Tag Archives: gameday 1992

NFL

Fenney, Rick

to90 fenneyCards: Topps 1990, Topps 1990 Team Card, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent:  3/4   Received: 4/21   (47 days)

The unqualified workhorses of the NFL who got no respect, – the Fullback, is one of my favorite positions to collect from the 80s to early 90s, so when I saw Rick Fenney pop up, I had to write him. After helping the Huskies win the Orange Bowl as a Sophmore against Oklahoma, Fenney was on the radar of NFL scouts. The Vikings selected Rick during the 8th round of the 1987 draft. With a pretty crowded backfield, including Alfred Anderson, DJ Dozier, and Darrin Nelson already established as lead backs, Fenney was able to make the squad on the merit of his special teams work. Fans embraced Rick as a sort of Great White Hope. GWH appear every few years, and they represent this lost era of white runningbacks, and are usually perceived as making it up ‘athletic talent’ with grit, determination, and intelligence.

to90 vikingsTCAnyway, Rick had a pretty quiet rookie season. He scored his first NFL touchdown in 1988 and was ranked first among NFC backs in yards per carry (4.9) -with a minimum of 50 attempts that year. In 1989, the team relied on him more heavily, and he led the team in rushing over 5 contests, and ranked second on the team (behind Herschel Walker) with 588 yards. Rick’s stats declined on 1990 due to a strained knee, and he missed time in the lineup starting only 5 games and running for 376 yards and 2 touchdowns.  By 1991, Rick was hobbled by a hip condition, and was only active for 11 games. He’d retire after the season, but not before GameDay made one last card of Rick.

gday92 fenneyRick had become interested in financial planning, – something he had picked up during the off seasons from the Vikings. He landed on his feet and went right into banking. Things got bigger and bigger for Fenney, and the long of the short is, they got too big, for him to handle. Rick set up a hedge fund in 2001, and watched all his investors’ money go down the drain. He was convicted of wire fraud and went to prison, admitting that he stole up to $2.5 million dollars. After spending 3 years in prison, Fenney has been trying to better himself everyday. Surely he feels such a nauseating amount of guilt about what happened. -A lot of that money was from friends and family.  He dreams of how he can make some of that money back so that he can try to pay back all his friends, neighbors, and family that he wronged, but I completely understand if he has insulated himself from the situation. It’s tough. I probably feel something similar about my student loans, and how my parents are cosigned on something I may never be able to afford to pay back.

G/Gs 63/16    Rush 358   Yds 1508    Avg   4.2    Td 11   Lg 28   |
Rec  71    Yds 628     Avg 8.8    Td 2    Lg 42

NFL

Martin, Kelvin “K-Mart”

gday92 kmartin flr90 kmartin
Cards: Fleer 1990, Fleer 1995, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 1/28    Received: 2/7   (10 days)

Kelvin Martin played for Boston College from 1984-1987 and is considered one of the finest receivers to play for the school. He graduated as the school’s all-time leader in receptions (134), and TD catches (28), as well as holder of various punt return records.  A shifty receiver with deceptive speed, K-Mart was part of a strong triumvirate of BC players drafted in 1987. He’d go in the 4th round to the Dallas Cowboys, probably because of his height (5’9″) and frame (163).

After a wash of a rookie season- thanks in part to the players strike, K-Mart went back to work as the team’s primary punt returner, working his way into the lineup as a slot receiver. Beginning in 1988 he began to see an increased workload. As the team transitioned from Danny White to Troy Aikman, Martin saw little drop off, in fact, increasing from 39 to 59, his average yards per game, from 1988 to 1989. His best season came in 1990, as the team leaned on Kelvin heavily while Michael Irvin recovered from his 3rd straight injury plagued season. He’d finish as the team’s leading receiver in catches (64) and yards (732), however Josh and I joked about his bottom line- zero touchdowns. (I believe that his 100+ total catches spanning 4 seasons is an NFL record for futility, as he did not score a TD from week 12 of 1989 to week 4 of 1992.)  He’d pick back up punt returning, and lead the league in yardage (532) and TD returns (2) in 1992 while Michael Irvin and Alvin Harper were seeing more and more targets.

