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You are here: Home / Around the Hobby / Ottis Anderson Q&A: Seeing Rookie Card, Walter Payton Jersey Swap, Partnership with Signd

Ottis Anderson Q&A: Seeing Rookie Card, Walter Payton Jersey Swap, Partnership with Signd

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West Palm Beach, Florida native Ottis Jerome (O.J.) Anderson was a football and track star for Forest Hill High School in West Palm Beach in the mid-1970s.

The standout running back chose to stay in-state and attend the University of Miami.  A 6’2, 220-pound explosive battering ram, Anderson broke Chuck Foreman’s career rushing record and became the first player to rush more than 1,000 yards in a single season in the history of ‘The U’. He ended his college career with over 3,000 yards rushing, 15 touchdowns and also caught over 50 passes for over 500 yards and another four scores. Anderson was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
 
Selected in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Anderson’s impact was immediate.  He enjoyed  one of the greatest debuts and NFL history rushing for just shy of 200 yards (and a single yard short of the debut rushing record). His rookie season total of 1,605 rushing yards earned him the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and the first of his back-to-back Pro Bowl selections.
 
In his first six seasons in the league, Anderson rushed for over 1,000 yards in five of those years, with the only exception being the strike shortened 1982 season in which he was well on his way to doing the same once again.
 
After year six, injuries began to take a toll on his career and decrease the number of games he played and his output each season moving forward.
 
Anderson was traded to the New York Giants in the middle of the 1986 season. Still battling through injuries, he became the top running back for Bill Parcells’ vaunted ball control offense. In 1989, he was named The NFL Comeback Player of the Year, scoring a career high 14 touchdowns and yet again rushing for over 1,000 yards.
 
 
As great as his career was up to that point, the future Hall of Famer may be best known for his iconic performance in Super Bowl XXV where he stiff armed, upper cutted and bulldozed his way to 102 yards rushing and a huge touchdown, culminating in being named the Super Bowl XXV MVP.
 
 
Anderson is one of only four running backs in league history to score rushing touchdowns in two Super Bowls and win the game’s MVP award, joining Franco Harris, John Riggins and Emmitt Smith.
 
At the time of his retirement in 1992, he ranked 7th in career rushing touchdowns and 8th in career rushing yards.
 
Since his retirement Anderson has had an extremely successful second career in the business world and as a motivational speaker. He’s president of Ottis J. Anderson Enterprises and is involved in several community organizations such as the United Way of America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and a plethora of other worthy foundations.
 
Most recently, he teamed up with Signd, a personalized video and signed memorabilia service that offers fans a videotaped personalized interaction with some of the all-time greats in the sporting world, along with an autograph.
 
We caught up to him recently to discuss his 1980 Topps rookie card, signing autographs and communicating with collectors and fans, his admiration of Gale Sayers, what currently resides in his man cave and more.

Tony Reid- You played 14 years in the NFL and had a lot of success, but dob you remember the first time you were asked for your autograph?

Ottis Anderson-I was a Cardinal and it had to be after my last preseason game versus Atlanta my rookie year. The first time I touched the ball I went 80 yards. It got called back but I went 80 yards. The following week we opened up against the Dallas Cowboys. I think people started looking at me and asking for autographs at that point.

TR-  Do you have a man cave where you have memorabilia displayed?

OA-I do have my little man cave. I have my two Super Bowl trophies. I have my Rookie of the Year Award. I have Cardinals and Giants memorabilia hanging on the walls. I got two Giants seats from the old stadium in my basement. Oh, yeah. I just wish I would have been doing this collectibles concept back when I was playing. I would have had some really good stuff that would have been worth a lot of money. That’s fine and dandy but I do have my Super Bowl jersey, pants, helmet, thigh pads, shoes and other items. I have that stuff that reminds me of the accomplishment.

TR–Your rookie card appeared in the 1980 Topps set. When you saw yourself on a trading card for the first time what were your thoughts?

