My Favorite Hook ’em Things: Win Autographed Longhorns Collectibles

I don’t know how to attach a pic but my favorite collectible is a team signed football from the 2005 National Championship team that we got from Longhorns Ltd. I will always remember 2005 for the Championship and for my wife’s battle with cancer. She was going through chemo and we were in Longhorns Ltd. before one of the games. On a lark I asked a young lady working if they ever got team signed footballs and she looked at my wife (I am sure she could tell about the chemo) and said she would get us a football. She took my name and number but I forgot about it because I thought the chances of really getting a ball were slim. Between the Big 12 Championship and the National Championship game I got a phone call from the young lady that she had my football and I needed to get to Austin to pick it up asap. (we live in Corpus). We drove up on Saturday and went to the West side store. I asked the young man working about a team signed football. He laughed and said he had not ever seen anything like that. I mentioned the young lady’s name (a manager, if I recall). He called her and she came out with the football!!! It is our favorite memento of all the Texas Longhorns games we have attended. If someone can tell me how to add a pic, I will.
Ron

Ron

I had camped out for UT/KU basketball tickets in Dec of 97 since my dad was a KU alum . I ended up with really good tickets almost on the floor. The game was terrible from a UT perspective since we lost 102-72 but that was ok because it helped end the Penders era. The cool part was that directly behind us was the football recruits and other UT football players, including Ricky Williams. This was before he had announced that he was coming back for his senior season so everybody was very nervous that he was leaving. At halftime, they announced he was returning for his senior season and then put the arena spotlight on him. The crowd went crazy and after that there was a very long line of people wanting his autograph. During a quick lull, I turned around and got his autograph on my ticket stub. I thought it was so awesome that he stayed the entire time and gave every fan an autograph that asked for one.
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Here is my most prized Longhorn signed football by Colt McCoy. He came through for a signing with Jordan Shipley last year near mother’s day and I told my husband that is what I wanted for my MD present. A football signed by them both. Well, Shipley had to cancel a few days before to report to rookie camp and that left us with a prepaid auto ticket. When my husband went to get the ball signed by Colt he was offered a refund on the other ticket for Jordan but he had a better idea. Could Colt personalize my ball and he would call it even on the money. Colt gladly agreed and personalized it Happy Mother’s Day…BEST MOTHER’S DAY present EVER! So special to me because my husband went out of his way to give me something I really wanted and would appreciate and even better because I think I have a truly one of kind piece of memorbilia…I doubt there is another one like it!

I’ve got a good story on a collectible I whiffed on.

When I was 8 my Grandpa took me to my first UT football game. As the game was winding down, I told him I was going to get a souvenir for him. Little did he know in my mind this meant sneaking onto the sideline to get a football. In my haste I tripped down some of the cement steps on the lower level. I had a small cut nothing major, but that didn’t keep the other fans from calling in “stadium medics”. They strapped me to a dolly-like stretcher and wheeled me up two flights of stairs to check out my cut. After sterylrizing and a bandaid they released me. The whole ordeal took at least 45 mins. which is exactly how long my Grandfather was sitting in an alomost completely empty DKR stadium. When I found him sitting in our same seats he was in a sort of shock and said he was trying to figure out how he was going to tell my parents he lost me at the game. Wiffed on the collectible, but got an even better story we both still enjoy

this is my favorite longhorn item it’s my flag with all the years longhorns won championships

My favorite memorabilia is a signed picture of Darrell Royal that reads, “To Jason (that’s my name) you’re a great Longhorn”.

However its the way I got the picture that is so great. My girl friend my freshman year of college was at college in Oklahoma (Oklahoma Baptist) and she came to visit Austin with some of her friends. One of them was named Katy Royal. No big deal until Saturday afternoon we were headed to Zilker Park and she said she had to go visit her uncle.

“Do you know who Darrell Royal is?” she asked as I’m falling backwards. He was her uncle. That’s when I learned that the “K” stood for Katy a family name.

Needless to say my GF wouldn’t let me go with Katy Royal instead of hanging out with her, but she did bring me back a signed picture of him and an autographed football card of his from when he was an assistant coach at Washington I think. Both of these items were items supplied by him, not things I asked him to sign. Thanks.

I have a Mack Brown signed football that a friend of mine had signed for me in the spring of 2006, right after that magnificent national championship game. My friend Colin went with his brother to get a ball signed, and decided to get one signed for me because I was “the biggest longhorn fan he knew.” He didn’t get one for himself, just the one for me. Unfortnautely, he passed away in October of 2008 from cancer.

