Cards: Upper Deck 2006, Fleer 2003 Top Prospects, Upper Deck 1999, SP 1999, Leaf Rookies & Stars 2005 Longevity (146/250), 2003 Upper Deck Sweet Spot, Leaf 2005 Certified Materials Gold (228/750), Upper Deck 2002 All-Star Authentic.
Acquired: IP 9/26/15, Little Taco Factory Magic Show, 11/6/16, 3rd Base Round Rock.
See Also: Priest Holmes

I had enough notice but for some reason did not order the cards I wanted for the Priest Holmes show. Still these two gems look immaculate with Holmes’ autograph on it. Priest has a great autograph with a firm signature. It looks good on nearly any card and stands as one of my favorites. On top of that he’s pretty engaging with fans. This was the second time I’ve met him in person and he takes the time with each fan to engage them for as long as they’d like.

Twitter pays would be the lesson of this story.  Priest put the word out that he was going to be at the Little Taco Factory with the members of the Austin-San Antonio NFLPA.  Shawn, my recent cohort (who went with me to the Lone Star Challenge) decided to attend this event with me because he really wanted Priest. While the tacos were pretty good and there was a magic show to boot, the true prize was when Priest arrived nail bitingly halfway through the event. We talked about the good old times, Raycom sports, and how Austin has really changed over the years, making the drive from Austin to San Antonio totally worth it.

One of my friends, Anthony, (is not only Native American,) is a huge Chiefs fan.  During  the season he frequently met up with other members of his Chiefs group to watch the game on Sundays. It just so happened that he gave me a lead in 2016 on Priest- not even knowing that I was a collector. It was a perfect storm for me to nab Priest again, as it was an off week for the Texans. I packed to the brim as usual with cards knowing that I’d give a few away to other fans to keep people from getting upset when I would get Priest to sign 4 or 5 cards.  It turned out to be a really good event.  I patiently waited for the chance, and he signed everything I had on me. I even ran into Longhorn Legend John Walker who reconnected with me about the customs I did for him.

Priest was kind enough to sign everything for fans and patiently took photos with everybody. He very much enjoyed the photo of me with the sleeping mask on too!  Priest has recently also been found to be a decent signer through the mail as of 2017. Currently he signs for a nominal donation to his foundation. In 2016 Priest made the list of semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Again there was no end to the amazing cards in Holmes’ pantheon of cards. I had been kicking myself after I missed out on the stellar die cut star patch AFC ProBowl card that Upper Deck did. Just a superior piece here. I love how they wrapped it with All-Star Authentic around the card and then separated Priest from the canvas. I also really wanted to get a few of his Baltimore things signed since that’s where he started it all.  The Upper Deck BlackDiamond card has an odd cut to it, but still it’s a very interesting and unique design. The Sweet Spot Classics 2003 is gaudy, and the patch leaves little room for a signature, but it’s still pretty nice looking. Priest is active in the Austin-San Antonio Corridor, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I get him on a few more of those cards that he has still out there.