Based on the collector love Armstrong is receiving from his affable appearance at Beckett headquarters, the gritty Redskins receiver is clearly poised for hobby potential. Since Panini America‘s Tracy Hackler came through with his only Rookie Cards, and even a few pieces of critical AFL evidence, Armstrong graciously inked his cardboard likeness for the manufacturer’s followers.

In addition to the comment-to-win drawing here on Beckett.com, two more Armstrong-autographed cards are up for grab on Panini’s blog, The Knight’s Lance.

Newly convinced or not, Armstrong fans currently have two opportunities to kick-start their personal collections.

By Andrew Tolentino | Football Editor

As featured in the soon-to-release May issue of Beckett Football, this hard-signed Anthony Armstrong card can’t be pulled from any pack.

Since Armstrong came up the hard way — namely through the AFL and the IFL — his NFL debut wasn’t an obvious priority for college-sensation-centric manufacturers. In fact, when the video was shot, the rising Redskin receiver’s Rookie Card was limited to a single Panini America product — 2010 Certified Football.

However, having strolled the same halls of Newman Smith high school as Armstrong,  I’ve always been a fan. After watching his Facebook page explode with congratulatory comments throughout his breakout season — seeing a friend seize his dream — I invited Armstrong to film a special edition of Box Busters.

Defined by humility and hard work, the hometown hero came back to Dallas to see his family — and to introduce himself to the hobby.

Bringing the rookie goods and more, Panini’s Tracy Hackler — an avid Dallas Desperados fan — joined us for the video and helped me pay special tribute to an old friend’s achievements. As the video reveals, Hackler provided a few Special-Edition- stamped Rookie Cards for Armstrong to see and sign.

We just happen to have one hand-signed 2010 Certified Armstrong card and one Armstrong-autographed 2008 Donruss Dallas Desperados card available to win in exchange for a randomly-selected comment on this post.

Good luck and enjoy the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Andrew Tolentino is the editor of Beckett Football. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at atolentino@beckett.com. Follow his tweets at twitter.com/tolentinotweets.