Tag Archives: ttm autograph

NFL, Pro Football HoF

Fouts, Dan

udlgd97 foutsCard: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 3/18   Received: 3/28    (10 days)
Failure:  TTM 2011, C/o Home

Dan has always been good to fans and through the mail, so I was a bit miffed when I did not receive anything back from him a few years ago. I patiently waited for a response, – one that I never got. Since then I saw a lot of traffic on him recently, I chocked the Topps 1977 card of him up to the mail gods, and finally worked around to another attempt.

Dan Fouts numbers are misleading based on the era he played college ball in and it was frequent during the early 70s for quarterbacks to struggle with both their TD/Int ratio and also their completion percentage. While at the college, Fouts shattered 19 different career and season records for quarterbacks at Oregon.

Standing at 6-3, 204, Fouts was not the highest rated quarterback in the 1973 draft however. That honor fell to Bert Jones. In the meantime, Dan had to wait until the middle of round 3 (pick #64) and would be the 5th quarterback off the board.  He had a rough patch early on, as he honed his craft, but with the Don Coryell bringing his revolutionary vertical offense (also known as ‘Air Coryell’) to town under offensive coordinator Bill Walsh, Dan gave it his best shot. The Chargers offense matured and became one of the most prolific and exciting offenses in the league, bringing a thunderous end to the ‘Dead Ball Era’.  Fouts guided the Chargers to the playoffs from 1979 to 1982, but the team was never able to advance beyond the AFC Championship game.  Fouts played in 6 Pro Bowls, and was AP 3 times.

By the time of his retirement in 1987, Dan pretty much owned most of the Chargers all time records for quarterbacks. He is also the first quarterback to throw for back to back 4,000 yard seasons, and one of a select few who have thrown for back to back 30 TD seasons. Considered ‘The Greatest Charger of All-Time’ by fans, and one of the 100 Greatest NFL Players of all time, Fouts was inducted into the NFL HoF in 1993.  He has spent a lot of his time in broadcasting, both radio and TV color commentary for NFL games, and appeared in the movie “Waterboy”.

G/Gs 181/171    Att 5604     Comp 3297     Yds 43040     Pct 58.8     Td  254   Int 242    Rat 80.2  |
Rush  224    Yds  476    Avg 2.1   Td 13  Lg 32

NFL

Vincent, Troy

spics92 vincentaprks92 vincent

Card: Star Pics 1992, Action Packed Rookies 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Love Thy Neighbor
Sent:   Received:   (days)*
Donation: $5 per card

Troy was one of the top defensive backs out of the 1992 class. At Wisconsin, the former Badger finished his career as a runner up for the Jim Thorpe Award, a 1st Team All-American, and the school’s all-time punt yardage leader.  With rumors of him going as high as #5 to the Green Bay Packers, Vincent was on the up and up in the hours before the draft.  Although the Packers took equally impressive Terrell Buckley off the board with their pick, Vincent didn’t fall far as the Miami Dolphins were there to scoop him up with the 7th overall pick.  He immediately was slotted into the lineup in the team’s retooled defensive backfield that was competing in an arms race with the dominant division leading Buffalo Bills wide receiver corps.

Turning in a strong rookie season, Troy finished with 2 picks for 47 yards, 77 tackles and a forced fumble, earning All-Rookie Team honors. Although a solid DB, it wouldn’t be until 1994 that Vincent really made a splash- with a 5 pick season and a spectacular 79 yard return for a touchdown against the Chiefs. Then in the following season Vincent had 5 more interceptions, including a 2 pick performance against the Jets, one which he returned for a touchdown as well. With big bucks free agency in session, Troy left the Dolphins in 1996 destined for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles were in a similar circumstance with the Dallas Cowboys, and eager to stay up with them, needing a lockdown opposite Bobby Taylor to replace recently departed blue chipper Eric Allen. Vincent fit the bill of what they direly needed. Troy played the majority of his career for the City of Brotherly Love. There he went on to perhaps have his greatest success, rattling off a string of successive Pro Bowl appearances (1999-2003), led the NFL in interceptions (7- 1999), and earned an AP nomination for his 2002 season.

In 2004, Vincent signed with the Buffalo Bills where he was moved to free safety. The move allowed him to extend his career another 3 seasons. A brief stint in Washington brought him back to Buffalo during 2006, and he’d retire after the season having logged some 15 seasons.

Troy has immersed himself in charity operations through his “Love Thy Neighbor” campaign and has been involved in the NFLPA for many years. When Gene Upshaw retired, Troy’s name was indeed among the rumored candidates for the job. Vincent has also received some support for the HoF but due to the lack of glamour statistics associated with the position, Vincent has not made it past the semi-finals.

G/Gs 207/200    Tac 738    Sac 5.5    Fum 12  Int 47   Yds 711   Avg      Td 3     Lg 90t

NFL

Reasons, Gary

AP90 reasonspset90 reasons 2nd place

Card: ProSet 1990, Action Packed 1990
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 3/4 /13  Received: 3/22/13  (18 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

A beast at linebacker from tiny Crowley, Texas, Reasons joined the Northwestern Louisiana and had 394 tackles over his 4 year career for the Demons- a school record.  He also had personal highs of 24 in one game against McNeese St., and 172 tackles as a senior. Over his time at NW Louisiana, Gary was named three times as an 1-AA All- American.

The New York Giants drafted Gary with their 4th round pick of the 1984 draft, and the league collectively yawned. Gary always seemed to be underrated, but went out his rookie season and started 11 games at left inside linebacker, recording a sack, 2 picks, and 3 fumble recoveries.  He called the defensive formations for the Giants, but lost his job in 1987 after an acrimonious holdout. Still he came on strong as a reserve, and later reclaimed his starting role with the team. Gary played for the Giants through 1991, and one season for the Bengals in 1992.

He’s a player who always seemed to shine most when the Giants needed him. The cards above illustrate a perfect example, in what fans refer to as ‘The Hit’. In one of the greatest tackles in history, the Broncos were driving late and decided to go for it on 4th and one at the Giants’ one yard line. As the ball was snapped, Gary came through the hole and stuffed Broncos’ runningback Bobby Humphrey in the backfield. The hit was so jarring, that Humphrey’s mouthpiece came flying out. In addition, during the 1986 NFC Championship game, Gary recorded 12 tackles, a sack, and a pick against the Redskins.  Reasons is also remembered for taking a fake punt 30 yards for a first down against the 49ers in the 1990 playoffs. Finally to top things off, Gary recorded a team high 6 tackles against the Bills in the team’s 20-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.

Since retirement after the 1992 season, Gary’s number (34) has been retired by the Demons.  He briefly dabbled in color commentary for NBC in 1994 as well. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996, and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

G/Gs 134/88      Tac      Sac 3.5    Fum 9   Int 10     Yds 137    Avg 13.7    Td 0     Lg  40