I’m only in my early 30s, so I hope to add to my longhorn collection, but I will never love another collectible more. That football will always remind me of my dear friend Colin, and his unselfishness and want to make other people happy. I don’t want a prize, I just felt like sharing the story.

My most desired collectible: A signed poster of Ricky breaking the record. What a great moment that was.

About 2 months after the NCG Vince’s mother was the guest speaker at a local fundraiser. Rumor had it that Vince was attending the event with his mother. Although Vince didn’t appear, his mother very graciously took the ticket back to Houston with her and the ticket, which bears both Vince and his mother’s signature, was mailed to me a week later This has to be one of a kind.

Darrell K Royal signed football

I went to pharmacy school at Southwestern OK State. During my last year, I was living in OKC. My roommate’s mom called him on a Thursday and said that at the football game the next night between Mangum (his hometown) and Hollis was going to have a special guest, none other than Mr Royal and his wife. Hollis was honoring him by naming their field after him. That next morning I decked out in my Longhorn gear, went to Wal-Mart (sorry short notice), bought a football, was able to get out of my internship early and drove to the game. After the pregame ceremony, he noticed me in burnt orange (I gladly stuck out) he came over. He saw the football and offered to sign it before I could even ask. We chatted for a few minutes and then he had to go. It was an awesome night. I will get a pick up when I can.

My wife, son and I traveled from Pennsylvania to the 2006 Rose Bowl and were able to book a room at the team hotel in Century Plaza. On our first day, we spotted Mack and several in the lobby talking and waiting for the team buses to take them to the practice facilities. As my 10-year-old son approached Mack with a football to sign, he was intercepted by Cleve Bryant, who asked him to come back later as the coaches were busy. That was understandable, so we just walked to the front doors to watch the team board the buses. After a couple of minutes, a man tapped my son on the shoulder and asked him if he could sign his football. Of course, it was Mack Brown and he had gone out of his way to make a kid happy. He asked my son where he was from and signed the ball. Later in the week, we were getting on the hotel elevator, and Mack and Sally Brown were the only other occupants. Mack looked at my son and said, “there’s my favorite fan from Pennsylvania.” Mack made his day (and mine) by remembering and acknowledging him when he had so much going on getting ready for the game. By the time we left, the ball was full of signatures of the team, Darrell Royal, James Street and on and on, but Mack’s consideration and attention to the little things stood out. We’ll never get rid of the ball.

Living in Pennsylvania, we only get to one or two UT games each year. We happened to make it to the Baylor game during Colt McCoy’s freshman season. It turned out well as Colt broke the freshman touchdown record with six in that game as the Horns came back to thump the Bears. After the game, my wife, my son and his disturbed friend (an OU fan, need I say more), hung out and got a lot of the players’ signatures on their footballs. As we walked back to the car, everyone was happy but said it was too bad we didn’t get to see Colt and get his autograph. As we were getting into our car in an almost-empty Brazos Garage, my wife said that a kid stepping out of the stairwell looked like Colt McCoy. Yeah right, Mom!! We saw some college kid in what looked like white tennis shorts and a t-shirt. I backed out and started driving toward the exit ramp. A few seconds later I slammed on the brakes and we piled out of the car like terrorists and went for the trunk (diving for the footballs). It WAS Colt and he was very courteous to a carload of crazed people, signing the kids’ footballs and then strolling off by himself to get into his vehicle. Later that year, the boys were assigned a paper to write about their favorite belonging. Come to find out, Sooner boy’s favorite possession in all the world was his Longhorn-signed football.

Not much of a collector of anything, including autographs. Never put much stock into it. I’ve instead shook many athletes’ hands. That is enough for me. Anyway, I do have 2 collectibles: A painting of Steve Worster running behind an offensive tackle on a sweep; and the Life magazine with Tommy Nobis on the cover. A friend came across it at an antique mall and thought it would sate this obsessed Longhorn fan. Both players were well before my time but they both epitomize the history of UT football.

My 9-year-old son’s #12 Colt jersey (from Academy) makes his face light up like a Christmas tree on game days.

