2024 National Free Signer - Gus Frerotte

Former quarterback, Gus Frerotte, was another of the free signers at the National this year. I had picked up a card of his, but had a couple extra autograph vouchers, so I also picked up a couple throwback Redskins mini helmets to get signed.

I gave one of the helmets to Jesse for his birthday and hung onto this one.  I could maybe sell it, but I do like the throwback logo.

Frerotte (b. 1971) played professionally from 1994 to 2008 for the Redskins, Lions, Broncos, Bengals, Vikings, Dolphins and Rams.  He 21,291 passing yards and 114 touchdowns with a QB record of 45-47-1.  He played his college career at Tulsa.

Frerotte was the first of several non-baseball free signers that I met at this year's show.  I went ahead and picked up cards of most of the guys who were signing so I'd have plenty of stuff to blog for a while. 

TTM Success - Mark Brunell

While I was going through some boxes a couple weeks ago, I found this cool 1996 Collectors Choice showing Mark Brunell scoring the first win in franchise history for the Jacksonville Jaguars.  I saw that Brunell signed TTM with a $5.00 fee, so I dropped the card in the mail.

Brunell (b. 1970) played professionally from 1994 to 2011 for the Packers, Jaguars, Redskins, Saints and Jets.  He had a total of 32,072 passing yards with 184 touchdowns. He was part of the Super Bowl XLIV (2009 season) Champion New Orleans Saints.

I mailed to Brunell on January 22 and got the card back on February 27, for a 36-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Amon-Ra St. Brown

Since I don't buy football cards, I was worried that I wouldn't have a card of Amon-Ra St. Brown when I saw that he was signing TTM.  I finally found a card of his, which is a pretty cool card, a 2021 Sage Premier Draft card.  I sent it off recently and got it back signed (along with a note on the back of my envelope asking me to vote for him for the Pro Bowl).

St. Brown (b. 1999) has played professionally since 2021 for the Lions.  In his career, he has 290 receptions, 3,248 yards and 18 touch downs.

I mailed to St. Brown on October 7 and got the card back on December 14, for a 68-day TAT.

TTM Success - Jerry Logan

Here's a cool football card that I found at the Chantilly show last month.  I sent it off to be signed TTM by Jerry Logan.  It is a 1965 Philadelphia Gum card and looks really nice signed.

Logan (b. 1941) played professionally from 1963 to 1972 for the Colts.  He had 34 interceptions and 5 touch downs.  He was a 3-time pro bowler.  He won Super Bowl V against the Cowboys.

I mailed to Logan on October 23 and got the card back on November 1, for a 9-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Curt Knight

Another card from my vintage football box from Max came back signed TTM recently.  This is a 1972 Topps Curt Knight and it turned out nicely.  The Redskins are now a thing of the past, and I as glad to add one to my autograph album.  I like adding defunct ream names and logos in my album.

Knight (b. 1943) played professionally 1969 to 1973 for the Redskins.  He was a Pro Bowler in 1971.  He scored 101 field goals of 175 attempted, for 57.7% success.  His career long was 52 yards.

I mailed to Knight on January 15 and got the card back on February 16, for a 32-day TAT.

TTM Success - Rosey Grier

This really nice 2001 Topps Archives of Rosey Grier turned up in one of the boxes I got from my former LCS when it closed.  I thought it looked cool, so I looked Grier up and saw that he signs TTM for a fee through his foundation.  I got the card back signed, along with a note thanking me for my donation.  I was really happy with how the card looks.

Grier (b. 1932) celebrates a birthday today, July 14.  He played in the NFL from 1955 to 1966 for the Giants and Rams.  He was a first-team All Pro 8 times and second-team All Pro 6 times.  He was a third round (31st overall) draft pick out of Penn State in 1955.  He was an NFL Champion with the Giants in 1956.

After his football career ended, he would go on to become a bodyguard for Senator Robert Kennedy during Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign.  He was guarding Ethel Kennedy when Robert was shot.  He subdued the shooter and took control of the gun.  Grier also acted (mostly television) and sang.

I mailed to Grier on February 10 and got the card back on March 2, for a 20-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $30.00.

TTM Success - Darrell "Pete" Brewster

Here is another of the vintage football cards that I picked up from my LCS to send out for TTM.  This is a 1957 Topps football card, which looks really nice.  I got it fairly cheap and sent it off.

Brewster (b. 1930) played professionally from 1952 to 1960 for the Browns and Steelers.  He was a two-time pro bowler (1955 and 1956) and won the NFL Championship in 1954 and 1955 while with the Browns.  He 3,758 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns across 7 seasons.  He played college ball at Purdue University.

