Tag Archives: fleer 1990

McGee, Buford

flr90 mcgeeCards: Fleer 1990, Score 1991, Fleer 1991
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent: 4/13     Received: 4/22  (9 days)

Ah, Buford McGee. A great find from the grand old days of the 80’s and 90’s NFL Gridiron. A true team player, McGee was just happy to be there. Buford was one of these guys who was a hard nosed fullback.  A rare 5 year college player, he played for the Mississippi Rebels from 1979 to 1983.  During his Senior season, he rushed for 580 yards and 7 touchdowns on 141 carries. Buford ran for 1446 yards on 345 carries, and 13 TDs over his career at Mississippi.  He also displayed nice touch catching the ball out of the backfield 112 times for 856 yards and 4 more TDs.

flr91 mcgeeBuford snuck into the 1984 NFL draft as the 286th player taken in the 11th round, by the San Diego Chargers.  Buried on the depth chart behind Earnest Jackson, Lionel James, and Chuck Muncie- McGee displayed the willingness to do what others would not do, and developed a knack for being a powerful blocker.  He’d not only make the squad and contribute on special teams, he also ran for 226 yards and 4 TDs. The Chargers continued to get great value for McGee, especially during 1986 when he rushed for a career high 7 touchdowns.  With offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese leaving the Chargers for the LA Rams in 1987, Buford was not far behind. He’d be traded to them in exchange for two draft choices and runningback Barry Redden.

sco91 mcgeeAlthough injuries caught up with McGee derailing parts of his 85, 86, and 87 seasons, he continued to contribute to the Rams offense in whatever capacity he could. In 1990 he had a career high 234 yards on 44 carries, and caught 47 balls for 388 yards. The LA Rams named Buford their 1990 MVP.  After the 1991 season, head coach John Robinson was relieved of his duties, and going for a more ground oriented approach, new head coach Chuck Knox cut Buford in May of 1992. McGee made one final stop in Green Bay. He’d suit up for the Packers for that last season where he started 3 games.

Retired, he now lives in East Texas. I was really happy to get the former Ram on these cards. Buford was never really appreciated for his contributions to the pro game by the fan at large, but coaches far and wide appreciate what he did for all those teams he so unselfishly played for. McGee is also a member of the 1991 Los Angeles Rams Tecmo Super Bowl team.

G/Gs   107/50     Rush 289     Yds  1086    Avg 3.8     Td 17     Lg 44   |
Rec  155     Yds 1264      Avg  8.2     Lg 43    Td  13
KR 23    Yds  465    Avg  20.2     Lg 35    Td  0
Att  3     Comp  3     Yds 24      Td 1     Int 0      Rat 139.6

Gagliano, Bob ‘Goose’

to90 lionsCards: Topps 1990 Lions, Score 1990, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Work
Sent: 10/22/14     Received: 1/23/15 (90 days)
Failure: 2011, C/o Home

The Goose, as Gagliano is affectionately known by the Detroit Lions, earned his nickname during the team’s late season surge in 1989 under head coach Wayne Fontes. The Lions were bad – very bad, and the 1989 season started out like any other with 1 win in 9 games, but things changed in week 10.  The team rallied and won 6 of their next 7 contests. Gagliano was a big part of that going 4-3 as a starter, replacing the oft injured Rodney Peete. Sure his numbers were not all that sexy, throwing twice as much interceptions as touchdowns in the Silver Stretch Offense of the Run ‘N Shoot. When Gagliano was on though, the Lions won in exciting fashion, but when he wasn’t Bob failed to post above a 60 QB rating.

flr90 gaglianoIn 1990, Bob continued to battle Peete at quarterback for the starting job, frequently coming in as a change of pace. He’d start 9 games that season and throw for a career high 10 touchdowns. Gagliano was allowed to sign via free agency with the Chargers in 1991, starting game in 1992.  For the next three seasons Bob served as an insurance policy for the Falcons (1993), 49ers (1994) and Packers (1995).

sco90 gaglianoBefore the Goose’s time in Detroit, he was originally a 12th round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1982. After getting no traction on the roster through 2 seasons, He then played for the rival USFL Denver Gold in 1984 and 1985. Gagliano returned to the NFL in 1986. He was signed by the San Fransisco 49ers and started one game as a scab player.  In 1988 he also spent time on the rosters of the Houston Oilers and Indianapolis Colts.

Bob Gagliano is a great piece of NFL trivia.  He is one of only three starting quarterbacks to play for the San Fransisco 49ers during the 1980s- alongside Joe Montana and Steve Young.  That’s some great company to be in!

G/Gs 32/13   Att 486   Comp 289    Yds 3431    Pct  51.2    Td 17     Int 27    Rat 62.7 |
Rush 93     Yds 352    Avg 3.8   Td  4   lg 22

Sims, Kenneth “Special K”

sco90 ksimsCards: Score 1990, Fleer 1990.
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 3/10    Received: 4/8  (29 days)

Kenneth Sims spent his ‘apprentice years’ learning the defensive tackle rotating in behind Steve McMichael and then exploded onto the national scene in his Junior season, racking up 131 tackles for the University of Texas. He was an all All-American at the university in his Senior year, winning the Lombardi Award, and finishing as a runner up (8th) for the Heisman Trophy. He’d average 12 tackles a game over his career for the Longhorns.

Ken parlayed his amazing performance at the University of Texas into being the overall #1 pick of the 1982 draft. At 6’5″, 291 Ken certainly posessed the size and athleticism to anchor the defensive line in the 3-4 alignment for the New England Patriots. The Patriots felt they could kick him outside to play left defensive end. (Ironically McMichael also had a short stint with the Patriots after being drafted by them out of UT as well, but was cut and went on to greater glory for the Chicago Bears.) Sims career unfortunately flr90 ksimswould be marred by injury, and only played 1 full 16 game slate in 1984 recording 96 tackles. During the Patriots improbable 1985 Super Bowl run (XX), Ken had perhaps his finest season, finishing with 5.5 sacks, 65 tackles, and 2 fumble recoveries in 13 games, but injuries during the 1983, 1986, and 1988 seasons, wiped out nearly 3 full seasons of play. He’d retire after the 1989 season back to the Austin area where he’s begun dabbling in sports radio. Ken is an avid Longhorn sports fan and has spent time at the University studying sports management.

G/Gs 74/64    Tac  364   Sac 17    Fum 5   Int  0   Yds  0     Avg -.-    Td 0     Lg -.-