Tag Archives: upper deck legends 1997

CFL, NFL

Marshall, Jim

Upper Deck Legends 1997, #134

CARD: Upper Deck Legends 1997
ACQUIRED: TTM 2021, C/o Home
SENT: 10/14 RECEIVED: 12/10 (57 days)*
* Fee Enclosed

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Jim Marshall played DE for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1957-58.
  • Generational player who helped Buckeyes win by scoring all 14 points (interception, blocked punt, and kicked 2 xp) in a game against Purdue in 1958.
  • Left school to play in the CFL for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1959.
  • In a rare transaction at the time, was swapped from the CFL-NFL trade to the Cleveland Browns, in exchange for Bob Ptacek.
  • Played the 1960 season with Cleveland, before being traded to the Minnesota Vikings along with a few other players for 2 draft picks.
  • Went on to play in an improbable 282 games over his 19 season career for the Vikings (starting 270 consecutively)- at the time NFL records.
  • Member of the famed Purple People Eaters, played in all 4 of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances.
  • At time of retirement in 1979, had played in every game in Vikings club history.
  • Finished with 130 sacks- second on the franchise’s record books.

ACCOLADES:

  • #70 retired- Vikings
  • Record- Most career fumble recoveries (30)
  • Record- Most seasons played by a defensive player (20)
  • Record- Most consecutive games played by a defensive player (289)
  • Minnesota Vikings 25th Anniversary Team
  • Minnesota Vikings 40th Anniversary Team
  • 50 Greatest Vikings
  • Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor
  • Pro Bowl 1968, ’69
  • Second Team All-Pro 1964, ’68, ’69

NOTES:

Despite Jim’s resume, and being the ultimate iron man, he’s only been considered a finalist for the HoF. I’ve always considered him a HoFer in my book, and found a card that I finally wanted to get signed after I scraped up the small fee. It’s a nice autograph… a bit smudged, but I’ll take it over the crazy prices they wanted online for a certified.

NFL

Grogan, Steve (2)

Upper Deck Legends 1997, #110
Action Packed 1990, #163

Cards: Upper Deck Legends 1997, Action Packed 1990
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 2/2 Received: 3/5 (31 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

A venerable signer TTM, Steve Grogan wraps up his collection for me by signing these two set needs for me. I never saw his Action Packed in the wild so when I bought a box of the set before the market blew up, I was very inspired by his entry- even though it’s of him handing the ball off. The Upper Deck Legends, well, I didn’t see why I should spend a dime on a certified autograph from him when I could get it TTM for free. This too is a great looking card. Too bad it doesn’t feature the signature ‘Grogan Lob’ from Tecmo Super Bowl.

NFL

Anderson, Ken

Top Notch Signature Select Custom

CARDS: Donruss 2020, Pro Set 1990 Super Bowl XVI, Upper Deck Football Heroes 2008, Topps 1979, Upper Deck Legends 1997, Top Notch Signature Select
ACQUIRED: TTM 2018, 2021, C/o Home
SENT: 1/2/21 RECEIVED: 1/13/21 (11 days)
SENT: 9/10/18 RECEIVED: 1/29/21 (872 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Ken Anderson played QB for Augustana College from 1967-70.
  •  Finished college career ranked fifth in NCAA history for career total offense yardage (6,679).
  • 3rd round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1971.
  • Became starter in 1972.
  • Played for the Bengals for his entire 16 year career.
  • Led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance (XVI).
  • Set the NFL single season record for completions 70.6 (since surpassed – Drew Brees).
  • Led league in completion percentage in 1974, ’82, ’83.
  • Led league in passing yards in both 1974 and 75.
  • Led league in passer rating in 1974, ’75, ’81, and ’82.
  • As of 2023 holds the Bengals records for completions, passing yards, TDs and rushing yards by a Cincinnati QB.
  • Coached with the Bengals from 1993-2002, Jaguars from 2003-06, and Steelers from 2007-09.
Topps 1979, #115
Upper Deck Legends 1997, #76

ACCOLADES:

  • Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame 2003
  • NFL MVP 1981
  • Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor
  • Pro Bowl 1975-76, ’81, ’82
  • All-Pro 1981
  • Second Team All-Pro 1975
  • NFL Offensive Player of the Year 1981
  • NFL Comeback Player of the Year 1981
  • NFL Man of the Year 1975
Pro Set 1990 Super Bowl XVI Insert, #16
2008 Upper Deck Football Heroes, #238

NOTES:

I had sent out to Ken back in 2018, but since he lives in SC, he was square in the path of I think Hurricane Sandy that month. Looking back now, it seems that my request from that year was in the bottom of his mailbag. Ken ended up responding to my retry before my original request, if that makes any sense. His 872 day response falls short of the top 10 waits by about 150 days.

I didn’t buy any NFL cards from 2020, but my friend Joe who helps me run a Facebook group had so many of the Donruss he sent me the entire set. I like the design of it but, considering how much prices have gone up I wouldn’t buy any of these in the wild unless they were discounted.

I really like ‘Long Tom’ cards like the Gameday set, so I thought I’d try my hand at making a few customs. It was a pain to do initially as no printer handles this size, but I designed the canvas to have some areas of white so that it was perfect for the autograph. His autograph looks great on this. I’m not sure if I’ll do anymore of these cards, but time will tell.

I am firmly in the camp that Ken Anderson belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His numbers compare favorably with fellow WCO alum and HoFer Dan Fouts yet Anderson played during the Dead Ball era earlier in his career.

Donruss 2020, #70