Tag Archives: gameday 1992

NFL

Ruettgers, Ken

Gameday 1992, #341

CARDS: Action Packed 1990, Gameday 1992
ACQUIRED: TTM 2023, C/o Work
SENT: 2/3 RECEIVED: 9/20 (229 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Two year starter at OT for USC in 1984 and ’85.
  • Packers traded their first and second round pick to acquire Ruettgers in the first round of the ’85 draft.
  • By ’88, established himself as one of the best OL in the league.
  • Known for shrewd preparation, meticulous record keeping of opponents, game film study, and weight room work ethic.
  • Played against Lawrence Taylor and shut him out in the final game of the season as he was attempting to eclipse the NFL sack record.
  • Played for the Packers through 1996, but as injuries mounted over his career, he ultimately had to retire.
  • Over his playing time he appeared in 156 games, starting 140 and winning Super Bowl XXXI.
  • Has coached high school football in Oregon and teaches sociology at the college level.
Action Packed 1990, #89

ACCOLADES:

  • Packers Hall of Fame 2013
  • Packers Offensive MVP 1989

NOTES:

Ken appears in both Tecmo Super Bowl and the follow up Super Nintendo/ Genesis games as a member of the Packers. Ken had some great cards and among them were these two beauties that I really wanted to add to their respective sets. He still has a few more and I may look into those at a much later date.

NFL

Higgs, Mark

GameDay 1992, #247
Action Packed 1992, #148
Action Packed Rookies 1991, #75
Skybox Premium 1993, #27
Skybox 1992, #98

CARDS: Skybox Premium 1993, Skybox 1992, Action Packed Rookies 1991, Action Packed 1992, Gameday 1992
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, 2024, C/o Home.
SENT: 9/24/20 RECEIVED: 10/3/20 (9 Days)
SENT: 3/21/24 RECEIVED: 4/5/24 (15 Days)
FAILURE: TTM 2017, C/o Home

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Mark Higgs played RB from 1984-’87 for the Kentucky Wildcats.
  • In his senior season he ran for 1,278 yards on 193 carries.
  • He finished his career at Owensboro with 2,892 rushing yards- good for second all-time on the school’s rushing list.
  • Originally a 8th round choice of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1988 NFL Draft.
  • Buried on the depth chart and relegated to special teams his first 3 years in the NFL playing for the Cowboys (’88), Eagles (’89), and Dolphins (’90).
  • His first TD was a blocked punt he returned 19 yards for a TD against the Patriots in 1990.
  • He’d finally get his shot starting at RB in 1991, in place of Sammie Smith, running for 146 yards in the season opener.
  • The following week Higgs ran for 111 yards, marking the first back to back 100 yard performance by a Dolphins RB since ’82.
  • He finished the season with 231 carries for 905 yards and 4 TDs- the highest season total by a Dolphin since… 1978.
  • Mark topped those numbers in 1992, running for 915 yards and 7 rushing TDs.
  • Starting in 8 contests in 1993, Mark ran for 693 yards and 3 TDs primarily in a backup role behind Terry Kirby.
  • During the 1994 season he’d be cut and sign with the Arizona Cardinals.
  • After spending the majority of the 1995 season on IR due to a back injury, Mark opted to retire.

ACCOLADES:

  • University of Kentucky Hall of Fame 2006

NOTES:

Mark missed out on Pro Set 1989, but he sure did make up for it with a bevvy of set needs in Skybox, Gameday, and Action Packed sets. He provided a nice shot in the arm along with the rejuvenation of the Dolphins offensive line to buy Dan Marino a few more injury free years.

I finally got Mark back in 2020, and then realized I didn’t ask him for his autograph on his Skybox card. Time flew by really quickly after that and I lost track of sending out to him again for it. In the meantime the premium set from the year afterwards became more interesting to me, so it made a lot of sense to send both of them out together.

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NFL

Williams, John L. (2)

Gameday 1992, #114
Action Packed 1990, #260
Action Packed 1991, #260
Action Packed 1992, #256

CARDS: Gameday 1992, Action Packed 1990, Action Packed 1991, Action Packed 1992
ACQUIRED: TTM 2023, C/o Home
SENT: 1/11/23 RECEIVED: 3/22/24 (436 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

Okay! I knew that John L Williams was a slow signer so I just put these out there and wasn’t completely surprised to see them back in a year. A few more of my friends had gotten theirs recently- even waiting so long as 3-4 years to get theirs, so mine seemed like only a smallish accomplishment.

So this is a great case study in design watching the evolution of the Action Packed set from 1990 to 1992. It’s interesting how it goes from a framed border, to a floating 3/4 border, to a border just on one side. The photos are great, but really showcased here is how by ’92, the photos were consistently about as close as you see here in this Action shot of John L. In a nice touch of subtleness, the red stripe indicates the AFC conference, while the blue indicates the NFC.