Tag Archives: action packed 1992

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL, usfl

Walker, Herschel

Cards: Action Packed 1991, Action Packed Rookies 1992, Pro Set 1991 Heisman Heroes, Score 1989, Score 1990 Ground Force
Acquired: In Person 1994, 1997, Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp.  TTM, 2011. C/o Home
Sent: 1/13/11    Received: 7/5/11  (173 days)

Herschel Walker? In my estimates of some of the great runningbacks in football, I would say I was enthralled by Herschel Walker. I knew who Herschel was before I even watched football. A record breaking machine for the Georgia Bulldogs in college, Walker would be a 3 time All American and win the Heisman in 1982. Herschel was a shrewd businessman, and realized that with the advent of the upstart USFL he could effectively carve his own destiny and make more money off of endorsements. Plus without rules regarding underclassmen, Herschel could declare for the USFL draft as a Junior- something he couldn’t do in the NFL. With that being said, Walker would be drafted by the New Jersey Generals of the USFL in 1983.  He’d go on to crush opposing defenses winning the rushing title in both 1983 and 1985 before the league dissolved. In the meantime however, the Dallas Cowboys waited, dropping a 5th round choice on Walker suspecting it would just be a matter of time.

Herschel would join the Cowboys in 1987, and go onto etch his name into the Cowboys faithful minds for years to come not only for his incredible play of which he’d earn ProBowl berths in 1987 and 1988 – but for what would later come to be known as “The Trade”.

The Minnesota Vikings believed they needed one more piece in order to get to the SuperBowl, and in 1989 the Cowboys were looking to rebound from a 3-13 season. Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones found the offer from the Vikings too good to pass up. Without going into details the final totals were astounding. The Vikings would trade the Cowboys 5 players, and 8 draft choices – including 3 first round choices over the next 3 years. Minnesota in return got Walker, 2 3rd round choices, a 5 round choice and a 10th round choice. The implications were far reaching and would set the foundation for the Cowboys championship runs. Looking back in retrospect, it’s hard not to see that Herschel took the trade hard. In the end he was treated as a commodity and his Viking tenure was filled with pressure as being the hailed savior of the franchise.

Walker had just come off a 1500 + yard season rushing for the Cowboys and the Vikings were struggling on the ground.  Inexplicably the Vikings really couldn’t figure out the right way to use Herschel even though he was utilized on kick returns and also as a running back, – he became the butt of jokes in Minnesota. After a failed suicide attempt (by carbon monoxide poisoning) the writing was on the wall for the franchise, and by 1992 the Vikings cut Walker.

Immediately the Eagles came calling with fans hailing Walker as their savior. Walker would not disappoint rushing for over a 1000 yards for the Eagles and posting another 200 plus yards receiving in 1992- his best rushing effort since leaving Dallas. Walker would stay with Philadelphia another 2 years afterwards where I’d get his autograph in West Chester at Eagles training camp that year.

Walker would sign in 1995 with the Giants as a free agent and play one non-descrpit season there before returning home to the Cowboys in 1996. The Cowboys would put him to use as a fullback his final two seasons, where I’d get his autograph in 1997 at Berger stadium (next to Michael Irvin), before he retired.

One wonders how Herschel would have been remembered if he did not go to the USFL or if Michael Irvin was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders instead (as was originally rumored). Combining his numbers from his years in the USFL with his NFL numbers, Walker ranks 5th all time on the rushing list. Herschel also holds the all time record for rushing yards in a football season with 2411 yards. In 1999 he was inducted into the College Football HoF, is widely regarded as the best runningback in the history of college football, had his number retired at Georgia and wrote an autobiography. One of my favorite athletes, (-and easily my favorite Cowboy,) I even owned Herschel’s Starting Lineup figurine. If you played the original Tecmo Bowl, all you could do with the Cowboys is run with Herschel, and that gave you a leg up on the puny Colts. The 1991 offering of Tecmo Super Bowl endeared him to us as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. Despite his popularity Walker has remained a stalwart TTM signer, and I got his autographs on the Pro Set 1991 Heisman Heroes, Score 1990 Ground Force, and Score 1989 cards in 173 days.

