NFL Kicker Blake Grupe Chases His Rainbow, Talks Grandpa's Mantle Collection

Long before Blake Grupe was kicking game-winning field goals in the NFL, he was an all-state high school soccer and football player in the small railroad town of Sedalia, Missouri. With the Missouri State Fairgrounds as a backdrop, Blake's introduction to sports cards came very early, as he spent priceless time sorting monumental vintage baseball cards with his grandfather.

Grandpa's 1952 Mantle and the Love of Collecting

"When I was growing up, my grandpa was huge into sports cards and he was always chasing all the Mantles back in the day." Grupe shares. "I think the only big one he didn't have was the 1952 Topps. That's where I got it from. Sorting cards with him and doing all that kind of stuff. He passed a few years back. We've been sorting through and going through some of his stuff."

As Grupe grew, so did his own card collection. After his introduction to the hobby, he was hooked. In a relatable story as old as card-collecting time, a young Blake would make regular trips to the local gas station in town when he could afford to grab a few packs.

"I wasn't necessarily chasing players." Grupe remembers. "There's a Casey's right there by my house. And those are big in Missouri. I remember me and cards, obviously my grandpa got me started. It was never about chasing players. It's more just going to get a pack or two from the gas station. Dad would let us get some, and then that would just lead to just hoping we got something cool. And then and then from there, if we got a Royals player, got a guy that played at Mizzou, got a Chiefs player, some of that kind of stuff, or just obviously the big names, those are the ones where I was like, that's cool. Look what I got! Or just any cards that were a little different, any of the ones that were shiny. It was a little more about just getting the chance to open a pack than it was chasing players and just seeing what we got.

Even in their wildest dreams, most kids wouldn't imagine that the superheroes featured on the cards they collect would eventually someday be their teammates, coaches, mentors, or even friends, but as Grupe returned home last summer and dug out that childhood card collection, and his parents kept it safe and sound, that's precisely what happened. The kicker found a diamond in the rough, a blast from the past, and a look into the future, and in a serendipitous sports card moment, he made this incredible story come full circle with a signature and a slab.

Topps Marcus Freeman RC Auto — Blake Grupe

"I went through my childhood collection when I was back home last summer." Grupe said. "I'm looking through some of the old binders and stuff that you do as a kid. I finished my college career at Notre Dame. And Marcus Freeman was the head coach. As I'm just scrolling through a book and I go one page and I see a Marcus Freeman rookie card from his days with the Bears. I take that card. I was up in South Bend for a wedding. I took it to him while I was up there, and I just had to have him sign it. I wasn't really asking for much. I knew I was going to send it off to PSA. He signs it and says, 'Blake, best wishes.' When I asked him to sign the card, he's like, 'Man, why you got that? Throw that thing away.' It's kind of funny for him to write, 'Blake, best wishes. Throw this card away, Marcus Freeman' I sent that off to get it graded. Pretty cool there when you think childhood collection, who knows at what age I was when I pulled that? Probably nine or ten years old. Who knows that I'd meet that guy and eventually I'd play for him. He didn't even probably know he was going to be a coach in those days."

Blake Chases His Own Cards

After a childhood filled with a deep appreciation for the hobby, the NFL kicker was understandably over the moon to see himself on a trading card for the first time in the 2023 Select football product. A position that has long been underrepresented on cardboard, Grupe is bringing kickers and collectors together and earning card manufacturers' attention with his passion and position in the hobby.

"For me to make the NFL, I've always wanted a football card of my own, just like any other athlete would." Blake said. "I don't remember how I figured out that I had cards out there in the product, but once I did, it's funny how far I've come in just a year in the hobby. I was buying retail packs and boxes at either Target or Walmart to then going through to the TikTok breakers. I've made some pretty cool relationships with breakers and people over social media, just through the love of sports cards. That's been one of my favorite parts."

Every addition, especially each one-of-one, has a story, but the story behind how the kicker scored the elusive Black Prizm one-of-one is uniquely special, as, ironically, the roads lead right back to his hometown.

"I learned that sports cards and eBay go hand in hand." Grupe admits. "I'm bidding and I'm finding all kinds of stuff and learning all the ins and outs, all of a sudden, the first one of one comes out." Grupe reveals. "Holy cow. This is cool. I knew what a one on one was by that time but I didn't know there's actually four of them in that product. I'm sitting there and I'm bidding it up. I think I'm winning it with a minute left. It's maybe 150 dollars, which I'm like, dang, this is kind of high, maybe I have a market. There isn't anybody else out there that's going to outbid me on my own card. Nobody cares that much. Nobody's spending any more than that. I'll put this thing max bid at $500. No way I'm letting this card go. This card is mine. Funny enough, I lose the auction because my high school math teacher, his name is Chad Harder, is big into sports cards as well."

