Tag Archives: ttm football autograph

NFL, WLAF

Sweeney, Kevin

mem sweeneyCard: ProSet 1991
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 2/3     Received:  6/25   (142 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

Kevin Sweeney played for the Fresno State Bulldogs from 1983-1986, where he became one of the first Fresno QBs to really land on the radar of NFL scouts and a Heisman Trophy Watch List.  In 1984, he threw for career highs in attempts (421), completions (221), yards (3,259), and touchdowns (20).  His 10,585 career passing yardage mark stood as a school record,  (until it was recently shattered by 2014 NFL draft pick Derek Carr), and as the NCAA mark, which has been beaten many times over in the modern spread era.

Kevin was taken in the 7th round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.  It was a dream come true for Kevin, who grew up as a fan of the team, attending training camps on a regular basis. Undersized at 6’0″, Cowboys’ director of Personell Gil Brandt loved his personality and tenacity. During his time at Fresno St, Sweeney got to prove his grit, durability (started 46 games), and experience starting in a pro style offense as well.  It was a difficult period for the team to say the least. As the luster was dulling on the stars that played in Dallas, there was a quarterback derby underway between Danny White and Steve Pelleur. He’d lose out though in training camp to 3rd stringer Paul McDonald. Then the NFL Strike happened and everything changed. With the ‘official players’ sidelined, Sweeney was the Cowboys ‘in-pocket quarterback’, – a guy they knew that if the strike was to happen, they were going to call him up, and make that investment pay off from the extra snaps and time Tom Landry and the organization invested into him- and did Sweeney ever. Many ‘scab’ teams were given silly strike nicknames. The Cowboys’ was particularly good. They were dubbed the Rhinestone Cowboys. Kevin came out in his first game as a starter and found Cornell Burbage streaking down the field. He’d hit him for the first touchdown during the NFL strike. The former Fresno St kid, parlayed it into a 2-0 record under center for the Boys. He’d throw for 291 yards and 4 touchdowns and a 111.8 quarterback rating.  While the strike ending sent many players packing, Kevin returned to the Cowboys for 1988. While he wasn’t as successful for the team the following year, his time was up when new owner Jerry Jones came into town and fired Tom Landry and his whole staff, replacing him with Jimmy Johnson. Kevin signed with the San Fransisco 49ers in 1989 but was cut during training camp that year. At that point he went into a period of semi-retirement.

pset91 sweeneyIn 1991 the WLAF was getting off the ground, and Sweeney was being eyed by the young league. He’d be the second quarterback taken off the board by the Montreal Machine, after Brent Pease (Bir).  He’d battle Mike Proctor for the starting job throughout the season. Benched and replaced, he’d reemerge during a contest against Sacramento with the team down 20-10. As he put 2 chipshots from Nittmo on the board, he’d rally the Machine for one final drive down the field trailing now 20-16 with a bit over 3 and a half minutes left. He’d put together a solid 93 yard drive in 8 plays, but suffer a fearsome hit from linebacker Pete Najarian – separating his shoulder. While the Machine won the game 26-23, Sweeney’s season and career was over. Kevin returned to Northern California and currently is a senior VP for Wells Fargo as of 2014. Well worth the wait and the failure I’d say, as not only did Kevin sign his Pro Set 1991 WLAF promo card, but he also included a signed photo of him with the Cowboys and Tom Landry in his own envelope.  Really nice pick up here.

 

NFL   6/4      Att 106     Comp  46        Yds  605         Pct 44.3        Td  7        Int 6           Rat  61.2
Rush 11        Yds 42         Avg  3.8       Td 0      Lg  10
WLAF     Att  69     Comp  24      Yds  219         Pct 34.8      Td 1        Int 3          Rat  31.0
Rush 19        Yds 84         Avg  4.4       Td 0      Lg  24

NFL

Martin, Kelvin “K-Mart”

gday92 kmartin flr90 kmartin
Cards: Fleer 1990, Fleer 1995, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 1/28    Received: 2/7   (10 days)

Kelvin Martin played for Boston College from 1984-1987 and is considered one of the finest receivers to play for the school. He graduated as the school’s all-time leader in receptions (134), and TD catches (28), as well as holder of various punt return records.  A shifty receiver with deceptive speed, K-Mart was part of a strong triumvirate of BC players drafted in 1987. He’d go in the 4th round to the Dallas Cowboys, probably because of his height (5’9″) and frame (163).

After a wash of a rookie season- thanks in part to the players strike, K-Mart went back to work as the team’s primary punt returner, working his way into the lineup as a slot receiver. Beginning in 1988 he began to see an increased workload. As the team transitioned from Danny White to Troy Aikman, Martin saw little drop off, in fact, increasing from 39 to 59, his average yards per game, from 1988 to 1989. His best season came in 1990, as the team leaned on Kelvin heavily while Michael Irvin recovered from his 3rd straight injury plagued season. He’d finish as the team’s leading receiver in catches (64) and yards (732), however Josh and I joked about his bottom line- zero touchdowns. (I believe that his 100+ total catches spanning 4 seasons is an NFL record for futility, as he did not score a TD from week 12 of 1989 to week 4 of 1992.)  He’d pick back up punt returning, and lead the league in yardage (532) and TD returns (2) in 1992 while Michael Irvin and Alvin Harper were seeing more and more targets.

flr95 kmartin1993 was the dawn of a new era in free agency. Kelvin signed with the Seattle Seahawks, where he’d be paired opposite Brian Blades in the lineup. A value pick up, Kelvin finished with a career high 798 yards and 5 receiving touchdowns that year. He’d record respectable 681 yards the following season before he was left exposed in the 1995 Expansion Draft held for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers. Before Martin knew it, he selected with the 27th pick of the draft by the Jags. Oddly enough, the team cut him outright 2 weeks later- citing that his $800k price tag was too high to justify keeping him on the roster.

