Category Archives: Super Bowl MVP

NFL, Super Bowl MVP

Simms, Phil

sco90 simms HGCards: Pinnacle 1992, Score 1990 Hot Gun, 1990 Pro Set SuperBowl XXI MVP, Action Packed Rookies 1992
Acquired: 2012 & 2013, Canton Acquisition & TTM C/o Home
Sent: 4/5/2012     Received: 7/20/2013   (470 days)
Failure: 2011, C/o Home (RTS)

So here is one I totally wrote off. It seems rarer and rarer to get these long waits back, but finally on the second tenacious attempt, I got Phil Simms. Simms had previously returned cards I sent in 2011, -7 months later.  Even more frustrating for me, he continued to spontaneously respond to autograph requests through his address. I went ahead and fired out another shot. I had definitely given up on this after the one year marker, and became so sore about it, that I was more than happy to acquire a Simms through the ‘Canton Acquisition’. Recently again Phil had shown up on the autograph blotter, so I held out hope that something was going to happen, and lo and behold the Score, Pro Set, and Action Packed cards all came in the mail autographed at last, – a brisk 470 days after I had sent them.

aprks92 simmsSimms went to little known Morehead State- a school known more for its modest affordability, underrated class sizes, and a radio telescope/space tracking system that reaches the stars. Phil grew up in the Kentucky area, so this made perfect sense to him to attend here. Among his highlights for the college were leading the Ohio Valley Conference in passing in 1977, but as the team transitioned to a ball control offense his senior season, Phil’s numbers sunk. He had an impressive workout at the combine, so much so that the 49ers were planning to sneak him in as a 3rd round pick, -but in the end, they were beaten to the punch by the Giants, who invested a 1st rounder into Simms, calling him a ‘value pick’. As the boos reigned down from the audience who hated the pick, Simms wasn’t too happy about playing for New York either. Still, Simms managed to prove everybody wrong, and by the end of his rookie season, he finished second (to future teammate) Ottis Anderson in voting for rookie of the year in 1979. In 12 starts his rookie year, Phil threw for 1,743 yards and 13 touchdowns.

pset90 simms MVP

 

The Giants continued to struggle until 1984, with injuries, inconsistent play, quarterback controversies, and a head coaching change to Bill Parcells, but still Phil persevered, with a bit of work, conditioning, and tutelage. He’d turn it all around that year throwing for a club record 4,044 yards and 22 TDs in his first 16 game slate, then turn around prove it wasn’t a fluke throwing for 3,829 yards and 22 TD in 1985. 1986 proved to be the pinnacle of Phil’s career again with another 20+ TD season and nearly 3,500 yards, he led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XXI. His Super Bowl effort (22-25, 268 yards, 3 TD, 0 Int) earned him MVP honors and it remains one of the best performances in league history.

He’d return to the Super Bowl again in 1990- Superbowl XXV, but due to a season ending injury earlier in the year, he sat on the sidelines while the team won 20-19. There were two bittersweet points to the season. First, before the injury, Phil was having one the best seasons of his career with 15 touchdowns and only 4 picks. Second and finally, his injury opened the door for Jeff Hostetler, who created a QB controversy, that was only amplified by the Giants victory in the big game. The latter proved to be his ultimate undoing. With Parcells retirement, Ray Handley- (his right hand man) stepped up to the plate to be coach. He named Hostetler starter, and Simms was back to square 1 fighting for his job. While there were some bright spots there, the team itself slipped into mediocrity. Simms still had one good season left in him though, and threw for 3,038 yards and 15 TDs, before retiring in 1994.

pin94 simmsSimms is a highly underrated quarterback who really has never gotten his due for his time playing for the Big Blue. He played 14 seasons, spanning 3 decades of football, and really  after the game slowed down for him, was an understated reason why the Giants became true contenders. A master of the audible, Simms could pick teams apart with his recognition of defensive alignments. A true pocket passer, Simms was oft-injured and frequently criticized for taking needless sacks to avoid an interception, but you can’t deny his abilities as a winner (95 wins) and playoff leader (Super Bowl MVP). Phil also was the 1985 Pro Bowl MVP, has had his number retired by the Giants, and is a member of the team’s Ring of Honor.  It really is an injustice that Simms is not in the Hall of Fame.

