Tag Archives: ut ud 2011

NFL, University of Texas

Young, Vince (2) “VY”

dor&s10 young patchCdor&s10 young altCard: Donruss Rookies & Stars 2010 Gold, Donruss Rookies & Stars 2010 Foil, Donruss Rookies & Stars 2010 Patch, Photo Memorabilia, Poster.
Acquired: IP 4/16/2015, Sam’s Wholesale Lakeline Grand Opening
See Also: Vince Young

dor&s10 young Goldmem vyoung pho2Well Vince was the apple of my eye for the Sam’s Grand Opening Event. I had planned weeks in advance to nab the increasingly elusive quarterback on as many cards as I could. To help my cause, I created this poster of Vince. It took roughly 15 hours to complete and the additional costs included printing the poster and mounting a copy for him.  While I had hoped Young would sign everything in my possession after seeing the poster, I was ultimately disappointed in his response.  I don’t think me asking for a stack of autographs was going to be greedy. The time and effort required to complete what I had done would have been equitable.

vy posterFor a time there I was worried Vince wasn’t going to show up for the event, in which he was paired up with his former lineman Kasey Studdard.  The line was rampant with discontent from the other attendees, including an incorrigible woman I recognized from a previous signing with Earl Campbell. Things eventually worked out though. The gatekeeper was pretty intimidating, and blocked me from being able to gather a larger number of autographs. Instead when I proposed a trade with Vince – Young seemed confused, and deferred to his gatekeeper to answer the question.  Still- three cards, a photo and a signed copy of my own poster wasn’t too bad.  I had been wanting to get these Donruss cards signed even if the encounter wasn’t memorable anyway. Vince now works for the University of Texas and can be frequently spotted at his steakhouse.

NFL, University of Texas

Brackens, Tony

utud11 brackensCard: UT Upper Deck 2011
Acquired: 2015, Spoodog Box Break

Tony Brackens was an All-American while playing for the University of Texas from 1992-1995. A physical defensive end,  in 32 games Brackens had 247 tackles, 32 tackles for losses, and 24 sacks.

Tony was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 1996 draft.  Used in a platoon of lineman manning the Jacksonville 3-4 alignment, Tony was present for the Jaguars early glory days and saw time in 5 playoff games over 3 seasons.  Tony’s best season came in 1999 when he registered 12 sacks, 55 tackles, and 2 interceptions for 16 yards, a TD, and 8 (not a misprint) forced fumbles. He’d also post 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and a TD in the playoffs that year. After the 1999 season Brackens earned his only All-Pro nomination.

Brackens played through 2003, but retired after multiple leg and knee injuries took their toll on him.  A very popular member of the team, you could almost say that when Brackens retired, it was a passing of the torch to the next generation of Jaguars.  I was very happy to get Tony’s autograph in the box break. He is very difficult to get TTM.

 G/Gs 107/75        Tac          Sac  55.0       Fum 27
Int 5       Yds 54         Avg 10.4       Td  1       Lg 27

Arena, CFL, NFLE, University of Texas

Brown, James

utud11 brownCard: Upper Deck University of Texas 2011
Acquired: Spoodog Box Break, 2015
Failure: TTM 2011, C/o Home

James Brown is one of my favorite quarterbacks from my time growing up watching UT football.  I remember when one of the local news channels showed a high school highlight reel of Brown running down the sideline in Beaumont.  I knew he was the real deal. When he joined the Longhorns I remember sitting in my High School cafeteria telling my friends that James Brown was going to be the next big thing. It didn’t exactly start that way for James.

After redshirting in 1993, he battled encumbent quarterback Shea Morenz for the majority of 1994.  He’d solidify his starting role under head coach John Mackovic, with a comeback Sun Bowl win over North Carolina- ironically over future Texas head coach Mack Brown.  With the impending death of the SWC, Brown led the Longhorns to the final conference title and a 10-2 record in 1995.  As Texas joined the new and flashy Big 12 for 1996, they stumbled out of the gate early, but recovered in time to face defending National Champion Nebraska for the league championship. There would be his signature moment, in a stunning upset over Nebraska 30-27, with the infamous Roll Left play on 4th down, deep in their own territory.  Although Brown did not see the same success in an injury plagued Senior season, it did culminate with him being named MVP of the Blue Gray Senior Bowl.  James Brown paved the way for future black quarterbacks (Vince Young) to start at Texas, and at the time of his departure from the school held numerous passing records.

terminatorsBack then in 1997 there wasn’t really the farm system in place at Texas to get every prospect to the NFL level. It also didn’t help Brown that a tsunami of bad karma hit James in his final year at UT, along with the fact he was considered undersized to play the position (6’0″).

Keeping his football dreams alive,  James played a preseason in the CFL with the British Columbia Lions in 1998.  He’d then become the marquee player of the IPFL, playing for the Texas Terminators based in Austin during 1999.  The Terminators played at the Livestock and Rodeo arena at the edge of town, a non-air conditioned arena sarcastically known as ‘The Barn’.

james brownDuring the Terminators slaughter of the Colorado Crush that season, I caught one of the footballs as it bounced out of bounds. Afterwards I bought a James Brown jersey, that I still have along with the football till this day.  Brown earned Offensive Player of the Year Honors, as the team finished with the best record,  and played in the league championship.

ipflJames jumped at the opportunity to play for the Arena Football League the following year, joining the Nashville Kats.  He’d play with the team through 2001, and the preseason for the Georgia Force in 2002, and after a short stint in NFLE with the Scottish Claymores, returned to finish the season on the roster of the San Jose Sabrecats of the Arena Football League. The Georgia Force in 2003 resigned Brown again, but after only a few games, James went back to the NFLE to join the Claymores, but instead ended up on roster of the Frankfurt Galaxy. He played in the two-headed QB rotation with Quinn Gray, as the team won World Bowl IX. He played a third time with the Georgia Force in 2004 when he decided to hang up his cleets. James felt the urge to play again, and after the All American Football League folded before it even got off the ground, he played one final season for the CenTex Barracudas of the Intense Football League, guiding the team to the playoffs.

James has been a coach for a few years now, both at the high school and college level. He coached at Lamar University for a few years, and in 2014 became head coach at Sunnyside HS in Houston, Tx.

jersey brownI emailed James in 2011 at Lamar University to ask him if he could sign some memorabilia for me. A few months later he responded giving me his address and telling me to send it there. I gleefully put the cards in the mail, along with photos of his James Brown jersey, and an SASE. I never heard back from him again. A few months went by and I emailed him, but still never heard back. Recently I had a conversation with another collector who reported a similar result.  I was pretty disheartened.  Luckily at the card break that I had, one of my fellow collectors hit this card, so I pulled the trigger to make the trade and grab this card.