Tag Archives: ttm autograph

NFL

Hawkins, Courtney ‘Hawk’

aprks92 chawkins
Card: Action Packed Rookies 1992
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent:   7/23/15  Received:  11/2/15   (102 days)

Courtney Hawkins played collegiately for the Spartans at Michigan State.  A dangerous kick and punt returner, Hawk got his chance to shine as a receiver in his Sophomore year when he made 60 receptions for 1080 yards and 6 touchdowns.  At the time of his graduation Hawkins had 138 receptions for 2210 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Courtney played 9 seasons in the NFL. Originally a second round choice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hawk’s best season came in 1993 when he caught 62 balls for 933 yards and 5 touchdowns.  He was also used seldomly on punt return duties.  Hawkins joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997 and had a renaissance in 1998, with 66 receptions for 751 yards and a TD. During that season,  Hawk broke a Steelers team record with 14 receptions (for 147 yards) against the Tennessee Oilers.  He retired after the 1999 campaign.

Currently he is a highly regarded head coach and athletic director for the Beecher School District in Michigan.  Beggars can’t be choosers, and while I really wanted to get my Star Pics 1992 card signed as well, I guess he decided to keep that one in exchange for his autograph on his Action Packed Rookies entry.

G/GS  131/81     REC  366    YDS  4573     AVG  12.5   TD 18      LG  67
PR 68    YDS 553      AVG  8.1      TD 0       LG 47
KR 9       YDS 118      AVG  13.1    TD 0      LG 18

 

 

 

NFL, WLAF

Harris, Elroy

ultwlaf92 eharrisCards: ProSet WLAF 1991, Ultimate WLAF 1992, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent: 2/15    Received:  3/5    (18 days)

At the time of his departure from EKU (Eastern Kentucky University) fireplug Elroy Harris was the All-time leading rusher in school history with 4,555 yards in 3 years, a whopping 5.9 yards per carry, and scored an Ohio Valley Conference Record 58 career total touchdowns. Among Elroy’s accolades was being named the Conference player of the year in 1988 after accumulating 1,543 yards, which led all Division I-AA schools.

Elroy was a 3rd round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the jam packed 1989 NFL super draft.  Looking for a change of pace in the backfield the Seahawks were stuffed with talent at RB with guys like Curt Warner, John L. Williams, James Jones, Derrick Fenner, and Kevin Harmon. Thankfully Chuck Knox and his infamous ‘Ground Chuck’ offense required so many backs to share the load. Elroy did what it took to make the roster and was utilized primarily on special teams. As a returnman he made appearances in 14 games for Seattle, returning 18 kicks for 334 yards.

wcwlaf92 eharrisElroy was not retained for the 1990 season, but with the WLAF on the horizon, he made an excellent candidate for the league. Originally a draft pick of the Montreal Machine, Harris had a speedy debut against the Birmingham Fire.  Elroy managed to squeeze out 250 yards and 2 TDs, but found himself cut after Week 4. It’s always been a mystery to me as to why it happened, but regardless, the Machine were content with Ricky Johnson taking the lionshare of the workload to go along with Broderick Sargent.

Elroy did not go unemployed for long. He quickly was picked up by a familiar foe- the Birmingham Fire, whose coach, Chan Gailey is a mastermind (even today) of squeezing the most out of players that he can in his offensive systems. Harris stepped into the lineup and contributed another 290 yards and a TD, finishing 4th in the league in rushing, and helping the Fire make the playoffs.

Elroy returned to the Birmingham Fire for the 1992 season, and put up a respectable 470 yards on the ground and 5 TDs, sharing the backfield with Jim Bell as the Fire returned to the playoffs.

psetwlaf91 eharrisWhy looking for Elroy Harris for 7 years sticks out in my mind is because he has a card in each set that’s very nice looking.  I thought that finding him was going to be much easier than this, but who would’ve thought there were hundreds of Elroy Harris’s across the United States? It took a bit of extra effort cross referencing cards and public data to finally track down the elusive Fire runningback. While I just threw a prayer to the wind, I had a gnawing feeling that this address was the one. I was just surprised to get a response so quickly, and a nice note to boot. Elroy is currently a head mechanic and a coach at his local high school. Apparently he gets little fanmail, as he was really happy to receive this treat letter from me and wished my father and me all the best.

NFL  14/0     RUSH 8   YDS 23   AVG 2.9    TD 0   LG 8
REC 3   YDS 26    AVG 8.7   TD 0   LG 11
KR  18    YDS 334     AVG 18.6     TD 0   LG 25

WLAF   RUSH 271    YDS 1010   AVG 3.7    TD 8  LG 41
REC  17     YDS 83     AVG 4.9      TD 1     LG 16

NFL

Stams, Frank

pset89 stamspset90 stams

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent:   12/9         Received:  12/18           (9 days)

A high motor outside linebacker and defensive end out of Notre Dame,  Frank Stams originally started as a fullback for the Fighting Irish. They’d convert him over to LB where he’d be named MVP of the Fiesta Bowl in 1989. In his Senior year, Frank was named first-team All-American as he led the team with 7 sacks and finished 5th on the team with 51 tackles.

The Los Angeles Rams tabbed Frank in the second round of the 1989 draft. He’d be thrust into the starting lineup as injuries decimated the Rams linebacking corps. Stams beat out Fred Strickland at ILB in 1990 and finished second in tackles with 78 in 13 games.  Stams battled injuries most of 91, and then signed with the Browns in 1992. He’d play with the franchise through 4 games into the 1995 season and a final game with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Stams lives in the Cleveland area and is an ambassador for the team.

G/Gs  82/31    TAC 178       SAC  2.0      FUM  1
INT  1      YDS 20      AVG 20.0      TD   0     LG  20