Tag Archives: Denver Broncos

NFL

Brooks, Michael

flr90 mbrooksCard: Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent:  3/16    Received: 4/23    (34 days)

One is better than none- I always say as Michael Brooks returned only this Fleer 1990 card from among the four cards I sent. You never know why he decided to only send one back, but I will assume that it is because he didn’t have the other cards in his personal collection.

Michael Brooks was a 3rd round pick of the Denver Broncos from the 1987 draft.  His draft stock plummeted after Michael had a major knee injury during his final year at LSU. It took Brooks some time to recover, and the Broncos brought him along slowly his rookie year.  Michael eventually made a really nice compliment to Karl Mecklenburg in the linebacking corps. From 1989 to 1992 Michael logged at least 120 tackles in each season, including 2 seasons with over 170 (1990- 175, 1992- 170).  He earned his only Pro Bowl appearance for his 1992 season.

Brooks career continued with the New York Giants in 1993, where he put together 3 more solid 90+ tackle seasons. He’d play 4 games in the 1996 for the Lions, retiring after the season. Brooks is immortalized in Tecmo Super Bowl, and was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

G/GS   138/113        TAC   962              SAC 7.0               FUM   9
INT 4          YDS  34          AVG 8.2          TD 0            LG 17

NFL

Davis, Eric

pset90 edavisaprks90 edavis

Cards: Proset 1990, Action Packed Rookies 1990
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent:  11/19/15   Received: 1/15/16   (57 days)

Eric Davis played college ball for Jacksonville State.  He was drafted in the second round by the San Fransisco 49ers in 1990.  At 5’11”,  185, Davis was considered undersized for the cornerback position, but quickly found himself chomping at the bit for a starting role.  Underrated, Davis was overshadowed by the bigger names in the 49ers secondary, that needed to be rebuilt after the departure of Ronnie Lott. Tim McDonald, Deion Sanders, and Merton Hanks all had impressive seasons in 1994, but it was Eric Davis that propelled the team to their Super Bowl win with his impressive playoff run- a season in which he had an NFL record interception in 5 straight playoff contests (spanning 93/94).  He’d have his best year in 1995, a year in which he won Pro Bowl and All Pro Honors.

For 1996, the 49ers made Eric Davis a free agent. Eric signed with the young Carolina Panthers team. He’d play for the Panthers for 5 years. During that run, Eric had 5 interceptions in each season.  He played for the Broncos in 2001,  and then moved to free safety for the 2002 season for the Detroit Lions.

Davis transitioned to the booth and into media seamlessly. He’s done color commentary for preseason games, and worked on early morning AM sports TV and radio shows.

Action Packed 1990 was one of my favorite sets of that era. Everyday after school my mom used to stop at 7-11, and I’d get a $2.25 pack- a stiff price to pay at the time.  I slowly bought a whole box out of the convienience store, only to find that the only card I hadn’t received was this Eric Davis card. I wrote Hi-Pro Marketing, (the company behind AP at the time) and they responded in a few weeks, enclosing 2 copies of Eric Davis and including a cool prototype/  test card of Barry Sanders from their 1992 set.

G/GS   188/150          TAC 593              SAC 2.0               FUM  14
INT 44          YDS  442        AVG 10.0            TD  4            LG 86T

NFL

Perry, Michael Dean

sky92 mdperryaprks92 mdperry

Cards: Skybox 1992, Action Packed Rookies 1992, Gameday 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent:  7/1   Received: 10/3   (94 days)

With uncanny quickness off the snap Michael Dean Perry smashed the record books for career sacks (24) at Clemson from his defensive tackle position.  At 6-1, 285, Perry would be considered slightly undersized by today’s standards. Even then he was considered a bit smaller than usual, but Perry turned this to his advantage and wrecked opposing backfields.

sky92 mdperry BBeing drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 2nd round of the 1988 draft was a blessing to MDP, and he’d quickly endear himself to legions of Browns fans everywhere. In his rookie season, Perry flashed his playmaking skills. Coming in as a situational pass rusher, he logged 25 tackles, 6.0 sacks, recovered 2 fumbles, one of which he rumbled with for a TD.  In 1989, Bud Carson switched the defense to a 4-3 alignment and Perry became a sensation. He’d earn the first of 5 Pro Bowl nominations, and his first of two All-Pro Honors. Michael Dean’s 1990 was so dominating (107 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 2 FF) that talk around Cleveland was that MDP should receive NFL Player of the Year Honors. At one point the fanfare around Perry was so crazy, McDonalds started selling burgers in the Cleveland area called the MDP- which consisted of a double quarterpounder with double bacon. Ugh… Michael continued to play for the Cleveland Browns through the 1994 season.  At that point head coach Bill Belichick was going in another direction on defense, so the team had a mutual parting of ways with Perry.

gday92 mdperryMichael still had some gas in the tank, so he signed with the Denver Broncos in 1995. He’d somehow earn one last Pro Bowl berth in 1996. 1997 was MDP’s final season in the NFL. He’d play primarily for the Broncos, and then the final month of the season with the Chiefs. By then the nicks and cuts had caught up with him and Perry decided to call it a career. While other teams attempted to lure Perry out of retirement, he resisted and sequestered himself to South Carolina.  Of the offensive linemen that he faced over the years, Perry considered Randall McDaniel and Mike Munchak his most difficult opponents.

Since then Michael has invested in a string of Subway sandwich shops.  He is the younger brother of William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry, who he remains extremely close to. I’ve always found it odd when a player decides to sign his card on the back. Still not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I was very happy to add this fan favorite to the collection.

G/Gs  148/127          Tac  534             Sac 61.0              Fum  13
Int  0         Yds 0          Avg  -.-           Td 0              Lg -.-

aprks92 mdperry B