Tag Archives: proset 1990

AAF, NFL, NFLE

Metzelaars, Pete

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 7/3 Received: 8/13 (41 days)

Pete Metzelaars made his mark at tiny Wabash, as a two sport star playing basketball and football. He was selected in the 3rd round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. After catching just 27 passes in 3 seasons for the Seahawks, Pete was traded to the Buffalo Bills in 1985.

He caught 49 passes for 485 yards and 3 TDs in 1986 starting his first 16 game slate. In 1988, Pete put up another 33 passes for 438 yards and a TD. After a few years being used primarily as a blocking tight end Pete saw an uptick in 1992, and then caught a career high 68 passes for 609 yards and 4 TDs in ’93 starting all 16 games for the first time since 1989. Metzelaars played one more season for the Bills in 1994, adding another 49 catches for 428 yards and 5 TDs.

In 1995, Pete was allowed to walk via free agency. He joined the expansion Carolina Panthers for a season catching 20 passes and recording 3 TDs. He then played 2 more additional seasons for the Detroit Lions in 1996 and 1997 catching 17 passes in both years. Metzelaars retired after the ’97 season, and decided to go into coaching.

Pete spent 5 years honing his craft at the high school level as an offensive coordinator. He then coached in Europe with the Barcelona Dragons in 2003, and Wingate College as well. In 2004, Pete joined the Indianapolis Colts where he saw the most success, coaching the offensive line from 2004-2011. He then saw a one year stint as tight ends coach of the Bills in 2012, and then the Chargers in 2014 and 2015. After spending another two years back at the high school level, Metzelaars coached offensive line for the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football in 2019.

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NFL

Young, Fredd

Cards: ProSet 1989, Score Supplemental 1989, Action Packed 1990, ProSet 1990
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 2/24 Received: 3/5 (10 days)

Fredd Young is a member of the New Mexico State Hall of Fame. A fast and hard hitting linebacker with huge hands, Fredd had over 400 tackles in his college career at NM State, and recorded 12 sacks as a Senior. He’d be selected in the 3rd round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

Fredd contributed immediately to the Seahawks defense, and very quickly established himself as a starter during his rookie year. He’d be named to the Pro Bowl after his rookie year, and the next following 3 years. His first two Pro Bowl nominations came on special teams, and his next two came at strongside inside linebacker. In his final year with the Seattle (1987), Brian Bosworth joined him at linebacker commanding an unheard of 10 year $11 million dollar contract. Unable to secure such a lucrative contract from the team for his proven talent, Fredd held out through the first game of the 1988 season.

The Seahawks didn’t take kindly to this, but found a suitor waiting in the wings as the Colts traded two first round picks in order to get Young to help fortify their defense. He’d sign a 5 year, $4.5 million dollar contract with Indianapolis. Fredd played the next 3 years with the team. His high water mark came in 1989 when he posted 122 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions. After a solid ’89, Fredd was again on pace for another quality followup year in 1990, but got injured during the 11th game of the season against Buffalo. It turned out to be career ending, as it was the same hip-flexor injury that Bo Jackson famously had his career ended by.

My first recollection of Fredd is from the game Tecmo Bowl back in 1988. Being that there wasn’t a Houston franchise, I started playing Seattle on a whim. With the player licenses (but not the team rights) the ‘Seattle Knights’ as the logo led me to believe, were a blast to play. Fredd Young was a speedy missile inside, and I crushed opposing ball carries with him rushing upfield.

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NFLE

Dyal, Mike

Cards: Score 1990, ProSet 1990, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 9/30 Received: 10/5 (5 days)

Mike Dyal played collegially for Texas A&I University. Initially recruited as a QB, Mike just kept getting bigger and bigger, and moved from QB to WR, eventually settling at TE. Despite having soft hands, decent speed, and good blocking skills, Mike was not drafted in the 1988 NFL Draft. A lot of it had to do with small school stigma- but Mike was on the radar of many team’s priority free agent list. His agent convinced him his best shot was joining the Raiders, where an aging Todd Christensen was the starter, and the long snapper was his backup. He made an impression in camp, and then took a dive so he could make the squad and become the heir to Christensen at the TE position for the Raiders the following season.

In 1989, Mike had his best season as a pro, starting all 16 games for LA. He caught 27 passes for 499 yards- a whopping 18.5 yards per reception and 2 TDs- including a career long 67 yarder. 1990 and 1991 were largely a wash for Mike due to injury, but by the time he returned to the lineup, the position was in different hands under Ethan Horton. He spent 3 games with the Chiefs in in 92, and then split time between the Chiefs and Chargers in 1993 before retiring.

I had no clue that Mike was a living locally in Central Texas. Once I found that out, I wrote him pretty soon afterwards. He responded very quickly on these 3 cards. While Mike’s career was modestly brief as a starter, he made the most of it, appearing on many of the popular brands of the day. These three cards were my favorite of his, with the Fleer sticking out the most to me with a dynamic frontal shot of him with his helmet breaking the plane of the image design.

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