Lee Roy Jordan Cowboys Autograph

Lee Roy Jordan made a rare autograph appearance last month. He couldn't have been nicer and was proud to show his Super Bowl VI ring.

Jordan became the 13th autograph on my Cowboys Super Bowl VI helmet (pictured here).

Mike Ditka's First Super Bowl Wasn't with Chicago

"Da Coach" is a two-time Super Bowl Champion with the Dallas Cowboys. I'm a Mike Ditka fan. I thought he was great for the game and still is with his commentary.

In 1969, Mike Ditka came to Dallas and in 1971 he helped the Dallas Cowboys win their first Super Bowl. In Super Bowl VI he caught a touchdown pass from Roger Staubach helping the 'boys win their first title, 24-3 over the Miami Dolphins.

In the 1977 season Mike Ditka was a coach on the Cowboys for their 27-10 win against the Denver Broncos.

I got Mike Ditka's autograph on my Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XII helmets during the March CSA Autograph Show. The picture here is from my Super Bowl XII helmet.

Roger Staubach Beat Army Autograph Navy Helmet

I have been waiting for this autograph a long time!

Roger Staubach came back to the Mounted Memories Canton Hall of Fame show on August 15. I got the helmet pictured here, and two other helmets signed by Roger last Saturday.

The full-size helmet pictured here is from GridIron Memories. Navy wore this helmet during the 1963 Army/Navy game. Navy Coach Wayne Hardin put the "Beat Army" and the players' names on the back of the helmets for this game. Hardin also added "Drive for Five" on the back of the players' jerseys - winning the 1963 game would be the 5th win in a row for Navy.

Navy won their 5th Army/Navy game in-a-row and Staubach finished the '63 season with 1,474 yards passing, 418 yards rushing and 15 total touchdowns to win the Heisman Trophy.

At the autograph session, Roger added the '63 Heisman inscription and the "Drive for Five" inscription. He was really cool about it, talked about the game a bit, and seemed happy that someone knew about that particular Army/Navy game.

It makes all the difference when getting in-person autographs if you have some different knowledge about the player when you meet him/her. On Saturday, Roger was cool to share stories about a game that most autograph seekers don't ask about. Another example is when I met Joe Namath at an autograph session a few years ago and talked about Alabama football, instead of the normal Jets discussions that most autograph seekers do. He talked about the Alabama/Tennessee game for 10 minutes with me. It was an awesome experience.

I'll have pictures of Roger signing my other helmets in the next few days.

Fred Dryer Should be the Next James Bond

Fred Dryer rocks! You can't deny watching those Hunter TV shows in the '80s.

Did you know that Fred Dryer was recruited by San Diego State's defensive coordinator, John Madden? I didn't either until I read Helmet Hut's story on recreating the Fred Dryer Helmet Collection!

Fred's a college football HOFer, had a good pro career, and was "Hunter" for seven seasons. It's time for Badge #089 to be the next 007!

1952 Dallas Texans Autograph

My other Dallas Texans Autograph from the CSA Show was Gino Marchetti.

Gino is a Colts Hall of Famer that played on the 1952 Dallas Texans a team. Gino and fellow HOFer Art Donovan played for the Texans in '52 before they moved.

Gino gave a real nice signature. This time, I used a silver paint pen instead of a sharpie. The silver paint pen has a bit more metallic in it and it seems to stand out a little better. He signed his name under Art Donovan's autograph which I obtained last year in Canton, OH. This helmet has the plastic face mask like Donovan wore in '52 and during other times in his career.

If you ever get the chance to get Art Donovan's autograph, ask him about the 1952 Texans! I did last year in Canton and he went on for about 10 minutes about how bad they were, but were still able to beat George Halas' Bears in Akron, OH.

Len Dawson Dallas Texans Autograph at CSA Show

Here's a picture of my Len Dawson autograph from Saturday.

Dawson signed an RK 1962 Dallas Texans Helmet at the CSA Show in Chantilly, VA on July 12. This is the helmet I bought from RealSports.com.

In the 1962 season, the Texans won the AFL Championship (which Dawson also inscribed). Following that season, the Texans decided to stop competing with the new Dallas Cowboys for the hearts of Texas football fans. Lamar Hunt moved the team to Kansas City and became the Chiefs.

Dawson signed the helmet with a silver sharpie pen. I had seen a few KC Chiefs helmets with black sharpie signatures and I didn't think it jumped out enough, so I decided on silver.
I'm pretty happy with this piece. The silver autograph stands out better than what this picture indicates.

Len Dawson appeared to be in great shape. He didn't talk much, but he shook my hand and smiled when I said thank you. I know, it doesn't seem like much, but compared to what other ex-atheletes do, I'll take Dawson's reaction any day.

Real Stuff Sports is Real Fast

I decided to get the 1962 Dallas Texans full size RK Helmet.

I couldn't decide whether to do a Bob Lilly TCU helmet or go with one that Len Dawson wore, but decided on the Texans helmet.

