Tag Archives: chicago bears

College Football HoF, NFL

Zorich, Chris

Gameday 1992, #425

CARDS: Pro Set 1991 Lombardi Award Winner, Action Packed Rookies 1991, Gameday 1992
ACQUIRED: TTM 2021, C/o The Zorich Group*
SENT: 9/22 RECEIVED: 10/4 (12 days)
FAILURE: TTM C/o Home, 2012, 2020, 2021
* Fee enclosed

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Played for Notre Dame from 1988-90 at NT/DT.
  • Posted 219 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, and 6 fumble recoveries over college career.
  • Looking to reload an aging defensive line the Chicago Bears drafted Zorich during the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft.
  • Playing in a rotation, Chris didn’t see significant starting time until the following year, posting 53 tackles, 2 sacks, and a fumble recovery.
  • Best year came in 1993, posting 121 combined tackles, 7 sacks, and 2 fumble recoveries in first full 16 game slate.
  • Had 5.5 sacks and 72 total tackles in 1994.
  • In final full season in Chicago had 58 total tackles, and a sack.
  • Split final half year in 1997 between Chicago and Washington, retiring after season.
Action Packed Rookies 1991, #25
Pro Set 1991, #33

ACCOLADES:

  • Lombardi Award 1991
  • Pro Bowl 1993

NOTES:

Well as you can see here, I tried Chris quite a few times. The first time I tried him back in 2012, I was unaware he’d just been sentenced for tax evasion to prison. I tried again when he resurfaced as an athletic director at Chicago State but again got burnt. Finally I closed in during 2021- where he sent a buckslip requesting a fee. I jumped at the shot to finally get Chris after 3 previously unsuccessful attempts and added him on pretty much all my set needs to close the book on this one. He got back all the cards to me at a quick clip, sent me a personal certification of his autograph, and typed form letter thanking me for being a fan.

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NFL

Hoge, Merril (2)

Action Packed All-Madden Team 1990, #37
Action Packed 1990, #223
Pro Set 1989, #348
Skybox Premium 1993, #105
Skybox 1992, #193

CARDS: Skybox 1993 Premium, Skybox 1992, Proset 1989, Action Packed 1990, Action Packed All Madden Team 1990
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 7/6 RECEIVED: 8/10 (35 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

The Skybox 1992 set was something completely different at the time and I really enjoyed it. The 1993 Premium set was even more… different. In fact at the time initially I was not a fan of it, however the choice simplicity has really grown on me over the years, and in 2022, the set really has resonated with me. If anything could be more minimal than Skybox 1992, this was it. -Now there’s a certain line to me where minimal just becomes nonsensical, and that to me is Pro Set Platinum 1991. (It’s just a photo with the logo on the front.)

1993 was the crash and burn year for me with trading cards, so I really didn’t get as much of a chance with the 93 Premium set as I’d have liked. I curtailed my spending with girls and Nintendo on my mind, and with there being so many options out there, trading cards quickly became a fleeting fancy at Hollywood Video or something to be snobbish about for the next… 15 or so years.

The All-Madden Team subset was really a filler for me at the time. When I got out of school my mom would stop at 7-11 and I’d pick up a pack to keep the habit going when there wasn’t any other cards to buy. Hoge’s card again is an excellent looking canvas. The AMAD logo is a bit overpowering, but otherwise, it gets by. (There seems to be a heavy amount of artifacts on the card itself, but that was probably from the scanner glass.)

Merril had really good luck with some amazing cards during his run in the NFL. Outside of my personal hiccup, Hoge is a voracious TTM signer and I was not disappointed to see that he decided to sign all 5 cards that I sent him. I could say that all of these were set needs, but that still doesn’t really explain away the fact that I had him sign 5 cards for me. I rarely go for such large numbers anymore, and I figured instead of waiting another 7 years or so, I’d just knock him out now.

NFL, University of Texas

Houston, Lamarr ‘Marr’

Panini UT 2015, #36
Topps 2013, #123

CARDS: Panini UT 2015, Topps 2013
ACQUIRED: IP 2022, NFL Alumni Bowling Event

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Played four years at the University of Texas from 2006-09.
  • Kicked inside to DT after playing DE after two years.
  • Started 33 games, recording 170 tackles, 43 TFL, 15 sacks, 65 pressures, 13 pass breakups, 1 FF and 2 fumble recoveries.
  • Second round pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2010.
  • Played both Defensive end positions over 4 years with Raiders.
  • Had 228 total tackles, 37 TFL, 16.5 sacks, 6 fumble recoveries, and 1 pick.
  • Signed with Bears in 2015, playing the next 3 seasons and 5 games.
  • Started just 2 games in 2015 (16 played) but recorded a career high 8 sacks.
  • Split 2017 between the Bears and Texans, playing 5 games for each team.
  • Signed with the Texans to help ailing defensive front, posting a sack, 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss.
  • Also recorded first TD, returning a fumble 34 yards in his final game with the team.

NOTES:

I mean the evening wasn’t a total disaster at the bowling event. I was very excited when the Texans signed Lamarr to bolster their defensive front after JJ Watt went down with an injury. I thought he delivered, and in his final contest I thought the light really went on, but the franchise saw otherwise and cut him.

When I got his autograph on these cards, I asked him what happened and he told me that, “They told me I was too old.”

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