Tag Archives: fleer 1990

NFL

Butts, Marion

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, Fleer 1990, Action Packed 1992
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o Home
Sent: 2/3  Received: 3/26  (51 days)

The Chargers found a steal when they reached in the top of the 7th round of the infamous 1989 draft for little known Marion Butts out of Florida State. In his rookie season in 1989 he’d come in off the bench during the last 5 games rumbling for  683 yards and 9 touchdowns, including a game in which he single-handedly dominated the Chiefs rushing for 176 yards. Slipping under the radar when he was drafted, many had pegged Butts as purely a blocking fullback or perhaps special teams hitter (with his 6-1 248 frame)  however his style would define the Chargers run game for nearly 5 seasons. Marion’s sophomore season would prove that his surprising rookie season was not a fluke as he galloped for a career high 1225 yards making his first ProBowl.  Butts would follow this season up with an additional ProBowl in 1991- but would only start 8 games. With the emergence of Natrome Means, Butts would play for the Chargers through the 1993 season and finish up his career there with around 4300 yards. In 1994 Marion would hop over to play for Bill Parcells and the New England Patriots helping the team make the playoffs with his stout running and 1995 would see Marion’s final season played with the vagabond Houston Oilers where he started 2 games and retired after the season’s conclusion. Since football Butts has tried his hand at coaching the sport at the high school level.

Marion is apparently a great through the mail signer and although I had to wait sometime, he graciously signed 4 cards for me. Butts had some great cards, and the ProSet franchise really framed his running style well. The Tecmo SuperBowl franchise represented him well. One of the vaunted and feared ‘popcorn’ runningbacks, (Heyward, Mack, and Okoye also come to mind) you could literally run at or dive at Butts and he would throw you up in the air like popcorn.

G/Gs 104/73    Rush 1345   Yds  5185   Avg 3.9    Td  43    Lg  52 |
Rec  68    Yds  471    Avg 6.9   Td  1   Lg  46

NFL

Horton, Ray

Cards: Fleer 1990, Score 1990
Acquired: In Person 1990, 1993, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp.

So it all technically began with Ray Horton on that Fleer 1990 card. He was the first autograph I got in Dallas Cowboys training camp way back in 1990.  It was happy times back then, and I grabbed every card and my black sharpie before I headed out the door that morning with Josh. We’d ride the bus back and forth from North Austin or have our mothers drop us off for what turned into an all day affair. We quickly established where the best place was to get autographs- (the second fence line as the street narrowed to get onto the field) and would camp the spot to grab signatures. I think on the first day I got 7 autographs on cards and I had a hard time sleeping because I was so excited to go back the next to see who I could get. I never thought that almost 20 years later I’d pick up the hobby again and enjoy it just as much.

Ray Horton was drafted out of Washington, where he played alongside Cowboy Vince Albritton. Horton would be taken in the second round by the Cincinatti Bengals, where he’d play in SuperBowl XXIII for the Bengals, before leaving the team in Plan B for the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. Ray’s rookie season was solid in 1983, with 5 interceptions, 121 yards and a touchdown -which would be his career high. He’d record 13 interceptions with the Bengals and in 1989 would sign with Jimmy Johnson‘s woeful Cowboy team, providing solid depth and a bright spot in the secondary pulling down 6 more interceptions and then retiring after the 1992 season and ten seasons winning SuperBowl XXVII.  A nose for the endzone, Horton would have four touchdowns via interceptions and one from a fumble.

Since retiring Horton has moved right into coaching picking up almost right where he left off. He’s made stops with the Lions, Redskins, Bengals, and Steelers where he added two more rings in SuperBowl XL and XLIII. In 2011, he was named the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals.

G/Gs 147/ 99      Tac N/a      Sac 3      Fum  5     Int  19     Yds 269     Avg 14.16     Td 4      Lg  65T

 

NFL, usfl

Hébert, Bobby “The Cajun Cannon”

Cards: Fleer 1990, ProSet 1989, Stadium Club 1992, Action Packed 1992
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o Home
Sent: 10/15   Received: 11/1  (17 days)

I don’t know what it is about small town Louisiana, but it seems to be the cornucopia of NFL quarterback talent and Bobby Hébert (pronounced A-bear,) is another great example of that- born in Cut Off, LA. Nicknamed the “Cajun Cannon”, he’d be recruited to go to Northwestern State- Louisiana in Natchitoches and would be taken in the 3rd round (34th pick) of the upstart USFL’s initial draft in 1983 by the Michigan Panthers. Things were be rough there as Bobby would initially compete with 13 quarterbacks during that initial training camp.  Once things settled down however, Hébert established himself as one of the elite players of the young league throwing to future Minnesota Viking Anthony Carter. That year Bobby won the USFL Championship and he would take home the MVP honors beating the Philadelphia Stars. Along with those honors Hébert won player of the year honors and was voted the most outstanding quarterback of the league (3568 yards  and 27 touchdowns). The team again made the playoffs in 1984 but with injuries plaguing the defensive line, they’d be knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. In 1985, with the league experiencing financial issues, the Panthers found themselves merged with the Oakland Invaders, however they returned to the championship game losing in the end to the Philadelphia Stars. Bobby finished as the league’s career leading passer with over 10,000 yards.

After the USFL folded, Bobby was a man without a team- but he wouldn’t have to look long as former Stars coach Jim Mora who was stockpiling former USFL players and brought him into camp with the Saints. Hébert and Mora went head to head over the next animated 7 seasons for the team, as Bobby was always struggling to garner the respect he deserved with Dave Wilson, John Fourcade, or Steve Walsh (after an acrimonious holdout in 1990,) always looking over Bobby’s shoulder during his tenure there with the Saints. Bobby in fact would guide the Saints to their first playoff appearance and their first divisional title under his clock management sporting a 49-26 career record as starting quarterback of the Saints. After a great 1992 season, free agency dawned and Hébert signed with the rival Atlanta Falcons in 1993, where he’d see his lone ProBowl appearance. He’d play there for the next 4 seasons, with 1994 and 1995 being primarily mopup duty. In 1996 he replaced Jeff George and started the majority of the season under coach June Jones, retiring after the season ended.

Bobby since then has done a lot of sports radio commentary, conducting fireworks shows, and was the Grand Marshall for the Mardi Gras parade in 2007- apparently being quite the man of the party. Bobby played for the rival Saints when I was a big fan of the Rams in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I always respected him and felt that Jim Mora restricted Bobby because of Mora’s offensive philosophy. He didn’t force the ball or make many turnovers and was a great clock manager. I even had his Starting Lineup figure. Strangely, the pronunciation of Bobby’s last name would even be a topic of conversation on an episode of Seinfeld.

Hébert for some reason in many of his photos is always pitching the ball out or rolling back from center on his cards. While they were dynamic looking poses, I had to struggle to locate a good selection of different looks. I like to ask questions of many of the players that I try to get autographs from, and I was really excited to get a response from Bobby. He wrote that his greatest memory was “Definitely winning the USFL championship and the MVP honors!” He gleefully signed all 4 of my cards and both sides of my Action Packed 1992 card in 17 days. Below are Bobby’s NFL statistics.

G/Gs 122/100       Att 3121      Comp 1839     Yds  21683     Pct 58.9    Td 135     Int 124     Rat 78.0