It can be difficult to find a reliable dealer to buy helmets and such from so I was a bit nervous when Helmet Hut said they didn't distribute NFL Riddell RK Helmets to consumers anymore, but they gave the Real Stuff Sports web site.

The service was awesome. I emailed them on a Thursday night about changing the facemask, and a sales person responded to my email about 90 minutes later! I placed the order on a Friday with my facemask change and I received it on the following Wednesday!

I'm anxious to get this helmet signed by Dawson. I think it's pretty unique and will look cool with a '62 AFL Champions inscription!

Autograph Collecting Dilema - Which Helmet? Dallas or TCU?

I'm preparing for the CSA Show in Chantilly, VA in July but can't decide what autograph to get? I collect mostly Dallas players and that includes both Dallas Texans franchises (the ones that moved to Baltimore and KC).

Len Dawson is signing at the show and he's a former Dallas Texan (see picture of helmet). But Bob Lilly is also signing at the CSA Show which leads to my dilema. I'm a Bob Lilly fan and thought it would look great to get a 1960 TCU helmet made by Helmet Hut.

Ugh! Which helmet do I get?!

Howard Hop-a-Long Cassady OSU Autograph Signing

Some autographs add to the look of your collection and some enhance the look to your collection. This "Hop-a-Long" Cassady autograph enhances a collection.

I went with a friend to a Hop-a-Long signing Friday night by Cardboard Memories at the Buckeye Store in Polaris Mall. This picture shows why this is an autograph that enhances a collection. Cassady signed an official Ohio State University throw-back helmet (made by HelmetHut) from the 1954-55 season.

Of course, a signature of a 50's Heisman trophy winner would great on almost anything: football, current mini helmet, or a current OSU full-size helmet. But look at how much more authentic and unique this piece is because of the helmet.

Cardboard Memories did good job running the show. Except the line was a first-come-first-serve style. I think the numbering system (based on when you bought the autograph ticket) is better. Most of the line was outside the store and they allowed 5 people to enter at one time. Once inside they did a good job of keeping things moving, allowing anyone to have a picture taken with Cassady and giving you a free COA sticker.

Hop-a-long was nice to everyone, he didn't say too much to the guests, but he was very courteous with people posing for pictures. Especially with the guy in front of me who couldn't figure out how to turn his camera on!

Best Ways to Make Your Autograph Collection Unique

It’s easy to get trapped in the cycle of getting baseballs and mini helmets signed with HOF and ROY inscriptions. It’s only natural when you’ve seen hundreds of them on eBay and online stores.

But do you want your collection to look like something anyone could have bought on eBay? Or do you want your collection to be different, something that you put extra time into, and has a story?

I’ll expand upon some of these points in later posts, but here are four great ways to make your autograph collection unique.

• Make the item you are getting signed different. My earlier posts with Helmet Hut and the catcher’s gear are two examples.


• Get a unique inscription. Instead of getting HOF with the player’s name, try getting a score of their winning Super Bowl, gold glove numbers, or the offensive stats of their best season.


• Have a theme. MAB Celebrity does a great job at providing themed autograph shows. I was recently at the Magic Moniker show where “Pudge” Rodriguez, “Hurricane” Carter, and “The Big Unit” Randy Johnson were signing. You could also create a 500 home run club, gold glove, all star game MVP, or Super Bowl MVP collection.


• Have your item tell a story. Beckett did a story about this a year or so ago with someone who gets a story on his baseballs. For example, you could get Bobby Thompson to sign, “I got good wood on that one” and Ralph Branca to write, “Lucky shot” or something like that. I’m in the process of doing one of these with Pete Rose.
  
  The point is, to think a little differently with your autograph collection and don’t fall into a routine. Make it unique to you – you’ll probably get a lot more enjoyment out of doing it.

Match Your Football Autograph to the Correct Helmet

Some research and HelmetHut.com can add authenticity to your collection.

You wouldn’t get Joe Montanna’s autograph on a Chargers helmet?

You wouldn’t get Jim Brown’s autograph on a Steelers helmet?

So why do people consistently get autographs on helmets that the players never wore?

Before the player grips the sharpie, make sure you are getting him to sign the correct helmet.

In the last 50 years, the helmet styles have change drastically in the NFL - from leather to hard shells, and from lucite fase masks to full cages. You can really improve the authentic look of your autograph collection by using a helmet/face mask that your player would have worn.

HelmetHut.com does a ton of research on the players’ helmets and work with Riddell to recreate authentic truly throwback helmets.

For example: Art Donovan is a Hall of Fame player for the Colts. You could get his autograph on a current Colts helmet and it would look fine. But what if you got his autograph on a ’54 Colts helmet (dark blue with white horseshoes - see picture) and with his lucite face mask? Another example would be Roger Staubach. The helmets he wore in the ‘70s with Dallas and previously with Navy are very different than the current Cowboys and Navy helmets.

I don’t work for Helmet Hut, but I’ve used their research and products. I’ve also seen their helmets used at autograph shows. Take a look at their samples on http://www.helmethut.com/ Their helmet prices are comparable to the current authentic NFL helmets.