Tag Archives: gameday 1992

NFL

Byner, Earnest (2)

ud91 byner MVP pset89 byner

Cards: Upper Deck 1991 Team MVP, ProSet 1989, ProSet 1989 Traded, Skybox 1992, GameDay 1992
Acquired: 2012, Canton Acquisition. 2016, Future Considerations.
See Also: Earnest Byner

After his stint as a coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars runningback coach from 2010 to 2011 Earnest Byner was signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneer staff in 2012 serving under Greg Schiano. Unfortunately Shiano’s style didn’t mesh in the pros, and he was gone after two seasons. Byner was not retained as ownership decided to clean house after 2013.

Since that time Earnest has addressed ‘The Fumble’ in public, apologizing to fans for what happened, and giving a tear-jerking recollection of it during the 30 for 30 ESPN documentary “Believeland”.   Time heals all wounds though and the vast majority of Browns fans really embrace Byner as one of their own without judgement.  It goes without saying that it’s great that Byner has been able to move on from what happened- something that he said stuck with him and changed his playing style for the remainder of his career in the NFL.

Earnest has done a lot of motivational speaking too. He also has no problem engaging his fans in public and is very popular in Cleveland. My friend DeadHorse scored these Byner autographs for me along with Kevin Mack and Greg Pruitt at an Ohio based Cleveland Browns event they attended.  DeadHorse was kind enough to accommodate me on the 3 cards which I felt were his best action shots of Byner (Skybox 1992, ProSet 1989 CLE, and GameDay 1992).

NFL

Woodson, Darren (2)


Cards: Topps Finest Hitmen 1996, Fleer 1995, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent: 6/16     Received: 6/27   (11 days)
Failure: 2015, C/o Home
See Also: Darren Woodson

I had gotten Darren Woodson just once at training camp way back at St Edwards in 1992. It was the last year I’d enjoy going to training camps full time during the summer as school, girls, and work took more of priority after High School. Looking back, it was just perfect timing for me to go to camp during those years in the early 90s, as not only was I in that transitional point moving into being a young adult, but also the Cowboys were building their dynasty, multiple great cards were appearing on the market, and players were still relatively eager to sign for free.

I always wanted to get Darren’s GameDay 1992 entry signed. The one I had made it back to camp the following years, but it never made it into his hands. It’s a great rookie card technically- one of the first to picture him in his Cowboys uniform.  The other two here, are really just filler from sets that I liked after the fact. Although I liked the gaudyness of the Topps Hitmen cards, I think the luster of Darren’s uniform is lost in all the gloss and metal sheen.  The Fleer 1995 was audacious as ProSet 1992 in its design, and as such it was just as disastrous in my mind. The chaotic design which varies per team, really can be a negative on the presentation on the card itself. This one for example breaks multiple design rules. The most annoying among them being Darren’s position listed quarter circling the star. I don’t know what is up with the fingerprint effect either. (It also didn’t help that the Cowboys joined in the ugly trend during the mid-90s of plastering the team logo on the shoulder of the uniform.) Still for many of the rest of the teams in this set outside of the Cowboys and a few outliers, the design is clever and daring with the player information displayed on the front.

I had failed previously to get Darren’s autograph back in 2015. I fired out another attempt in 2016 when he started popping up on the scene around Dallas events. I was really surprised to see this back in 11 days flat.

NFL

Duncan, Curtis (3) ‘CD’

to88 cduncan sco92 cduncan tosc90 cduncan tosc92 cduncan

 

Cards: Topps Stadium Club 1991, Topps Stadium Club 1993, Topps 1989, Score 1992, GameDay 1992, ProSet 1992
Acquired: In Person 9/13/2015, Churrascos Club Pregame Party Texans vs. Chiefs
See Also: Curtis Duncan, Curtis Duncan (2)

Well I was quite the celebrity at the Houston Texans opener against the Kansas City Chiefs this year as I walked through the rows of tailgates and throngs of people wearing my powder blue Houston Oilers jersey. On quite a few occasions I was stopped and asked who it was a jersey of, and I’d quickly respond with, “Wide receiver, Curtis Duncan of the Houston Oilers. You know the least respected of the Fab 4 Run ‘N Shoot during who played during the late 80’s until the mid 90s.”

pset92 duncanPreviously I had met Curtis and liked him so much I busted out this old jeresy for the next time I saw him. When I ran into him outside the Churrascos he was very impressed and flattered that I had a jersey of him. Bubba McDowell laughed that I had it and said that I looked better than Duncan in it. I said, “Only my belly,” and rubbed it to their laughter.

The Churrascos event was a nice set up. There was a last second substitution, but Curtis was already on the docket to appear. I got a feeling of bourgeoisie from the catered all you can eat/all you can drink exorbitantly priced event- which made me feel slightly ill. There were photos and event tables and a lot of things to do. People who plan on attending should be there when it starts at 10AM, and prepare to leave 15 minutes early to reach their seats on time.

gday93 cduncanThe signing went well. Curtis wanted to take a photo with me, and I jabbed him telling him, “What so that you can prove to the world somebody is a fan of yours or has your jersey?” Bubba said it would be even more impressive if I had his jersey. Curtis signed every card I had. I previously got his rookie card signed, but we talked about it briefly joking that it was one of those Topps entries with him on the sidelines looking up into the air.

Overall these cards weren’t bad. There maybe just one or two more of Curtis I’d like to get autographed, but pretty much this does it. Even with these entries so late into the CD race, I was still pulling pretty decent looking cards and action shots of the former Oiler. The Topps entry of him sitting on the sideline is a well framed photo. About the only one I didn’t like was his 1991 Topps Stadium Club entry of him jumping up into the air with a defender draped on him.