Category Archives: NFL

NFL

Williams, Darryl “Hitman”

Cards: GameDay 1992, Action Packed Rookies 1992, StarPics 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o  Home
Sent: 8/26    Received:  9/3  (7 days)

The Miami Hurricanes free safety and head hunter Darryl Williams helped the team win the National Championship in 1989 and 1991. Quick, fast, and fluid, Williams was a great athlete who showed the willingness to apply the hit as well as sit in zone to make the pick. A team leader out of the gate, Darryl had great instincts and reacted well to plays. The knock on him was his lack of size (6’0″, 193) and experience at the position (only a 2 year starter). He’d finish as the Hurricanes 4th all-time leading tackler with 173 total tackles, and 8 picks for 150 yards, 2 td, and 4 fumble recoveries. An All American in college recording 84 stops and 3 picks in 1991, Williams would declare early and be drafted by the Bengals in a draft day swap with the Washington Redskins during the first round (#28) of the 1992 draft.  It’d be the first time the Bengals would draft a safety in the first round of the NFL draft, underscoring their attempts to keep up with the pass happy Oilers in the AFC Central arms race.

Williams rookie season was a strong performance in 1992, with 4 picks, 2 sacks and 78 tackles starting 12 games that season.  It’d be in 1993 that he’d start the oddest of streaks: the NFL record for most consecutive starts by a free safety, a record he still holds to this day with 108 games. During that season Hitman made an interception that he’d return 97 yards in a 24-16 loss to the Steelers.  Darryl would also wreck havoc in the secondary recording a career high 126 tackles. He’d also notch a safety in 1995 before heading west to play for the Seattle Seahawks.

It’d be in 1996 that Williams put together a masterful season with 5 picks for 148 yards and a touchdown. Williams would earn his only Pro Bowl nod and AP nomination in the following season in 1997, where he led the league with 8 interceptions for 172 yards and a touchdown.  Although he had a down year in 1998 with 3 picks, and his streak of starts would end in 1999, he’d prove that indeed you can return home, resigning with the Bengals in 2000.  Hitman would play with the squad through 2001, recording a career high 3.5 sacks in his final season.

I quit collecting cards pretty much en masse after 1992. GameDay, Action Packed and Star Pics, were the last brands I really liked at that point, but by 1993 everybody had left the style that defined themselves behind, (ProSet and Score,) were out of business, (StarPics,) or were concentrating on premium branding (Fleer) that I just didn’t care about.  I sent off for Darryl at the end of August and got a very quick reply in a week. Oddly there was no post mark from where he sent it to me from on the envelope that had taken some water damage, but thankfully the cards were unharmed. He signed the 3 cards I requested, plus the additional card I asked him to keep. A nice return from the Cincinnati Hitman.

G/Gs 156/137     Tac 715       Sac 9.5       Fum 15       Int 31       Yds 691        Avg 22.3       Td   4     Lg  97t

 

NFL

McDowell, Leonard “Bubba”

Cards: ProSet 1990, ProSet 1991, Score 1990, Score 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Prairie View A&M
Sent:  9/2  Received: 9/15
Previous Failure: C/o The Houston Cougars 2010
See Also: Bubba McDowell (2)

Bubba McDowell is one of the few Oilers that I never had any luck with at training camp, but I always saw that others had. As one of my favorite players, he was a fearsome hitter that also had the occasional knack for finding the end zone with his ball hawking skills.

As a member of Jimmy Johnson‘s Miami Hurricanes, McDowell played strong safety for their 1987 National Championship team. The team was loaded with talent on both sides of the ball that included: Michael Irvin, Wesely Carroll, Randall Hill, Steve Walsh, Jimmie Jones, Cortez Kennedy, Danny Stubbs, Cleveland Gary, Brian Blades and Bennie Blades. Even their punter, Jeff Feagles was able to make it into the pros.  During the monstrous 1989 draft, McDowell would be taken in the 3rd round by the Houston Oilers.

Bubba would lay down the law immediately, replacing long time veteran Keith Bostic at safety. He’d start all 16 games and have a great rookie season recording 97 tackles, a sack, 4 picks, 4 forced fumbles, and a safety. Right before half time in a 1992 Monday Night game against the Chicago Bears at the Astrodome, Bubba picked off Peter Tom Willis and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.  He also notched the last score for the Oilers in their notorious meltdown against the Bills in the playoffs later that season. As Houston slumped in 1994, McDowell would be injured and only start 3 contests.

The Oilers would leave Bubba exposed to free agency and the expansion Panthers snatched him up in late April 1995. He’d finish out his career there with one final pick, but not before being immortalized in both the Nintendo Tecmo Super Bowl and the Super Nintendo Super Tecmo Bowl. After retiring he’d begin coaching and also participated in the Minority Fellowship Program. He remains an active speaker and gives time to charity where he lives outside of Houston, Texas with his wife and family. He is also a member of the Houston Texans Ambassador Club, and was a second team AP in 1991.

So Bubba is another failure turned success for me as last year I wrote him courtesy of the Houston Cougars, but he had already left the organization by then. Doing a bit more research I saw that he had resurfaced at Prairie View A&M as their secondary coach. He would sign all 4 of the cards plus an extra, even though I offered it to him. He also told me that I could keep in touch with him and other players through SoTL.com (School of the Legends). Bubba had some great cards, but both ProSet and Score bought the exact same photo in 1990. I lost a good deal of the other cards I wanted signed, including an Action Packed, GameDay, and his rookie Score 1989 Supplemental cards, but I was happy to get him on these other ones including this spectacular ProSet 1991, and this great looking (but loathesomely designed) Score 1992.

G/Gs 102/83   Tac 470    Sac 5.0     Fum  6      Int  17    Yds 223    Avg 13.1     Td 1    Lg 33

NFL, NFLE

Sacca, Tony

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, Classic 1992, Classic Blister 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 8/25   Received: 9/12 (17 days)

Tony Sacca played quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1988-1991. Ol’ Joe Patero was a notorious proponent of the ground game, especially with Blair Thomas in the backfield through 1990, but a trial by fire his Freshman season provided Tony with the chance to start. Although the team started off roughly, by 1991 Sacca had adjusted to the college game and had turned into a fairly solid prospect.  When he graduated from Penn State he was tied as the school’s all-time leader for touchdown passes in a career (41) and a game (five). He was also second in passing yards in his career (5,869) and also in single season yardage (2,488).

The Phoenix Cardinals were looking for answers at quarterback during the 1992 draft and took Sacca with their 2nd round pick. With Timm Rosenbach in the fold, the team hoped to groom Sacca as his backup, but Tony’s career would be short-  completing only 4-of-11 passes with two interceptions in his rookie season. By 1994 he’d be cut, but later signed with the retooled WLAF in 1995, which had renamed itself the NFLE. He’d be selected by the Barcelona Dragons, and backup Casey Weldon at quarterback.

After 2 seasons in Europe, Tony retired to pursue coaching. In 2007, Tony would be stricken with pneumonia which would lead to his hospitalization. He luckily recovered from it and lives in Delran, New Jersey to this day.