Tag Archives: ttm football autograph

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Hornung, Paul ‘Golden Boy’ (1935-2020)

Card: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: TTM 2018 C/o Home
Sent:  3/12  Received:  3/23   (11 days)
* Donation Enclosed

While at Notre Dame from 1954 to 1956, Paul Hornung played quarterback for the Fightin’ Irish.  Over 3 years he threw for 1696 yards on 110 of 233 passes, with 12 TDs to 23 interceptions. A gifted runner, Hornung had 209 carries for 1051 yards and 6 TDs. Now during those years, passing was still in the stone age, so those totals were actually pretty substantial. Despite playing for a losing team in ’56, Hornung rushed for 420 yards and 6 TDs, while passing for 917 yards and 3 TDs, earning him the 1956 Heisman Trophy Award.

Paul was the first overall pick of the Green Bay Packers during the 1957 Amateur Football Draft.  The Packers liked Hornung’s rushing style so they converted him to a ‘back. Now the reason I use the eponymous term ‘back’ is because Paul saw time at fullback, halfback, – something called ‘L-back’ and heck, he even did some kicking duties over the next 10 seasons. Arguably his best year came in 1960, a year in which he led the league with 13 rushing TDs, 15 total touchdowns, 41 extra points, and 15 field goals. While he did not play in Super Bowl I, Paul culminated his career by earning the first Super Bowl ring.  His number was unofficially retired in 1967 by the Packers.

The Golden Boy culminated his career by being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.  He is the only player to win the Heisman, be selected overall number 1 in the NFL draft, and win a Super Bowl, in the history of the sport.

All around high marks for this solid looking card. Upper Deck really hit the nail on the head in 1997 with this set. It did it all and it became an instant classic. This overall impressive photo of Hornung is only complimented by his autograph- something that I got lucky on getting in such pristine condition. Not only does Hornung’s autograph tend to get rushed and sloppy looking from what I’ve seen, he sent this one back in my unsealed SASE. Still for a mere $10 getting a Hall of Famer, a number one overall pick, AND a Heisman winner all in one on a card is a bargain.

G/GSRUSHYDSAVGTDLG
104/9089337114.25072
RECYDSAVGTDLG
130148011.41283
ATTCPDYDSPCTTDINTRAT
552438343.65467.5
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1941901406647.152

** UPDATE ** On November 13th, 2020, Paul Hornung passed away at the age of 84, after a long battle with dementia.

NFL

Cook, Marv (2)


Cards: Score 1993, GameDay 1992, Action Packed 1991, Action Packed 1992
Acquired: 2012, Akron Acquisition. 2017, TTM C/o Home
Sent: 9/28   Received: 10/07  (9 days)
See Also: Marv Cook

After his NFL career concluded in 1996, Marv has become a well respected coach at the high school level in Iowa City, IA winning numerous state titles. He has some great cards and after getting the Score 1993 in 2012 C/o the Akron Acquisition, I thought I’d go ahead and get a few more since he’s a great signer through the mail.

The Score 1993 card is a really conservative design, anchored well on the left and bottom- but among the pantheon of card designs this was a pretty boring look. A few nitpicks- They typeface used is too narrow making the team and position difficult to read. Maybe it’s just because of the color scheme, but this looks like it belongs on a Domino’s Pizza box.

Marv’s Action Packed entries are typical of this set. Good sports photography supported by the embossed gimmick. The minimal works here, because of the punchy mid-range photography, although in the 1992 entry the nameplate is lost in the photo.  On the 1992 entries it was a nice touch with the red stripe used for AFC teams while the blue stripe used for NFC.

I always had a weak spot for the GameDay cards. GameDay was interesting because it was the only Long Tom set on the market. I loved this set specifically for that look alone which not only separated itself from the competition on the market, but resembled a ticket, standing out from the crowd at an event. This card of Marv, I think the photo was from the game in which he caught a TD in an epic upset over the Houston Oilers at Foxboro Stadium.

 

CFL, NFL

Smith, Tony (RB)

 Cards: GameDay 1992, Action Packed Rookies 1992, Classic 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 4/10      Received:  4/28  (18 days)

A speedy and dangerous all-purpose man while at Southern Mississippi, Tony Smith got to play alongside the likes of Brett Favre and Michael Jackson on offense. Over his career at the school he set school records, returning 2 kickoffs and 2 punts for touchdowns. In 1991 he ran for over 1,000 yards, (5.1 yards per carry) despite wearing a cast on his hand for half the season. Tony culminated his college career when he was named the Senior Bowl MVP after rushing for 72 yards on 12 carries.

The Falcons were in their 3rd year of the Glanville era. They traded away Brett Favre to the Packers, and cut future CFL career leading rusher Mike Pringle. The Falcons had an age purge at RB and the previous season they had failed to have any runningback reach 500 yards rushing. Steve Broussard and Erric Pegram would be the top backs out in the Red Gun offense. The team felt it still had a lot of needs, so Glanville was pretty unhappy when the team selected Tony Smith with the 1st round pick that they had gotten from the Brett Favre trade. You see Glanville didn’t have power over the draft and really thought the team should select a defensive back. (To put salt in the wound, Dale Carter, Darryl Williams, Ashley Ambrose, Darren Woodson, and Steve Israel all came off the board after this selection and had solid defensive back careers.) Much to Tony’s credit though- he was the highest rated tailback in the draft.

Smith was slow to get into camp- and was considered a holdout. He’d be the last first round pick to sign from the 1992 draft.  He was also the wrong style of back. Glanville liked smashmouth in-your-face backs, but Tony was a studder-step and make them miss back. He got out there his rookie season and started 6 games posting 87 carries for 329 yards and 2 TDs, but oddly enough, he’d never start another game again for the Falcons in the next two seasons.

Fans clamored to see more of Tony, and I am sure Tony was ready to show them what he had, so he put some time in on special teams where he demonstrated his capability as a dangerous return man. He finished 1993 with 38 kick returns for 948 yards and a 97 yard touchdown. Smith also returned punts- putting up a respectable 32 returns for 255 yards and a 51 yard long.  He saw even less activity in 1994- putting up only 408 total yards from scrimmage. Tony just couldn’t get out of Jerry Glanville’s doghouse.

It looked like a new start for Tony in 1995. The Falcons left him exposed in Free Agency and the expansion Carolina Panthers were providing him a new chance. While Tony had an impressive preseason, he suffered a gruesome injury against the Bears breaking both his tibia and fibia bones. He spent the entire ’95 season on IR. After rehabbing and spending a year away from football, Tony attempted a comeback with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 1998. He returned to the NFL in 1999 with the Philadelphia Eagles- but tore his hamstring in camp ending his career.

It is a shame that Tony’s career ended the way it did, but at least he is at peace with it. He had some great cards over that short run, with these 3 representing some of my favorites.

G/GS 33/6   RUSH 87      YDS 329        AVG 3.8      TD 2           LG 32
REC 2      YDS  14              AVG 7.0               TD 0          LG 8
KR 61      YDS 1453         AVG 23.8            TD 1          LG 97T
PR 56      YDS 485            AVG 8.7                TD 0         LG 51