Cards: Skybox 1992, GameDay 1992
Acquired: 2020, Paid Signing
A big back clocking in at 6″0′, 220, Ronnie Harmon played 12 seasons in the NFL where he acquired a reputation as a solid pass catching threat out of the backfield, and a bruising back to take down.
He began his NFL career as a 1st round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1986. Harmon played there through 1989 catching 144 passes for 1452 yards and 10 TDs, while rushing 244 times for 968 yards and 3 TDs. By this point Ronnie had fit snugly into the 3rd down back role for the Bills, but with Thurman Thomas coming on strong in his second season as the bell cow back, the Bills felt they could let Ronnie go.
Ronnie took a big change of scenery when he signed with the San Diego Chargers in 1990, where he’d continue to be one of the most outstanding 3rd down backs in the NFL. A pass catching machine- Ronnie garnered 378 catches for 3939 yards, and 12 TDs over the next 6 seasons. In 1992 he caught a career high 79 passes and earned his only Pro Bowl honor, leading all runningbacks. He also never missed a game while playing for the Chargers.
In 1996, Ronnie entered the twilight of his career, playing for the Houston Oilers during their final year in Houston, and joining the franchise during their transition to Memphis the following year. During that 1997 season he’d be cut and sign with the Bears, before retiring, but not before tacking on another 60 receptions.
Ronnie holds the interesting record as the only player in NFL history to averaged 4.5 yards per carry on a minimum of 600 rushing attempts, while also averaging 10 yards per catch on at least 550 receptions.
Ronnie Harmon has a proven track record of not signing through the mail, and with a long and extensive NFL history, that criss-crossed the league, he has always been a player that I wanted to get the autograph of.
2020 was not a great year primarily because of COVID, but because of it, there were a lot more random private signings that popped up. Luckily I spotted a Bills signing with Ronnie and Lee Evans for a very affordable price, so I dropped these two cards in the mail.
I was more of a fan of Ronnie’s exploits playing for the San Diego Chargers than the Buffalo Bills, so I reached into the box and pulled out these two set needs. I really loved his Skybox card. It’s a great shot of him dashing for daylight and frames his size dynamically on the canvas.
| G/Gs | RUSH | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
| 181/27 | 615 | 2774 | 4.5 | 10 | 48 |
| REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
| 462 | 6076 | 10.4 | 24 | 93T |