Tag Archives: Dallas Cowboys

Wright, Alexander (2)

Pro Set 1990, #695

CARDS: Pro Set 1990, Score Supplemental 1990, Score 1990
ACQUIRED: TTM 2023, C/o Home
SENT: 3/16/23 RECEIVED: 3/15/23 (364 Days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

Joe, sent me a pack of Score 1990. Inside was this rookie card of Alexander Wright. It was in such fresh condition, it still had some ‘printer’s artifact dust’ on the front of the card. It brought back some memories of going to Cowboys training camp and hustling for autographs.

It seemed serendipitous that I noticed that Wright was signing TTM around that time. He hadn’t done so for many years, so I fired these three out, and thought I’d have them back within a few weeks or something, but it appears I was at the bottom of the mailbag as he kept getting more and more, signing after 11-15 days, while mine languished for a year. Patience pays off however.

Wright had a penchant for signing ‘ACE’, his nickname on his card instead of his full name. I remember the horror fans had when he’d do this at training camp, and when he was asked, he’d rebuff the request. So to see him now sign his full name, I’m good for that on these cards.

Higgs, Mark

GameDay 1992, #247

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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Johnston, Daryl ‘Moose’ (5)

Playoff 1993, #129

CARDS: Playoff 1993, Pro Set 1993, Topps Finest 1997
ACQUIRED: In Person, 2024

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

Daryl Johnston is now the defacto point man for the unified USFL/XFL. I think it’s great he loves the sport so much. I appreciate his insightfulness and willingness to throw himself in there. I wasn’t sure what direction he’d go in after the dissolution of the AAF, as I thought he could move into an NFL executive role already, but he seems quite good at- and happy working with the UFL promoting the spring league.

He came down to San Antonio and talked to us about the Brahmas and the merged league. Afterwards he and Wade stood around and signed autographs and took photos. My friend Brandon and I bode our time and eventually we were able to snag him on most or all the items we wanted. I think that I’m finally running dry on things to get Daryl to sign. As a fullback during the 90s even there was an eventual finite level of cards I’d hit that I wanted to have him autograph.