Cards: Topps 1990, Topps 1992, Topps Stadium Club 1992, SkyBox 1992 LL, ProSet 1992, ProSet 1992 PB, ProSet 1992 LL, ProSet 1992 Milestone, Upper Deck 1992, Upper Deck SP 1993, Fleer 1991, Fleer Ultra 1991, ProSet 1991, Proline Portraits 1992, Proline Profiles 1992, Proline Profiles 1992 #2, Score 1991, Upper Deck 1991.

Acquired: In Person, 10/26/14 GMC Monday Night Football Tour
See Also: Haywood Jeffires, Haywood Jeffires (2), Haywood Jeffires (3)

When I heard that Haywood Jeffires was appearing with Ernest Givins at the GMC Monday Night Football Event in Houston I penciled it on my itinerary for that weekend. Held at the Katy Mall, it was pretty much a straight shot once I got to the 10. Unlike previous events and the Austin event held the previous year there was a limit on the vouchers to prevent multiple autograph requests. This was not announced before the event. If that had been the case, I may not have gone. Ernest was a last second cancellation- replaced by another member of the Fab 4, Curtis Duncan. Still I planned ahead in case of a problem and things worked out great.

Oh and the insane amount of cards that Haywood signed, I just used my autograph mind control powers on the handlers. After talking to them for a few minutes, they just let me ask Haywood directly when there were no more fans waiting in line. I mean the worst he could say was, “No”, right? I offered him any card that he wanted, but he just opted to sign everything I had instead. He loved my Houston Oilers hat, to which I explained to him it was classic, not vintage since it was actually an Apex hat from 1992. We talked about the preseason game against the Cowboys when Bucky Ricahrdson flipped a last second pass to his left hand and tossed a TD in the end zone, and about how long I’d been a fan of his, bringing up how I wrote him in the past for his autograph, when he used to shorthand his autograph to “H. Jeffires”. He asked me how I knew that, and I said that I was a real fan, remember? He tossed in the final photo with all the cards as a final send off. By far abashedly this was my biggest single player haul ever, beating out a previous in person appearance by Eric Metcalf by 8 or 9.  I’m sure I’ll dig up a few more cards of Jeffires for next time, even though he’s already zoomed to the top of my most acquired autograph player list.

When I asked Haywood about who was the toughest matchup he faced, he first said the Browns with Minnefield and Dixon, then Pittsburgh, and finally just said the whole AFC Central because the teams all faced each other twice a year and they all knew one another so well. Jeffires was unaware of his status on Tecmo Super Bowl and had not played the game. Haywood and Curtis hugged when Duncan arrived. Apparently they hadn’t seen each other in quite a while and it was a nice reunion of sorts.

Cards: SkyBox 1992, SkyBox 1992 Major Impact
Acquired: In Person, 6/10/12, 610 Houston Fan Fest III
Failure: TTM 2010
See Also:  Haywood Jeffires

Well another former Oiler that I was trying to get is off the list. Haywood Jeffires is known in autograph circles, at least TTM as a very difficult autograph to acquire.  On many websites that post autograph percentages through the mail, he rates at a fat 0%.  Unfortunately I sent off 5 cards to him in 2010- and never saw them again.  So when I got word that Ernest Givins and Haywood Jeffires were going to be at the same table for Fan Fest this year, I immediately penciled them near the top of my list to get.  I had many more that I intended to get autographed, but with a limit of one per person, I was fortunate to get two from him. To get the additional card signed, I cited his zero percent signing rate, to which he coyly admitted that he does not sign anything through the mail. Haywood looks almost the same as he did when he retired, and he still wears those turtlenecks, even if it is 90 degrees outside. I told him he was always my favorite player when he joined the team when I was a kid because we shared the same birthday. He tested me and asked the date which surprised him. In order not to scare him any further, I quickly thanked him for his time, shook his hand and was on my way,  pleased with my acquisition on these two very fine cards.

Cards: Score 1990, Fleer 1993 LL, Action Packed 1991 Braille, Skybox 1992-1993
Acquired: In Person 1991, 1992. TTM courtesy Houston Oilers 1993.
See Also: Jeffires, Haywood (2) , Jeffries, Haywood “Freakwood” (3),
Haywood Jeffires (4), Haywood Jeffires (5)

Outside of Warren Moon, Jeffires was probably my favorite player as we both shared the same birthday. I got his autograph the first time at training camp in San Antonio in 1991 where he autographed my Score 1990. We exchanged pleasantries and it turned out that he knew somebody who was standing next to me and had to go. I got him again in 1992 and mailed off  an additional 2 cards in 1993,  with a drawing I had done for him from his Pacific 91 card.  Jeffires stood head and shoulders above the rest of the “Fab Four” and I felt on more than one occasion they should have been called “Jeffires and the Smurfs” playing with smallish receivers Drew Hill, Ernest Givins, Curtis Duncan, and Webster Slaughter.  An emotional receiver who tried to motivate his teammates, Jeffires had a penchant for making sideline catches and ran patterns extremely well. I remember the game against the Chiefs when Haywood caught this pass and rolled off the back of a DB then ran 87 yards for a touchdown. It was on that day when they went on the road and played a team that they lost to 30-0 a year earlier, and socked them solidly in the mouth. I knew the Oilers had turned a corner at that exact moment.

Haywood Jeffires or ‘Jeffries’ as it is pronounced, but incorrectly spelled, was the number one rated receiver off the board in the 1987 draft to the Oilers out of NC State at 6′ 2, 200 and is considered a by product of the Jim Everett Trade. It would take Haywood time to work his way into the lineup, but once given a fair chance to flourish in the Red Gun and Run and Shoot, he’d go on to notch 60 or more catches in 6 straight seasons, cracking the 1,000 yd mark in 90 and 91 and grab 100 catches in 1991 and 90 1992, which led the AFC in all 3 seasons. He was a  3 time Pro bowler and 2 time AP but his contributions are largely dismissed because people feel he played in a gimmick offense.  After diminishing statistics and playing time took their toll on his career, Jeffires would play one final season in 1995 for the New Orleans Saints.

Jeffires from what I’ve learned is now considered quite an elusive autograph to attain TTM. Unfortunately I only found this out after sending 4 more cards to him.  At last glance in 2010, Jeffires is a consultant for the Bay Area Pearland Gamblers, a minor league team near Houston.

Games 123         Rec 535      Yds  6,334       Avg   11.8      TD 50     LG 87T