Tag Archives: action packed rookies 1990

NFL

Montgomery, Alton

aprks90 montgomeryCards: Action Packed Rookies 1990, Score Supplemental 1990, Score 1990
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent:  1/22     Received: 1/31  (9 days)

Alton Montgomery played collegiately for the University of Houston during the final years of the SWC, garnering a reputation as a physical headhunting defender, and earning a nomination for the Jim Thorpe Award. A first team SWC choice in 1988 and 1989, he played his first two years at Northwest Missississippi Junior College where he made 14 interceptions. Montgomery is well remembered for the curbstomping that Houston inflicted on the University of Texas that year; A game in which he recorded 10 tackles, 4 sacks, and 4 hits behind the line in a 47-9 drubbing. He also had a memorable 72 yard interception return of a Timm Rosenbach pass in the 1988 Aloha Bowl against Washington State.

Montgomery parlayed his accolades into a late second round pick of the Denver Broncos in the 1990 draft. The pick seemed a slightlysco90 montgomery odd one, as the team was already set with Dennis Smith and Steve Atwater playing safety, so the team listed him as ‘defensive back’ initially before officially giving him a cornerback designation. Montgomery’s combine results showed that he had great change of direction, which led scouts to peg him as an excellent man to man defender. He came along quickly as a rookie, as he racked up 37 tackles, and intercepted 2 passes to tie for the team lead. Montgomery also saw some spot time at returner, averaging 20.4 yards on 14 returns, including a 59 yarder. Over the next two seasons the team used him sparingly at defensive back and more for the return game.  As the team cleaned house after the departure of Dan Reeves in 1992, Montgomery hit the free agency market and signed with the Atlanta Falcons, playing there through 1995.  He is best known by Falcons fans, for returning a Scott Mitchell interception 71 yards for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions as the team won 34-22 in his final season in the league. Currently, he lives in the greater Atlanta area and works in human resources.

sco90sup montgomeryAlton is another member of the Action Packed Rookies 1990 club that I was after. I was pleased to add Montgomery to the Hall in a very short amount of time. An absolutely marvelous photo of the safety probably doing punt return duties, the autograph really shows up well on the embossed and dark canvas. The Score 1990 card shows him in his college threads, and while it is not in an action pose, it still resonates a strong presence with Montgomery’s stance. Alton’s Score Supplemental 1990 card is an exciting one, and easily stood out from what felt like an inferior Pro Set offering.

G/Gs  68/6     Tac  114    Sac 3.0   Int 3     Yds 114    Avg  38.0      Td   1    Lg 71t
Kr  65        Yds  1351         Avg 20.8        Td 0       Lg 64

 

CFL, College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFLE

Ware, Andre “Air Ware”

pset90 wareCards: Pro Set 1990 Heisman Winner, Pro Set 1991 Heisman Hero, Score 1990, Action Packed Rookies 1990
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 9/7     Received: 12/12   (96 days)

Way back in the days of the SWC (SouthWestern Conference) the Houston Cougars were continually struggling for attention under the heels of the traditional powerhouses of the conference. While peppering occasional league titles and bowl appearances, the team went some 10 years without a top 25 finish from the late 70s through the mid-late 80s. It’d be with the arrival of Jack Pardee that the team experienced a renaissance, and return to the national stage. Andre Ware stepped up at quarterback to command Pardee’s Run ‘N Shoot offense in 1989. Despite being under pressure from NCAA sanctions limiting scholarships, and a bowl and TV ban, the Coogs posted a 9-2 record.  Ware lit the offensive record books on fire, including a 95-21 drubbing of SMU, where Andre threw 6 TDs in one quarter. Andre went on to set 13 NCAA records, including most yards passing in a season (4,699),pset91 ware HH while his 46 TD passes fell one short of Jim McMahon‘s record. Ware won the Heisman in 1989 after the season during 4th closest vote- ahead of RB Anthony Thompson (Indiana),  QB Major Harris (West Virginia), and QB Tony Rice (Notre Dame).  Initially Ware intended to stay for his Senior season at UH, but with Jack Pardee bolting for the Houston Oilers down the street- Andre changed his mind and declared for the 1990 NFL draft.

When the draft rolled around I had hoped the Oilers would take Ware to become quarterback Warren Moon‘s heir apparent but Andre did not last long enough for the Houston to nab him. The Lions took Ware at #7. (The Oilers later in the round took another UH alum instead- linebacker Lamar Lathon.)

The Lions ran the ‘Silver Stretch’ Run ‘N Shoot variant under head coach Wayne Fontes, and offensive coordinator Mouse Davis. At quarterback the team had Rodney Peete, and Bob Gagliano, but the Lions were truly built to run with Barry Sanders in the backfield. Ware only started 1 game over the next two seasonssco90 ware rarely getting a chance behind Peete and later Erik Kramer. He was rumored to have alienated players and coaches with his attitude, but Ware, just wanted to play. The Oilers in the meantime attempted to trade Cody Carlson on two occasions to the Lions for Ware, but failed.

After the 1994 season, Andre began the journeyman phase of his career. Over the next few years, Ware saw offseason stops with the Vikings, Raiders, and expansion Jaguars, before finally landing in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1995. Later he signed with the BC Lions in 1996, and then found himself backing up Doug Flutie on the Grey Cup Championship winning Toronto Argos in 1997.

Andre last played football in 1999 for the Berlin Thunder in the NFLE, finally retiring after the season due to a fractured shoulder.

Andre has kept to his hometown area, working in the Houston media. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He currently works for the Houston Texans as a radio color analyst.

