Tag Archives: skybox 1992

NFL

Broussard, Steve

Cards: Score Supplemental 1990, Score 1990, Action Packed Rookies 1990, SkyBox 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Work
Sent: 10/9/17 Received: 1/17/18 (100 days)
Failure: 2011, C/o Arizona State

Steve Broussard has some great cards. His Skybox is exceptional. The resolution on the shot is so high you can make out the expression on Steve’s face. After nabbing him for my set need in Action Packed Rookies 1990, his two Score entries make the list for me, just barely over his Proset 1990 draft card. I tend to lean more full body shot if I can, especially if it is one where the player is in the open field. Anyway, I am very pleased to get him. I took a shot in the dark at his work address, knowing fully that in the past he has pulled any number of hijinks on autograph requesters, including having his kids sign for him. I did not count on getting these back also based on my previous experience, but after 100 days flat, the enigmatic back kindly signed these 4 cards for me. The autograph is in ball point pen- a disappointment, considering the amazing loops and varying size of his graph.

Steve finished second all-time on the Washington State career rushing charts with 3,054 yards and first in total touchdowns (41). During his Senior year in ’89 he had a career high 41 carries for 205 yards against Oregon. He also displayed his versatility by winning the WAC rushing title in 1989 (1237 yards) and receiving title in 1987 (59 receptions), distinguishing himself as only the second player in Conference history to do so.

He’d be selected in the first round by the Atlanta Falcons in 1990. Steve had a bumpy rookie season as injuries limited his campaign to 13 games. Still the compact halfback showed promise chewing up 454 yards on the ground and making 24 receptions. With a crowded backfield in the Red Gun system, Broussard continued to demonstrate himself as a nice change of pace, 3rd down back throughout his time in Atlanta- however he saw his playing time decrease every year after his rookie campaign.

After the 1993 season, Steve played one year in Cincinnati and recorded a career high 621 yards from scrimmage (403 yards rushing and 218 yards receiving). He then returned to his home state and played for the Seahawks for the remainder of his career in the NFL. With the Seahawks, Steve was used primarily as a kick returner where he demonstrated that burst of speed that made him so dangerous. After the 1998 season, Steve retired.

Steve went into coaching first at the high school level. He then moved on to the college level with stops at Portland State, Washington State, ASU, SMU, ICLA, and Pasadena Community College. In 2017 he returned to Washington and coaches at a local high school in Vancouver.

G/GS 121/21    RUSH  578      YDS 2625       AVG 4.5      TD 19    LG 77T
REC 126       YDS 882       AVG 7.0       TD 3      LG 25
KR  175       YDS 4060     AVG 23.2     TD 1    LG 90T

CFL, NFL, usfl

Anderson, Gary (RB)

Cards: Skybox 1992, Action Packed Rookies 1990
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 8/29   Received: 9/14  (16  days)
Failure: 2014, C/o Home

Arkansas runningback Gary Anderson has had quite a long career in many leagues. He played from 1979 to 1982 for the Razorbacks, compiling 1,999 yards rushing on 392 carries, scoring 10 TDs, and displaying soft hands catching 94 passes for 1,075 yards and 8 TDs. Selected in 1983 by the San Diego Chargers- Gary opted to play for the upstart USFL instead.

After the New Jersey Generals traded Anderson’s rights to the Tampa Bay Bandits, he became the go to back in Steve Spurrier’s Banditball offense. He’d finish 4th in the league with 2,731 yards and 39 touchdowns during his time in the league before it folded up shop.

By the time Anderson got around to the Chargers, San Diego wasn’t really sure what to do with him, when they had a West Coast attack powered by future HoF QB Dan Fouts. Gary in the meantime handled kick return duties and posted sub-400 yard rushing seasons. Gary also caught a lot of passes, earning his only Pro Bowl berth in 1986 as a jack of all trades when he had 80 catches for 871 yards and 8 TDs along with 442 yards rushing, 482 yards kick returning, and 227 yards punt returning. He later posted a career high 1,119 yards on 225 carries in 1988. After an acrimonious holdout that wiped out his 1989 season, Gary was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He had a pretty decent 1990 season in which he posted 1110 total yards from scrimmage, and although the rest of his career in the NFL was largely injury riddled, Gary was enshrined into Tecmo Super Bowl lore- as an extremely underrated back. He’d split time with the Bucs and Lions in his final year in the NFL (1993).

After a year off Gary returned to football to play for the CFL USA initiative and the Memphis MadDogs in 1995. He’d be released in camp the following year by the Roughriders.

In 2006, Gary was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Of note, if you calculate all of Gary’s time between the three leagues, he has over 14,500 yards from scrimmage.

I had tried to get his autograph a few years ago. He checked many of the odd boxes that I liked: 80s runningback, Action Packed Rookies card, and a player on Tecmo Super Bowl. I missed out on him because in his hometown there is a Court and a Cove that have the same street name but are in totally different places. Thankfully after a second attempt I was able to knock the former elusive back out.  This Action Packed card, like many in the set, was quite common, but it is a good action shot and the emboss shows up well on it. The SkyBox 1992 was another one of my favorite sets of that era. With the large name at the top and crystal clear photography, it really set itself apart from the competition.

USFL  54      RUSH 641    YDS 2731    AVG 4.3     TD 39     LG N/A
REC 167    YDS  1707    AVG 10.2    TD  6

NFL   111/61      RUSH 869      YDS 3409       AVG 3.9     TD 16    LG 64T
REC 302    YDS 2999     AVG 9.9     TD 15    LG 74T
KR  143      YDS 2779    AVG 19.4   TD 1       LG 98T
PR  48         YDS  385      AVG 8.0          TD 0      LG 30

CFL 14        RUSH 66     YDS  250     AVG 3.8     TD 3
REC  28      YDS 273      AVG 9.8        TD 0

Arena, NFL

Tomczak, Mike (2)


Cards: Skybox 92, Action Packed 1989, Score 1989
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Work
Sent:  12/4/16    Received: 2/11/17 (65 days)
See Also: Mike Tomczak

Mike’s dreams came true when he joined the Chicago Bears- a team he idolized as a kid. While Ditka put so much pressure on Mike that he considered quitting the sport he loved, Mike ended up carving out a 15 year career in the NFL playing at a variety of stops in the league after Chicago. Infamously during his stay in Green Bay he opted to hold out for a better contract- which caused the team to cut him, and brought about the Brett Favre era that much quicker. Mike had no problem spreading the love around, throwing to 35 different players in 88 touchdown strikes. While Mike only topped the 300 yard mark one time with the Bears, Packers, and Browns, he blossomed late in his career adding 3 more to his career with the Steelers. Mike is known for being the lead guitar player during the Bears infamous 1985 ‘Super Bowl Shuffle’ video. He also shares the same birthday with fellow quarterback Doug Flutie.

Tomczak had some great cards over his career. It took me some time to figure out which ones to send him. After some deliberation I decided on these three. I liked the design and photo for all three of these cards. Action Packed did a short run test promo in 1989 that covered a few NFC teams. It was pretty much identical to their 1990 run, minus the copyright. Score 1989 was blockbuster by any right with the vibrant colors and strong action photos standing out. Skybox was a late addition to the market, coming from the basketball arena, but its initial offering was simple, clean, and impressive.