous long box.

See the rule is- always plan as though anybody can be there. That’s how I got Harvey Martin and Roger Staubach. That’s also how I missed on Babe Laufenberg at the Spring League game in 2018. It’s also how I got a hit on Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward.

It was a terribly humid day with thunderstorms forecast for the entire day. I met up with a fellow collector- Jeff. He and I have many parallels in our life. We both had our first kid recently, and we both used to be denizens of autograph alley back when the Cowboys practiced at St. Edwards. I am always eager to network with other like-minded collectors and we make a pretty good fit. His wife and son also came and somehow managed to bare the humidity. (Not only does my wife deserve credit for allowing me to go to such things, Jeff’s wife should get a trooper badge for showing up to them with him.) We waited in line and got Ricky Williams– twice. In the meantime his wife got back in line for VY, so we joined her in that line after we got done with Ricky. Behind us a commotion occurred and I noticed that some USC players were taking photos with somebody with dreads. Before I could ask, he was already leaving to go inside. I found out then it was LenDale White. I pulled the extra cards that I brought of LenDale- numbering some 6, took two for myself and gave the other two to Jeff and then I vigilantly waited for him to appear. 

It turns out that LenDale and Vince Young are really good friends. They got to know each other better when they played on the Titans together, and apparently talk on the phone almost every day. During Vince’s interview about the 2005 National Championship Game, LenDale came out from the trailer connected to the tent and onto the stage and was hanging out in between sets.  It was then I was able to approach him and get him to sign two cards for me. 

LenDale was looking quite svelte. When I asked him what he had been doing with himself to look so cut- he laughed and said, he stopped working out. I always felt like he got a bad wrap coming out of college, and that he was a better back than he was given credit for.  He thanked me for the compliment, and we wished each other good luck for that evening.  A few minutes later Jeff came back with his signed in hand as well. It was a great experience, and we were able to make the weekend signing worthwhile. The initial goal was the clear the table with Ricky and a VY or two. Anything else was just gravy- and nabbing LenDale White was quite the treat.