Tag Archives: Denver Broncos

NFL

Lewis, Darryll (2)

Cards: Pro Set 1991 WC, Classic 1991
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 8/25/11   Received: 2/21/12  (180 days)
Previous Post: Darryll Lewis

Darryl Lewis was a player on the Oilers I liked to watch a lot, as he outperformed expectations despite his size. A consensus All-American and Jim Thorpe Recipient in 1991, great hands, productivity, deceptive speed, and leaping allowed Lewis to keep pace with many of the best wide receivers in the game and well into his career as a professional.   A member of the Houston Oilers Young Guns secondary, Lewis played for the Oilers/Titans, Chargers, and Broncos over an 11 season career.  I got his autograph via the team back in 1993 on my birthday, and always wanted to circle back around and get his again on these two cards I had.  He did some coaching at Oregon State with Mike Riley but unfortunately Lewis has had legal issues and had been detained for a few years. Recently he has been granted his release.

Since I had always wanted to get his autograph on this Pro Set card, I went ahead and took a shot at the former Oiler/ Charger DB where he lives near San Diego. This Classic 1991 card I had is probably among the ugliest ever produced outside of the Fleer 1991 entry. These cards are both considered error cards as they misspell Darryll’s name as “Darryl”.

NFL

Mobley, Orson “Big O”

Cards: Topps 1990, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 1/25   Received: 2/2  (8 days)

Among the names I love talking to online is Orson Mobley. Not to go all Madden on people, but his name sounds like a big tight end name or somebody who could light you up with a perfectly executed block right underneath the chin. I’ve been following ‘Big O’ (as I affectionately call him), for the past few months on SotL. He’s one of the more engaging NFL alumni on the site and is quite networked on Facebook as well.

Orson was drafted in the 6th round of the 1986 draft from Salem by the Denver Broncos. A bruising TE/H-back, Mobley stood at 6-5, 256 and fit in well with the Broncos play-action passing offense. With pretty decent hands and a nice pop, Orson quickly developed a rapport with starting quarterback John Elway with 23 receptions for 332 yards and his first TD reception in the season finale against the Seattle Seahawks. He’d start 3 games his rookie season. In 1987, Mobley started 6 games and make 16 receptions and a touchdown. 1988 marked career highs in games started for Orson with 9. He’d lodge 21 receptions for 218 yards and 2 tds as a sneaky option inside the redzone. The NFL hastily in 1989 instituted a new drug policy and Orson, along with Leroy Irvin and 11 other players would be suspended 3 games.  Mobley only started 5 games that season, but still managed 17 receptions for 200 yards.

Big O had a great run with the Broncos, but it’d all come to an end as prolific rookie receiver Shannon Sharpe was moved to tight end in 1991. Pacific would make one more card of Orson in 1991, and the back photo featured him doing stretches and yawning right at the camera- which to me sort of sums him up as sort of a genial, personable guy. Mobley over his career would appear in 3 SuperBowls for the Broncos during the 1980s, recording 2 catches for 17 yards against the Giants during SuperBowl XXI in 1986.

Big O lives in the Jacksonville area. Among his more humorous moments, was how Orson won the emergency punter position. At Salem, Mobley had developed quite a reputation for booming kicks. When he arrived at the Broncos, John Elway wanted to have a punt off with him for the job, so after Mobley fired off a couple of huge punts, Elway took a football and threw it instead.

G/Gs 61/31     Rec  84      Yds 1019     Avg 12.1     Td  4    Lg 36

 

 

CFL, NFL, University of Texas

Babers, Rod “Kool Aid” (2)

Cards: Topps Total 2005, UD UT 2011 CC
Acquired: In Person 2012, 1300 The Zone’s Houston Texans Playoff Viewing Party 1/7/12
Previous Post: Babers, Rod “Kool Aid”, Rod Babers (3)

At the University of Texas release party for the Upper Deck University of Texas cards last year, I met Rod who is a host of 1300 The Zone’s “The Afternoon Buffet”. He lamented to the people at UD about them not producing a card of him over the radio, – so I took it upon myself to produce a card for Rod. Off the cuff I had made a front, but had not produced a back due to time and printing constraints, and completely ripped off the UD design, just so that Rod could say he was part of the set.

When I met up with him at the Houston Texans’ Viewing Playoff Party at the Alamo Drafthouse, I asked for his autograph on a few more cards, which he had no problem doing. When I presented him with the custom fake I had made, he beamed and gave me a giant hug. Rod loved the shot from him versus Oklahoma, especially the fact that he was ‘Tebowing’ before it was cool.  Graciously, Rod told me the card truly made his afternoon even if the Texans didn’t win, and I told him that next time we’d meet up I hoped to have his trading card completed with a front and back for him to keep, which he told me I didn’t have to do.

After the Texans’ victory I talked to him a bit more, ribbing him for a few minutes and telling him that defensive lineman JJ Watt‘s interception for a touchdown, was already 1/4th Rod’s total number of picks at UT.  He laughed and stated that Watt was already one up on him in the pros, but he wouldn’t hold it against me since I gave him the custom.

Rod in his playboy way, also jokingly intimated that the card was so nice he was going to carry it around in his wallet, and use it to pick up women, to which I quipped to him, “That I was sure he had no problem with that!”