Herschel at the time of his retirement minus his USFL numbers, was ranked 3rd in total yards from scrimmage with 18,168 combined yards rushing, receiving, and kick returning. Including his USFL numbers, Walker would hold the combined yards from scrimmage number with an additional 7,115 yards. He is also one of a select few players to have a touchdown rushing, receiving and kick returning, all of over 90 yards.

Walker is a through and through athlete. He remains in peak physical shape, and has over the years participated in the Winter Olympics, is a 5th degree blackbelt, and recently taken up mixed martial arts winning by TKO his first two matches.

NFL
G/Gs  187/138   Att 1954   Yds  8225    Avg 4.2   Td  61    Lg 91 |
Rec 512    Yds  4859     Avg  9.5    Td  21   Lg  93 |
Kr  215    Yds 5084     Avg  23.6    Td   2    Lg  94

NFL

Okoye, Christian “The Nigerian Nightmare”

Cards: ProSet 1990 PB, ProSet 1990 LL, Score 1990 HC, Score 1990 GF, Action Packed 1992
Acquired: In Person 2011, Okoye Youth Sports Clinic
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o The Okoye Foundation

The last time I attempted to get Christian’s autograph was in February of 2010. He’d be the first RTS I’d notch on my way back into the collecting field. I really wanted to get his Pro Set 1990 LL card, Score 1990 Hot Card, and his Score 1990 Ground Force cards signed. I put the cards back into my box and forgot about them. I recently decided to do some volunteer work since this job market has been so frustrating. After doing a bit of research I recalled that Christian had a youth skills camp that he runs in Rancho Cucamonga- which is literally down the road from Pasadena. I shot his foundation off an email and asked them how I could volunteer and I received a fairly prompt response and soon I was in contact with Christian himself- which felt really odd- since he was an amazing runningback for the Chiefs back in the late 80s and early 90s.

I worked at the youth skills camp on June 19th and was able to grab his autographs on these cards after doing a lot of just different general things to help out. I was basically a jack of all trades, taking photos, helping with set up, and providing Christian a marker to autograph kids shirts with. I was amazed at how many kids didn’t know who he was or that he played professional football. When I broke it to them who he was they reacted with surprised glee. The whole process was very rewarding for me as I met a couple of players and shot the breeze with Chris Hale, Ricky Ellis, and Derrick Harvey (RB San Diego St) about a variety of things from the Houston Oilers being a horrible organization to player benefits pre 1990. There’s just this worthwhile feeling I got from watching these kids learn from professional players drills, secrets of the game, and general words of encouragement.  It was also nice feeling helpful and useful, but it was odd to have Christian ask me for my phone number so we could brainstorm some things for him in the future.

Christian Okoye was born in Nigeria where he came to the United States to run track at Azusa Pacific. Initially, he really didn’t care for American football, but when his nation refused to accept him for the Nigerian Olympic team, he channeled that frustration into pummeling opponents on the gridiron. Okoye was a surprising combination of power and speed, reminiscent of powerback Earl Campbell, and would be drafted in the 2nd round of the 1987 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. (Brent Fullwood, DJ Dozier, Roger Vick, Paul Palmer, Kenny Flowers and Terrance Flagler would all come off the board before Okoye’s name was called.)

Okoye would have a subpar rookie season in 1987, rushing for 660 yards. In 1988, despite injuries, he’d pull in another 473.  With the hiring of Marty Schottenheimer in 1989, Okoye would explode out of the gates, leading the NFL in rushing and narrowly beating out rookie Barry Sanders for the NFL rushing title with 1480 yards. He would also lead the NFL in carries with 370, and be named to the ProBowl and All Pro after the season. 1990 would see Christian again limited by injuries rushing for 805 yards, but he’d rebound in 1992 with 1031 yards and another ProBowl nod. In his final season in 1993 Okoye would be limited to primarily goal line situations, and retire after the season after 6 seasons as the franchise’s all time leading rusher (since surpassed).

