January 28 Report: Jim McMahon, Bruce Armstrong, Scott Norwood, Walt Williams, Brad Daugherty and Hersey Hawkins

From this point forward I'm expecting no more than 1 or 2 autographs per day s I've gotten past the initial blitz to see how my mailing campaign would fare. I've been stunned so far with the results, so it was really surprising to receive six different successes today.

Ill start with a cool add to my NFL and Golf collection, all in one. Jim McMahon, a former All-American at BYU, quarterbacked the Chicago Bears for many years, most notably during the 1985 season when the Bears won Super Bowl XX.

McMahon is definitely a free spirit, and one who has taken to golf perhaps more avidly than he did in football. He regularly plays in his bare feet and is great fun with his fans at the celebrity tour events.

So I asked him to sign a golf ball for me, which he did and he even inscribed it as follows, "To Mark Hit Em Straight Jim McMahon 9 SBXX".

Keeping in the football field, I also added the signature of one of the most dominant offensive linemen of his era, Bruce Armstrong. Armstrong was named to six Pro Bowls during his 15-year career with the New England Patriots.

Definitely a No. 1 pick who lived up to his expectations.

Staying in the AFC East, we move just a bit over to Buffalo where kicker Scott Norwood agreed to sign for me as well. The former James Madison University player was one of the last USFL holdovers who played in the NFL. Norwood kicked for the Birmingham Stallions in 1983 and 1984 before catching on with the Bills in 1985, where he eventually became the club's all-time leading scorer.

The other three successes come from the NBA, which is without a doubt the weakest section of my present sports autograph collection. Basketball has never really been "my sport", but I still appreciate the talent and dedication it takes to make it to the highest level in your field of athletics.

That said, I've added the signatures of Walt Williams, Brad Daugherty and Hersey Hawkins to my ever-growing collection.

Williams was a No. 1 draft pick out of Maryland, who essentially helped bring the school's hoops program back from the dead in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He played 11 seasons in the NBA with six different teams and scored nearly 8,400 points in his career.

Daugherty followed a great career at the University of North Carolina by being the overall No. 1 draft choice in the 1986 NBA Draft. He was an All-Rookie first teamer who went on the be a five-time All-Star. Sadly his career was cut short by a back injury, but he still had over 10,000 points, 5,200 rebounds and more than 2,000 steals.

Lastly Hersey Hawkins put his signature on a few cards for me as well. Hawkins was a No. 1 draft pick in 1988 who played for 14 season in the NBA. During that time he scores 14,470 points.


Day of the Year: 28
Number of Autographs This Year: 51