Ware marks another in a long line of players that I really wanted on aprks90 waretheir cards. With an abundance of amazing shots, it is easy to notice that many of the companies had Andre tabbed as one of the next big superstars and did not want to have their set left in the cold. I had previously attempted to get Andre through my Houston Texans connection, but that obviously failed when he was cut. It took me some time but with some responses popping up occasionally through sports collectors, I jumped at the opportunity to sign the former Cougars’ signal caller. I really couldn’t decide which cards to send to him. His ProSet 1990 Lions card, and Andre’s Score 1990 Supplemental card also deserved some mention along with these 4. Even his Pacific entry had a nice, dynamic look to it. Feeling guilty about sending these four cards, I sent a check for the autographs, but Andre voided the check, and signed and inscribed all of them, in a bit under 100 days.

G/Gs 14/6    Att 161   Comp 83     Yds 1116    Pct 51.6
Td 5   Int 8    Rat 79.4  |
Rush 38     Yds  217    Avg  5.7    Td 0    Lg 32

CFL 29     Att  252    Comp 134   Yds 1542   Pct 53.1    Td 10  Int 10  |
Rush 40   Yds 316    Avg 7.9      Td 1    Lg 39

WLAF    Att 121   Comp 54   Yds 715   Pct  44.6
Td  4   Int 4   Rat 61.1
Rush 16   Yds  170   Avg  10.6    Td 2     Lg 45

 

NFL

Hampton, Rodney

Cards: Score Supplemental 1990, Action Packed Rookies 1990, Action Packed 1991, Proset 1990
Acquired: In Person, 6/11/2012 Houston Fan Fest III
Failure: TTM, C/o Home 2010

Now I was absolutely giddy to get Rodney Hampton at Fan Fest.  I had just found a new address for him and was ready to drop $20 to get a few autographs from him TTM, but while I was preparing cards to be sent out in May, I saw an update to Fan Fest that had him included on the guest list and decided to get him in person instead. Again, Hampton marks another member of the Action Packed 1990 Rookies set that I am trying to complete out as thoroughly as possible, but in general he just had some great cards to get autographed from his rookie season, and I beat that dead horse to death going back a second time for 2 more autographs. Talking to him and the Ruben Studdard clone that was sitting next to him, I recalled his rookie season and how I had used him in the stone ages of Fantasy Football to wallop a friend.  Hampton had an incredible preseason game his rookie year and dismantled the Bills, breaking off some monster runs. I picked him up for the regular season contest and he didn’t disappoint rushing for a bit over 100 yards against them. I really enjoyed meeting him, and also had been talking to him through Sotl.com until they changed the format of the site.

Hampton was a member of the much ballyhooed runningback class of 1990. Among the group was Blair Thomas, Emmitt Smith, Darrell Thompson, and Steve Broussard, – all taken in the first round before the Giants selected Rodney with the 24th pick,  who needed a set of fresh legs to spot aging Ottis Anderson.  (There would be over 40 runningbacks taken in the 1990 NFL Draft.)

Rodney followed in the footsteps of guys like Herschel Walker at Georgia, and finished with 2,661 yards over 31 games for the Bulldogs, good enough for 2nd All-Time in the school annuls.  In 1987, he set a Georgia record with a whalloping 7.06 yard per carry average.

Hampton’s rookie season showed flashes of potential as he electrified the crowd taking his first carry of the preseason 89 yards against the Bills for a touchdown. I remember it, and it was one of the most impressionable carries I ever saw. Behind Ottis, Hampton played sparingly in 1990, registering a modest 455 yards rushing, 32 receptions, and playing sparingly on special teams.  After the season the Giants won SuperBowl XXV against the Bills. 1991 started a string of 5 straight 1000+ yard seasons, while the team went through transitions at both quarterback and fullback. In 1992 and 1993, Rodney got his due with Pro Bowl nominations as the team’s workhorse back. A consistent and thorough runner, Rodney played for the Giants through 1997 when injury sidelined him for all of 14 games of the season. With the signing of Gary Brown, Hampton essentially passed the torch to the team’s new runningback star, Tiki Barker. He would be a free agent and both the Cowboys and Cardinals expressed interest in him, but Rodney opted to retire instead.  At the time of his retirement, Hampton was the team’s All-Time leading rusher, but has since been surpassed.

One has to wonder how the record books would be written today if the Cowboys had taken Hampton over Emmitt Smith, as after the smoke cleared, Hampton emerged as the only back to challenge Smith from the 1990 draft pool.  In 8 seasons for the Giants, Rodney rushed for 6,897 yards and 49 scores.

Hampton at this time is heavily involved in after school and summer athletic camps for kids which are run in Houston, Atlanta, and Newark. You can visit Hamp’s Camp Inc at: www.hampscamp.com. He is also partnered with Player Protect- a company that employs police officers as escorts for NFL players. As quite the entrepeneur, Hampton is also an endorser of fitness equipment, charity events, strength and conditioning, and orthopedic surgeons. Rodney also remains an ardent supporter of Big Blue as a Giants Ambassador.

 
Absolutely love these cards. I am not sure when he started the practice, but for two of these you can see that Hampton, who loved
running through defenders, double cluched the ball.  In a bit under 2000 touches (rushing/receiving) Hampton only fumbled 18 times- a reliable and remarkably low .9 %.  Rodney was a dynamo in Tecmo Super Bowl on the Nintendo. I loved eating up the clock when I played against Josh, and Hampton was a monster for that. In Tecmo Super Bowl MI, Rodney rushed 10 times for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 2 receptions for 32 yards and a 3rd TD to stomp the hated Cowboys 32-26.

 

G/Gs 104/85      Rush 1824     Yds 6897      Avg  3.8     Td 49     Lg 63t |
Rec 174      Yds 1309       Avg 7.5    Td 2   lg 62