Tag Archives: ttm autograph

NFL, WLAF

Avery, Steven

Cards: Wild Card WLAF 1992, Ultimate WLAF 1991.
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o home
Sent: 3/12  Received: 4/10 (28 days)

Steven Avery went undrafted out of Northern Michigan in 1989 where he signed as a free agent with the then Houston Oilers. After being cut in camp that year he sat out a year, and then was picked up by the Packers who then allocated him to the Birmingham Fire of the WLAF where he played for two seasons as their starting fullback until the league went on hiatus after 1992. Recognized for his tough nosed blocking and decent hands, Steve’s style matched that of a ‘poor man’s’ Meril Hoge.  He was a natural fit for the Steelers, and signed with them in 1993 and playing for the gold and black for 3 years before retiring. Since retired from football the Steelers have had him back as an honorary captain on occasion. Steve lives in Ocmonoc, WI. I sent out for Steve’s autograph to his home address, where he sent a nice thank you note to me for being a fan in a bit under 30 days.

Fire    games 20     att 49     yds 182    avg 3.7    td 1   lg 32
rec 32  yds 364   avg 11.4   td  3   lg  54t

NFL

Mecklenburg, Karl ‘Albino Rhino’

Cards: Fleer 1990, Proset 1989
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o home
Sent: 2/15 Received: 3/15 ( 28 days)

Nobody paid much attention when with the 310th pick of the infamous 1983 draft, the Denver Broncos took a flyer on a little known linebacker named Karl Mecklenburg out of the University of Minnesota.  Mecklenburg would just go on to play for 12 seasons, leading them on defense during the Bronco’s Superbowl runs during the 1980s. Nickamed the ‘Albino Rhino’ by teammates, Mecklenburg finished his career with 79 sacks and over 1100 tackles.  Since football, Mecklenburg has established the REACH foundation, written a book about his experiences as a player (“Heart of a StudentAthlete”) and been inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Honor. He also does extensive public speaking and resides in Littleton, Colorado with his wife and three children. I sent off for Karl’s autograph, and got a fairly quick response from him with a note about his book in a little under a month.

The verse included is from the bible. (Philippians 4:8) “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Games 180      Tac 1104     Sac 79.0    FF 16     Int 5      Yds 128     Avg 25.6    Td 0

Arena, WLAF

O’Hara, Pat

Cards: Ultimate WLAF 1991, Wild Card WLAF 1992.
Acquired: TTM, 2010. C/o Orlando Predators
Sent:  4/28   Received: 5/28  (31 days)

Pat O’Hara was allocated to the Ohio Glory (from Tampa Bay) to back up starting quarterback Babe Laufenberg for the 1992 season but it turned into a full blown quarterback controversy between Laufenberg, Glen Frey, and Pat O’Hara for the starting job. After the season was over he was picked up by the Chargers and thenRedskins, before moving into a starting capacity in the AFL playing for the Orlando Predators from 1995-2000. From 2001-02 he played for the Toronto Phantoms, and then finally the Tampa Bay Storm from 2003-2006 before retiring. It was during his Arena career he built his playing resume winning 3 Arena Bowls in 5 tries.

The onetime backup to Rodney Peete and Todd Marinovich at USC, spent time at a variety of head coaching and coordinator jobs in the Arena league before being promoted to head coach of the Orlando Predators in 2010. Oddly enough Pat has also spent some time consulting for movies and actors to assist in authenticity of football films. I received his autographs courtesy of the Predators in about a month.

Glory   Games n/a       Att 201       Comp 116     Pct 57.7     Yds 1118
Td 3    Int 11     Rat  57.0