Oct. 26 Report: Former Washington Redskins Kicker Chip Lohmiller

Back-to-back successes this week on autograph requests that were made some time ago.

Received a pair of signed cards back from Chip Lohmiller, a Pro Bowler in 1991.

Day of the Year: 295
Number of Autographs This Year: 244

Sept. 23 Report: Former Chicago Bears Kicker Bob Thomas

Nearly 200 days ago (194 to be exact) I sent a a few cards off to former Chicago Bears kicker Bob Thomas to get signed. This has turned out to be my longest wait to date on this project, but I am happy to report a triple success.

Thomas, a former Notre Dame player, went on to become the 388th pick in the 1974 NFL Draft. Though he was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams, Thomas never played a game for the West Coast team.

He is primarily know for his career with the Bears (1975-84). He also suited up for the Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers and New York Giants.

One of the col things in researching players I used to watch in my youth is finding out what they are up to today. Thomas is a justice for the Supreme Court of Illinois. Pretty cool to establish such a prestigious career after enjoying a lengthy and successful NFL career.

Returning to the autographs, Thomas signed all three cards I send to him, despite me asking him to keep the duplicate. In addition to signing the cards he also added the inscription "Romans 5:8".

Day of the Year: 264
Number of Autographs This Year: 242

March 2 Report: Tom Weiskopf and Steve Stricker

Two more successes today from my favorite sport -- golf. While my football collection is by far my largest, one I've been concentrating on lately is golf. Hopefully one day my collection of signed little white balls will be as significant as that of the pigskin sport.

Weiskopf, one of the taller golfers whom Vijay Singh modeled his swing after as a young boy growing up, was a standout at Ohio State. His most significant amateur win was at the 1963 Western Amateur.

He followed that by winning 16 times on the PGA Tour, including his defining victory at the 1973 Open Championship at Royal Troon where he would outlast future Hall of Famers Johnny Miller and Neil Coles.

The second addition to my collection today comes from Steve Stricker. At this writing Stricker is ranked second in the world. Stricker has won eight times to date on the PGA Tour, including the 2001 World Golf Championships Match Play Championship. I picked up a souvenir logo ball from that tournament nine years ago and now I finally have it signed and proudly displayed in my game room.

Stricker was teamed with Tiger Woods in the 2009 Presidents Cup and played incredible golf that week that overshadowed Woods' performance much of the time.

Day of the Year: 61
Number of Autographs This Year: 104

March 1 Report: Fuzzy Zoeller

Thrilled again to find a golf ball envelope awaiting me in my mailbox. Got a more excited when I noticed there were two golf balls enclosed instead of the one I sent.

That excitement was short-lived, however.

I mailed former Masters Tournament winner Fuzzy Zoeller a Masters logo Titleist golf ball I got from the tournament I attended several years ago.

To my disappointment he returned the ball unsigned. In its place was an autographed Srixon brand golf ball. Of course I'm still happy to add this signature to my Masters winners collection, but bummed it will be different from all the other Masters Tournament logo golf balls.

Anyone know if Fuzzy doesn't sign Masters logo golf balls? Or will he only sign Srixon brand golf balls since he has an endorsement deal with them?

Day of the Year: 60
Number of Autographs This Year: 102

Feb. 20 Report: Steve Balboni

I guess baseball is back on the minds of fans and former players alike. After enduring quite a lengthy drought of baseball autographs to start the year, I've added two in three days' time.

The second success comes from Steve Balboni, an 11-year veteran of MLB who hit for power and struck out with power. In 1985 he led the AL with 166 strikeouts but also set the Royals' single-season HR mark with 38.

Balboni was the starting first baseman in the 1985 World Series for the champion Royals. He batted .320 in the series win over the Cards.


Day of the Year: 51
Number of Autographs This Year: 88

Feb. 18 Report: Chris DiMarco, Steve Walsh and Mike Smithson

Well, another first to report today. It only took 49 days of this project to get my first new baseball autograph in hand.

And it comes courtesy of former MLB pitcher Mike Smithson. Smithson played in the bigs from 1982-1989, competing for three different clubs during that span -- Texas Rangers (1982-1983), Minnesota Twins (1984-1987) and the Boston Red Sox (1988-1989).

Smithson, who compiled just a 76-86 record, may be best known for his role in the longest baseball game ever played. The game started on April 18, 1981 and ended on June 23, 1981 and was a minor-league contest between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings.

There is a great account of it here.


Steve Walsh had a great college career at the University of Miami, where he went 23-1 in his two seasons as starting quarterback. He led the Hurricanes to a national title in 1987 and was selected by his former coach, Jimmy Johnson, with the No. 1 pick in the 1989 supplemental draft to play for the Cowboys.

The problem was Dallas also picked Troy Aikman in the 1989 regular draft and we all know how his career went. In all Walsh spent 11 seasons in the NFL playing for six different teams.

His career numbers were 7,875 yards and 40TDs.

