Tag Archives: topps 1979

Bingham, Gregg ‘Devil’

to83 gbinghamto79 gbingham
Cards:  Topps 1983, Topps, 1978, Topps 1979
Acquired: 2016, C/o Home
Failure: TTM 2012, C/o Home

Little known fact about Gregg Bingham is that he is the Houston Oilers career leading tackler with nearly 2,000 tackles. Surrounded by talent like Elvin Bethea, Robert Brazile and Curley Culp, during the Luv Ya’ Blue era of the 70s- it was easy for Bingham to be overlooked in the star studded defensive lineup, even if he led the league 11 straight seasons. Also tackles were an unofficial statistic for the league until the late 80s/ early 90s.

After toiling away his rookie season in a 4-3 at MLB in 1973, and earning all-rookie honors, Gregg slid over to LILB, as the Oilers converted to a 3-4 under new defensive coordinator Bum Phillips. Bingham had earned the nickname ‘Devil’ for his strong motor and style of play, and he punished ball carriers on every tackle.  Bum Phillips was once quoted as saying that, “You’d have to cut off his head and hide it, in order to keep Bingham off the field.” He’d start the next 5 seasons for the team, recording 10 interceptions and 5 fumble recoveries, returning one 34 yards for a TD.  Gregg was also counted on by the team for special teams as well.  The following season he switched to RILB, playing the position for the majority of the rest of his career. Considerably durable, Bingham would have challenged Bethea’s consecutive games started record if not for a hip injury suffered in 1982 at 135. He topped the 200 tackle mark 4 times and led the league in tackles consistently over his career.

to78 gbinghamAn interesting character, Gregg made every penny count, investing into a series of coin operated car washes and oil changes around the Houston area. He even had the business foresight to have an assistant sort the change that came out of the machines for valuable coins.

Years later in 2008, Bingham’s heir at linebacker, John Grimsely committed suicide. It was later linked to CTE- caused by concussions. Gregg became a concussion flashpoint himself in 2009 when he was working in one of his car washes, and blacked out. When he next woke up, Bingham was in the hospital and learned he had been in a coma for the past 3 weeks, due to a swollen brain. It took him well over a year to rehab, but Gregg connected the dots to his time in the NFL and concussions, -something that at the time was to be ‘shaken off’.  He later rejected an NFL concussion settlement, because it would have not covered his expenses.

He continues to live in the Houston area, and after failing on a request back in… 2012- he kindly signed two cards for me and tossed in a third.

G/Gs   173/173       TAC   1,985         SAC    n/a        FUM   14
INT  21     YDS   279     AVG 13.3       TD   0         LG  54

Kunz, George

Card: Notre Dame Collegiate Collection 1990, Topps 1977
Acquired: Canton Acquisition, 2012

One of the best offensive linemen to be produced during this period, George Kunz was an All American at Notre Dame before being drafted with the second overall pick of the 1969 draft. Co-captain of the 1968 Irish team, Kunz struggled through injuries his first two years for the Golden Domers, before finally finding him niche on the offensive line at Tackle. He quickly established himself in the upper echelon of linemen in the NFL, playing for the Falcons from 1969-1974. After the 1974 season, George was traded with a draft choice to the Baltimore Colts for 2 picks in the 1975 draft. He amassed 5 AP selections and appeared in 6 Pro Bowls for the Falcons. He continued earning Pro Bowl and All Pro nominations with the Colts, from 1975-1977. A back injury limited his playing time to only 1 game in 1978 and 1979, but he returned for one final season in 1980 before he finally retired. Over 11 seasons in the NFL George Kunz appeared in 129 games.

Based in part because Kunz played for some very, very bad Falcons teams, along with guys like Tommy Nobis, he’s been largely ignored by the NFL HoF selection committee. It also doesn’t help that he played at the unglamorous position of offensive tackle. George has lived in Nevada for quite a few years since retirement from the limelight, dabbling briefly in coaching and color commentary for NBC. He is an avid TTM signer and boasts a remarkable response rate for the amount of cards he signs.

G/Gs  129/126

Pearson, Drew (3)

to84 pearson pset90 sb X to80 pearson to79 pearson pset90 sb XXII

Cards: ProSet 1990 SB X, ProSet 1990 SB XII, Topps 1980, Topps 1979, ProSet 1992 88’s, Upper Deck 1997 MM, Topps 1984.
Acquired: IP 11/8/2014, GameDay Sports Tour Austin, Texas.
See Also: Drew Pearson “Mr. Clutch”, Drew Pearson (2)

Texas Autograph Club, or TAC for short, has been a valuable resource for my autograph collecting hobby.  I got wind through GameDay Sports Tours that they were coming to Austin through TAC, and although I have gotten Drew Pearson multiple times in the past, I was still interested in getting his autograph on a few more cards. Chief among them was this Upper Deck that he shares with James Lofton, that I will get Lofton on at a later date. The ProSet 1992 card that he shares with Michael Irvin is also a very nice card, however I doubt seriously I’ll ever get the other 88 to sign this card, especially for the exorbitant price he charges. The other Topps cards were filler in my inventory while the ProSet serve in historical retrospect of Drew’s career. Pearson scored a TD in the Cowboys pset92 pearsonirvin 88Super Bowl X loss to the Steelers,

The event went well enough. It was held in a moderately rough location in Austin, but living in California for a few years, – I had shopped in more impoverished places, so it didn’t bother me at all.  I ran into a few other members of the board that I knew and talked to them for a bit about what they were getting signed. I was pretty close to the front of the line, so it was easy for me to get all of these cards signed. Drew started signing and stopped only briefly to ask me, “If this was it?” He flashed his customary Super Bowl ring at me and I was done. It was pretty much an in and out transaction.

Drew was finally inducted into the Cowboys Ring of ud97 pearson lofton mmHonor and does a lot of sports radio work, hosting his own self-titled hour long show on the Fox Sports Network. He also does color commentary for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. Pearson lives in Plano, Tx and is considered one of the 10 Greatest Cowboys Players ever.