I mailed to Brewster on January 14 and got the card back on January 28, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Billy Kilmer

Another of the football cards I sent off was this 1968 Topps Stand-Up Billy Kilmer.  I picked it up from my LCS and was able to get it signed and into my album.

Kilmer (b. 1939) played pro football from 1961 to 1978 for the 49ers, Saints and Redskins.  He had a QB record of 61-52-1 with 20,495 passing yards and 152 touchdowns.  He was a Pro Bowler in 1972.

I mailed to Kilmer on January 14 and got the card back on January 26, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Don Maynard

I was looking through the display cases at my LCS recently, and saw a few vintage football cards that would look cool if I were able to get them signed.  So, I checked to see if the players signed, and a few did.  I picked a few up and sent them off.  The first one to come back was this 1971 Topps Don Maynard.  The card turned out really well, and I was glad to get it into my album.

Maynard (b. 1935) played from 1958 to 1973 for the Giants, Titans (New York), Jets and Cardinals (St. Louis).  He had 11,834 receiving yards and 88 touchdowns.  He won the Super Bowl in 1968 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

I mailed to Maynard on January 14 and got the card back on January 25 for an 11-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $10.00.

TTM Success - Lenny Moore

I've been through my boxes a bunch of times over the last month or so.  During one of those times through them, I found this 2008 Donruss Legends Lenny Moore and checked to see if he signed TTM.  He does, so I sent it off and here it is.

Moore (b. 1933) played pro football from 1956 to 1967 for the Baltimore Colts.  He rushed for a career 5,174 yards with 63 touchdowns and had 6,039 receiving yards with 48 touchdowns.  He won the NFL championship in 1958 and 1959 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975.

Before the NFL, Moore played for three seasons at Penn State.

I mailed to Moore on January 3 and got the card back signed on January 12, for a 9-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $5.00.

TTM Success - Johnny Lujack

Here is the last former football player I was waiting on TTM.  I got a nice 1950 Bowman signed by former Chicago Bear, Johnny Lujack.  This card turned out great, I think.  It cost me a decent amount, but I'm glad I took the plunge on these football cards.

This 1951 Bowman also turned out really nicely.  I like the old Bears logo.

Lujack (b. 1925) played professionally from 1948 to 1951 for the Bears.  A quarterback, he threw for 6,295 yards and 41 touchdowns in his career.  He was the fourth overall pick in the 1946 draft out of Notre Dame.  He was the 1947 Heisman Trophy winner, three-time National Champion with Notre Dame (1943, 1946 and 1947) and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

I mailed to Lujack on November 10 and got the cards back on December 9, for a 29-day TAT.

TTM Success - Roger Zatkoff

Another of the football autos I requested came in recently.  This one was from Roger Zatkoff.  The card is a 1956 Topps  and turned out pretty nicely with his auto.

Zatkoff also included his own index card that he signed, which was nice of him.  You can click on the photo to blow it up to make it easier to read.

Zakoff (b. 1931) played professional football from 1953 and 1958 for the Packers and the Lions.  He was a linebacker and defensive end.  In his career, he had 4 interceptions returned for a total of 25 yards.  He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1954, 1955 and 1956.  He won the NFL Championship in 1957 with the Lions.

In college, Zatkoff was a standout at the University of Michigan, helping the Wolverines to the 1950 Rose Bowl Championship.

I mailed to Zatkoff on November 7 and got the card back on November 17, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Al Carmichael

Here is another football success that I was able to get in recently.  1955 Bowman was the original reason I wanted to add some vintage football to my autograph album.  I had a Chuck Bednarik like the above Al Carmichael, but I missed out on getting that one done.  Regretting this, I finally got a 1955 Bowman football signed.  These are really nice cards, and I feel like I did well in choosing which players to send to.

I also got this 1954 Bowman to get signed, and it turned out really nice, as well.  I like the old blue Packers jersey on this card.

Carmichael also sent a couple of his own signed cards.  They are really nice; they were two of the same card.  I've got a buddy who is a Packers fan, so he may end up with the other one.

Carmichael (b. 1928) played professionally from 1953 to 1961 for the Packers and Broncos.  He was a halfback who rushed for a total of 947 yards and 4 touchdowns in his career.  He also had 1,633 receiving yards for 8 touchdowns.

I mailed to Carmichael on November 7 and got the cards back on November 16, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Charley Trippi

I was bored one day and thought I would look up some older football players who sign TTM.  I wanted to add some old Topps and Bowman football cards to my album, since I thought those old cards looked really cool.

