Tag Archives: upper deck legends 1997

NFL

Lofton, James (2)

to03 hof lofton udldg97 lofton ap92 lofton pset90 loftonud97 mm lofton

Cards: Action Packed 1991, ProSet Update 1990, Topps HoF 2003, Upper Deck Legends 1997, Upper Deck Legends 1997 Marquee Matchups
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home*
Sent: 12/5   Received: 12/12   (7 days)
*Donation Enclosed of $30.00
See Also: James Lofton

James Lofton has a great reputation as a fabulous TTM signer. His normal cost is $10.00 per flat, but like many players, he will sign for as little as $5.00 a card. After I had gotten James many years ago in person at Dallas Cowboys’ training camp, I had piled up a significant number of really nice cards of the Hall of Fame player. The big incentive was this really nice Upper Deck Marquee Matchups card that I had previously gotten signed by Drew Pearson in person.
Spurred on by the number of responses I was seeing, I decided to go ahead and shoot a few cards out with a donation. It didn’t take but a week for the Hall of Famer to respond signing all 4 of my cards, throwing in the additional Hall of Fame card. Lofton’s autograph is slightly different from his 1992 signature. It is missing the star in the loop of the ‘J’ and the number 80 inside the ‘L’. He was also kind enough to inscribe each card with his Hall of Fame year. Still it looks legitimate enough that I believe it is from him and not a ghost signer.

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

Dorsett, Tony ‘TD’

udldg97 dorsettCard: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: IP, 11/22/14 Star Power Signing, Dallas,Tx

So Josh and I went to Dallas to nab Tony Dorsett. We thought that by leaving a few hours early, it’d get us a decent place in line. We got lucky. Encountering 2 hour delay due to an overturned semi on I-35, we arrived with only an hour and 15 minutes before the event. Still we hopped in line and took our place 3 quarters of the way around the building.

Two observations about the actual event:

I have never been to a ‘Star Power’ location. I probably would never go there again. Glitz, glamour, and a lot of the usage of the word ‘affluent’ to put off anybody who would ask, “How much is this?” It screamed of excess and the place flat out embraced it. To them, most of us who showed up were just a working class sideshow at the event.

In my time collecting, I have never been as incensed by the amount of flagrant double-dipping going on. There is no need for you to get your children to go and get the same item signed. 3 Tony Dorsett helmets, with one for each kid who didn’t care about football or who they were meeting.  It was just so obvious that there was a lot of people getting paid for this and that there was going to be an Ebay flood of items later that day.

Tony Dorsett was a one man dynamo for Pitt from 1973-1976, leading the school to a National Championship, Heisman accolades, and was the all-time leading rusher in college history with 6,082 yards.  A first round choice of the Cowboys (#2 overall) in 1977, he won NFL Rookie of the Year Honors  with 1,007 yards and 12 TDs. Over the course of his 11 year career in Dallas, Dorsett was named All Pro 4 times and won a Super Bowl title. He also holds the NFL record for longest TD run with a 99 yard gallop against the Minnesota Vikings in 1983. As injuries began to take their toll on the venerable back and the arrival of fresh legs in the form of Herschel Walker in 1987, Dorsett was traded to the Denver Broncos in 1988 playing one season before he retired.  At the time of his retirement, Dorsett was the second All-Time leading rusher in NFL history, and of a less distinguished note, was top 5 in fumbles with 90. He is the only player in NFL history to win the Heisman, and then win the Super Bowl and NFL Rookie of the Year the following season. To top it all off, Tony was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994, and had his number retired at Pitt.

Dorsett is one of the major names that has come out in regards to concussion litigation against the NFL. Tony in particular has suffered so many concussions he lost track. He suffers from memory loss, depression, and dementia due to CTE.  He was not in in great shape when I saw him, but Tony very graciously stayed over his appointed time to get everybody knocked out who was in line. He signed this one card for me, and tried to interact with every fan he met.

G/Gs 173/152      Rush 2936     Yds  12,739   Avg  4.3    Td 77     Lg 99t
Rec  398      Yds 3,554    Avg 8.9     Td 13    Lg 91

NFL, usfl

Renfro, Mel

to71 renfroudldg97 renfro

Cards: Upper Deck Legends 1997, Topps 1971, Top Notch Signature Select 2013, HoF postcard
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home*
Sent:  2/10     Received:   2/18   (8 days)
* Signing fee of $10 per flat included.

tnt13g mrenfroMel Renfro was a star 2 way player for Oregon, playing both cornerback and tailback, while also excelling at track for the Ducks. After rushing for 1,532 yards for the Ducks over 3 years, he was drafted in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys in 1964. Intially slotted to play runningback Coach Landry made the call to move him to safety where he had an outstanding rookie season with 7 interceptions, and was the NFL leader in kick and punt return yards.  In his second season the Cowboys switched Mel back to runningback in the hopes that he’d inject some life into the offense, but was returned to defense with the emergence of Dan Reeves.

Although he held the designation of return specialist for much of the next few years, Renfro moved from safety to corner in 1966, culminating in leading the NFL in 1969 with 10 interceptions. Over his career with the Cowboys Mel was named All Pro 5 times, and to the Pro Bowl 10. A two time Super Bowl champion, Renfro was co-MVP of the 1970 Pro Bowl and named to the Dallas Cowboys’ Ring of Honor in 1981. Mel is the team’s all-time leader in both career kickoff return average and interceptions. Renfro was inducted into the NFL HoF in 1996.
mem renfro

He’s spent some time coaching in the USFL with the Express, and the St. Louis Cardinals. A motivational speaker, Mel is pretty engaging with fans. I missed out at Dallas Stadium Fan Day at the end of the year. My timing was perfect to get Rocket Ismail, but so perfect, Mel came out just as I finished getting Rocket- so I ended up having to go to the very back of the line. I went ahead and wrote him a few days later including the customary signing fee.  Renfro signed all the cards I enclosed, and as a bonus included an autographed Hall of Fame postcard, a signed business card, and he asked if I could send him an extra copy of the custom Top Notch card that I sent.  A very short wait for such a great return, and a fair price to boot.

The Topps 1971 set has grown on me over the years and is a seminal classic to me. On the other hand the Upper Deck Legends 1997 is very disappointing. Considered a classic as well in its own right, I was pretty disappointed in this entry. The photo is not inspired, and it even looks like a thumb got in on the action on the left side. Sad. The profile photo of Mel is also from later in his career.  I went for some action photos for Mel’s Top Notch entry. I very much enjoy the classic press photo shots that were very popular during the 70s and used two different ones  for either side.

G/Gs 174/152     Pr 109     Yds 842     Avg 7.7     Td 1     Lg 69t
Kr 85    Yds 2246    Avg 26.4     Td 2      Lg 100t
Tac N/a     Sac N/a     Fum 12     Int 52    Yds 626    Avg 12.0      Td 3    Lg 90t