A venerable signer TTM, Steve Grogan wraps up his collection for me by signing these two set needs for me. I never saw his Action Packed in the wild so when I bought a box of the set before the market blew up, I was very inspired by his entry- even though it’s of him handing the ball off. The Upper Deck Legends, well, I didn’t see why I should spend a dime on a certified autograph from him when I could get it TTM for free. This too is a great looking card. Too bad it doesn’t feature the signature ‘Grogan Lob’ from Tecmo Super Bowl.
CARDS: Donruss 2020, Pro Set 1990 Super Bowl XVI, Upper Deck Football Heroes 2008, Topps 1979, Upper Deck Legends 1997, Top Notch Signature Select ACQUIRED: TTM 2018, 2021, C/o Home SENT: 1/2/21 RECEIVED: 1/13/21 (11 days) SENT: 9/10/18 RECEIVED: 1/29/21 (872 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Ken Anderson played QB for Augustana College from 1967-70.
Finished college career ranked fifth in NCAA history for career total offense yardage (6,679).
3rd round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1971.
Became starter in 1972.
Played for the Bengals for his entire 16 year career.
Led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance (XVI).
Set the NFL single season record for completions 70.6 (since surpassed – Drew Brees).
Led league in completion percentage in 1974, ’82, ’83.
Led league in passing yards in both 1974 and 75.
Led league in passer rating in 1974, ’75, ’81, and ’82.
As of 2023 holds the Bengals records for completions, passing yards, TDs and rushing yards by a Cincinnati QB.
Coached with the Bengals from 1993-2002, Jaguars from 2003-06, and Steelers from 2007-09.
Topps 1979, #115Upper Deck Legends 1997, #76
ACCOLADES:
Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame 2003
NFL MVP 1981
Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor
Pro Bowl 1975-76, ’81, ’82
All-Pro 1981
Second Team All-Pro 1975
NFL Offensive Player of the Year 1981
NFL Comeback Player of the Year 1981
NFL Man of the Year 1975
Pro Set 1990 Super Bowl XVI Insert, #162008 Upper Deck Football Heroes, #238
NOTES:
I had sent out to Ken back in 2018, but since he lives in SC, he was square in the path of I think Hurricane Sandy that month. Looking back now, it seems that my request from that year was in the bottom of his mailbag. Ken ended up responding to my retry before my original request, if that makes any sense. His 872 day response falls short of the top 10 waits by about 150 days.
I didn’t buy any NFL cards from 2020, but my friend Joe who helps me run a Facebook group had so many of the Donruss he sent me the entire set. I like the design of it but, considering how much prices have gone up I wouldn’t buy any of these in the wild unless they were discounted.
I really like ‘Long Tom’ cards like the Gameday set, so I thought I’d try my hand at making a few customs. It was a pain to do initially as no printer handles this size, but I designed the canvas to have some areas of white so that it was perfect for the autograph. His autograph looks great on this. I’m not sure if I’ll do anymore of these cards, but time will tell.
I am firmly in the camp that Ken Anderson belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His numbers compare favorably with fellow WCO alum and HoFer Dan Fouts yet Anderson played during the Dead Ball era earlier in his career.
After I got Len’s autograph back in 2016, a lot of rumors started up that perhaps he was being ghost signed. I did pay a small fee for his autograph and got these back quite quickly. The biggest hang up that the TTM community had over his autograph was the fluidity of it, and how the ‘L’ and the ‘D’ were just too… loopy, almost feminine, and that they changed styles.
I could see their concerns, but regardless felt confident enough to get Len on these two set needs. My reasoning is that as people do get older their autographs do change, and that I’d seen a lot of these ‘loopy’ autographs be passed off as certified and also as authentic. I, myself was very happy to not only get these two back in a very short period of time, but also that he inscribed them with his HOF year.
EPITAPH:
8/24/22- Len Dawson was moved to hospice in the last few days, where he passed away at the age of 87.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