OA-Coming from the projects of West Palm Beach, my hero back then was Gale Sayers. I didn’t see a lot of him because we didn’t get the station. When I came out in 1979 The Sporting News predicted me to be the Rookie of the Year. They had me on the cover. The veterans of the team were riding me. “Yo, they think he is going to be the Rookie of the Year. That little young pup. You haven’t done anything yet.” Listen, I don’t know where they come up with the stuff but I can tell you they were right. All I can tell you is they were right. It was exciting. I felt like I was a star but I wasn’t over the top to where I thought my stuff didn’t stink. I just knew somebody had made a prediction and I lived up to it and I was excited about that.

TR–You have such a great relationship with fans. How have you managed to keep that going for all these years?

OA-I do and it’s because of the relationship I have had with a lot of sports collectors and shows I went to. Being in the New York and New Jersey area, people just love the Giants. Working with SIGND has resurrected my fan base by having me be available to send video messages to fans and allow those fans not only to get video messages but to get a piece of memorabilia. It has resurrected a lot of our careers by being able to stay connected to our fans.

TR- You are really active in the sports community and such a big personality. What is your most memorable fan interaction?

OA-I will hit (Signd Founder and CEO) Howard (Margolies) with this. I have never had the opportunity to shave someone’s head for charity. That is when Howard and I first met. That is how we got our relationship going. It was an event and Howard was raising money by having his head shaved by some of the top barbers in New York City. Then there was me. I had no experience at all. He trusted me to shave his head. It started with Howard.

TR–How special is that fan interaction today and how special is the relationship with Signd to you?

OA-Is there anyone that you just completely love and wish you could have something from that individual? Now think about that. You said yes. Imagine somebody in your family surprises you with a video message from that person and that person said to you “Man, I heard you have been a fan of mine for a very long time. I have never met you but this video is going to bring us close. You will always have this video and I am going to give you a shout out but most of all I am going to give you a piece of memorabilia that will last for a lifetime.  As long as you have your camera and that QR code on that ball, you can always hear me give you a personal shout out.”  Now you tell me, as a fan, would that not just take you over the edge? That explains it. That is why we got involved. We wanted to give a fan an experience that they will remember forever.

TR–You mentioned being a huge fan of Gale Sayers. From being the kid and a fan to being able to do what you do today with Signd, how cool is it to go full circle and give back to fans now?

OA-It’s exciting for me. Yeah Gale Sayers was a childhood idol. Had he not passed away I’m quite sure he would be a part of this. I would have loved to have gotten a ball from him. I would have had him sign a ball for me. I would cherish it. It’s great to come full circle. Somebody is getting signed balls from me now. There are kids, fathers and mothers, wives are getting balls signed for their husbands. I am excited about it and yes it is a good feeling to come full circle because I am doing what I wished I had a chance to do when I met Gale Sayers.

TR–If you could go back to your playing days and jersey swap with any opponent who would you pick and why?

OA-It would have been Walter Payton, Tony Dorsett, Jim Brown, Chuck Muncie, Calvin Hill and Franco Harris. They were all big icons when I played. In the Pro Bowl, we actually did swap jerseys. Me, Payton and Earl Campbell. I don’t know what I did with those jerseys. I was excited. I was young. That year I came in second to Walter Payton for the NFC rushing title. Early went for 1,800. Walter went for 1,600 and I went for 1,600. After the Pro Bowl, I got a jersey from each of those guys. I have no idea what happened to those jerseys. I was 22. That was over 40 years ago. If I haven’t found them yet there is no finding them.

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About Tony Reid

From the time he was a little kid, Tony has been a huge sports fan. If he could play sports, watch sports and talk about sports it was a great day. From as early as he was drawn to sports, Tony was drawn to collecting sports cards. Not much has changed over the years. He collects RCs of star players in baseball, basketball and football. He also has a soft spot for first autographs of MMA stars. If you want to talk to Tony about the greatness of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson or Ken Griffey, Jr. you can reach him at [email protected] and @tonyreidwrites on social media.