Tag Archives: NFL 75th All-Time Team

NFL, Pro Football HoF

Jones, Deacon ‘Secretary of Defense’ (1938-2013)

Card: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: EBay, 2020

Deacon Jones was the player who coined the term ‘sacks’ and brought more glamour to the defensive end position than ever before. With limited college experience playing for South Carolina State in 58 and then Mississippi Vocational College in 60, Jones was an afterthought in most team’s minds during the 1961 draft. Purely found by accident, Deacon was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 14th round.

He joined Merlin Olsen, Rosey Grier, and Lamar Lundy to form the ‘Fearsome Foursome’ which terrorized opposing offenses. He’d go on to play the next 11 seasons for the Rams, earning 7 Pro Bowl appearances, 7 1st or 2nd team All-Pro nominations, and 2 NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors while with the Rams. Sacks at that time were not an officially recorded statistic however using archival film, Jones was credited with 22 sacks both in 1964 and 1968, and 21.5 in 1967. Over his time with the Rams- in 8 of 12 seasons he had at least 12 sacks.

In 1972, Deacon was traded to the San Diego Chargers where he played two more seasons, and a final year with the Redskins in 1973 before retiring.

Jones went into acting and philanthropy after retirement. He was also an outspoken advocate for bringing the NFL back to LA, and referred to the LA Rams and St. Louis Rams as two separate franchises. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, and was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team in 1994. His number was retired by the Rams in 2009- ironically while it was still in St. Louis.

He passed away in 2013, and the NFL in tribute to him created the Deacon Jones award, given away annually to the league leader in sacks.

Deacon Jones was a player I never thought in my wildest dreams I’d ever get, but with the way the card market currently is with the inflated prices of boxes, I’d rather just buy a certified HOFer from one of my favorite sets than buy a 2020 hobby box of scrubs. I had some extra EBay bucks left over so it made this purchase way more palatable, but I did get this at a bargain price to begin with so I was pretty happy.

NFL, Pro Football HoF

Munoz, Anthony (2)

Cards: GameDay 1992, Skybox 1992, Proset 1991
Acquired: TTM 2019, C.o Home
Sent: 12/2 Received: 12/14 (12 days)
See Also: Anthony Munoz

Anthony Munoz sometime during 2019 decided to let go of his very stringent signing policy which required fans to jump through the hoops and pay a fee in order to get his autograph. Surprisingly he was signing anything and everything with no fee. I decided to give him a shot again since I had some really nice cards I had always wanted to get his autograph on. I thought that 3 was a tall order, so I felt I needed something that’d really stick out among his autograph requests- so I wrote my entire letter in Spanish. There’s a first for everything, and while I didn’t get complimented for my syntax, I did get these 3 cards back autographed in a very short amount of time.

While Anthony had an outstanding ProSet and Action Packed entry, I decided to pass them up in order to get a few nice set needs. The ProSet 1991 card art card by Merv Corning is outstanding. The autograph looks very nice on the canvas- especially on the white. I’m sure he signs this card more than any other.

The other two cards are cards that I really liked the design of, and were sets that I collected near the end of my first collecting phase in 1992. The GameDay set I am particularly fond of, and this is a nice, unique card of Anthony. I really like how it shows his padded, gloved hands- something that has become more rare and rare over the years in the league. Skybox remained near the top there at the end for me , and when I can, I love to pick up an autograph here or there on one of them.

Sometime in 2020, Muñoz closed the door again on signing for free and without the acrimonious signing policy. As of this post he is back to asking for $25.00 per item.

NFL, Pro Football HoF

Muñoz, Anthony

Cards: ProSet 1991, ProSet 1991 Pieñsalo!
Acquired: 2017, Future Considerations

Anthony Munoz was a fixture in the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line at right tackle for 13 seasons. Drafted out of USC in 1980 with the third overall pick, Munoz helped block up front for the diverse Bengals offense, that over the years added major pieces to help them reach two Super Bowls.  Along the way he earned numerous Pro Bowl and First and Second Team All-Pro Nominations (1981-1991).  He was named the NFL Man of the Year in 1991, and was named to both the NFL All-1980s team, and the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team.

He attempted to play one final season with the Buccaneers with his former head coach Sam Wyche in 1992, but a nagging shoulder injury prevented him from playing out the preseason. Arguably however, Munoz is considered the greatest offensive lineman ever to play the game.

I never thought I’d get Anthony Munoz autograph. Thanks in part to my friend Deadhorse, I was surprised with two. Munoz is difficult to attain through the mail, partially because he makes you jump through so many hoops filling out charitable paperwork, and the other part due to the cost. He has some great cards from over the years, but these two from ProSet were very nice. While I used to heckle the Piensalo one, it really is a well executed design feat in the years prior to Photoshop dominance.  Overall however, Anthony has a very solid autograph.

Anthony has remained active in the community since retirement and has his own charitable foundation. He also does color commentary for many of the Bengals preseason games.

G/GS 185/182