I bought 8 cards featuring 6 players and sent them all out a couple weeks ago.  The first one to come back was Pro Football Hall of Famer, Charley Trippi.  This is a 1950 Bowman, and shows him as a Chicago Cardinal.  That's right, at one point, there were two teams in Chicago.  I don't really follow football, so I had no idea that the Cardinals were in Chicago.  I did remember when they were in St. Louis and moved to Arizona.

Trippi (b. 1922) will be 95 on December 14.  He played professionally from 1947 to 1955, all for the Chicago Cardinals.  In his career, he had 3,506 rushing yards, 23 rushing touchdowns, 1,321 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns.  He won the NFL Championship with the Cardinals in 1947.  He played as a halfback, defensive back and also a quarterback.  His quarterback record over two seasons (1951 and 1952) was 5-12-0.  He was a 2-time Pro Bowler (1952 and 1953) and First Team All Pro in 1948.

He played all over the field, as well.  Not only as a halfback and quarterback,  but he also returned punts and kickoffs.  He returned punts and kicks in his career to a total of 864 yards, and had two return touchdowns (both in 1948).

Trippi attended the University of Georgia from 1942 to 1946, where he led the Bulldogs to a Rose Bowl Championship in 1943.  He was also that game's MVP.  He missed the 1944 season while serving in the military in World War II.  He was the first overall pick in the 1945 NFL draft.  When he retired from the NFL, he had compiled the most total yards of offense by any player in NFL history.

He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.  From what I could find, he is the oldest living member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the 15th oldest living former player, according to the website oldestlivingprofootball.com.  I'm not sure how often they update their page.  It was weird, baseball has an ongoing list that is updated regularly on Wikipedia, but football doesn't have one.

I mailed to Trippi on November 7 and got my card back on November 13, for a 6-day TAT.

For my first of the vintage football cards to come back, I sure hit on a winner!

TTM Success - Ed Bradley

I don't collect football cards at all, but I thought it would be cool to try another football guy recently, but this time, it was one a little closer to home.  Well, a lot closer to home.  I thought it would be cool to try to get a couple cards signed from Ed Bradley, since I went to school with his daughter since the third grade.

Bradley (b. 1950) played in the NFL from 1972 to 1978 for the Steelers, Seahawks and 49ers.  He was a part of the Super Bowl IX and X champion Steelers.

I got Bradley's address from his daughter, Jennifer, who I have known since the third grade, and graduated with.  Class of 1998!!  I mailed to Bradley on April 20 and got the signed cards back on May 4, for a 14-day TAT.  I also got a nice note from Mr. Bradley, which was a nice touch!

Thanks for the help with the TTM request, Jennifer!

TTM Success - Eli Manning

You all know that I don't collect football cards.  So, when I found one in the boxes of cards that I got from Pete, I immediately wondered what I would do with it.  I figured I would sell it, but since I was on Skype with my buddy, Max, he suggested that I take the card and try to get it signed TTM.  The card, of course, is this Eli Manning from 2009 UD Goodwin Champions.

I sent the card out on January 16, and got it back today (February 16) for a 1-month TAT.  Not bad, since I sent it to the Giants stadium and Manning has been enjoying his off season.

I'm really happy to add this to my TTM collection.  It is another example of taking a card that normally wouldn't mean a lot to me and making it into something cool to talk about.  I plan on digging through the boxes some more and sending off some additional TTMs.  I can't wait to see which cards I am able to "re-purpose".

My First Football TTM - Chuck Bednarik

I admit, I'm not the biggest football fan.  I mean, I used to be.  When my younger brother played college ball, I would go to many a game.  Even before that, when my older brother (we were in the same grade) played high school ball, I went to almost every one of his games (except for the one Mom and I got lost going to).

I casually follow the Carolina Panthers because of the 11 years I lived in Charlotte, but other than that, I don't follow it like I do baseball.  I know of some of the legends of the game, but until I read Drew's post on him, I had no idea who Chuck Bednarik was.

I thought the photo Drew got back from him TTM was amazing, though and during one of our Skype chats, I asked him if he could hook me up with a Bednarik photo that I could try to get signed TTM as well.  Well, Drew sent me one a little while later in a really nice package of stuff, so I was able to send to Mr. Bednarik and request an autograph.

As you can see above, he signed the photo and filled it with inscriptions.  In this game, he laid out Frank Gifford (this was 1960) and caused Gifford to miss the next 18 months due to injuries sustained from the hit.  Wow.

Bednarik (born in 1925) played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1949 to 1962 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

Thanks for the photo and the idea, Drew!