Tag Archives: fleer 1992

NFL, University of Texas

Braggs, Stephen (2)

Cards: Bowman 1992, Topps Update 1989, Fleer 1992
Acquired: In Person 2016, Jordan Shipley Camp
See also: Stephen Braggs

Stephen was really surprised to see that there are a few fans of his still out there, and shocked that I had so many of them.  He knew my friend Nathan and while they were packing up stopped to sign them for me.  Nathan couldn’t find any cards of Braggs, so I spotted him a few extras that I had floating around from over the years.

Stephen’s Fleer 1992 photo was probably the best looking of the bunch, although the design was quite boring. The framing of the Browns helmet with the outline of the NFL logo is unnecessary and the angled Browns helmet is an absolute no-no. Of the 3 the Topps 88 is probably more of a classic than the others, just because the design style (as boring as it was) matched the aesthetic of what was being created then.

Coach Braggs, as of 2017, was  head coach now at Trinity Episcopal School in Central Texas. He also serves as the track and girls basketball coach.  Stephen also runs the Stephen Braggs Foundation.

NFL

Fulcher, David

Cards: ProSet 1989, Score 1990, Fleer 1992
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

An incredible talent, David Fulcher was a safety best known for his hard hitting play, ball hawking skills, and gifted abilities in Tecmo Super Bowl.  At 6’3″, 238, Fulcher was of a rare breed of safety whom could line up and play as an extra linebacker, or fade back into coverage with his speed. After his Junior season at Arizona State in 1986, he’d declare for the ’87 draft.  The Bengals liked what they saw, and handed him the starting job out of the gate at Strong Safety after taking him with the 78th pick out of the 3rd round.

It didn’t take him long as he made his first two interceptions, picking off Warren Moon of  Houston during week 7 in a 31-27 win. By 1988, Fulcher had emerged as one of the most dangerous defensive backs in the AFC, earning the first of 3 consecutive Pro Bowl nomninations. A cornerstone of the Bengals defense, Fulcher’s emergence as a dominating defensive presence coincided with the Bengals second Super Bowl appearance after the season. In 1989 he won All Pro honors after notching 8 interceptions and recovering 4 fumbles. Fulcher was a fixture for the Bengals through 1992 when injuries limited him to just 12 games that season.At the time of his departure, he was ranked 3rd on the Bengals all time interception list. Exposed to free agency, he moved on to the Raiders in 1993 but retired after the season due to lingering injuries.

David has given a lot of his time back to the sport he loves. He runs a football camp in Ohio, and conducts many youth and charitable events in the Cincinnati area.  David currently spends time as a head coach for a local Christian school and also with the NFL and the Bengals. Fulcher is infamously memorialized as one of the best defensive backs on the classic Nintendo game “Tecmo Super Bowl”.

G/Gs 103/98    Tac  N/a    Sac 8.5    Fum 9
Int 31      Yds 246      Avg      Td  2    Lg 28t

 

Arena, NFL

Kartz, Keith

Cards: Fleer 1992, Fleer 1991
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

Considered an afterthought when he was signed as a free agent out of Cal in 1987, Keith Kartz went on to start 7 seasons in the NFL for the Denver Broncos primarily at Center and also at Tackle. Originally signed by Seattle and cut in camp,  Kartz quickly asserted himself at the Bronco’s starting Center when he was brought in during the ’87 player’s strike. Kartz’s feat is even more impressive in the fact that he’d never played the position at all during his time in college, but to top that all off was Keith was a survivor- beating Stomach Cancer when he was only 18 years old.

Keith’s versatility and size (6’4″, 270) allowed him to effortlessly spend time at any position along the line as evidenced in his extensive tour of duty in 1988 at right guard protecting John Elway. By 1989 he was back at center clearing lanes for a slew of 1,000 yard backs that included Bobby Humphrey and Gaston Green. Keith flew under the radar for the majority of his career with the Broncos, and had a strange sideline penchant for balancing and twirling footballs on his fingertips. The stranger thing about it was that both Topps and Upper Deck both immortalized these sideline shots of him in two different photographs for their cards. He’d retire after the 1993 season and worked with the Denver Crush of the Arena leagues as an assistant coach before falling back into real estate.

G/Gs   100/88