NFL

Allegre, Raul

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Card: Fleer 1990, Score Supplemental 1989
Acquired: 2/16/2013, Longhorn Neighborhood Foundation Bowling Tournament

Raul was the last autograph that I got from the LNF Bowling Tourney. It was one of the more memorable ones as Rod Babers came up and harassed Allegre about his picture on the back of his 1989 Score Supplemental card. He laughed and remarked about how young he looked, and Rod told Raul’s son that he looked just like him. Raul is an extremely active member of the NFLPA and is Vice President of the Austin chapter. He’s an ESPN Deportes commentator and has also handled the color commentary for Monday Night Football in Espanol.

Raul Allegre excelled at soccer in high school, which led him to become a kicker in football. He attended Montana and then later the University of Texas where he was 67/69 on extra points and 28/46 on field goals. A free agent signee by the Colts in 1983, Allegre stepped in and actually went to the Pro Bowl following the 1985 season going 16 of 26 on field goals and 36 of 39 on extra points. Following the 1985 season, Allegre lost a pitched training camp battle to Dean Biasucci. He did not see action until midway through the 1986 season, when he was an injury replacement for the New York Giants. He held the position down with the Giants through their 1986 and 1990 titles. He was notable during his stint with the Giants for his accuracy under pressure. Cut in 1991, he quickly signed with the Jets, but retired in 1992 after losing out to Jason Staurovsky in training camp, citing lingering back injuries. In 1992 he briefly entertained a comeback with the Houston Oilers and was considered for the kicker job there, but lost out to Al Del Greco. Raul is a member of the original Tecmo Bowl as the Giants’ kicker.

G/Gs  92/92    XPA  190    XPM 183   Pct 96.3%     FGA 186    FGM 137    PCT 73.7%    Pts 594

NFL

Smith, Kevin “Pup” (2)

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Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, Star Pics 1992, GameDay 1992, SkyBox 1992
Acquired: 2013, Paid Signing via Houston Dallas Cowboys Fan Club
See Also: Kevin Smith “Pup”

gday92 ksmithOccasionally I’ll see a paid signing I want to get in on the ground floor at, and although I had the pleasure of getting Smith on a previous opportunity at Dallas Cowboys Training Camp way, way back in 1992, there were still quite a few cards I had of him that I wanted to grace with his autograph. These 4 cards represent my favorite sets at that time. Action Packed had these embossed edges that really made the cards pop with the strength that symbolized football. Their smaller Rookies set was a no brainer for me since it was easier to collect on the stiff price point of 2.25 per pack that included 5 cards in it. GameDay was just a beautiful set. It pretty much embodied everything I liked but its most outstanding feature was the ‘tall boy’ look that made these cards look like game tickets. Star Pics was a good college card. Unfortunately they over anticipated demand for their product. They were quickly ousted from the market, but their 1992 set was a beauty from its clean white edges to the strong player photos. Skybox on the other hand made a late splash to an already clogged market. With ProSet, Topps, Upper Deck, Fleer, and Score all fighting for a slice of the pie along with these lesser names above, Skybox had carved a niche in the basketball market and set its sights on football. It’s 1992 and subsequent 1992-1993 set were absolute models of beauty and simplicity. The base impact set from 1992 with its bold type gives the card a very poster like feel, while its action photos are some of the clearest in the market from that period. I was really happy to get these 4 signed by Kevin. For the most part I’m pretty much done with the ex-Aggie and Dallas Cowboy, unless there is a free signing there I just happen to be at.

aprks92 ksmithAn inductee of the Museum of the Gulf Coast, Kevin was not only a talented football player, but also a talented athlete playing basketball, baseball, and sprinkling in a bit of track too. During his time at A&M Smith during his Sophomore year intercepted a pass in every home game for the Aggies, including a 40 yard pick of LSU’s Tommy Hodson that Pup returned to the house. He finished that year with 9 interceptions. Kevin was named to the All-SWC team 3 times and played on some of the last great Aggie teams in the SWC before being taken by the Cowboys with their #1 pick of the 1992 draft. Injuries derailed what could have been an impactful career as Smith retired during the 2000 season, but he’s done a lot of things since including a brief stay as a color commentator for the Aggies.

College Football HoF, NFL

Thompson, Anthony

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Cards: Pro Set 1990 MAW, Action Packed Rookies 1990
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent:  7/6    Received: 1/28/14   (206 days)

pho athompson2A two time Big 10 rushing champion, Anthony Thompson put the Indiana Hoosiers football program briefly back on the map with his solid NCAA career from 1986-1989. He’d finish second in the Heisman Trophy race in 1989 to Andre Ware, but win the Maxwell Award after finishing his senior season with 358 carries for 1,793 yards, and 24 TDs rushing.   Anthony amassed 5,299 yards and 67 rushing TDs, including an NCAA single game record of 377 yards rushing against Wisconsin in 1989, breaking the record held by Rueben Mayes and Mike Pringle.  His 67 rushing TDs were at the time an NCAA record as well, but have both been since surpassed.

A deeply pious individual, Anthony never knew his patience would be so tested at the pro level. The 1990 draft was considered to be a decent followup to the 1989 blockbuster, and runningback was a pretty deep class. It’s amazing looking back at how Thompson was the 8th RB taken off the board- at only the 31st overall pick (2nd round). The Cardinals were a team mired in misery. The punching bag of the NFC East, Phoenix had not had a runningback rush for over a 1,000 yards since Ottis Anderson was jettisonedpho athompson1 in favor of Stump Mitchell back in ’85. Thompson was immediately pencilled in as the starter, but as a contract holdout dragged on, a late start allowed 7th round pick Johnny Johnson usurped the starting role. There were flashes from Anthony when Johnson was not in the lineup, as Thompson averaged over 100 yards per game for a 3 game stretch his rookie year, but outside of that, it was a frustrating campaign in Phoenix. Anthony was released by the Cardinals during the third week of the 1992 season.  Given an audition by the Los Angeles Rams, he suited up for 7 games for the team that year, but played primarily on the scout team. He’d be waived by the team in 1994, but not before he was immortalized in Tecmo Super Bowl.

pset90 athompson MAXAnthony eventually went back to college and finished his Batchelor’s of General Science in 2002, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007. He currently is a Pastor in Indiana.

A class act all the way around, Anthony actually sent me a manila envelope with my cards and the two additional photo cards covering his career at Indiana. It may have taken sometime, but it was totally worth it considering the return.

G/Gs  37/7    Rush  251    Yds 831    Avg 3.3     Td 6      Lg 40   |
Rec   14      Yds  74      Avg 5.3     Td 0    Lg 14

 

Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.