Tag Archives: Fleer update 1990

NFL

Jeffires, Haywood “Freakwood” (3)

ud90 jeffiressco13 jeffires

flr90 jeffirespac92 jeffires


pset90 jeffiresCard: GameDay 1992, Upper Deck Team MVP 1992, Score 2012, Pro Set 1990, Playoff 1993, Fleer 1990 Update, Pacific 1992.

Acquired: 11/23/2012, Fiterman Autograph Event, Fan Fest 2013
See Also: Haywood Jeffires, Haywood Jeffires (2) 

I try to get Freakwood’s autograph whenever I can. I think he understands how elusive he is in the TTM world, and this allows him to charge a few bucks whenever he does show up. He used to be an immense rarity out there signing but over the past few years has been making his way around to conventions more and more. I still have a few more cards of his I’d love to get signed, and whether or not it’s at the 610 Fan Fest or through a paid signing like the Fiterman event, he’s still an Oiler legend in my book. I even had a jersey of his. I always felt like Jeffires has never gotten his due, from leading the AFC in receptions from 1990 to 1992, to helping the Oilers make the playoffs 7 seasons in a row, I think that people always talked down poff93 jeffiresabout the team and players on that offense
because they played in the Run ‘N Shoot. The Oilers after the 1993 season imploded, and while Jeffires somehow made the Probowl that season, his numbers were clearly in the decline. Over the years he had a friendly rivalry with Ernest Givins, and by 1995, only trailed him in receptions on the career list for the Oilers. For the 3rd consecutive season, he was placed on waivers as the team worked to put him under the salary cap, but with new signee Willie Davis receiving a big contract to play with the team- Jeffires decided to entertain suitors. Kansas City, Jacksonville, and New Orleans all made a play for the former Oiler, but in the end he’d finish his career in New Orleans. Jeffires suffered a season ending knee injury that year, and then was placed on waivers by the team. He ended up on the Bears but did not make the roster of the 1996 team. He has fond memories of playing for the Oilers, and doesn’t hold any hard feelings towards the fans, and it’s certainly odd for me when I see cards of Jeffires in a New Orleans outfit. I remember at the time it made me particularly sore, since he was one of my favorite players, so I can certainly relate to those fans who chagrin at Favre in a Jets jersey, Simpson in a 49er uniform, or Namath putting on a Rams helmet.
gday92 jeffiresJeffires was a late addition to the 2013 Fan Fest- So late that he was not advertised on 610’s website. The people at Clutch City Promotions though were kind enough to fill us in on the Texas Autograph Club boards of his attendance, so I was sure to pull from my collection the remainder of what I had. Fan Fest was low key this year as there was no way they could top the names from last year. This allowed for easy access to many players, and in case of Jeffries, have 4 or 5 micro conversations about football. We talked about a wide range of topics. The first was his wear. At every event he always wears a turtleneck or long sleeve shirt. His handlers laughed for a second as he told me that he thinks it’s just a thing between him and the other members of the Astrodome club because of its porous condition, it was a hard place to play. He loved the Pacific 92 card, since it showcased him in Warren’s biggest game- a 527 yard masterful performance against the Chiefs. Jeffires did not like the departure of the Oilers from Houston. He and many of the veteran members of the HOUSTON Oilers really felt that the league screwed up by letting the team leave Houston. He also felt that the team records should’ve stayed in Houston and cited the example of the Browns. This surprised me as I have always maintained that sentiment. We also discussed Drew Hill in those conversations, and Jeffires told me, “That he lived a great life.” Haywood and I also briefly discussed his impersonator, – something that he was unaware of.

jeffiresBy the end of the day I had acquired 6 more autographs of Jeffires to which I was at a point where I believe that if he ever sees me again at a convention, he may just recognize me. I got every card that I had hoped to get signed, plus nearly every ‘scrub’ card that I had left in reserve. With these autographs, Jeffires moves probably near the top of my list of autographs from a single player in my collection. There are some incredible cards in this group, including the Team MVP card from Upper Deck’s 1992 release. Absolutely beautiful art. As mentioned previously the Pacific 1992 card is a nice one, not only because of its significance but also because of the dynamic pose caught in the shot. The Gameday card was an incredible shot as well, but more so because of its verticle design. Score in its 2012 set did a re-release of some of their 1990 players in that year’s design.

Although Jeffires was on the phone from time to time during the event, he was good to his fans, always stopped what he was doing, and waited until the short conversation was over before signing the card, talking to the fan, flashing a smile or taking a photograph and moving on.