When I met Christian I mentioned Tecmo Super Bowl to him, he told me that he was aware of the game. I explained to him that in the game that he was virtually unstoppable and  he just tossed players aside on the field like rag dolls, which he found to be pretty funny. Blessed with good speed and tied for the highest hitting power in the game at a whopping 94, you just had to select Okoye plays on defense to keep him from scoring. He was truly a Tecmo Super Bowl legend.

Since retirement Okoye has retired to the Rancho Cucamonga area. He is the president of the California Sports Hall of Fame, runs the Christian Okoye Foundation and also is very active on the NFL Alumni circuit. He also remains one of the most popular and requested Chiefs for public speaking and appearances.

G/Gs 79/65     Att 1246        Yds 4897        Avg  3.9          Td  40        Lg  59   |
Rec 42       Yds 294      Avg  7.0       Td 0      Lg  22

Here are the photos from the 2011 Okoye Youth Skills day I was at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wleebolton


NFL

Lathon, Lamar

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1990, Action Packed 1992, SkyBox 1992
Acquired: In Person 1992, 1993, 1994, Houston Oilers Training Camp
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

Lamar Lathon was a fearsome linebacker who came through the University of Houston in the waning days of the Southwest Conference. Lamar was a devastating force in 1988, but his 1989 was ended by a car accident. He’d recover in time for the 1990 draft and along with fellow Houston Cougar Andre Ware – Lamar would be drafted in the first round. Lamar was a target of Jimmy Johnson and the Cowboys, but Lathon ended up the first draft choice of Houston Oilers head coach Jack Pardee who insisted he’d beef up the defensive side of the front with his athletic ability. Lamar would suffer a setback and pretty much his 1990 season would be a wash as he needed arthroscopic knee surgery. Many pundits immediately labeled him ‘a bust’, but Lamar would prove them all aprk90 la lathonwrong with his dominant 1991 season. I have two fond memories of his time in Houston. The first was against Cincinnati in Riverfront Stadium. The Bengals always had the Oilers number at home, but the Oilers would come out and crush the Bengals from the opening whistle. To seal the victory Lamar would have a critical interception he’d return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. He’d also slam the door on Sammie Smith‘s career with a forced fumble he recovered at the 1 yard line against the Dolphins. Later on in the season the Oilers would play host to the Cowboys in overtime when Lamar stripped Emmitt Smith (fellow 1990 draftee) of the football. The Oilers were able to drive the other direction and score the game winning field goal. (Josh never forgave me for that game.)  Lamar would play for the team through 1994 (at outside linebacker and defensive end) until Jack Pardee was fired as coach. With Jeff Fisher in place- the Oilers would go in a different direction and Lathon would sign with the Carolina Panthers in 1995.

He’d have his best statistical years since 1991 with the Panthers, as Dom Capers 3-4 blitzing defenses really suited Lamar’s speed. ap91 la lathonHe’d rack up 8 sacks in 1995 and in 1996 have 13.5, and was named to the Pro Bowl. He’d play only two games in 1998 and then retire from a fractured right knee and was released. In 2001 he attempted a comeback (citing a burning desire to play) and had tryouts and physicals with the Cowboys, Colts, and 49ers, and Giants but was not signed by any squad. Since football Lamar has dealt with some setbacks and minor run-ins with the law.

I really wanted to get Lamar’s autograph (on his Score and ProSet 1990 Rookie cards as they look downright intimidating), but have not heard back from him. I’ll probably try him again once I get a good address or a confirmation of a recent success.

G/Gs 115/92      Tac  414       Sac 37.5     Fum 8
Int  4     Yds 78    Avg 19.4      Td   1     Lg  52t