2024 National Free Signer - Bob Golic

Here is another free signer from the National (I know, there were a bunch), former Brown, Bob Golic. This 1984 Topps football card turned out nicely.  It was another from that opportunistic guy who was selling signers cards for $5/card.  Hey, I don't blame him. I bet he made a ton off of those 10-cent cards.

Golic (b. 1957) played professionally from 1979 to 1992 for the Patriots, Browns and Raiders.  He had one interception, for one touchdown.  He was a three-time Pro Bowler.

Golic was really nice when we met him.  His line moved slowly, but I enjoyed meeting him.

2024 National Free Signer - Tom Cousineau

Tom Cousineau was one of the more fun signers we met at the National this year.  I liked this 1983 Topps football card that I picked up and got signed, but that wasn't what made Cousineau so cool.  Being an Ohio State alum, when he looked up at Michael wearing his Michigan gear, Cousineau gave us a great photo op.

Michael says that I took too long in taking this photo.  Apparently Cousineau had his grip pretty tight around Michael's neck.  This was a really cool moment toward the end of the free signers, and Michael and I walked away laughing.

Cousineau (b. 1957) played professionally from 1982 to 1987 for the Browns and 49ers.  He had 10 interceptions for 91 yards.  He was a two-time All American in college and was also the first overall pick in the 1979 draft by the Bills.

2024 National Free Signer - Dick Ambrose

The next signer from this year's National was Dick Ambrose, who I got on this 1978 Topps football card. 

Ambrose (b. 1953) played professionally from 1975 to 1983 for the Browns.  He had 5 interceptions and 9 fumbles recovered in his career.

I got the card from a vendor at the show who had cards of all of the free signers. He overcharges at $5/card, but when you think about it, it saves the pain of looking for needles in haystack.  Normally, I'd trade away the free vouchers of guys I didbt have cards of, but I ended up keeping all but one of them.

TTM Success - Leroy Kelly

It has been a while since I have added a football player to my autograph album.  I like to add those when I find some cool vintage cards, and that's what happened with Leroy Kelly.  I had picked up a couple 5,000-count boxes from my LCS for real cheap, and there was a small assortment of vintage baseball and football in there.  I saw that there were a few Kelly cards, and that he signed TTM for a fee, so I got the money together, and sent the cards off.

Kelly has a great signature, and inscribed each card with "19 H.O.F. 94", which looks really cool.  I especially like the red border on the above 1971 Topps.  I have always said that red cards tend to look great when scanned.

I also had a 1970 and 1972 card of Kelly, so I sent those along, as well.  I figured I would go ahead and pay the fee to get them signed, otherwise, they'd just sit in my boxes, because I do nothing with football stuff.

Kelly (b. 1942) played professionally from 1964 tom1973 for the Cleveland Browns.  He played college ball at Morgan State.  In his career, he had 7,274 rushing yards with 74 touchdowns.  He led the league in rushing yards in 1967 and 1968; and rushing touchdowns in 1966, 1967 and 1968.  He also had 2,281 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.

Kelly won the NFL Championship in 1964; he was a 6-time Pro Bowler and a 3-time All Pro.  As his inscriptions say, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

I mailed to Kelly on August 12 and got the cards back on August 24, for a 12-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $10.00/card.

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 - Dub Jones

Here is the latest football player that I got TTM on some nice vintage cards.  I loved these cards of Dub Jones when I saw them, so I made sure to pick them up to try to get them signed.  The old Browns logo on the above 1951 Bowman looked really cool, too.

I also liked the old football helmet on the above 1954 Bowman.  Someone stamped 1954 on the card, but it doesn't really take anything away, at all.

Jones (b. 1924) is only a couple weeks away from his 93rd birthday.  He played professionally from 1946 to 1955 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Miami Seahawks and the Cleveland Browns.  In his career, he rushed for 2,210 yards and 21 touchdowns.  He had 2,874 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns, as well. 

He won the AAFC (All-American Football Conference) championship in 1948 and 1949, and the NFL championship in 1950, 1954 and 1955.  He was also a 2-time pro bowler.  He was the second pick in the 1946 NFL draft out of Tulane.  He originally attended LSU, but entered the Navy during World War II, and was transferred to Tulane by the Navy for a training program.

I mailed to Jones on November 7 and got the cards back on November 24, for a 17-day TAT.  By my count, I am waiting on one more return from the football players that I sent to.