Rafael Bush played college football at South Carolina State and after going undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft signed with the Atlanta Falcons on April 26, 2010. He would only see duty on the practice squad before he was signed away by the Broncos in October 2011. He played 6 games as a Bronco before joining the New Orleans Saints for 39 games over 3 seasons. On March 12, 2016, the Detroit Lions signed Bush to a one-year contract, here's his custom Lions card.
Graham Glasgow played college football at Michigan as a walk-on in 2011, but earned a scholarship in the spring practice portion of the 2013 season. Glasgow appeared in 42 career games along the offensive line and made 37 starting assignments. Following the 2015 season, Glasgow was named the team's Hugh R. Rader Memorial Award recipient as the top offensive lineman. He was drafted 95th overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2016 NFL draft. Halfway through the season he took over as the Lions starting left guard after struggles from former first-round pick Laken Tomlinson.
Now we will look at a set of 1981 Topps customs that a client ordered.
Kenny Easley played college football for the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a three-time consensus All-American. A first-round pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, Easley played professionally for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks from 1981 to 1987. His official rookie card was issued as part of the 1983 Topps set, here's his 1981 custom rookie creation.
Rickey Jackson was known as "the other end" at the University of Pittsburgh due to Hugh Green's presence on the team. As a senior in 1980, he was a second-team All-America selection and a first-team All-Big East selection. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 1981 NFL Draft, 53rd overall, by the New Orleans Saints he played in all 16 games his rookie season and was named to the NFL All-Rookie team. Over his 11 years with the Saints he was a four-time first-team All-Pro and a two-time second-team All-Pro selection. In 1994, Jackson joined the 49ers. He won his only Super Bowl with the 49ers that year. He retired from the NFL following the 1995 season. His official rookie card was issued as part of the 1984 Topps set, here's his 1981 custom rookie creation.
Ronnie Lott played college football for the University of Southern California, and was honored as a consensus All-American. A first-round pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders, New York Jets, and Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL. Lott was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, and is widely considered to be one of the best of all time at the safety position in NFL history and one of the best players in NFL history. His official rookie card was issued as part of the 1982 Topps set, here's his 1981 custom rookie creation.
Dwight Stephenson played college football under coach Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama. Bryant called Stephenson the best center he ever coached, and he was the team's starting center from 1977 to 1979, and was a member of Alabama's back-to-back national championship teams of 1978 and 1979. Stephenson was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the 2nd round of the 1980 NFL Draft. He was used on special teams only until late in the 1981 season, when starting center Mark Dennard was injured. A few seasons later, Stephenson was universally recognized as the premier center in the NFL. He retired from pro football in 1987, after sustaining a left knee injury, his entire career spent in Miami. His official rookie card was issued as part of the 1984 Topps set, here's his 1981 custom rookie creation.
I'll end this post with a custom hockey creation that I just had to make after the December 31st NHL game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Jorge Alves, a native of Stoughton, MA, played club hockey at NC State University from 2002-2004 following four years of service in the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC. He also played a total of 9 games in the SPHL and ECHL over 3 years. He has worked with the Canes' equipment staff since the 2003-04 season and has been one of the Hurricanes' full-time equipment managers since the 2012-13 season. On Dec. 31, 2016, he added NHL goaltender to his resume after signing a professional tryout contract in an emergency situation. Encouraged by his teammates, Alves led the Hurricanes onto the ice for warm-ups but Ward and the rest of the team waited in the tunnel as Alves skated a lap on his own, a typical rookie initiation.Now the real topper to this story is not only did he backup Cam Ward for the New Year's Eve contest, with 7.6 seconds left, and a faceoff in Tampa Bay's end Alves took to the crease and officially recorded eight seconds of NHL ice time. For all us bush league wannabes here's his Hurricanes custom rookie card !!
You can purchase these cards, or any of my Missing Link creations, for $10 each postpaid, or $7.95 each for 3 or more. Email me at: [email protected], volume discounts available on larger orders.