At the end of his time at Missou, James Wilder was the school’s all-time leading rusher with 2,357 yards.
A second round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1982.
Slotted into the lineup as a FB.
Impressed coaches so much he took over starting duties at RB in 1984.
Set NFL single game record (since broken) rushing 42 times against Pittsburgh in 1984.
He carried the ball a whopping 407 times for 1577 yards and 13 TDs.
His 2229 total yards were only 19 yards off the combined rushing receiving single season record.
By the end of that season- his 4th- Wilder had passed Ricky Bell to become the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.
Wilder was ahead of his time, as not only was he a great runner, but he was an extremely talented receiver as well, catching 85 passes that year.
In 1985, Wilder had another solid season, posting 1300 yards rushing on 365 carries and 10 TDs.
James never eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark again over his career.
While this could’ve been attributed to injuries or a conversion back to FB is not known, as the backfield became quite crowded.
The Bucs traded James to Detroit in exchange for Eric WIliams in 1990.
At the time of his departure, Wilder owned nearly every rushing franchise record and even the team’s record for receptions.
He played the majority of the season with the Lions, before finishing his career on the roster of the Redskins that year.
ACCOLADES:
Pro Bowl 1984
NOTES:
Finally! I absolutely adore this card and have wanted to get it signed by James for some time. James embodied the creamsickle orange to me. The autograph is just as good! It’s strong, the color is superb, and the placement is perfect.
I love my RBs and Wilder had a very interesting NFL career to me. I considered also sending his Score Supplemental 1990 in his Lions uniform, or his Score 1989 card, but since I had failed on him 10 years ago, never restocked on his cards.
CARDS: Pro Set 1990, Pro Set 1991 ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home SENT: 5/23 RECEIVED: 6/6 (14 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Played TE at the University of the Pacific from 1965-’67.
Went undrafted and signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1969.
Played the next 8 seasons for the franchise,
Best season came in 1971, catching 21 passes for 356 yards and 4 TDs, including a 71 yard long.
Joined the 49ers coaching staff in ’80 as a TE coach.
Returned to the Bengals in ’81 where he coached WRs through ’84.
Sam Wyche moved Coslet to offensive coordinator the following season, where he took the WCO to the next level setting franchise offensive records over the next few seasons.
Was hired by the Jets after the 1989 season concluded.
Served as HC in NY through the 1993 season.
Jets got to the playoffs after the ’91 season, losing to the Houston Oilers in the Wild Card round.
Returned in 1994 to Cincinnati, serving again as OC- this time under HC Dave Shula.
During a chaotic ’96 season Shula resigned as HC after a disastrous 1-6 start.
Coslet stepped in and led the team to a 7-2 finish, and some level of respectability.
After the franchise decided to overhaul the roster in 2000, Coslet resigned 3 games into the season.
Spent a final season in 2002 as OC of the Dallas Cowboys.
Playaction 16 Boss Z Post
ACCOLADES:
Pacific Tigers Hall of Fame 1985
NOTES:
I mean I took a shot in the dark on Coslet that he’d pen a play for me and I was absolutely tickled with what he drew up. I’m always curious about an offensive minded coach’s DNA, but especially what and why they chose the play they chose to draw up, and as a member of the Walsh coaching tree- WCO, this one is an absolute treasure.
CARDS: Pro Set 1989, Fleer 1990 ACQUIRED: TTM 2023, C/o Work SENT: 12/26 RECEIVED: 1/6/24 (11 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Anthony Toney played from 1984-’85 for the Texas A&M Aggies at RB.
He saw action in 20 contests posting 271 carries for 1238 yards, 18 TDs, and 9 receptions for 68 yards.
The Eagles selected Toney in the second round of the 1986 Draft to compliment first round pick Keith Byars.
He’d be put into the lineup as a FB, where he’d be in a pretty heavy rotation rushing and catching the ball out of the backfield over 5 seasons.
1987 was perhaps his best season, when he carried the rock 127 times for 473 yards and 5 TDs.
He’d also post a career high 39 receptions for 341 yards and have 814 yards from scrimmage.
Had a career high 582 yards rushing in 1989.
Cut after the 1991 preseason and retired soon thereafter due to hamstring issues.
Recognized for contributions to the Boys & Girls Club of Salinas, Ca.
NOTES:
For a while there Texas A&M was quite the RB and FB factory. Anthony, Roger Vick,Johnny Hector, Keith Woodside, Robert Wilson, and Darren Lewis all ended up playing in the NFL during a 10 year period there.
Shout out to my TTM friend Chris, who got Toney first and hit me up with Toney’s address. Anthony is not a heavy signer through the mail, so I consider his response to be quite a coup. Both his cards here come in as set needs, and they are both really great photos of him in action. He was also kind enough to inscribe Best Wishes and All My Best on his two cards.
RUSH
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
639
2294
3.6
14
44
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
122
1031
8.5
5
47
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
