Tag Archives: kansas city chiefs

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

Wooden, Terry

CARD: Action Packed Rookies 1990
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2021

Terry Wooden played LB for the Syracuse Orangemen. He was a second round pick of the Seattle Seahawks, who were reloading on defense and spent their first 3 picks on defense during the 1990 draft. Terry got off to a fast start but was injured after 8 contests, finishing with 39 tackles. In his first full season with the franchise in 91, Terry posted 105 tackles, 2 sacks, and 4 fumble recoveries in 15 starts. His best season came in 1994, when Terry had 127 total tackles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 3 interceptions for 78 yards, including a 69 yard TD. After the 1996 season, Terry joined the Chiefs in 1997 for a year and the Raiders for one season in 1998.

As of 2021, Terry is one of the many upcoming talented scouts in the NFL and works in the front office of the New Orleans Saints. He is a notorious non-signer, so I figured I might as well get this one off of Ebay.

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AAF, CFL, NFL, Pro Football HoF, usfl

Polian, Bill

Cards: Topps AAF 2019 Custom, Panini 2016 HOF
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 11/2 Received: 11/12 (10 days)

Bill Polian has a long and storied career as a football executive that spans across 4 leagues: The NFL, CFL, USFL, and the AAF.

After graduating from NYU in 1964, Polian began his careeer as a scout for the Chiefs in 1978. He also spent time with the Blue Bombers and Alouettes in the CFL as well working his way up to Personnel Director. A one year stint in the USFL Chicago Blitz in 1984, led Polian back to the NFL. He’d then begin a long and storied career with the Buffalo Bills later that year as the Pro Personnel Director. He’d help transform the Bills into an NFL powerhouse laying the foundation for the franchise to appear in 3 consecutive Super Bowls. He was released by the team after they lost their 3rd Super Bowl in 92.

A 3 year hiatus saw Polian return to the NFL with a vengeance as GM of the expansion Carolina Panthers. He was able to assemble enough talent that the franchise posted a expansion record 7 wins in 1995, and an even more impressive 12 wins in 1996. After a down year in 97, Bill joined the Indianapolis Colts as General Manager.

His first move was a no brainer: Selecting Peyton Manning with the first overall pick of the 1998 NFL Draft. Later he’d hire Tony Dungy to coach the franchise, and the rest is history. After the reorganization of the divisions in 2002, the Colts would dominate the South- winning 7 divisional titles under his watch. Indianapolis appeared in two Superbowls winning XLI. He’d not be retained after the 2011 season.

In the meantime he began to roll in the accolades, being inducted into the Buffalo Wall of Fame in 2012, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015, and the Colts Ring of Honor in 2017.

Bill felt the siren’s lure and resurfaced again in 2018, where he signed up to be Head of Football of the upstart Alliance of American Football, co founding it alongside Charlie Ebersol. The league was able to pull off 8 weeks of football before it collapsed due to financial strain. Bill Polian was greatly disappointed in the failure of the AAF and in chief financial cow Tom Dundon who pulled the plug.

I wrote to Bill after creating a dead on custom of the Topps AAF certified card. Thanks to COVID I had to find a new custom printer. The card quality was outstanding, but I didn’t prep the high gloss card, so the autograph didn’t stick properly to the card. He also signed this Panini HOF card for me as well.