And my favorite success of the day comes from Chris DiMarco. The former University of Florida golfer has had an excellent PGA Tour career thus far. He's won several events, was the star of the winning U.S. Presidents Cup team in 2005 and has played in the Ryder Cup as well.

If it weren't for a guy named Woods, DiMarco would also have a Masters and British Open title to his credit.

Very pleased to add another former UF golfer to my collection. Just a few more to go!!

Day of the Year: 49
Number of Autographs This Year: 86

Feb. 6 Report: Rich Camarillo and Tom Rafferty

Well the football successes continue to roll in and I'm again happy to add to my 1980s Dallas Cowboys team set project.

The latest comes courtesy of guard Tom Rafferty (he didn't switch to the center position until 1981) who played with the Cowboys from 1976-1989. That span allows him to say he is the only offensive lineman to block for both Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman!

Prior to coming to Dallas, Rafferty was an All-American for Joe Paterno's Penn State team.

My second addition today is that of five-time Pro Bowl punter Rich Camarillo. Only Ray Guy has appeared in more Pro Bowls as a punter than Camarillo.

Camarillo played for 16 season in the NFL and led the league in punting in both 1985 and 1994. He owns NFL records for highest net average in a season (39.6 yards) and for yards per punt (44.5) in postseason play.

Day of the Year: 37
Number of Autographs This Year: 67

Feb. 5 Report: Andre Reed and John Outlaw

Another pair of successes today, both from the world of football.

Very happy in particular with the addition of Andre Reed to my collection. Without a doubt a player who will one day join the ranks of the NFL's other elite receivers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Reed was nothing short of being among the most dominant ever to play his position, and he played in an era of other great receivers -- Art Monk, Michael Irvin, Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, Cris Carter and Jerry Rice. One day all of those guys will be enshrined, and I'm happy to say Reed signed a pair of cards for me, one of which can be seen here.

The second addition today goes back a few years prior, particularly to the 1970s when I was really growing up on football. John Outlaw was an unheralded defensive back out of Jackson State (the same school that produced Walter Payton and Jimmy Smith) whose unrelenting work ethic made him a star on Philadelphia Eagles teams that decade. He had five interceptions in 1975 and was a co-team leader in that category.

Day of the Year: 36
Number of Autographs This Year: 65

Feb. 4 Report: Misty May and D.D. Lewis

Well as a new blog friend, Autographed Cards, noted yesterday there have been no baseball additions to my collection thus far this year. Unfortunately I'm still batting .000 in this category, but one of today's successes gives me hope that there will soon be a baseball success to report.

I say that because one of the first autograph requests I sent out late last year -- -and my first attempts included at least one from most every major sport including baseball -- came back today.

Two-time Olympics beach volleyball gold medalist Misty May returned my photo today, personalized, signed and inscribed! Certainly makes it worth the wait -- plus it gives me renewed hope on the baseball front.

I also received another addition to my 1980s Dallas Cowboys collection today in the form of D.D. Lewis. Lewis is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and is one of just a few players who have competed in five different Super Bowls. Certainly a very steady performer in his decade-plus career with "America's Team".

Day of the Year: 35
Number of Autographs This Year: 63

February 3 Report: Mike Cofer

For the third day in a row I've managed to hit the title of this blog (An Autograph A Day), this time securing the signature of Mike Cofer (LB).

Mike Cofer, the linebacker (so as to not be confused with Mike Cofer the kicker), was a former University of Tennessee player who was drafted in the third round of the 1983 NFL draft.

He had a solid career with the Detroit Lions for the better part of a decade. He totaled 62.5 sacks from 1983-1993.

Day of the Year: 34
Number of Autographs This Year: 61

February 1 Report: Kendall Gill

One of the very first autograph requests I sent out in late December 2009 to get this project underway arrived today. It took just over a month to be returned, but the arrival of Kendall Gill gives me 13 consecutive mailing days in which I've had at least one success.

Gill was the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft and he went on to score nearly 13,000 points, accumulated almost 3,000 assists and had just over 4,000 rebounds during his career.

Day of the Year: 32
Number of Autographs This Year: 59

January 29 Report: Mary Lou Retton, Steve Grogan and Tracy Murray

The successes keep streaming in, well ahead of any expectations I had when I sent out this quest to re-new a hobby of mine that dates back to the 1970s.

Amazingly I am almost on pace to hit two autographs per day through the first month of the year. Of course I expect any day now that the return level will come way down, but today there were three successes awaiting my arrival.

First is the autograph of a young lady who really captured the heart of a nation in 1984 and whose performance was really one of the defining moments of that decade. Of course I am referring to the great Olympic gymnast, Mary Lou Retton.

If you're going to have a collection of Olympic autographs, you can't have a collection without Retton's signature.

The second success was from long-time New England Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan. He passed for nearly 27,000 yards in his NFL career. In 1976 he had 12 rushing touchdowns, an NFL record for quarterbacks. Grogan really put the Patriots on the playoff map as their experience prior was barely blip.

