Hoops Hobby

Just a reminder of my priority for picking up autographs;

1a. Certified Pacers autographs
1b. Non-Certified Pacers autograph that I have personally obtained (in person or TTM)
2a. Certified Non-Pacers autographs
2b. Non-Certified Non-Pacers autographs that I have personally obtained (in person or TTM)
3. Non-Certified Pacers autographs that I have not personally obtained
4. Non-Certified Non-Pacers autographs that I have not personally obtained

And as always, thanks to TCDB and Basketball Reference for the wealth of information.

Autographs of Pacers with Last Name starting with ‘E’ – 4 of 11, 36% Complete
Autographs of Pacers with Last Name starting with ‘F’ – 4 of 10, 40% Complete

First, the players I have autographs for.

Tyus Edney

Edney doesn’t have any Pacers cards or autographs from his time with the team during the 2000-01 season, which makes a card from his UCLA days a logical choice. Edney played for the Kings and Celtics before playing overseas for a few years prior to joining the Pacers as a backup point guard. His Kings card from 1996-97 Skybox Autographics is nice too, but for now I went with the UCLA autograph I’ve had in my collection for years. Edney has signed through the mail over the years, so maybe a custom card is in order.

John Edwards

This 2004-05 Upper Deck Exquisite rookie autograph of John Edwards is the type of autographed card I like for this collection. The autograph is on-card and it’s from a premium product, but unfortunately thicker cards like this, and it is one of the thickest cards I own, won’t fit in the Z-Folio binder I am using to display my Pacers autograph collection. For now, I have a placeholder card in my binder, and eventually I’ll pick up an additional auto for Edwards. The 2005-06 Upper Deck Rookie Debut autograph is the one I have my eye on for the binder.

Len Elmore

When I think of Len Elmore, I think of ACC basketball, where he starred under Coach Lefty Driesell, and his college basketball broadcasting career. But he also played for the Indiana Pacers along with several other teams. In his second season with the Pacers, he averaged a double-double with almost 15 points and 11 rebounds per game.

As far as autographed cards with the Pacers, Elmore appears in 3 sets, my favorite of which is the Fan Favorites set from 2005-06 Topps 1952 Style. It has the 1974-75 Topps design.

He’s also in 2006-07 Full Court, a dual autograph with Jermaine O’Neal, which is a solid card, and then finally he’s in 2014-15 Totally Certified.

There wasn’t even a choice in my picking up the 2005-06 Topps Style card for the binder.

Darrell Elston

Elston played for the Pacers for 5 games during the 1976-77 NBA season, starting in late October 1976, which was also the team’s first in the NBA. His only card is from 1975-76 Topps where he is pictured with the Virginia Squires. Mr. Elston was nice enough to sign this copy through the mail as well as answer some questions about his time with the Squires.

Being a Virginia native, I always wished for a team closer to home. Growing up, the closest team was the Bullets/Wizards who were a few hours drive away.

Elston averaged over 8 points a game in 26 minutes a game with the Squires during the 1974-75 season.

Vern Fleming

I appreciate Vern’s cards because of all of the key 80s sets he is a part of. He’s also one of the best Through the Mail signers around, and has been for years. He has a great signature and it’s hard for me to pick a favorite between the 1987-88 and 1988-89 Fleer. I added the 1988-89 Fleer to my binder project because of the fondness I have for that set with Reggie Miller’s rookie card being included.

Fleming was a key member of the Pacers backcourt for a good part of the 80s and early 90s. He played his last season with the Nets in 1995-96.

T.J. Ford

I own three T.J. Ford autographs, and a bunch of his rookie year cards from 2003-04. Since the Pacers didn’t have a first round draft pick in the 2003 draft (they picked James Jones in the 2nd round), when Ford was traded to the Pacers as part of the Jermaine O’Neal trade with Toronto, I used that as an excuse to pick up some 2003-04 rookie cards. I’ve since realized I really don’t care about those T.J. Ford Bucks cards, even though some are from some pretty cool sets, and if you’re a Bucks fan or a T.J. Ford fan, I’ve got a lot of rookie year cards for you.

As for the Pacers autographs I do have, the 2008-09 Topps Murad set is one of my favorites from the 2000s. The Pacers have several rookies that year, and the mini cards within full size cards is a card attribute that doesn’t show up often, especially in basketball. I love the design, despite the sticker auto.

2009-10 Bowman ‘48 is an underrated set from the 2000s, I would say. Rookies of Steph, Harden, Blake, Jrue Holiday, etc… and the simplicity of the design makes it so appealing to me. This T.J. Ford autograph made the binder for my autograph project mainly because it’s a vertical card, but both of these cards are great.