Grupe had to have the card, so he messaged the seller, "I basically tell the guy, 'Hey, this is who I am. This is obviously my card. I'm not sure who bought this card but if you could please, please share my phone number with them, I would love to talk with them about a deal to get this card back.' Then all of a sudden, I get a phone call from Chad. I don't even put the two together. I'm like 'Why am I getting a call from my math teacher? I don't remember exactly what he said, but he answered the phone. He said, 'What are you doing? You're buying this and bidding me up.' It was pretty funny to hear his side of it."

"Then it was time to work out a deal where I actually traded him a game jersey that I wore, I believe it was from my last game of the year, my rookie year against Tampa. I kicked three or four field goals. I'm pretty sure it was a white game jersey from that game. I basically traded the card for a game jersey. I think I added a base card or something signed. But he has all kinds of stuff now. That's the story on it. That was my introduction into everything and how competitive it can be."

That one-of-one storybook experience, coupled with his personal growth and goals in the hobby, led Blake to launch social media accounts dedicated strictly to his card-collecting habits.

"Once I realized that I could connect with a lot of people and I guess how much fun it can be and how I can impact some people and connect." Grupe shares. "And so that led me to make an extra social media Instagram page. That's at grupe.collects. That's where I've been able to connect with all kinds of people. It's honestly helped me chase my rainbow because there's been a few other ones that I would have had no idea about. I would never have gotten my hands on if it wasn't actually all three one-of-ones out of it, other than the one I already have, I would have never gotten my hands on it if it wasn't for social media and learning to connect with people like that."

Getting More Involved With Fans

Grupe has seen collectors show up far and wide, and he's one of the first to offer up a good-faith trade and sometimes even otherwise unbelievable access. His most memorable fan interaction came when he received a surprise custom creation in the mail that tied it all together.

Blake Grupe Custom Downtown — Blake Grupe

"As football season heated up this year, it seemed like the fan mail did, too." Blake shares. "That's why I shared on my Instagram, basically had an address to the facility to do some through the mail because I didn't have a Panini deal or any sort of like auto sticker deal then. I had people reaching out all the time and asking how they could arrange to get a card or two signed and how to do that. And so that's why I made another post. And that's when that account took off a little bit."

"I think people really enjoyed the fact that I was taking the time and helping them learn and how accessible some of this stuff could be on and how to get in touch, and how to do that kind of stuff. The first one that comes to mind is actually a guy in a small town in Missouri kind of around my hometown, Gray's Custom Cards. He basically made a custom Downtown. It's a great custom card. He makes a custom Downtown for me, kind of in a makeshift PSA slab. But it's got the big water tower from my hometown. The state fair is in my hometown of Sedalia, Missouri. It's got like a Ferris Wheel on it.

"I was going to baseball games and trying to get baseballs. It's awesome being one of those kids and now kind of being on the other side of it and trying to make some of those memories for people like that."

Like any good hobbyist, Blake has his own checklists, spreadsheets, and files to keep dibs on all of his upcoming releases, and if you ask, he will know exactly where he stands with each.

"I have a little file that I keep tabs up on all of it." Blake reveals. "The rookie Select set in 2023, there are 43 different parallels in that one. It makes it a little difficult with all the die cuts and all the one on ones and all that kind of stuff. I am at 41 of 43. The only two I'm missing are the one Tiger Prizm from the First Off the Line boxes. I know one of those is going to surface eventually. It's just a matter of when." There's also a pink out 8, but none have surfaced of any player.

Who Does Blake Grupe PC?

These days, Grupe stays plenty busy collecting his own growing card runs, but his PC reaches well beyond his own four walls. As a former star soccer player, his want list starts with a few of the sport's biggest global stars and ends with baseball, basketball and football icons stateside.

"My first thought is some of the big soccer cards out there just because of the come up in the market and growing up playing soccer." Grupe says. "I picked up a few Messi cards that I know are definitely growing with the market. You'd think of the Gold Vinyl 2009-10 Topps Steph Curry that's still out there. The Black Prizm Luka RC, imagine how crazy that would be? I have some family friends that are huge Mahomes collectors and have just about everything there is. I think he has the largest master set of Mahomes stuff out there. So just to see that stuff he has is crazy. I think about my grandpa and some of the cards. I know he was always chasing a 1952 Topps Mantle. If I was to snap my fingers and have one, it'd probably be that one. Obviously, I'm shooting for the moon there."

The backs of trading cards don't get their just due, and in modern times there are far less stats and facts found on card backs. There's no mention of hometowns, birthdates, siblings, or family pets. With so few options on the market, Blake offered up what information he'd like to see appear on his next card back with this full-length answer.

"I played high school football. If you ask anybody there, I just show up on Thursdays after soccer practice and then play on Friday. That led me to having one walk on offer to Arkansas State out of high school. Maybe the bio is just a story from learning to be a football player and walking on at Arkansas State, earning a scholarship, transferring to Notre Dame, going undrafted to winning the job. I was voted a captain this year with the Saints. Then, to finish my year with Indy, it's been a wild year and a wild ride. I'm thankful for all of it. That's my story. I don't know how you could shorten that down to only a few sentences on the back of a card, but I think that'd be pretty neat."

We can use really small font.

"That's right. Get a magnifying glass."

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