Ron Powlus PC

CamaroDMD

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I recently thought it would be fun to start a little PC project of one of my favorite college football players from my childhood. That is former Notre Dame QB Ron Powlus. As a child, I always really liked Notre Dame. I was raised Catholic so I think that helped. I was also a huge Joe Montana fan and he had went there and they were always a good team (at least when I was really young). They were almost like a pro team playing on college. So, I was a big fan.

Not surprisingly, in my eyes the QB of Notre Dame was a very important figure. The Notre Dame QB when I first really started following football closely was Ron Powlus.

If you don’t know the Ron Powlus story, I will briefly go through it here. Ron Powlus was a star High School QB in Pennsylvania which for whatever reason seems to be where all the great QBs come from (at least a lot of them). Powlus may be the most highly touted high school football player in history. After he had decided to attend Notre Dame, ESPN analyst Beno Cook predicted he would win multiple Heisman Trophies and National Championships.

Long story short, that didn’t happen. Powlus was a 4 year starter who never lived up the hype that he came with. It was probably a combination of a system that didn’t properly fit his skill set as well as unrealistic expectations. Despite being a 4 year starter, he never won a bowl game. He left Notre Dame after the 1997 season holding most of the school’s passing records…but that was not enough to cement a positive memory for many Irish fans.

Powlus was not drafted in 1998 never made a NFL roster despite being on several pre-season squads (Oilers, Lions, and Eagles). He would spend one season playing in NFL Europe.

Despite his struggles, I always really liked him and I decided to try and put together a PC. He was the Notre Dame QB during my “formative football years” and as a result, I have a very positive memory of him. Plus, I think it will be a challenging project but not impossible. He has no true 1/1 cards…which will help. According to Beckett, he has had 31 cards produced…this includes 7 autographs and no GU. Of those 31 cards, only 8 are SPs of 100 or less and the lowest is /25. So, I think it’s a very doable set.

I currently have 2 cards in hand a couple more I am waiting for in the mail (including an odd ball card that is not listed on Beckett).

Here is what I have now:

2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket (auto) #173 Ron Powlus (1/100)


2001 Pacific Premiere Date #329 Ron Powlus (25/45)
 
Here are a couple more. The first card is a little bit of a mystery to me. It's a 2000 Leaf Limited issue and based on what I have seen on Beckett...this card came in 2 versions. Powlus's base card was an SP of 500 and there was also a "Limited Series" parallel with an SP of 50. This card has the word "SAMPLE" stamped on the back where the numbering should be. I don't know if it's some kind of a promo...or if it's a fake...or what it is. I don't know if it's rare or not. But, it was something I hadn't seen before and I figured for a few dollars...it was worth the risk. So, I grabbed it for the PC.

2000 Leaf Limited "Sample" #338 Ron Powlus


2004 Notre Dame TK Legacy QB Club Autographs #QB9 Ron Powlus (278/350)


I will post more as I track them down.
 
Here is another one that came in the mail recently.

2013 Upper Deck Notre Dame Gold #72 Ron Powlus (13/50)


I have a couple more on the way and will post them when they arrive.
 
Here are a few more that recently arrived.

2000 Leaf Rookies & Stars Autographs #283 Ron Powlus (112/200) - The first 200 of the print run were signed.


2004 Notre Dame TK Legacy Fighting Irish Autographs #FI37 Ron Powlus


2013 Upper Deck Notre Dame Autographs #72 Ron Powlus
 
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