Vinny Testaverde Signed Miami Hurricanes Black Speed Replica Helmet Schwartz

Add the signature of the player who won the first Heisman Trophy in University of Miami history — on the Hurricanes' most visually assertive available helmet — to your collection with this Vinny Testaverde Autographed Miami Hurricanes Black Riddell Full Size Speed Replica Football Helmet — Schwartz Sports Authenticated. The black helmet is Miami at its most visually forceful — the departure from the traditional orange and green that creates the sharpest available contrast from the standard Hurricanes identity. It carries the autograph of the player who produced that identity's most singular available credential: the Heisman Trophy, December 6, 1986 — the first in University of Miami history, won by the second-largest margin in the award's history at the time, by a player who had survived the deepest quarterback room any college program had ever assembled just to get to the starting position that made the credential possible. In the fall of 1982, Testaverde arrived at Miami to find Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, and future Georgia head coach Mark Richt already on the roster — the three quarterbacks who preceded him to the starting job before he inherited it in 1985, led the Hurricanes to a 10-2 record and the Sugar Bowl, then produced the 1986 season that delivered the Heisman, every other major individual award, an 11-0 regular season, the No. 1 national ranking, and the first overall pick in the 1987 NFL Draft. The black Riddell Speed Replica signed by Testaverde is the Hurricanes' alternate colorway piece of the player whose arrival at the top of one of the most talent-dense programs in the history of the position produced exactly that, certified authentic by Schwartz Sports Memorabilia with a tamper-proof numbered hologram and a certificate of authenticity verifiable online.

This Miami Hurricanes Black Riddell Full Size Speed Replica Football Helmet has been hand-signed by Vinny Testaverde. The autograph has been certified authentic by Schwartz Sports Memorabilia with a tamper-proof numbered hologram and a certificate of authenticity verifiable online.

Product Highlights

• Hand-signed by Vinny Testaverde — Miami Hurricanes quarterback (1982, 1984-1986); 1986 Heisman Trophy winner — first in University of Miami history; College Football Hall of Fame 2013; first overall pick, 1987 NFL Draft
• Miami Hurricanes Black Riddell Full Size Speed Replica Helmet — the Hurricanes' black alternate colorway; most visually assertive available Miami format; full-size Riddell Speed Replica display-grade construction
• Schwartz Sports Authenticated — tamper-proof numbered Schwartz Sports hologram with certificate of authenticity verifiable online
• First Heisman Trophy in UM history — December 6, 1986; won by the second-largest margin in award history (678 of 1,050 first-place votes); consensus unanimous First-Team All-American
• 1986 award sweep: Heisman Trophy + Davey O'Brien Award + Maxwell Award + Walter Camp Player of the Year + Sammy Baugh Trophy — every major individual award available; no other player swept all five in 1986
• The QB room: Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, and Mark Richt all preceded Testaverde as Miami's starter — arguably the deepest quarterback roster in college football history assembled on one team
• 23-3 as a starter at Miami across two seasons; 11-0 regular season in 1986; 48 career touchdown passes (Miami career record at the time); jersey number 14 retired by the University of Miami
• Backed by our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee

The Black Helmet — Miami's Most Assertive Format

The University of Miami's traditional identity is orange and green — the colorway of five national championships, of the dynasty years that redefined college football's swagger in the 1980s, of the program that produced more first-round NFL draft picks in a concentrated era than any other school in the sport. The black alternate helmet is Miami at maximum visual contrast from that identity — the darkest available departure from the traditional orange-and-green shell, in the full-size Riddell Speed Replica format that presents the Hurricanes' most striking alternate design at the complete visual scale of a game helmet. For Testaverde specifically, the black alternate is the most assertive available format for the credential that makes his Miami chapter the most historically specific available one: the first Heisman Trophy the program had ever produced, won in the most decisive available margin, in the season that confirmed Miami as the most dominant program in college football — in the helmet of the quarterback who delivered every individual honor the 1986 season had available and the No. 1 ranking that made the season the most celebrated in Hurricanes history before the Fiesta Bowl changed its ending. The black Speed Replica signed by Testaverde is the alternate-colorway piece of that credential — the Hurricanes' visual departure signed by the player who represents the program's most singular individual arrival.

Kelly, Kosar, Richt — The Room He Had to Survive

In the fall of 1982, Vinny Testaverde arrived at the University of Miami to find a quarterback roster that no program has since assembled in equivalent concentration. Jim Kelly — who would win four consecutive AFC championships with the Buffalo Bills and be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — was ahead of him on the depth chart. Bernie Kosar — who would lead the Cleveland Browns to four postseason appearances and be selected All-Pro — was on the same roster. Mark Richt — who would spend 15 seasons as head coach of Georgia and then Miami — was there too. Testaverde redshirted in 1983 on Miami's national championship team, backed up Kosar in 1984, and finally took over the starting job in 1985 — more than three years after his arrival, having waited behind two future NFL starters and a future Power Five head coach for the opportunity the Hurricanes' depth chart had not previously created. In 1985, his first year as the starter, Miami went 10-2 and reached the Sugar Bowl. In 1986, they went 11-0 in the regular season and ranked No. 1 in the country. The most specific available description of what Testaverde accomplished requires knowing what preceded it — the depth chart he waited behind, the roster he survived to inherit, the 1982 Miami quarterback room that remains the single most concentrated available example of elite talent at one position on one college team in the sport's modern history.

December 6, 1986 — The First Heisman in Hurricanes History

The University of Miami had been playing football since 1926 and had produced one national championship (1983) before Vinny Testaverde's senior season. It had never produced a Heisman Trophy winner. On December 6, 1986, at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City, Testaverde received 678 first-place votes out of 1,050 registered electors — the second-largest winning margin in the history of the award at the time of his selection. He had produced the 1986 season that made the margin make sense: 2,557 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 63.4% completion rate, 165.8 passer rating (the best in the nation), on the No. 1 ranked team in the country, leading the Hurricanes to an 11-0 regular season that positioned Miami for its second national title in four years. He had also swept every other major individual award available to a college quarterback that year — the Davey O'Brien, the Maxwell, the Walter Camp Player of the Year, and the Sammy Baugh Trophy — a five-award sweep that left no available credential unclaimed. Tampa Bay selected him first overall in the 1987 NFL Draft the following spring. In 2013, the College Football Hall of Fame inducted him as one of six Hurricanes ever enshrined. The University of Miami retired his number 14 — one of only four Hurricanes ever to receive that honor. The black Riddell Speed Replica signed by Testaverde is the alternate-colorway helmet of the first player Miami ever sent to the Downtown Athletic Club to collect the sport's most prestigious individual award.

Schwartz Sports Authentication

This helmet has been certified authentic by Schwartz Sports Memorabilia with a tamper-proof numbered hologram and a certificate of authenticity verifiable online.

Authenticity

This helmet is certified authentic by Schwartz Sports Memorabilia. The tamper-proof numbered hologram and certificate of authenticity are verifiable online.

Specifications

Authenticity Guarantee

Every signed piece at GameDay Sports Memorabilia is backed by our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee. If your item is ever determined to be inauthentic, we will replace or refund it — no questions asked.