Dave McCloughan was a member of Colorado’s National Championship team in 1990. Over his 4 years for the Buffs, Dave had 129 tackles, intercepted 8 passes for 91 yards, and returned 34 punts for 559 yards and 2 TDs. His 15.9 yards per punt return his senior season led the nation.
McCloughan played 4 seasons in the NFL from 1991 to 1994. A 3rd round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 1991, he had 10 combined tackles for the franchise his rookie season. He’d join the Packers in 92, and then Seattle for 1993 and 1994 before retiring.
In 1996, Dave joined the Raiders as a scout and served with the team from 1996-2004. He joined the 49ers and was dismissed from his position as the director of pro scouting in 2010. Dave returned to the Raiders in 2011 and served with the franchise through 2019.
Cards: Topps AAF 2019 Certified, Topps AAF 2019 Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home Sent: 9/26 Received: 10/9 (11 days) Failure: 2019, C/o The Salt Lake City Stallions, C/o The Washington Redskins
Josh Woodrum was quarterback for the Liberty Flames from 2012-2015. He finished his college career going 833/1304 for 10,266 yards with 61 TDs to 30 interceptions. He was one of only two mid-major QBs to be invited to the NFL combine- with the other being Carson Wentz. Although Woodrum did turn some heads, he was not selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.
He’d be a free agent signee of the New York Giants, and then see time on the rosters of the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. Obviously on the radar of a lot of teams but unable to latch onto a roster- Josh signed with the Salt Lake City Stallions of the AAF in 2018.
The AAF then decided that a few teams were stockpiling talent at QB- so in order to fairly distribute the talent they came up with the Protect or Pick QB Draft. The Stallions liked what they had, so they selected Josh with their first pick in the QB Draft (8th overall). Involved in a QB battle with BJ Daniels, Woodrum became the defacto starter after Daniels suffered a season ending injury during the preseason.
Josh started 7 games for the Stallions, and finished with 1,449 yards on 146/227 passing, 6 TDs to 8 interceptions. He finished second in the league, completing 64.3% of his passes, and overall as the 4th highest rated QB with a 76.4 QB Rating.
He joined the Redskins after the AAF folded but did not make the squad. Currently he is a free agent.
Well it took a while for me to find Josh, but after some persistence, I was able to track him down. I sent to him a mere days before the league folded, so I reloaded and tried him with the Redskins, where I failed again. Luckily Mark (Mark’s Signing Bonus) and I worked together to corner the AAF market and he had already gotten him at his home address- so technically the 3rd try was the charm here.
Cards: Topps 1990, Score 1990, Fleer 1990, Gameday 1992, Skybox 1993-94 Colors Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home Sent: 3/23 Received: 11/5 (227 days) See Also: Jeff George
Ah Jeff George- One of the most reliable TTM respondents in the business. I had originally gotten him way back in 2011 on 3 cards- but over the years had stocked up on some absolutely beautifully designed canvases I wanted to see his autograph grace. Usually a very quick signer, I was surprised to wait some 220+ days for his autographs on these cards, however true to his ways, I just had to be patient and they showed up.
Probably my favorite among them is this Skybox 1993-94 card. I only discovered these cards right at the intersection of my dead cat bounce in collecting- and right as the industry really started going off the rails. At the time, something as over produced as this with the duotone background was still novel. Photoshop and current design standards we take for granted today were barely getting off the ground. I only got a few of these from packs at a Hollywood Video, but I’ve kicked the tires a few times about buying a box wholesale now.
Jeff’s 1992 Gameday card is solid. It’s obvious that I was at the bottom of his mailbag- as he dispensed with the formality of personalizing the cards, and his signature looks a bit rushed on these cards. The framing itself is a great example of when Gameday’s design decisions really paid off as this canvas is exciting and it looks as though he is launching off of it.
I did feel guilty asking for 5 but, I reasoned that I had held off sending back to him for 8 years or so- so that made me feel a bit better about breaking my own rule.
Of these three other college uniform cards, I didn’t have the Fleer one, and it was considered rare back in the day. I got a box of Fleer 90 a few months ago, and I had forgotten how simple and elegant these cards were- despite the floating helmet. I remember Josh laughing at the Score 90 card because George wasn’t even throwing in the shot. He was even less generous about the Topps 90 one, but myself I do appreciate it as you rarely see a well composed shot of a QB under center next to his hogs.
In 2019 Jeff was spotted taking his son Jayden- an accomplished pro-style quarterback on recruiting visits around the country. Although his response took a while, Jeff did take the time to read my letter and in response to my suggestion that he consider coaching in the XFL- he wrote on the letter, “Perhaps in the future.”
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
