Tag Archives: ttm football autograph

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Searcy, George

Card: Wild Card World League 1992
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 11/18/19 Received: 1/2/20 (45 days)

George played ball for Eastern Tennessee State from 1987-1990. A big an powerful tailback, George set many rushing records for the Bucs that still stand today. A member of the Bucs upset win in 1987 over NC State- Searcy caught a TD pass to help cinch the win. He then ran for 210 yards over the Citadel in 1989- a season in which he ran for 1,324 yards on 275 carries, and scored 17 TDs, winning the Southern Conference’s Offensive MVP Award. During that season he logged 5 games with over 30 carries and 4 games with 3 TDs. George closed out his career for the Bucs with 462 carries for 2,262 yards.

George was not selected in the 1990 NFL Draft. He signed as a rookie free agent with the Washington Redskins, but did not make the squad. He joined the San Antonio Riders in 1992 after being selected in the 6th round of the player draft. He was a key cog in the Riders World League leading rushing offense, blocking up front and spelling for league leader Ivory Lee Brown that year. George ran 43 times for 195 yards. A dependable receiver out of the backfield, Searcy caught 36 passes for 267 yards and a TD. Missing the final contest of the season with a knee injury, George finished second on the team in catches. After the World League folded George stayed in playing shape, and showed up again briefly on the radar of the CFL for the Toronto Argonauts in 1995.

I was positive that I had already taken a shot at George back 5-7 years ago, but after researching my records, I determined I had not. After doing some digging online, I found out that his daughter lived in Florida. The breadcrumbs slowly led me to him, so I decided to throw this card out there and take a shot.

He signed this card in 45 days and included this nice note:

i am sorry for the delay in returning the card. Thanks for being a fan. I had a great time playing in San Antonio. Good luck with your mission.

Merry X-Mas,
George Searcy #20

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431954.3031
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362677.4124
NFL

Burns, Jerry (1927-2021)

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, ProSet 1991
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 11/21 Received: 12/23 (32 days)

Jerry Burns played quarterback at Michigan from 1947-1950. He quietly ascended the college ranks, including a head coaching stop at Iowa. In 1967, Burns joined Vince Lombardi’s staff at Green Bay. He’d serve on Lombardi’s staff for the Packers Super Bowl I and II victories before Jerry was poached by division rival Minnesota, to serve as head coach Bud Grant’s offensive coordinator.

Jerry was forward thinking for the time. Arguably he can be considered one of the pioneers of what was later popularized as the West Coast Offense, as his team’s short to intermediate passing game, supported by runningbacks predated the Walsh era by a few years with Fran Tarkenton. Jerry served as offensive coordinator for 18 years- eventually succeeding Grant as head coach in 1986.

As head coach, Burns guided the Vikings to the playoffs from 1987 to 1989, losing to the Redskins in the 1987 NFL Championship Game, and then the 49ers in the divisional round in both 1988 and 1989. His teams were actually known more for stacked defensive talent than anything else, and he posted a 52-43 record over 6 seasons. Burns retired after the 1991 season, after posting an 8-8 record. He was later inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor.

I love writing players who share with me history and information about their lives, and I had heard that Jerry loves getting fan mail, so I thought it was worth the shot. About a month later I received this very nice letter in the mail from his daughter, Kelly. Jerry is in his 90s now, and getting him to recall these memories makes him feel great. She kindly paraphrased and wrote down Jerry’s responses to my questions.

What was your favorite moment as a coach?

“He’s had so many wonderful moments but finally becoming the Vikings Head Coach!”

________________________________________________________________

Did you have a signature Bread and Butter play you liked to call?

Of course- being an offensive guy- the pass was his favorite- short pass and run!!

________________________________________________________________

Who was your favorite player to coach over the years?

Ricky Young and my Dad have always been close- and to this day!! They are super close!!

________________________________________________________________

What is your secret to longevity?

My beautiful wife who has always been my best friend and who has always cared for me- and my family.

Kelly and the Burns family humbled me by thanking me for my letter and letting me know that they very much enjoyed it.

UPDATE 5/12/21- Jerry Burns passed away today at the age of 94 due to a variety of age related complications.

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Dickerson, Eric (3)

Cards: ProSet 1990 Pro Bowl, Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 7/13 Received: 8/24 (40 days)*
See Also: Eric Dickerson, Eric Dickerson (2)
*Fee Enclosed

The Holy Grail of ProSet cards was Eric Dickerson Pro Bowl #338 ProSet 1990. They were like $500.00+ on Beckett at one point! We’d open pack after pack of those Series One boxes hoping that a single Dickerson Pro Bowl would grace our presence- but it never did.

As the legend is told… Dickerson was not a part of the NFLPA so ProSet did not have his permission to print this card. You see players are given an all or none option by the NFL- so Dickerson opted out because he wanted the freedom of exclusivity. It was too late in the printing process so ProSet had to manually yank it from the production line- yet it was estimated a scant 40 of these cards made it out into the wild.

‘I don`t think there`ll be a market for this (Dickerson) card,” Denny said. ”It`s not a short print, under print, error or anything like that. When and if the NFLPA says it`s OK, we`ll offer the cards to collectors free by mail.”

-PROSET PRESIDENT LUD DENNY

Unlike the William Perry card in the 1989 set, ProSet did not replace or eventually get this card out. It was a gaping hole in the set that perturbed completionists such as myself. Eventually ProSet just gave up and issued a Lud Denny card in its place, but it was a promo card- certainly not available to the general public either.

After ProSet went out of business- well many years afterwards, everything went up for liquidation including these ‘rare’ cards that flooded the market. Apparently the company had just been sitting on them in their Dallas warehouse. (Since these cards existed before counterfeiting technology was developed- there’s no telling if these are fakes.) You can now find them on EBay for a relatively cheap price, hovering around $5.00, which in retrospect is probably still too expensive.

Still there’s a certain feeling of excitement looking at this card knowing it’s a part of the collection and the legacy involved- so I had to get it signed.

I loved Dickerson’s unique upright running style. While he absorbed a lot of punishing hits over the years and dropped the rock from time to time, there’s no denying his place in NFL history.

I had also wanted to get this Upper Deck Legends 97 card signed as well. It’s a beautiful canvas, and features a slightly elevated camera angle that makes it even more unique- and it is a great fill on a set need to boot!