Action Packed 1991 Whizzer White Award, #5Topps 1969, #161
CARDS: Action Packed Whizzer White Award 1991, Topps 1969 ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home SENT: 9/26 RECEIVED: 11/23 (58 days) FAILURE: TTM 2019, C/o Home
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Kermit Alexander played runningback for UCLA from 1960-62.
Posted 708 yards on 128 carries (6 TDs), and caught 32 passes for 508 yards and 2 TDs over college career.
Opting to play for SF over Denver in 1963, the 49ers would utilize Kermit as a return man and DB.
Over 7 seasons in SF, Kermit had 5+ interceptions 5 times, lead the NFL in fumble recoveries twice (5 in ’64 and 8 in ’65) playing all DB positions.
In 1965, he led the NFL in returns (35) and return yardage (741).
At the turn of 1970, Alexander was traded to the LA Rams.
He’d only play two seasons for the franchise, but not before he added 7 more interceptions to his resume, including an 82 yard TD.
Retired after the 1973 season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
ACCOLADES:
Pro Bowl 1968
Byron Whizzer White Award 1972
NOTES:
I had coveted Kermit on this Action Packed card of his for sometime. After writing him back in 2019 I was surprised to get these cards back unsigned as he had a very good signing track record. I suppose that he may have taken offense to something I wrote in my letter, as I was unaware of his family tragedy.
Later a friend of mine got him through the mail and told me that in his response a family member stated that Kermit was struggling with his memory, so I figured now was as good as any time as any.
James Butler played RB for 3 years at Nevada from 2014-16.
He ran for over 1300 yards and 10 TDs in both 2015 and 2016.
Transferred to Iowa for Senior year in 2017.
Undrafted in 2018, but was a member of the Raiders practice squad.
Signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019 but was cut at the end of camp.
Returned to Raiders practice squad for the 2019 season but was not resigned.
Joined the XFL Houston Roughnecks Run N Shoot attack for the 2020 season.
Was a spark at RB for the Roughnecks, both on the ground and as a receiving threat.
Carried the ball 46 times for 221 yards (4 TDs) to go along with 11 catches for 42 yards and a TD
After scoring a TD in a home game against the St Louis Battlehawks, jumped into crowd creating a celebration dubbed, “The Houston Hop”.
COVID ended the XFL 2020, but James rejoined the CFL- with the BC Lions.
Rushed for 497 yards on 101 carries (2 TDs) and caught 39 passes for 243 yards and a TD in 2021.
Had first 1,000 yard effort in 2022 rushing for 1060 yards on 210 carries while also catching 53 passes for 384 yards for the Lions.
NOTES:
Well I had season tickets to the Roughnecks and of 3 games that they were able to play I was able to attend 2 of them before COVID knocked the league out. I went with my friend Kevin to the game, and with our endzone seats, I was able to engineer a guest star on James Butler’s Houston Hop, as I muscled my way in at the end of the highlight film. Look at that Legends jersey! Long live the AAF!
Tyreek Hill faced an up and down college career starting as a track man at Gardena Jr College in 2012.
He’d become a hot prospect and eventually end up at Oklahoma State in 2014.
Dismissed from the Cowboys late in the year, he enrolled at West Alabama in 2015.
A versatile athlete, as a return man, receiver, and runningback, Hill displays a unique combination of skills, hands, and speed that made him an intriguing prospect.
He was selected in the 5th round of the 2016 NFL Draft as a WR by the Kansas City Chiefs, due to his dismissal from the OKC football team.
In Tyreek’s rookie year, he saw extensive time on special teams, where he led the league in punt return yards (592), average (15.2) and TDs (2).
He also had 14 kick returns for 384 yards and an 86 yard TD.
With the emergence of QB Pat Mahomes in KC, Hill became his go to bomb catcher in 2017.
Tyreek spent the next 5 years in KC raking in roughly 6,100 yards receiving and 49 TDs.
In 2022, Hill was traded in the middle of the night to the Miami Dolphins.
Despite detractors and naysayers, saying Hill was dependent on Mahomes for his numbers, Tyreek went on to have the best season of his career with 1710 yards receiving on 119 catches for Miami.
In 6 seasons, Hill has over 10k All-purpose yards, with 3 of those years over 1750 yards.
Tyreek Hill suffers from the ‘too good to be true syndrome’. Knowing these could be ghost signed I went ahead and sent these three out to get autographed. Just couldn’t miss out on getting him since he’s such a good player- with great cards to boot. After I got these back I got a ton of mail asking me if I thought these were legit or to enjoy my ‘fake’ autographs.
This is not the first time this has happened to me. On a previous occasion I got spammed by people who were upset because I got Joe Montana back TTM. They too thought it was too good to be true and that it was fake. It turns out that it’s now his standard autograph. No one calls them autopens or ghost signed anymore.
The same goes for Tyreek. While the cards I have are a departure from his original autograph, if you look at his more recent *certified* autographs, these are now the standard.
Panini Luminance has become a ‘late’ favorite of mine, even though it is from 2018. A bit disappointed that the insert card didn’t pick up his autograph better, and also that the cut out action pose is from the base card I also have autographed, but still glad to add them to the collection. Tyreek was a class act enough to toss in a Panini Chronicles as well, and all for the sweet, sweet donation of 20 bucks.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
