Tag Archives: action packed rookies 1991

NFL

Higgs, Mark

GameDay 1992, #247
Action Packed 1992, #148
Action Packed Rookies 1991, #75
Skybox Premium 1993, #27
Skybox 1992, #98

CARDS: Skybox Premium 1993, Skybox 1992, Action Packed Rookies 1991, Action Packed 1992, Gameday 1992
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, 2024, C/o Home.
SENT: 9/24/20 RECEIVED: 10/3/20 (9 Days)
SENT: 3/21/24 RECEIVED: 4/5/24 (15 Days)
FAILURE: TTM 2017, C/o Home

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Mark Higgs played RB from 1984-’87 for the Kentucky Wildcats.
  • In his senior season he ran for 1,278 yards on 193 carries.
  • He finished his career at Owensboro with 2,892 rushing yards- good for second all-time on the school’s rushing list.
  • Originally a 8th round choice of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1988 NFL Draft.
  • Buried on the depth chart and relegated to special teams his first 3 years in the NFL playing for the Cowboys (’88), Eagles (’89), and Dolphins (’90).
  • His first TD was a blocked punt he returned 19 yards for a TD against the Patriots in 1990.
  • He’d finally get his shot starting at RB in 1991, in place of Sammie Smith, running for 146 yards in the season opener.
  • The following week Higgs ran for 111 yards, marking the first back to back 100 yard performance by a Dolphins RB since ’82.
  • He finished the season with 231 carries for 905 yards and 4 TDs- the highest season total by a Dolphin since… 1978.
  • Mark topped those numbers in 1992, running for 915 yards and 7 rushing TDs.
  • Starting in 8 contests in 1993, Mark ran for 693 yards and 3 TDs primarily in a backup role behind Terry Kirby.
  • During the 1994 season he’d be cut and sign with the Arizona Cardinals.
  • After spending the majority of the 1995 season on IR due to a back injury, Mark opted to retire.

ACCOLADES:

  • University of Kentucky Hall of Fame 2006

NOTES:

Mark missed out on Pro Set 1989, but he sure did make up for it with a bevvy of set needs in Skybox, Gameday, and Action Packed sets. He provided a nice shot in the arm along with the rejuvenation of the Dolphins offensive line to buy Dan Marino a few more injury free years.

I finally got Mark back in 2020, and then realized I didn’t ask him for his autograph on his Skybox card. Time flew by really quickly after that and I lost track of sending out to him again for it. In the meantime the premium set from the year afterwards became more interesting to me, so it made a lot of sense to send both of them out together.

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NFL

Washington, Ted ‘Big Ted’

Action Packed Rookies 1991, #24

CARD: Action Packed Rookies 1991
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2023

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Big Ted Washington played defensive line for Louisville finishing with 297 total tackles, 27 sacks, 1 FF, and 1 INT.
  • He’d be selected at the bottom of round one by the San Fransisco 49ers in 1991.
  • Washington made his time primarily at NT, before hopping over to DT in ’93.
  • He’d be traded to the Broncos in 1994, where Ted showed glimpses of what he could do- just from the NT position.
  • It’d be in ’95 Ted transitioned to Buffalo, where he established himself as one of the most dominant NT of the 90s.
  • He’d play 6 seasons there for the Bills, posting 378 total tackles, and 19.5 sacks.
  • Big Ted hopped over to the Bears in 2001- anchoring their line through the 2002 season at DT, thus beginning Ted’s hired gun phase of his career.
  • Ted from here played a season with New England in 2003, Oakland in ’04-’05, closing out his career in ’06-’07 as a member of the Browns.

ACCOLADES:

  • Pro Bowl 1997-’98, 2000- ’01
  • All-Pro 2001

NOTES:

Big Ted doesn’t really sign through the mail so I decided to pick up this set need via EBay. I was comfortable picking up this autograph since it was from a collector located in Buffalo.

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NFL

Jefferson, Shawn

CARD: Action Packed Rookies 1991
ACQUIRED: 2023, Consignment
FAILURE: TTM 2015, C/o Tennessee Titans

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Shawn Jefferson played college ball at UCF from 1988-1990.
  • He caught 67 passes for 1087 yards and 11 TDs over his college career.
  • Boasting a 4.45 40, Shawn was a 9th round pick of the Houston Oilers in 1991.
  • He was traded almost immediately to the San Diego Chargers along with a #1 pick in exchange for DE Lee Williams.
  • He played the next 5 seasons with the Chargers, and had two back to back 40+ catch, 620+ yard seasons.
  • Shawn joined the Patriots in 1996, and immediately bested those numbers.
  • In 1997, he had a career high 841 yards.
  • In 1998, Shawn posted a league leading 22.7 yards per reception (34 catches).
  • He’d sign with the Atlanta Falcons in 2000, and post a career high 60 receptions (822 yards).
  • Played with the Detroit Lions in 2003.
  • Finished career with 13 years under his belt, 470 receptions, and over 7k yards- Pretty good for a 9th round pick.
  • Went into coaching, working his way up with the Lions to the wide receivers coach position (2006-2012).
  • Served in same capacity with the Tennessee Titans from 2013-15, the Miami Dolphins (2016-18), New York Jets (2019-20), Cardinals (2021-22), and currently the Panthers (2023).
  • At all his more recent stops, (Jets, Cardinals, Panthers) Shawn has also been an associate/assistant head coach in addition to his wide receivers coaching duties.

NOTES:

I’d swear, I’ve tried Shawn at least 3 times, but the tape doesn’t lie. I just flushed cards on him once, back in 2015. I went ahead and did a consignment to knock him out at last.

The Action Packed Rookies 1991 card of him was one of my favorites. When the Oilers drafted him, I thought he had outstanding potential, so needless to say when Bobby Beathard shrewdly peeled him off the Oilers along with a first round pick in exchange for DE Lee Williams, I was still a bit disappointed, as I thought Jefferson was having a pretty good preseason.

Shawn talked a lot of smoke during his early days with the Chargers. -And when he mocked the Oilers, before their meeting in 1992, he became bulletin board material in Houston’s locker room. The Oilers would pummel the Chargers 27-0.

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