Paul Gruber

Sent: 10/25/11
Received: 11/12/11
Time: 18 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1989 Score, 1989 Topps, 1990 Pro Set, 1991 Topps
Item Received: 1989 Score, 1989 Topps, 1990 Pro Set, 1991 Topps.  All signed in blue Sharpie.

Notes:
How's this for strange?  I had not sent a request to a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers star until October 25, when I sent to both Paul Gruber and Mark Carrier.  Letters went out on the same day, autographs came back on the same day.  As for Gruber, he was an outstanding and incredibly underrated left tackle.  He came into the league out of the University of Wisconsin and paid his dues on some truly awful late '80s/early '90s Bucs teams.  He was one constant in the Bucs lineup as they transitioned from perennial losers to contenders.  He retired in 1999, after twelve seasons in the league, just a few years before Tampa reached (and won) their first Super Bowl.  And, he is quite possibly the best player of his era to never make a Pro Bowl.

Mark Carrier

Sent: 10/25/11
Received: 11/12/11
Time: 18 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1989 Pro Set, 1989 Score, 1989 Topps, 1990 Pro Set
Item Received: 1989 Score, 1989 Topps, 1990 Pro Set.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Mark Carrier (not to be confused with the Chicago Bears safety of the same name) had an incredible All-Pro caliber breakthrough season in 1989: 86 receptions for 1,422 yard and nine touchdowns.  He looked every bit like the next great NFL wide receiver.  He would never come close to those numbers again during his 12 year career.  Some of that, in his defense, can be attributed to a poor group of quarterbacks.  The only other season in which he would surpass the 1,000 yard plateau was in 1995, when he would amass 1,002 yards for the expansion Carolina Panthers.

Jim Hough

Sent: 11/7/11
Received: 11/10/11
Time: 3 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1983 Vikings Police
Item Received: 1983 Vikings Police, signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Hough was a mainstay on the Vikings offensive line from the late '70s to the mid '80s.  He was versatile enough to play everywhere on the line, but had his most success as a guard.  Outside of the football card explosion in the '90s, linemen have always been severely under-represented on cardboard, and I believe this 1983 police issue Vikings card to be the only one Hough had.  My favorite aspect of this card: he's blocking the greatest Viking of all, the honorable Alan Page.  So weird to see Page in a Bears uniform.

Nate Odomes

Sent: 9/6/11
Received: 11/10/11
Time: 65 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1990 Pro Set, 1991 Stadium Club, 1991 Topps
Item Received: 1990 Pro Set, 1991 Topps.  Both signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Odomes was a dominating cover-corner.  He was the best defensive back on the early '90s Bills dynasty and was perhaps the most underrated cornerback in the league from approximately 1989 to 1993.  After his stint in Buffalo he signed a big free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks and was immediately hampered by injuries that would prematurely end his career.  For a few years, though, he was one of the great ones.

Dave Pavlas

Sent: 10/25/11
Received: 11/10/11
Time: 16 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1987 ProCards Pittsfield Cubs, 1990 ProCards Iowa Cubs, 1991 Score
Item Received: 1987 ProCards Pittsfield Cubs, 1990 ProCards Iowa Cubs, 1991 Score.  All signed in black ballpoint.

Notes:
Dave Pavlas was remarkable in a September call-up for the Cubs in 1990, going 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA down the stretch.  He looked like a definite bullpen weapon for years to come.  But somehow he only appeared in one big league game the following year and would not return to the majors until 1995, with the New York Yankees.  In 1996 he got into 16 games for the Yankees and put up a nifty 2.35 ERA.  He didn't make the post-season roster, but was still a part of that World Championship team.  He would not pitch in the majors again.  He wrote on the back of his return envelope that he married a girl who went to Bloomington Jefferson High School in suburban Minneapolis.

Mark Brammer

Sent: 10/25/11
Received: 11/10/11
Time: 16 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1981 Topps, 1982 Topps, 1990 Michigan State Collegiate Collection
Item Received: 1981 Topps, 1982 Topps, 1990 Michigan State Collegiate Collection.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Mark Brammer had a couple of solid seasons as a pass-catching tight end for the Bills.  Along with generously signing all three cards that I sent, he included a very pleasant note expressing appreciation (and perhaps a bit of disbelief) for my loyal long-distance support of the Bills.

Ron Hextall

Sent: 9/15/11
Received: 11/10/11
Time: 56 Days
Address: c/o Los Angeles Kings
Item Sent: 1991-92 Score Canadian, 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro

Item Received: 1991-92 Score Canadian, signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
I double-dipped on Ron Hextall with decent results.  He thankfully signed the 1991-92 Score card that I needed for my set.  Unforutnaely, he kept the 2008-09 OPC 1979 Retro card that I sent.  He's the second person to keep one of these cards, following Wild defenseman Nick Schultz (who at least replaced it with a different card).  Perhaps he hadn't seen the card before and figured it was too cool to send back?  I'm happy, though.  The set card was most important to me.

Peyton Manning

Sent: 11/3/11
Received: 11/9/11
Time: 6 Days
Address: c/o PeyBack Foundation
Item Sent: 2006 Topps Heritage
Item Received: 2006 Topps Heritage, signed in blue Sharpie.

Notes:
All I can say is "Wow."  I hope it's real.  I'm pretty sure it's real.  The consensus in the forums on SCN is that returns through Manning's PeyBack Foundation are real.  In the past, it has reportedly been a crapshoot.  If you're extremely lucky, you'll get the item you sent in personally signed by Peyton.  If you're lucky, you'll get a genuinely autographed 5x7 photo, but the item you sent will be returned unsigned.  And, if you're unlucky, you get a pre-printed facsimile autographed photo.  However, with Manning's injury that has kept him out of action all season, he apparently has more time to answer fan mail.  If it is really his signature, he's easily the highest profile athlete on the planet who does this.  Amazing!