Enter the Philadelphia Eagles, who were burned by Martin, by denying the Eagles a playoff appearance in 1991, when Kelvin returned a punt 85 yards for a score. He’d sign with Philly and be one and done there before going back home to Dallas in 1996.  Kelvin scored a 60 yard TD against the Atlanta Falcons that season before hanging up the cleats.

I had never gotten Martin at training camp when the Cowboys were at St. Edwards back in the early 90s. It had almost appeared as though he preferred the anonymity rather than revel in the glory like guys such as Irvin did. Martin always reminded me of Houston Oilers slot man Curtis Duncan both in play, statistics, and overall class act. I was surprised at how fast I got a response from Kelvin and had seen that he averaged somewhere around 3 months per return. Kelvin lives in the Dallas area and has been involved in coaching at the college level.

G 139/66     Rec   367        Yds  4768     Avg  13.0      Td  15      Lg 60t    |
Kr  76      Yds 1453     Avg 19.1       Td 0       Lg 59  |
Pr  261     Yds  2567     Avg 9.8      Td  3     Lg 85t

 

NFL, ufl

Putzier, Jeb

ud06 putziertntufl11 putzier
Card: TNT UFL 2011, Upper Deck 2006
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 2/10    Received: 6/23   (133 days)

Jeb got his start in 1999 with the Boise State Broncos. He got out onto the field as a Freshman and logged 10 receptions for 120 yards and 2 TDs from the tight end position. Considering the offensive wizardry that was employed at Boise St., Putzier was redeployed as a wide receiver from his Sophomore season on out. He topped his numbers fairly evenly each season, culminating in a Senior year with 44 receptions for 824 yards and 12 touchdowns when he was an All WAC selection. He finished his career on the blue tundra with 128 receptions for 2,050 yards, 16.0 YPR, and 19 touchdowns.

The NFL reclassified Putzier back as a tight end, going into the 2002 draft. He did not receive a combine invite, but his fairly productive career at Boise St., coupled by his size (6’4″, 251) and well received team day (4.6 40), turned some heads of the scouts enough to get some attention. He was also valued for his special teams play as a long snapper. Jeb was tabbed in the 6th round, by the Denver Broncos as a ‘value pick’. He’d start off slowly and not even see the field consistently until 2004. He’d provide some nice mismatches, making 36 receptions for 572 yards and 2 TDs in 2004. (The 15.9 YPR was the highest number by a Bronco TE in over 25 years.) Putzier then followed it up in 2005 with a modest 37 receptions for 481 yards. With the Houston Texans making Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak their head coach, Putzier signed with the team to replace Billy Miller at the position in 2006. The Texans however found Owen Daniels in the draft. While the position was retooled now with Daniels getting the majority of the snaps, Putzier ended up sharing time with Mark Bruener as well. He’d log 126 yards on 13 receptions. In 2007, he made 6 receptions for 39 yards, and 1 TD- a 7 yarder in a 38-36 loss to Tennesseee. After the season Putzier was allowed to sign with the Seattle Seahawks for 2008. There, he lasted about 6 games before resigning with the Denver Broncos, where he was cut in 2009.  Jeb signed with the UFL Hartford Colonials, but was waved in June of 2010. The Omaha Nighthawks picked him up, and he immediately fit right into the offense guided by Jeff Garcia. Putzier had 14 receptions for 144 yards and 3 touchdowns- which tied for the team lead. Of the 3 touchdowns, 2 were game winners against the Moutain Lions and the Hartford Colonials. Due to financial instability in the league, (namely players not being paid,) Putzier decided to retire after the season. Currently he lives in the Denver area where he has served as a guest on some of the local sports radio stations.

A few things were going in Jeb’s favor for me sending a request out to him: 1) He’s a former Houston Texan, and 2) I did a UFL custom entry of him a few years ago for the Omaha Nighthawks. I really had high hopes things would take off, and as some fans had egged me on to do more cards I expanded off the base set and pushed the original UFL offering out to a bit over 100 cards. It became a labor of love when I lost out on a job in the industry I wanted, and I realized the league wasn’t going to make it. A lot of it to me is about preservation, and recovering that which is already forgotten to some. It’s just an added bonus when the player wants one of these cards to remember it by too, since a lot of them didn’t get squat from the league in the end. I didn’t honestly expect this one back, but lo and behold after a little wait, Jeb signed the TNT card, plus added one of his own, and asked me for a copy of my custom! With the recent flood of requests, I really have my work cut out for me!

NFL   69/17     Rec  96        Yds  251             Avg   13.0           Td  3              Lg 39
UFL      Rec 14       Yds 144      Avg 10.3       Td 3      Lg 33