Lastly I received the signature of former UCLA basketball standout Tracy Murray. Murray averaged more than 18 points per game for the Bruins before leaving after his junior season to play in the NBA. He was a No. 1 draft choice and played for six different teams during his NBA career (1992-2003).



Day of the Year: 29
Number of Autographs This Year: 54

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

January 27 Report: Lee Roy Selmon

Great success today from the Tampa Bay Bucs' first-ever draft choice who turned out to be a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Lee Roy Selmon, who won the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award while at the University of Oklahoma, signed a poster I had held on to since about 1980.

Selmon is the most talented player to have payed in Tampa and certainly for anyone growing up watching football in the 1970s, he's the face of the Bucs' franchise.


Day of the Year: 27
Number of Autographs This Year: 45

January 26 Report: Natalie Gulbis

Even driving up to my house today I thought the mailbox looked better than usual. As soon as I opened it and saw an envelope postmarked in Nevada I knew exactly why it looked so great -- Natalie Gulbis was waiting in my mailbox (or at least autographed pictures of her).

This LPGA star and Solheim Cup champion signed a stunner of a picture for me. I'm pretty sure this one will find a way into a frame and a spot on my wall. She's truly beautiful and talented.

Golf definitely has the most genuine players of any sport.

Day of the Year: 26
Number of Autographs This Year: 44

January 25 Report: Greg Landry, Doug Dieken, Haven Moses, Little Jimmy Dickens, Mariel Zagunis and Hal Sutton

Another day of awesome successes today. Cramped for time tonight, but can't let this project get too far behind or I'll never get unburied.

Quickly, I received autographs today from former Lions QB Greg Landry, former Browns tackle Doug Dieken, and former Broncos star Haven Moses.

Three additional non-football successes as well. I received a quick turnaround from Country Music Hall of Famer Little Jimmy Dickens and two-time Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis.

Lastly, and my favorite of the day and probably one of my favorites all year, was a 2000 Players Championship pin flag signed by Hal Sutton. I was there at the TPC Sawgrass to watch Sutton's performance -- easily the gutsiest one I've ever witnessed in person.

Who can forget Sutton urging his shot to "be the right club today!" as he held off Tiger Woods for perhaps THE signature win of his career.



Day of the Year: 25
Number of Autographs This Year: 43

January 23 Report: Billy Maxwell, Tony Galbreath and Neil Lomax

Had been wondering the last week or so about whether Billy Maxwell would respond to my autograph request. Since he lives just across town I figured I hear back from him pretty promptly, and today I was rewarded quite nicely.

I had made a custom 4X6 print from an image I had taken of the Ryder Cup and had put his name and Ryder Cup year on it. (I've done the same for several other Ryder Cuppers). Not only did he sign and return two of those prints, but he also included 2 other Pro Set golf cards of his own. How awesome is that??

I had two additional successes today -- that of former NFL quarterback Neil Lomax and former running back Tony Galbreath.

Galbreath played for more than a decade with several teams, and was on the Super Bowl XXI winning Giants team.

Lomax had a brilliant career at small Portland State (he held 90 NCAA records when he left there) before being drafted in the second round of the 1981 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He passed for more than 22,000 yards in the NFL and was twice selected for the Pro Bowl.


Day of the Year: 23
Number of Autographs This Year: 37

January 22 Report: Tommy Aaron and Dan Majerle

Back-to-back days of great apparel adds to the collection. Right on the heels of the Brett Hull jersey comes the return of my University of Florida Golf Shirt. I've been working on getting all the former UF golfers who have played on the PGA Tour to sign this one shirt. To date all of the signatures have come in-person, but I deviated for Mr. Aaron since he doesn't have much of a playing schedule anymore.

I wrote him several weeks back and asked him for permission to send him this shirt to add his signature to. He replied with a letter telling me he'd be glad to sign the shirt. So I sent it and he added his autograph in black Sharpie like all the others.

This was a must-have signature as he was the man who put the UF program on the map!

I also received back today several cards signed by former Phoenix Suns star Dan Majerle. Majerle is one of the best signers out there and truly a man who is great to his fans.

Day of the Year: 22
Number of Autographs This Year: 34

January 21 Report: Brett Hull

Without a doubt my favorite success to date. The reason I started watching hockey back in the early 1990s was because of Brett Hull with the St. Louis Blues. Way back then I got a Blues jersey and recently got it to Brett to sign.

He did an awesome job of signing it right on the front in blue Sharpie with his number 16, just as I asked.

It's great when someone you've admired for so long turns out to be such a great guy. This will soon be framed and hanging next to my other jerseys. Awesome addition!!

Day of the Year: 21
Number of Autographs This Year: 32

January 20 Report: Johnny Rembert

A quick return today from a former New England Patriot. Johnny Rembert, who lives nearby and is the athletic director at Ed Waters College at present, signed a pair of football cards.

Rembert was a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker in 1989 and 1990 and played in Super Bowl XX.

Day of the Year: 20
Number of Autographs This Year: 31