Category Archives: NFL

College Football HoF, NFL

Steinkuhler, Dean (2)

Cards:  Score 1991, Fleer 1990, Score 1990
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o Home
Sent: 10/15/2010     Received:  11/2/2011   (383 days*)
*Slight delay. Forwarded from old address.

Dean was part of my final send out from 2010.  I did not do any mailings in November or December of 2010 as I was planning to graduate and needed to concentrate on school. Waxing nostalgically, (- as I do frequently on this site,)  I can’t help but think what was on my mind that day about my future about me now in the current present. It’s a tad depressing really, but eventually I’ll work my way out of this. Sometimes you have to fall down a crevasse to work your way out in life.

Dean was a member of the Oilers powerful offensive line during the 80s and very early 90s.  He would be the 3rd and final drafted offensive cog of a dominant line that included Mike Munchak and Bruce Matthews. Often overlooked, by his more glamorous counterparts- if you can call an offensive lineman that, -Steinkuhler was both equally dominant as both a drive blocker and pulling on sweeps. When the Oilers ran the option (in those frightening days with Warren Moon running the ball in the 80s,)  you would always see Dean out there opening up holes and leading the way. He was never named to the Pro Bowl, which was a shame, because when injuries finally claimed Dean’s playing career in the early 1990s, it was the first noticible chip in the Oilers offensive armor.

I gave up on getting this one back since I sent for him last year after seeing a rash of signatures on SportsCollectors.net. Just recently I saw another success and thought that perhaps these cards would make their way back to me, and amazingly they did in a brisk 383 days.

 

 

NFL

Smith, Sammie

Cards: ProSet 1989, Score 1990
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent:  5/27   Received: 11/2   (159 days)

Sammie Smith is a cautionary tale. After breaking rushing records for the Florida State Seminoles during the late 1980s, Sammie declared for the 1989 NFL draft. His stock would shoot up in the final weeks leading up to it, buoyed by a reputed 4.35 40.  A stacked draft, Smith was the third runningback taken off the board in the first round, (after Barry Sanders and Tim Worley) with the 9th pick. A tremendous talent, Smith would set a Dolphins rookie rushing record with his 659 yard season in 1989, including a 3 touchdown performance against the New England Patriots. He’d follow this up in 1990 with another solid season with 839 yards and his two year career totals set new Sophomore marks for the 20+ year old franchise at the time, but that would all come crashing down in 1991.

You see, Sammie had a habit of putting the rock on the ground. My friends and I knew that he was so notorious for it, that when a player fumbled twice in a game or on a regular basis, we called it, “A case of Sammie Smith-itis”. Sammie’s 1991 would be incredibly rough and after 2 games, Smith didn’t even have positive yardage.  At Kansas City in week 3 Smith fumbled on the goal line against the Chiefs, who recovered it and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown as the Dolphins got crushed 42-7, but the worst was yet to come. In a home game the following week Sammie and the Dolphins would play the Houston Oilers. Clutching to a 14-10 lead late in the game, the ‘Fins would have a chance to seal the victory as they knocked on the Oilers doorstep for a touchdown. The announcers casually mention Sammie Smith in the backfield and how he fumbled the previous week. As the ball was handed off to him, Lamar Lathon came through the line with Cris Dishman and punched the ball loose- again. Lathon recovered the ball and the Oilers marched down the field for the winning touchdown. Sammie sobbed on the sideline as fans chanted “Sammie Sucks!” Smith would be pulled aside after the game, where coach Don Shula tried to tell Sammie that he had made big plays in the past for the Dolphins and he’d make big plays in the future. He just needed to shake off today.

It never happened. Sammie’s 1991 would come to a thudding end, and during the season’s epilogue the Dolphins would trade Sammie Smith straight up with the Broncos for Bobby Humphrey. The hope was that a change of scenery would help both players, but a groin injury would derail most of Smith’s 1992, and end his career.  Sammie despite only playing roughly 4 seasons still finished financially well off.

He’d return home, but be caught in a drug sting as a ‘major player’ in a cocaine operation in 1996. Sammie would plead guilty and be sent to jail. Convicted of 2 counts to distribute he faced 20 to life in prison at the age of 29. Sammie would take his time in prison to refocus his life and try to turn it around, helping those who are potentially at risk in life and with drugs. After 7 years he was placed on parole, and in 2010, at the age of 43, with the help of his former coach Bobby Bowden, friends and family, he won the restoration of his civil rights. Smith remains active locally conducting football camps, connecting with former friends and teammates, and trying to help at risk children.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Sammie despite my genial poking at his career and while I would’ve decried what happened to him as ‘stupid’, the reality of it is, that it was tragic and saddening. I would have sent to Sammie sooner, had I known he was out of prison earlier and I was happy to receive these two autographs in roughly 6 months time. It’s been a long and winding difficult road for Sammie- but he is proof positive that you can find redemption after your darkest hour.

G/Gs 44/35  Rush   532    Yds 1881   Avg  3.5     Td  15    Lg  33  |
Rec   32   Yds  310    Avg  9.7     Td   1     Lg  53

NFL

Dishman, Cris (2)

Cards:  Action Packed 1992, Fleer 1995
Acquired:  TTM 2011, C/o The San Diego Chargers
Sent: 10/7    Received: 10/27   (20 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o The San Diego Chargers
See Also: Cris Dishman, Dish (3)

Well I thought I’d give Cris another shot with less cards. After making a big blitz of former Oilers in 2010, I was surprised not to receive anything back from Cris Dishman courtesy of the Chargers. I tended to other stuff but when I published my master list of Oilers that I had gotten on Fanmail, they told me that Cris was easy to get, so I planned on reloading and trying again. He was on the back burner for a couple of months here until I joined SotL at Bubba Mcdowell‘s recommendation, to where I found the Facebook heaven for football players. Seeing that Cris was on here and that he was active- I decided to go ahead and give him another shot on these two cards.

At that time, I really liked what Fleer was doing with their 1995 set. It was really daring to have the information on the front of the card like that and the player name and team information really reminded me of Skybox’s 1992 release. Crystal clear photography also really assisted as well in the production of this piece. The Action Packed 1992 card was right at the end of what I felt was their best work. Already in their 1991 offering, they had annoyingly decided to flip the stats on the back, in landscape form from left to right on random cards, and they continued this trend in 1992, and by 1993 I was out of the market.

Cris Dishman engages his fans on Sotl which is refreshing. When I asked him what his favorite memory was about playing football outside of being drafted, he said it was the comradery of the locker room after games that no business could ever match.  He filled my request through the Chargers in roughly 20 days.