My favorite UT memory was of my first experience on campus back in the early 90’s. My Uncle had just enrolled and I was helping my grandparents move him into Dobie for his first semester. I was 8, or so, at the time, and was having my first big time college experience. Dobie could have been the size of the Sears tower for all I knew. Dobie was large to a young boy who looked up to his uncle like a big brother. Anyway, on one of the many trips from the car to the dorm, carrying Lord knows what, I happen to find a $100 bill laying there on one of the steps. Of course I yell this fact as loud as could to make sure my grandparents where aware of just how lucky I had gotten. My grandma quickly scoots over to me and says you best speak a little softer or you might lose that to some starving freshman. The family continues to move up the steps and I immediately turn to each and every passer-bye asking if they lost some money. I guess “starving freshman” persuaded my morality to kick in. To my shock nobody claimed my hundred. Although, I think one father moving his son into the dorm may have dropped it, but didn’t fess up to it out of the kindness of his heart. I was in heaven the whole drive back to Dallas, me and my $100 dollars (Well, $80 dollars, and my first T-shirt from the Co-op). I have been a life long Longhorn ever since. Just bought my first place awhile back, and of course, will be creating a UT “Man Cave.” My favorite addition thus far is…….

Also, I happened to be traveling to Indy last March from DFW and got this picture taken with Colt. He avoided my question about going to visit the Colts because this trip was after the combine. I figure he was either going to meet with Colts brass or hang out with Peyton for a few days. Regardless, nice guy, minus the Yankee’s tee. (Rangers ALCS Champs)

When i was sick and in the hospital, my grandpa new all I wanted was an autographed Colt McCoy rookie card, so he wen’t to this auction and bought one , then got on a plane and bought a ticket for the oklahoma state game in 08 and met colt before the game and got his signature. I have it in the center of my trophy case.

Wish I were at home to post few pics, but here are a few items I have picked up.

- A sign from Memorial Stadium from before the expansion in the 70’s. ‘Gate 7’ sign that used to be the gate the players filed into the stadium before heading to the locker room for pregame. Picked this up from an auction from when Rooster Andrew’s was closing. The coolest thing from this auction was an original panoramic photo of an Aggie-Longhorn game back in the 1910’s.
- Autographed football from the 1992, 2001, 2005, and 2009 teams.
- Recently bought brick from the old north end zone and dirt from the last turf change. I think you can still buy these.
- A few prints and photos signed by Mack and Darrell Royal.
- My recently acquired, but most prized possession (just ahead of the stadium gate sign), is a 1969 team signed football announcing the Longhorns as the champs for college football’s centennial year.

When I was a boy in the sixties and seventies my family went to many games. After each game my brother and I would wait outside the old locker rooms in Memorial Stadium to ask the players to sign the programs from that day’s game. As a result we have many programs signed by many of the greatest players from that era, ranging from Nobis to Street to Campbell.
Among my favorites are the program from the 1970 Cotton Bowl, and the program from the 1968 Arkansas game in Austin. That was not a particularly great game, but after the game while we were waiting on Chris Gilbert and Steve Worster to come out, my mother got into a conversation with a lady who turned out to be OC Emory Bellard’s wife. Mrs. Bellard talked her husband into taking my brother and I into the locker room where we got the autographs we had been waiting for and then Coach Bellard took us into coach Royals office where THE MAN sat and talked with us for five minutes or more. I wouldn’t sell that program or that memory for any amount of money.

Growing up in Iowa it was expected you were either a Hawkeye or a Cyclone. What I quickly realized is that both of those schools had 0 tradition. I started following UT in the mid 90s when they joined the Big 12 conference. Ever since then my passion for UT has continued to grow. In the fall of 2004 my wife (finance at the time) planned a trip down to Austin. This would be my first trip down to DKR. She then informed me not only would we be going to the game, but we also would be touring the football facilities. As we were being shown around Moncrief-Neuhaus I was in awe. Just seeing all of the history and tradition in that facility was amazing. Towards the end of our tour we were guided into a room full of memoriabilia. I had no idea where we were until I turned to my right and I saw Coach Brown behind his desk. We spoke for a bit and he showed us various things in his office. However just before we were about to leave he went behind his desk and pulled out Media Guide from the 1999 Cotton Bowl signed by Ricky Williams. This piece in my collection means more to me then any other not only because it came directly from Coach and it has Rickys signature, but it came from the first bowl win in the Mack Brown era and I am sure that game is one he and many Longhorn fans will never forget.

We were hanging out at DKR after the Aggie game three years ago and passed by a hospitality area set up in the indoor practice facility behind the endzone. Workers were taking down all the banners and Texas decorations and since it was the last home game, they were discarding many of the items. We were able to get two of the banners and my brother-in-law shipped them back home for us.

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hello! any update on winners yet? I am new to the site and not sure how you announce winners so thought I would ask. great stories from a lot of people!

I live in Akron Ohio and have never been to Texas to see a game in 05 I did get to go see them at OSU since I was a student. I just bought a house this summer and my attic is my Longhorns room I have atleast 100 autographs of different players Durant, Williams, McCoy, Campbell Etc most people think I am crazy but nothing like going into my attic and seeing it all there.

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