T.J. played a significant role for the Pacers between 2008 and 2011 after sustaining a significant spinal cord injury early in his pro career.

Jeff Foster

What is there to say about Jeff Foster? A critical member of the Pacers, often a starter during the 2000s. An exceptional offensive rebounder, beloved by the fans, he’ll always be a player I collect.

While I do have his 1999-00 Skybox Autographics card, my son and I recently sent to Jeff through the mail, and received two signed cards back, and they look fantastic, The Fleer Platinum card is in the binder.

Donnie Freeman

Speaking of Through the Mail successes, Donnie Freeman signed recently on this 1974-75 Topps, just a beautiful card and set. The colors in the background really set this design apart in the 70s.

Freeman was a 5x ABA All-Star, and was All-ABA First team in 1972 with Dallas before coming over to the Pacers the following season. And lastly he was named one of the top 30 ABA players of all-time in 1997.

And that’s it for the autographs I have as of now.

Certified Non-Pacers autographs

James Edwards – Played in over 300 games for the Pacers in almost 30 minutes per game over that stretch. Edwards had a lengthy NBA career playing for 19 seasons.

He appears in the 2006-07 Chronology set with the Pistons. I’m a huge fan of this set and.I may end up picking up this card eventually, even if I can grab an autograph on one of his Pacers Topps cards.

Alex English – He has plenty of certified autographed cards with the Nuggets from the Panini era, and South Carolina autographed cards from Press Pass in the 2000s.

English was a rookie with the Bucks, but his rookie card is with the Pacers in the 1979-80 Topps set and is frequently signed. All of his 8 All-Star appearances are with the Nuggets.

John Fairchild – Fairchild signed for the 2000 Lana Sports ABA rookie card set, where he appears as a member of the Anaheim Amigos. John played for the Lakers initially before playing for the Amigos, Pacers, Denver Rockets, and Kentucky Colonels.

Tremaine Fowlkes – One of the Pacers signed in the days after The Brawl suspensions and the Pacers were severely shorthanded. Played 8 games for the team. As far as autographs, he has SAGE autographs from 1998 that picture him in his Fresno State uniform.

Players with Pacers Cards

Charlie Edge – Appears in the 1975-76 Topps set as a Pacer, his only NBA card outside of the Pacers team card from the same set.

Bobby Joe Edmonds – Only appears in the Lana Sports ABA set from 2020. While I’m pleased to own a copy of this card, there’s no chance of it being signed as Mr. Edmonds passed away in 1991 at 50. He averaged 8 points a game during the 1967-68 ABA season. It’s fun to read writeups on cards like these where even with some research, information is limited.

Monta Ellis – I would have thought Monta would have a Pacers certified autograph, but it seems he doesn’t, and in general his autographs seem higher priced than they should be. While not my favorite Pacer to watch, he was an explosive offensive player.

One of the few Pacers cards I own of his is a 2015-16 Status parallel /11. For this project I may look to acquire a rookie year card. Many of those sets bring back fond collecting memories for me, when I was chasing after as many Danny Granger rookies as a I could find.

Tyreke Evans – Another player, along with Monta, who I would have for sure guessed would have Pacers certified autographed cards, but no such luck.

Duane Ferrell – Has plenty of Pacers cards, but no certified autographs as a Pacer, or with any team. He was packaged with Erick Dampier to bring Chris Mullin to the Pacers. After scoring in double digits for multiple seasons in Atlanta, he played a lesser offensive role and less minutes in his 3 seasons with the Pacers. Ferrell ended up playing 11 NBA seasons, finishing his career with the Warriors following the Mullin trade.

Ferrell historically has been a good through the mail signer.

Players with Non-Pacers cards

Korylo Fesenko – No certified autograph cards, but has Jazz cards, a few of which are signed on eBay. Fesenko appeared in 3 games for the Pacers in 2012.

Mike Flynn – Played for the Pacers for three seasons starting in 1975 after a college career at Kentucky, and his only cards that I can find picture him in his time at Kentucky, one of which mentions his time with the Pacers on the back of the card.

Anthony Frederick – Played 46 games for the Pacers during the 1988-89 season, averaging over 3 points per game. He had a larger bench role for the Kings and Hornets later in his career, and appears in a handful of early 90s sets as a Hornet.

Players with No NBA/ABA Cards

Kenton Edelin – Played for University of Virginia, helping the team reach the Final Four in 1984. Played 10 games for the Pacers during the 1984-85 season after being drafted in the 7th round. He returned to UVA for Law School after his NBA season with the Pacers and was a practicing lawyer until he passed away in 2022 at the age of 60.

And with that, we’re through 6 letters, which ends up as 109 players out of 377. Next up will be a shorter post on players starting with the last name ‘G’.