Card: Sage 2014 Acquired: 2016, Box Breaker See Also: Kareem Martin
Kareem Martin slowly blossomed into his game after he transitioned to outside linebacker in the pros. He saw limited playtime early in his career in Arizona, starting 10 games at outside linebacker and defensive end in 2017. He finished the season with 23 combined tackles, 2 tackles for losses, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and 3 pass deflections. The Giants snapped up Kareem during free agency and penciled him in as a starter at outside linebacker in their revamped defense. He finished 2018 with 48 combined tackles, 2 pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, and 10 quarterback hits in 7 starts. Martin was injured during week 1 of the 2019 campaign, and was cut at the end of the season. During 2020, Kareem was a depth signee by the Detroit Lions, seeing brief action with the team but not recording any stats. Currently he’s a free agent.
Card: Wild Card World League 1992 Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Work Sent: 9/16 Received: 10/8 (22 days)
A four-year starter at right guard for USC from 1987 to 1990, Mark Tucker was selected in the 7th round of the 91 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons spending most of the year on the practice squad. The next year he joined the Colts in a similar capacity and then was allocated to the Frankfurt Galaxy of the World League where he spent a season with the squad in 1992.
After the World League reorganized, Mark joined the Arizona Cardinals, playing for them the next two seasons (1993-1994). In the meantime, Mark moonlighted on ‘American Gladiators’ as an injury replacement gladiator named ‘Rebel’. His interesting career journey continued from there spending a season with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an expansion selection in 95. With the following season under his belt with the New Orleans Saints in 96, Tucker decided to take his talents to the Arena Football League, playing for the Arizona Rattlers. He experienced his best football years with the franchise, and played from 1997 to 2006 with the squad.
Mark quickly jumped into coaching offensive and defensive lines for the Rattlers, and then later the New Orleans Voodoo. He moved to the high school ranks, where he has become an acclaimed position coach over the last 20 years.
I have been angling to add Ken Harvey to my collection for a very long time. It wasn’t because of his playing career as much as the places we both came from. Heck he and I technically grew up in the same neighborhood since his high school was right down the street from me. Heck he even quit school briefly as he fell in with the wrong crowd briefly, and worked at Fuddruckers over on Anderson Rd in The Village across from Northcross Mall.
I probably even frequented it a kid about the time he worked there. I remembered not being fond of their liquid cheese, and sitting under these giant canvas military grade tents on the patio eating a giant burger with my parents. Anyway, it’s all long gone- even Northcross Mall which is now a mini-Walmart.
Ken got his act together, went back and finished high school and was snatched up by the California Golden Bears. After an impressive college career playing linebacker at Cal wrapped up in 1987, Ken was selected in the first round of the 1988 Draft by the Phoenix Cardinals. – It wasn’t hailed as such a big deal back then, even though being from Austin and being a ‘small town’ kid making it big in the NFL, especially from my neighborhood should’ve been. When I got his first couple of football cards, I was very excited. – I mean here was a player I had a personal connection to from a location basis. We walked the same streets. We had been in the same 7-11’s- maybe to buy those same cherry Slurpees, nachos, and a pack of football cards or two. – Well maybe not the nachos for him but- he immediately became relatable.
Ken played six seasons with the woeful Cards at right outside linebacker. He put up some solid numbers over that period, recording 120 tackles in 1989 and 10 sacks in 1990. I seem to remember he had a falling out in 1993 with the club, signing with the division rival Washington Redskins in 1994. From 1994-1997 Ken was considered one of the most dominant linebackers of the NFC East. He’d earn a Pro Bowl nod in each of those seasons, recording a career high 13.5 sacks in that ’94 campaign. He’d call it a career shortly before the beginning of the 1999 season.
Ken has been honored by the Redskins as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins, and was inducted into the club’s Ring of Fame. He also has received a couple of nominations for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He currently lives in the DC area and has had an interesting post-professional playing career, working for the Redskins, writing for the Washington Post, and training aspiring tourists to become astronauts. He wrote a very nice note to accompany my cards, saying it’d be an honor to sign them.
G/GS
TAC
SAC
FUM
164/135
828
89.0
15
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
1
2
2.0
0
2
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
