Tag Archives: classic 1993

Hearst, Garrison

Classic 1993, #3

CARD: Classic 1993
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 6/13 RECEIVED: 6/27 (14 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Finished second all-time in total all purpose yards (3,834) and rushing (3232) in Georgia history, behind only Herschel Walker.
  • Set SEC records for points, TDs, rushing TDs, and per carry average.
  • Cardinals traded Johnny Johnson and their first round pick to the Jets, moving up to select Hearst with the 3rd overall pick of the 1993 NFL Draft.
  • Ran for 257 yards and a TD, but a knee injury sidelined him for a majority of the season.
  • Had a 57 yard carry- the longest by a Cardinal since Stump Mitchell in 1985.
  • Another knee injury marred Hearst’s season early in 1994, as he finished strong rushing for 169 yards over the final 4 contests.
  • Topped the 100 yard barrier for first time in career in 1995, rushing for 121 yards against the Saints.
  • Broke the 1k barrier that year rushing for 1070 yards, and catching 29 passes, the best by a Card since 1982.
  • Released by the Cardinals and signed with Bengals in 1996.
  • Played one season with Bengals, initially as a backup, but pounded the rock for 847 yards.
  • Signed with 49ers in 1997 and rejuvenated SF’s rushing game.
  • Ran for 1019 yards on 236 carries (4 TDs) in ’97.
  • Had an even better ’98, running for a career high 1570 yards.
  • In Week 1 against the New York Jets in OT, had one of the greatest runs in NFL history, rushing for a 96 yard TD.
  • Broke his ankle during the 1998 playoffs- an injury that would keep him out of the league for two seasons.
  • Amazingly returned to form again in 2001, despite facing a career threatening injury, rushing for over 1,200 yards.
  • Played for the ‘9ers an additional two seasons, before playing a final year in 2004 with the Broncos.

ACCOALADES:

  • Doak Walker Award 1992
  • Second Team AP 1998
  • Pro Bowl 1998, ’01
  • NFL Comeback Player of the Year 2001
  • Florida-Georgia HoF
  • College Football Hall of Fame 2023

NOTES:

During this time of my life I was still going to training camps, but I started ratcheting down my card purchases. Whether it was cost, an over saturated market, or just discovering girls- this card came from one of those last packs I bought before I went into a long hibernation. When I came back to the hobby and went through all those boxes this card immediately went into the ‘priority box’. And 12 years later from that, I finally got Garrison’s autograph. Strange how accomplished it feels.

Kennedy, Lincoln

CARDS: Classic 1993, Skybox Premium 1993
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 3/14 RECEIVED: 4/2 (22 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Big (6’6″, 357), man-mountain Lincoln Kennedy was an outstanding lineman for the Washington Huskies from 1988-92.
  • First team All-American in his senior campaign, earning player of the game honors 7 times that year.
  • Started originally as a defensive lineman, but was quickly moved to OL after redshirt freshman season, deployed effectively at both G and T.
  • First round pick (9th overall) of the Atlanta Falcons in 1993.
  • Had a rough transition to the NFL and by ’95 was traded to the Raiders for a 5th Round pick.
  • Moved to right tackle and solidified himself as an upper echelon player, playing for the Raiders for the next 7 seasons.
  • Joined the NFL Network in 2004 on NFL Total Access.
  • Toyed around with a comeback in 2005 with the Dallas Cowboys, but failed his physical.
  • Played in the Arena Football League for the Tampa Bay Storm from 2007-’08 and 2010.
  • Currently is in radio, working for Fox Sports.

ACCOLADES:

  • Pro Bowl 2000-02
  • All-Pro 2002
  • College Football HoF 2015


NOTES:

Kennedy was a great player who quietly flew under the radar until his retirement for me. I love his love for the sport, and how after he retired he decided to come back, so much so he opted to play in the Arena League to keep it sated.

LaChapelle, Sean

Classic Draft Picks 1993, #47

CARDS: Classic 1993, Pro Set 1993, Pro Line 1997
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 1/17/22 RECEIVED: 2/26/22 (40 days)

  • Caught 142 passes for 2,027 yards with 14 touchdowns over college career at UCLA.
  • As a junior set single season school record with 68 catches for 987 yards and 11 TDs.
  • At the time, also finished as school’s all-time leading receiver with 130 catches.
  • Selected in the 5th round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.
  • Saw action in 10 games, catching 2 passes for 23 yards.
  • Cut after the following preseason in 1994.
  • Largely disillusioned with his experience in the NFL Sean sat out ’94 and ’95.
  • He returned to football in 1996, joining the Scottish Claymores of the World League.
  • Had a banner season, catching 47 passes for 1023 yards, a 21.8 yard average and 7 TDs.
  • Returned stateside and later was a late season pickup of the Kansas City Chiefs.
  • Caught 27 passes for 422 yards and 2 TDs.

ACCOLADES:

  • World League MVP 1996

NOTES:

When I started expanding the WLAF shrine to include the NFLE/ Europa, I immediately started looking for players who had cards that played for franchises that may not have been represented on their European teams.

As I was digging through the Claymores rosters, I found that Sean had quite a few cards, and I felt very inspired by his Classic ’93 entry. I picked up both that and his 93 Pro Set and sent them out to an address I found. (Sean’s last name obviously is not very common.)

He responded in a bit over a month, signing not only his cards, but including the Proline as an extra, included a business card promoting his Youtube channel and wrote on the envelope, “God Bless your work,” -I am assuming in reference to my ongoing quest to honor as many WLAF/ NFLE/ Europa players with their autograph and adding them to my shrine.

NFL

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2944515.6269

WL

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