Tag Archives: edmonton eskimos

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Holland, JR ‘Hollywood’ (2)

Card: Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Work
Sent: 8/8/17 Received: 5/31/19 (661 days)
See Also: JR Holland

Overall it’s a great shot of Holland, but unfortunately, somebody was running into the foreground of the shot, so they couldn’t have a giant hand right next to JR. Ugh. Once you see it, it is all you look at.

I was able to cross reference all the information I had on John to track him down eventually through Facebook, and came to find out he runs a gym in California, where I sent my request to.

I waited 661 days for a 1 of 2- as JR signed just his Ultimate WLAF card, but not his Wild Card, but I will take what I can get, as it took some super sleuthing to track him down. John Holland was kind enough to sign this card and inscribe it with ‘Birmingham Bad Boys”.

G CFLTACSACFUM
63184N/A2
INTYDSAVGTDLG
1924413.0266T
PRYDSAVGTDLG
291725.9016
KRYDSAVGTDLG
59018.0030
NFL, The Spring League, ufl

Devine, Noel

Card: Upper Deck College Legends 2011
Acquired: 2019, Box Breaker

Shifty and speedy, Noel Devine posted solid numbers while he played college ball at West Virginia. He finished his college career with 4317 yards on 729 carries, scoring 29 TDs. Noel also had 98 receptions for 710 yards for 2 TDs. His personal best was in 2009 when he posted 241 carries for 1465 yards and 13 TDs on the ground. Due to his size (5’7, 160), an ankle injury, and a poor combine showing- Noel was not drafted during the 2011 draft.

He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles, but after 4 days he left the team for undisclosed reasons. Unable to find an NFL squad, Noel joined the UFL Omaha Nighthawks (2011) for a season rushing 5 times for 14 yards and a TD, while catching 2 passes for 20 yards. The following year he’d join the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL playing there for two seasons (2012-2013). After a short off-season with the Edmonton Eskimos, he returned to WVU to finish his law degree in 2015.

During 2017 he resurrected his football career joining The Spring League, and in early 2019 signed with the Wheeling Roughriders of the American Arena League. He was among the players available for the XFL 2020 pool, but was not selected.

I pulled this autograph from a box of Upper Deck College Legends I bought in 2019. It’s rarer and rarer to see on card autographs, but overall I was pretty impressed with the look of this shot.

UFL RUSHYDSAVGTDLGRECYDSAVGTDLG
5142.811022010.0011
CFL RUSHYDSAVGTDLGRECYDSAVGTDLG
22904.10211313110.1310
Arena, CFL, NFL

Smith, Brett

Card: Sage 2014 (#178/250)
Acquired: 2016, Box Breaker

Okay, let’s forget about the shirt that Brett is wearing. It’s a one of a kind on a card though as I’ve never seen a curse word sneak through. Sage’s entry is not a pretty one here, but rarely are their photos ever exciting. It’s a pretty basic entry and not very risky. Kudos though for showcasing what matters: the certified autograph.  I didn’t really like the cards out of this set, but for what it matters, you can still find hobby boxes of this set at an extremely reasonable price (2017), fattening up your collection by 7-10 autographs in each box.

Brett Smith played for Wyoming from 2010-2013. Despite setting numerous records for the Cowboys including career offensive yards (10,390), passing TDs (76), career TDs (97), and most total yards passing in a game (640), he was not selected in the 2014 NFL Draft. He’d sign as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Bucs and later join the CFL as a member of the Toronto Argonauts, and then the Arena Football League with the San Jose SabreCats.

In 2015 Brett rejoined the CFL, signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He’d win the 3rd string job, but end up starting a fair amount of the season, after injuries hit the quarterback position. Smith finished with a respectable 15 TDs to 9 interceptions on the season. After the season he spent time on the rosters of the Redblacks (2016) and Eskimos (2017).  Currently he is a free agent.