Phil has enjoyed a career as a color commentator in sports and NFL football. Well respected by most of the networks, Simms made the transition from a player to a broadcaster seem effortless. His sons, Chris (UT) and Matthew have both gone on to play quarterback in the NFL. He is also of a select group of players who show up in the original Tecmo Bowl and its sequel Tecmo Super Bowl.

G/Gs 164/159    Att 4647     Comp  2576     Yds 33462    Pct 55.4     Td 199    Int  157    Rat 78.5  |
Rush 349    Yds 1252     Avg  3.6    Td 6      Lg 28

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL, Super Bowl MVP

Howard, Desmond

Card: Classic 1992
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o ESPN*
Sent: 8/7    Received: 9/8  (32 days)
*postmarked from FL

I originally had Desmond Howard penciled in for the start of the year in my initial January send out, but for some reason kept kicking that can further down the road. I’m really glad I finally got him, as I’m sure the acclaimed athlete will soon be overwhelmed with requests. Going to Michigan in 1989, Howard switched from tailback to wide receiver for the Wolverines. From there he’d go on to rewrite the record books for much of the school when it came to receiving records (12) and NCAA records (5). After a breakout 1990, with 63 receptions,1025 yards, and 11 TDs receiving, Desmond ran away with the Heisman in 1991 posting 19 touchdowns receiving on 62 catches.  Howard could not be stopped as a receiver or returner, and  he was so confident that he’d win the award, that after burning rival Ohio State in a game, he struck a Heisman pose. (Desmond at this time still holds the record for the largest margin of victory in Heisman voting, nabbing about 85% of the vote in 1991 for the award.)

Before the 1992 draft, Desmond was being touted as the next Rocket Ismail with electric speed that amazed and wowed fans. The Redskins after they won the 1991 SuperBowl traded up and picked Howard with the 4th overall pick. With a fleet set of receivers already that were seeing a bit of wear and tear (Monk, Clark, and Sanders,) the Redskins wanted Howard to be the lead receiver of the next generation of Skins receivers- but instead he was stuck on return duties. Desmond in 1994 recorded career highs in receptions (40), yards (727), and TDs (5), however with the emergence of Brian Mitchell, Howard had generally seen his playing time shrink as a return man. Usually this is a good thing for a receiver, but in Desmond’s case he found himself dangled out by the Redskins as part of the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft.

Taken with the 55th pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Howard was sparsely used by the Jaguars on offense and special teams. Essentially fans thought he was washed up, but just as everybody gave up Howard, Desmond obviously had something left in him. Nobody really even blinked an eye when Desmond was signed via free agency by the Packers, who were looking for an extra spark in the return game. Howard displayed his signature abilities at returning, and destroyed special teams’ units single-handedly setting the NFL record for most punt return yards in a season with 875, and recorded 3 touchdowns.  At the conclusion of the season, Desmond won the Super Bowl XXXI MVP honors, with a 99 yard touchdown return, and 244 total yards from scrimmage against the New England Patriots.  Howard got snapped up by the Raiders after the season, and had a solid outing as a returner for the team leading the league with 1381 yards on 61 return in 1997.  He also had a stellar 541 yards and 2 TDs punt returning in 1998 but he snubbed on Pro Bowl voting.  Desmond was content to return to the Packers for a second stint in 1999, but found himself surprisingly traded to the Lions midway through 2000. It turned out to be a blessing as Howard reached the ProBowl for the first time in his career, after recording a 14.7 average on PR and 24.6 on KR. With injuries and age finally catching up with him in 2002, Howard decided to hang up his cleats after the season after establishing himself as one of the most explosive punt return men in league history.

Desmond has gone into broadcasting where he has garnered quite a positive reputation as a public speaker and college football analyst,  currently appearing on ESPN. In 2011 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and has appeared on the cover of NCAA Football 06 in his signature Heisman pose.

