Tag Archives: oakland raiders

NFL

Pastorini, Dan (2)

Cards: Topps 1975, Topps 1977
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 1/10/18       Received: 1/20/18    (10 days)
See Also: Pastorini, Dan

How time flies… It’s been roughly 5 years since I got Dan Pastorini at the Houston Fan Fest in 2012. I traded away one of my cards to a fan who didn’t bring anything for him at the event and buoyed by Dan’s very interesting book, I decided to give him a through the mail shot. It’s amazing that these cards are 40+ years old now. Dan really didn’t have any action shots in the card family, primarily because the vast majority of his cards were released under the Topps label. Still his 1975 issue with something between a scowl and a glance is a pretty nice card. He lives in Houston, and makes frequent appearances at Houston Oiler themed events. In addition, Dan remains busy in racing and high speed motor events.

NFL

Wilson, Tyler

Card: Topps Prime 2013
Acquired: 2016, Walmart Autographed Memorabilia

Tyler Wilson is a well-decorated quarterback who played collegiality for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Appearing in 37 games Wilson had 593 completions on 948 attempts, 7,765 yards, and 52 TDs to 26 interceptions. He set numerous passing records at the school during his tenure there, but scouts picked his game apart largely due in part to a lackluster Senior season. Still Tyler was selected in the 4th round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

He’d go into camp competing against Terrell Pryor, Matt McGloin, and Matt Flynn- but be cut at the end of the preseason. The Raiders signed him to their practice squad, elevating him to the regular season roster later in the year. After being released, Tyler signed with the Tennessee Titans but was cut in August. A few days later he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals but was cut at the end of the month.

Wilson’s story is a cautionary one in the sense that if he had declared after his Junior season, he stood a good chance at being selected in the first round of the 2012 draft.  As of 2018, he lives in Little Rock and is a real estate agent.

CFL, NFL

Ismail, Raghib ‘Rocket’ (2)

Cards: Fleer 1996, All World Promo 1991, Classic 1991, Atomic 2001
Acquired: TTM, 2018
Sent: 1/2       Received: 1/8   (6 days)
See Also: Rocket Ismail

Shortly after attending one of the Dallas Cowboys Rally Days where I met Rocket and got his autograph on a handful of cards, he started signing TTM again. I thought initially, “Oh well,” but knew I needed to double back to him to get a few more cards signed. So rolling over to 2018, what better way to kick it off by getting Rocket again as my first autograph of the year?

These cards really offer a cross section of his career starting at Notre Dame on this Classic 1991 promo card. Hand it to Classic trying to be edgy out of the gate, but the name line feels right aligned because the weight is tied to WR. I also wasn’t too big a fan of the brushed granite look, but it beats the cheetah pattern they later used. Overall, it’s a great photo of Rocket and there were quite a few of them to choose from.

From there we move on to the terrible All World CFL series, which tries to emulate the ProSet 1989 design by just angling the lines. There’s also the terrible color choices as the red and blue just feel like they clash a bit too much. It does not help that the Argonaut helmet just sort of -sits there arbitrarily on the canvas. As a promo however it sells what it is: The first set to have Ismail in his professional debut threads.

After his time in the CFL, Rocket jumped back to the NFL courtesy of the Los Angeles Raiders. It seemed to make sense. I mean the only other place with as bright stars and marketing would be Dallas, right? I liked this card. Fleer 1995 was all.. over.. the.. place.. design wise from team to team. It embodied everything I liked and hated in the 1990s sets as the companies started really embracing Photoshop. This one for example has a very unnecessary grain. I like the fearlessness of the design on the front, but it is a bit too much.

After his time with the Raiders, a stop in Dallas was next. It took me a while to come around to the sets of the early 2000s as I didn’t collect any while I was on my football hiatus. Among them I liked the die cut Atomic. I have a soft spot for gimmicky cards, and these certainly look better once you see one.