Tag Archives: St. Louis Rams

NFL, Super Bowl MVP

Rypien, Mark (3)

CARD: Pro Set 1990 Super Bowl MVP Hack
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 9/14 RECEIVED: 9/24 (10 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

I am just beside myself with my greatest trading card accomplishment. It is fitting that the first player that I got an autograph of on my Pro Set 1990 Super Bowl Hack card would be the first player who didn’t receive the Merv Corning treatment, Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien.

Since I was a kid, I loved these cards and consider them one of the best subsets ever in the trading card industry. It disappointed me immensely that Pro Set didn’t continue making Merv Corning MVP works after Ottis Anderson (Super Bowl XXV) so I thought, if I ever had the chance, I’d do it myself. I was inspired.

Frankly it took me a long time to get to this point. A lot of personal pain, the humiliation and burn out from a previous design job, leaving the art field again, only to take this challenge upon myself finally to see this through- all over the last year.

The OJ Anderson MVP card was the final Merv Corning art card from this set (L), The Rypien and Aikman cards seamlessly transition to the additional set.

I painstakingly made sure that the design was as close as possible to the original. The typography, both front and back, the colors, matching the alignment, ensuring fidelity to the originals, and that’s without even doing the artwork and tinkering with the printer.

Eventually I posted them to the Facebook autograph group I am an admin of, and then started printing them out in early September of that year. I hadn’t been this excited in a while to get a return like this- except for the fact that Mark signed it on the back.

AAF, NFL

Gilbert, Garrett (2)

Panini Select 2014, #122 Topps AAF NOW 2019, #2

CARDS: Panini Select 2016, Topps AAF Now 2019
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, C/o Home
SENT: 7/28 RECEIVED: 8/29 (32 DAYS)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • See Garrett Gilbert

  • After spending both 2019 and 2020 briefly with the Browns, was signed by the Dallas Cowboys off Cleveland’s practice squad.

  • Was starter in Week 9 against the Steelers, after injury bug hit the Cowboys QB rotation.

  • Threw for 243 yards, a TD and an INT in first meaningful NFL game.

  • Signed by New England Patriots and placed on team’s practice squad for 2021, finishing the season on the roster of the Redskins.

  • In March of 22, signed with the Las Vegas Raiders

NOTES:

I had still wanted to get Garrett on one more card of his- this Topps AAF Now card of his. In a take no risk get no reward situation, I took a shot at an address I found in Ohio (while he was still on the Browns). He signed these two cards for me in a bit under 30 days. Recently I also picked up his AAF Apollos jersey. Maybe if he does another event around here I’ll consider getting it and my custom art signed by him.

NFL

Chandler, Chris (2)

Action Packed 1990, #65 Pro Set 1993, #117

Cards: Action Packed 1990, Pro Set 1993
Acquired: TTM 2021, C/o Home
Sent: 4/22 Received: 5/1 (9 Days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

Chris had been off the signing bandwagon for sometime, so when he popped up in 2021, I raced these cards that I found out to him.