Tag Archives: score 2012

AAF, NFL

Escobar, Gavin (1991-2022)

CARD: Score 2013 Future Franchise Fabrics Autograph
ACQUIRED: eBay, 2026

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Gavin Escobar played TE at San Diego State from 2010-’12.
  • In 2011 he had a whopping 51 receptions for 780 yards and 7 TDs.
  • Declared after his Junior campaign, recording 122 catches for 1646 yards and 17 TDs over his college career.
  • Selected in the 2nd round, 47th overall, by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2013 NFL Draft.
  • For most of his time in Dallas, Gavin was stuck playing behind seemingly ageless wonder Jason Witten.
  • In 4 seasons with Dallas he started 7 games, catching 30 passes for 333 yards and 8 TDs.
  • Split 2017 with KC and Baltimore but saw no action with either of them, or Miami the following year.
  • Hopped onto the AAF in 2019 playing for the San Diego Fleet.
  • Starting 5 contests he’d catch 16 passes for 176 yards.
  • After the league folded, he retired and became a fireman in California.

NOTES:

I was pretty terrified of Gavin with the Fleet as I remembered him from his time with the Cowboys. Pretty sure he gashed the Commanders for a few good catches during the AAF opener in San Antonio.

EPITAPH:

 9/28/22- Gavin Escobar was tragically killed in a mountaineering accident as an old, degraded fixed sling, around a tree broke during unpredictably inclement weather, causing he and Chelsea Walsh to fall several hundred feet to their deaths at the base of Tahquitz Rock. He was only 31.

NFL

Gerhart, Toby

CARDS: Topps 2011, Score 2012, Score 2011, Score 2010
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, C/o Home
SENT: 6/29 RECEIVED: 7/24 (25 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Toby Gerhart played RB at Stanford from 2006-2009.
  • He burst onto the national scene his Junior season rushing for 1136 yards and 15 TDs on 210 carries.
  • Then Gerhart took the FBS by storm leading all rushers with 343 carries for 1871 yards and 28 TDs on 354 plays in 2009.
  • He’d finish second in Heisman Voting behind Alabama RB Mark Ingram.
  • Reminding many of Touchdown Tommy Vardell, Gerhart was a second round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2010- replacing recently departed Chester Taylor.
  • He’d see snaps behind All Pro Adrian Peterson at RB over the next 4 years.
  • Gerhart’s best season came in 2011 when he rushed 109 times for 531 yards, while catching 23 passes.
  • Over his time in Minnesota, Gerhart was a decent threat out of the backfield, catching 77 passes for 600 yards and 7 TDs, along with his 1300 yards rushing and 5 TDs as a north south runner.
  • Expected to be the replacement for Maurice Jones-Drew, Toby signed with the Jaguars in 2014.
  • The Jaguars had many problems- the least of all being RB, as Gerhart finished second behind Denard Robinson with 101carries for 326 yards and 2 TDs.
  • He’d spend a good portion of 2015 on IR and retire after his release in 2016.

ACCOLADES:

  • Doak Walker Award 2009
  • College Football Hall of Fame
  • Archie Griffin Award 2009
  • Jim Brown Award 2009
  • PAC 10 Offensive Player of the Year 2009

NOTES:

I remember when Toby was drafted there was a lot of hype on him as the second coming of the ‘Great White Hope’- a questionable tag frequently given to white runningbacks, as they rarely led the NFL in rushing for a while there. (Peyton Hills most notably broke ‘the curse’ just going over 1,000 yards for Cleveland back in 2010.) Oddly before that the most notable name to hold that title was another Stanford back- Tommy Vardell, who also played for Cleveland.

NFL

Johnson, Derrick (2) ‘DJ’

udi08 der johnsonCards: Upper Deck Icons 2008, Score 2009, Score 2012, Donruss Rookies & Stars 2012
Acquired: IP 12/6/2014, Total Athlete ATX Grand Opening
See Also: Derrick Johnson

Got a tip from a fellow collector (Nathanlg) about Derrick tweeting about a grand opening he was appearing at in Austin. Nathan and I go way, way back, however we hadn’t spoken in some 20 years, but we had been kicking the can for sometime about covering an autograph event together, since we are both avid collectors. We hit the Total Athlete grand opening a few minutes after it started. I was really surprised that the location was the former maintenance hangar of the Pflugerville Municipal Airport.  For many, many years, I’d drive by the airport on Howard Lane when I was younger. I don’t think it’d ever strike me that I’d ever go there one day for an autograph signing. Makes me think again about how small the world is physically, spatially, and socially.

Derrick was not only in attendance, – the whole building wasdors12 der johnson decked out inside with amazing full size banners of him. The facility itself specialized in resistance training. It had a few weights, but the majority of it was built towards strength and conditioning, with half of the surface covered in synthetic turf. There were a few local vendors there, and a few former UT personalities showed up including Lee Jackson, Brian Orapko, and Tim Crowder.   I even ran into a former San Antonio Talon who is a trainer there. Again- small world.

It took me a while to get around to Derrick with Nathan. I think we both didn’t want to just walk in and crash his grand opening for autographs right off the bat. While Nathan had this really nice custom replica UT helmet he made signed, I was able to slip in afterwards for a few signatures on these cards. I brought up the 2005 draft with him and how he was almost a member of the Houston Texans, not once, but twice. He almost sounded like he had a chip on his shoulder about it, and recited to me with a chuckle, how the Texans took Travis Johnson instead. I lamented to him about what could’ve been the combination of Derrick Johnson and De’Meco Ryans the Texans might have had. He grabbed all 4sco09 der johnson cards out of my hand and signed each one without blinking an eye. It was very nice of him.

Score 2009 is one of my favorite sets of the past ten years or so. I really like the distinctive design and splatter art effect. It’s just very stylish. I do go out of my way to get cards autographed from this set when the opportunity presents itself, so I was really pleased to get this one. The rest are a mishmosh of different cards from different sets that I had acquired or wanted to study. I do like this Upper Deck Icons card. Again, a really well thought out design. I like how the figure breaks the plane of the design, and the red streaks slice up the metallic border.

On the other hand, the 2012 sets are a really bad let down. I thought that the Donruss Rookies & Stars 2012 set would be as good as their 2011 and 2010 offerings but sadly it evolved into this flat and boring design. I should’ve just trusted my instincts since there was no preview of the card on the outside of the box. Likewise, Score went the same direction with their 2012 offering which I yawned at.
sco12 der johnsonIt’s just so- boxy. Very trite.

After the 2013 season, Johnson engineered another ProBowl appearance. He earned Defensive Player of the Game Honors for Team Rice notching 9 tackles and a pass block. Derrick afterwards was off to a fast start during Week 1 in 2014, if not for a torn Achilles he suffered against the Tennessee Titans, eraisng his entire campaign. In 10 seasons playing inside at linebacker with the Chiefs, Johnson’s 981 tackles rank third in team history.