 

 

NFL, WLAF

Dilweg, Anthony

Card: Proset 1989, Fleer Update 1990, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o Work
Sent: 7/30   Received: 9/14  (45 days)

Anthony Dilweg is a rarety- a player from Duke drafted to play in the NFL. A monster quarterback when he got his chance to play at the college level under Steve Spurrier, he once threw for 450 yards in a game against Wake Forest, a record that still stands to this day. He’d be drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 3rd round of the 1989 draft. A notoriously weak draft after Troy Aikman at quarterback- Dilweg would perform well enough to grab the backup job behind Don Majkowski by 1990. Anthony’s moment in the spotlight would be opening day of that season where he’d throw for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns against a sleepwalking Los Angeles Rams defense in substitution for recently resigned holdout Majikowski. He’d be rebenched shortly after but would end up starting the last 5 and a half games after a rotator cuff injury set back Don.  Dilweg would be hot and cold throughout the rest of the season putting up a 119.9 qb rating against the Buccaneers, but would also put up a 33.2 rating against Minnesota as well and 22 sacks on the season. That second season however would end respectably enough as he threw for 1200 yards and 8 touchdowns, but with the team slumping to a 6-10 record that season, Lindy Infante would be released and the organization would clean house. New GM Ron Wolf would go in a new direction with a new head coach- Mike Holmgren. The team was determined to improve the quarterback situation and brought in Mike Tomczak from Chicago, who beat out the young Dilweg at QB. Anthony would be quickly signed by the Los Angeles Raiders, but would not make a start for the franchise.

The WLAF and the NFL agreed to allocate young talent to the WLAF starting with the 1992 season. With this decision the Raiders allocated Dilweg to the Montreal Machine. The Machine were lead by a stable of runningbacks, and a strong back 7 on defense. The problem with the Machine always seemed to be their lines, and especially on offense their quarterbacks ended up paying the price. Montreal in 1992 drafted the young Dilweg to fix their problems at quarterback after the retirement of Kevin Sweeney. They’d go with Dilweg right out of the gate for a road opener against the San Antonio Riders blitzing defense. -He wouldn’t even make it out of the first half succumbing to injury and being taken to the locker room.  Anthony would play sparingly after that for the rest of the season and retire after the WLAF went on hiatus.

Anthony after football has been able to parlay his brief NFL career into the financial industry where he has been highly successful in real estate. I sent these cards to him via his company and received these autographs in under 60 days.  He also included a nice thank you for being a fan- of the Packers, even though I had only mentioned my experiences in the World League. Below are his WLAF statistics for the Machine.

G/Gs N/a    Att 75     Comp 43     Yds 468      Td 2     Int 1     Rat 79.2

NFL

Pinkett, Allen

Cards: Fleer Update 1990, ProSet 1990, ProSet 1989, Score Supplemental 1989
Acquired:  TTM 2010, C/o Home. In Person 1990, Houston Oiler Training Camp.
Sent:  6/24   Received: 7/6  (12 days)

Allen Pinkett was drafted in the 3rd round from Notre Dame by the Houston Oilers as the team was still attempting to rebuild its runningback stable after the departure of beloved Earl Campbell. Along the way he’d be joined by Alonzo Highsmith, Mike Rozier, and Lorenzo White in a very crowded and talented backfield. Allen at 5-9 and 190, fit the role of a scat back for the team and had great hands that the team wholly underutilized. He’d also see kick returning for the Oilers, averaging right at about 20 yards a return on 80 kicks. After head coach Jerry Glanville was fired, the team went Run and Shoot full time. With Jack Pardee in charge, the team began to purge its runningback stable, and the last men standing by 1991 were Allen Pinkett, Lorenzo White and Gary Brown. Pinkett would enter the season as the starter against the Los Angeles Raiders and singlehandedly crush the Raiders running 26 times for 144 yards and a touchdown. He’d follow up with another 100 yard effort, and lead the NFL in rushing through the two weeks and later in the season he’d rush for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns against Pittsburgh en route to the Houston Oilers first division title. Allen would lead the team in rushing with 720 yards and 9 touchdowns and throw in another 228 yards receiving leading the team from scrimmage with 1456 yards.  Things seemed on the up and up for Pinkett after his breakout season but with Plan B and the dawning of free agency soon to come- Pinkett found himself on the roster of the New Orleans Saints to start 1992, but would not suit up for the team. He’d retire after 7 seasons.  Allen currently is a broadcaster for the Notre Dame radio network, and a spokesman for the Hartford Financial Group attempting to educate young athletes on planning for their retirement and happily signed my three cards in a very short amount of time.

G/Gs 87/27    Att  561      Yds  2321     Avg 4.1      Td 21   Lg 60  |
Rec 119   Yds 921  Avg 7.7  Td 5  Lg 51
Kr 80     Yds 1577     Avg 19.7    Td 0    Lg 48