G/Gs   156/29       Rec 123        Yds  1597     Avg   13.0       Td  7       Lg 81t
Kr  359           Yds  7959      Avg  22.2    Td 0        Lg  91
Pr  244           Yds  2895      Avg  11.8     Td  8       Lg  95t

 

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF, Super Bowl MVP

Bradshaw, Terry

Card: Pro Set 1990 SuperBowl MVP
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 4/5   Received: 4/14  (9 days)

I love these old Pro Set SuperBowl MVP cards. Merv Corning is an amazing artist and did such a classy set for Pro Set. I wish they had done an addendum later and included the additional cards through the latest MVP using Corning, but this could obviously never come to fruition, especially with the dissolution of the Pro Set company and its assets some years ago. The white hitting Terry’s head as he stands there with his hands on his hips is just a stroke of genius. I can see why Terry didn’t autograph it directly on his likeness.

So with Terry, don’t expect a response from him so quickly. He’s typically somebody who only signs about once a year- if that. I was incredibly shocked to have received a response from him in 9 days, but I suspect tax and off-season may have had something to do with that. I was alerted to him signing about 2 weeks before I got the success when I saw a few successes from other posters on the NFL TTM thread on Fanmail.biz, and dropped something quickly in the mail to him the next day.

Terry Bradshaw is a bigger than life personality and one of the first gunslingers in football. An incredible leader and gambler on the field, Bradshaw had his ups and downs before winning 4 Super Bowl Titles, becoming one of the most indelible Football Commentators on television, and being inducted into the NFL HoF in 1989.  Louisiana Tech wasn’t exactly the hub of pro football when Terry Bradshaw- a local product from Shreveport came a calling, but he certainly put them on the map, for other quarterbacks to come.  The Pittsburgh Steelers took Terry with the overall #1 pick of the 1970 draft, -the first season in which the NFL and AFL had merged. (The two leagues however had been conducting combined drafts since 1967.)

The Steelers had become a doormat of the NFL, but with the hiring of Chuck Noll in 1969 and a switch to the AFC, their fortunes slowly began to change.  Bradshaw’s rookie season was horrendous, as he adjusted to the pro game, throwing 6 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. It’d be much of the same over the next few years, 13 TD – 22 INT (1971), 12 TD – 12 INT (’72), and 10TD – 15INT (’73). With a succession of strong drafts, talent would build, but so would frustration. At one point fans didn’t feel that Bradshaw was the key to the future of the franchise, but Bradshaw turned to his spiritual faith to press forward, and with that an amazing statistical transformation also took place. Shed of his stress and outward pursuits, Bradshaw began to refocus his life and thus began the era of the Second Super Bowl Dynasty- the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’d lead the team to SuperBowl victories in 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979. Bradshaw nabbed MVP honors in both 1978 and 1979, becoming the first two time back to back MVP since Bart Starr. What was more astounding was Bradshaw managed to put up his best numbers in what is referred to in NFL annuls as ‘the dead ball era’- a period of time in which passing favored defenders, so offenses were forced to more of a ground game approach. Although injuries claimed a significant percentage of the latter half of his career, he still managed to lodge 107 career wins and retired following the 1983 season. Among his other accomplishments was being named NFL MVP in 1978, and most people forget that he was an able scrambler, rushing for 35 touchdowns over his career.

Bradshaw made the transition seamlessly into the booth, where he has developed a knack for being openly critical of players who do the sport wrong, and also his self-deprecating sense of humor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, has appeared in a variety of media including television and movie acting, and has recorded some Country music.  Terry was named to the Pittsburgh Steelers 75th Anniversary team, the NFL 1970’s All Decade Team, College Football Hall of Fame and was named the #50 NFL player of all time.  In 2006 Bradshaw donated a truckload of his personal affects and awards to his Alma Matter, LA Tech for display at the institution. Truly a great guy.

G/GS  168/158     Att 3901    Comp 2025     Yds  27,989     Pct 51.9     Td  212      Int  210     Rat  70.9   |
Rush 444       Yds 2257       Avg 5.1       Td 35       Lg 39