Card: University of Texas Upper Deck 2011 Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home Sent: 4/10 Received: 4/29 (19 days)
Charlie Talbert was a 2 way star for the Texas Longhorns from 1961 -1963, winning the National Championship in his final year at the school. He played both Defensive End and oddly- Wide Receiver, finishing with 14 catches for 188 yards and a TD leading the team. (Keep in mind this is during an era where the forward pass was rarely used.) As a defensive end he had an interception, and scored a TD on defense. His brothers Don (1959-1961) and Diron (1963-1966) also played for the school.
After graduating from UT, joined the Navy for three years. He then moved to Houston and got involved with real estate, and hotel development in Austin and Houston.
Charlie signed his UT card for me and wrote me a nice note sending greetings from him and his brothers.
Cards: UT Upper Deck 2011, UT Upper Deck 2011 National Champs Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home Sent: 10/3/19 Received: 4/18/20 (196 days)
Alan Lowry played for the Longhorns from 1970 to 1972 as a quarterback, punter, and defensive back. Initially a defensive back and punter when he arrived, Lowry had 3 picks in 1970, and then followed it up in 1971 with 5 interceptions for 121 yards and 2 TDs (single season school record since tied) earning him All-SWC honors. As a punter in both years Alan had 53 punts for 2,032 yards (38.3) in 1970, and 49 punts for 1,878 yards (38.3)- respectively in 1970 and 1971. His 82 yard punt, still stands as a school record.
In 1972 Alan switched to quarterback, where at the time the Longhorns were using a modified version of the Houston Veer. He rushed for 661 yards on 168 yards scoring 11 times while passing for 766 yards and a TD on 46 completions (39.3 completion percentage). Again he’d be named to the All-SWC team- but at a second position, which is a rarity even in college football.
Alan was drafted in the 13th round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, but before he even played a down, he was diagnosed with blood clots from a strained tendon in his arm. The injury was serious enough to end his pro football career before it even began.
Lowry went right into coaching at Texas, with the Longhorns as a graduate assistant and then later, Wyoming and West Virginia, and later returning to Texas with the Dallas Cowboys organization. He has embarked on a long and storied career as a positional and special teams coach throughout the NFL since the early 80s, with the Cowboys, Buccaneers, 49ers, Oilers, and Titans. He is perhaps most quietly known as the architect behind the ‘Music City Miracle’ play. Lowry was with the Titans organization through 2013, and still resides in Tennessee to this day.
Cards: UT Upper Deck 2011, Pacific 1991, Wild Card 1991 Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Work Sent: 12/13/19 Received: 12/27/19 (14 days) Failure: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Keith and his twin brother Kerry both played tight end for the Texas Longhorns. Keith really stood out his Senior year catching 33 passes for 605 yards and 6 TDs. (That’s 18.3 yards per catch- at tight end!)
He’d be selected in the 7th round of the 1991 draft by the Washington Redskins. Keith hopped around the league from there, playing in 1991 with the Steelers and catching his first professional TD. It’d be in 1992 that Cash joined the Chiefs, where he spent his final 5 season with. Over that period he’d catch 111 passes for 1046 yards and 9 TDs.
It’d be in 1993 that the Houston Oilers hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. With Joe Montana at QB the Chiefs pulled off a comeback victory over the Oilers 28-20. During that game, Keith caught a TD pass from Joe, and immediately spiked it square on the face of then Houston defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan. It was the proverbial nail in the coffin, not only for the game, but for the franchise itself.
It was rumored that Keith was mad at the Oilers, because like many teams do, they called him up, and told him that they were going to select him soon. Instead they passed on him, and he was eventually selected by the Redskins. I guess he never let that go.
Keith retired after the 1996 season- and so did his brother. They went back to school at UT and finished their Sports Management degrees.
A friend of mine on Twitter who is a big Chiefs fan was kind enough to pass Keith’s address on to me after he got his autograph. While I’ve always felt sore about Keith sticking a dagger through my heart when I was an Oilers fan, I had some great memories of him with his time at Texas and watching him and his brother on Raycom. As of 2020 he works for the Chiefs Alumni Association.
G/GS
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
64/34
118
1136
9.6
10
38
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
