That thine alms may be in secret: and. thy Father which seeth in secret. himself shall reward thee openly.
-Matt 6:4
Thatif thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
-Romans 10:9
NOTES:
Purely needing Eugene on a few more set needs, I decided to hit him up again after a few years for them. The Action Packed cards are particularly beautiful.
Cards: Action Packed Whizzer White Award 1991, Topps Stadium Club 1992, Fleer 1990 Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home Sent: 3/8 Received: 4/2 (25 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Mike Kenn was a highly regarded lineman who played at Michigan from 1975-1977.
He was the Atlanta Falcons #1 pick in 1978, and was almost immediately slotted in at tackle.
He improved his overall strength and technique over the next few seasons.
By 1979, he went without penalty for the entire season, and earned numerous accolades.
Amazingly, Kenn went 26 in a row eventually without penalty.
Started 94 games in a row (including playoffs) before tearing up his knee in 1985.
Kenn retired after the 1994 season.
Over his career Mike was a part of an offensive line that set and broke team records for rushing yards and least sacks allowed in a season multiple times.
He played his entire career with the Atlanta Falcons: 17 seasons, 251 games started.
ACCOLADES:
All Rookie team 1978
First team AP 1980, ’83, ’91
Second team AP 1981, ’82
Pro Bowl 1980-’84
Polish Sports Hall of Fame
Byron Whizzer White Man of the Year 1990
Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor
Topps Stadium Club 1992, #157Fleer 1990, #380
NOTES:
Despite Mike’s utterly dominating resume, he’s rarely ever come up for consideration into the Pro Football Hall of Fame- An absolute injustice. It’s perhaps a side effect of playing for some absolutely terrible Falcons teams during long stretches of the 80’s that kept him under the radar, but in actual professional football circles, he’s considered one of the finest to play tackle in league history.
Great cards here. I wanted to get him on his Whizzer White Action Packed and Fleer cards, but the Stadium Club entry here is really well constructed. A simple design, but really good photography with just the right color.
Long returned in time for the 2015 season, but was released in a cost saving move by the Rams.
He signed a one year contract with the Falcons.
In 2016, Jake briefly flirted with Baltimore, but ended up in Minnesota.
He’d tear his Achilles in week 10 ending his season.
Long retired during the 2017 offseason.
NOTES:
I had been meaning to get back to Jake for a while after getting a freebee back in 2014. I think I’d been kicking the tires on him for 3 to 4 years, so it makes sense he’s the first calendar success of 2023.
These Upper Deck cards- meh- they’re okay, but they were better than the junk that was designed for the ’08 season. The Score ’09 was definitely a set need, while the Topps 2014 was the slow evolution of the product from I think 2011. The design started resembling more of a fender, but eh I’m sorta okay with that. I thought it’d be nice to get one of him in his Rams attire- even if it is St. Louis.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