flr95 kmartin1993 was the dawn of a new era in free agency. Kelvin signed with the Seattle Seahawks, where he’d be paired opposite Brian Blades in the lineup. A value pick up, Kelvin finished with a career high 798 yards and 5 receiving touchdowns that year. He’d record respectable 681 yards the following season before he was left exposed in the 1995 Expansion Draft held for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers. Before Martin knew it, he selected with the 27th pick of the draft by the Jags. Oddly enough, the team cut him outright 2 weeks later- citing that his $800k price tag was too high to justify keeping him on the roster.

Enter the Philadelphia Eagles, who were burned by Martin, by denying the Eagles a playoff appearance in 1991, when Kelvin returned a punt 85 yards for a score. He’d sign with Philly and be one and done there before going back home to Dallas in 1996.  Kelvin scored a 60 yard TD against the Atlanta Falcons that season before hanging up the cleats.

I had never gotten Martin at training camp when the Cowboys were at St. Edwards back in the early 90s. It had almost appeared as though he preferred the anonymity rather than revel in the glory like guys such as Irvin did. Martin always reminded me of Houston Oilers slot man Curtis Duncan both in play, statistics, and overall class act. I was surprised at how fast I got a response from Kelvin and had seen that he averaged somewhere around 3 months per return. Kelvin lives in the Dallas area and has been involved in coaching at the college level.

G 139/66     Rec   367        Yds  4768     Avg  13.0      Td  15      Lg 60t    |
Kr  76      Yds 1453     Avg 19.1       Td 0       Lg 59  |
Pr  261     Yds  2567     Avg 9.8      Td  3     Lg 85t

 

NFL

O’Donnell, Neil

gday92 o'donnellCards: ProSet 1991, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 1/2    Received: 1/11  (9 days)

Neil O’Donnell is officially my first response to kick off 2014. He responded in 9 days signing 2 of the cards I sent. The third- a Skybox 1992-1993 ‘Colors’ edition he kept. It’s a shame as it was a nice card, but at the same time I am sometimes flattered when they keep a card or two.

Neil was of a long line of Maryland quarterbacks to make it to the NFL. He was proceeded into the league by noteworthy signalcallers such as: Boomer Esiason, Stan Gelbaugh, Frank Reich, and Mike Tice, while his back up Scott Zolak followed him into the NFL in 1991.  O’Donnell transferred to Maryland at the end of the Henning era in 1986, and split time with him as the starter in 1987. In 1988, Neil became the fulltime starter with young Scott Zolak hot on his heels for the job. An injury, suffered in the Virginia game allowed for an opening to be created, but Zolak could not keep Neil from retaining his starting job through the 1989 season.

pset91 o'donnellIn 1990 Neil O’Donnell was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Drafted in the 3rd round, he’d be the 5th quarterback off the board behind Jeff George (#1 overall), Andre Ware, Peter Tom Willis, and Tom Hodson. It was not considered a very strong position that year and after George and Ware, none of the quarterbacks that were taken were really expected to contribute as long term solutions unless serious investment was taken by those respected franchises.  The Steelers at that time seemed content at quarterback, with Bubby Brister leading the way and Neil riding the bench behind Rick Strom. In 1991, Bubby was injured and missed 8 games. Neil stepped up and delivered, setting the stage for an open quarterback competition in 1992. With new head coach Bill Cowher coming in, Neil took over the starting job and cemented his efforts, with his one and only Pro Bowl appearance.It’d be the 1995 season that O’Donnell was best known for. Powering the team through the playoffs the Steelers faced the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. In that game Neil misfired on multiple hot reads, allowing for Larry Brown to pick him off twice, en route to the Cowboys 27-17 victory. O’Donnell’s legacy is unfairly remembered based on that game alone. As a final straw to many Steelers fans, Neil signed with the Jets after the season, eschewing the Steeler organization’s ‘fair’ offer.

Largely, Neil’s next few years were difficult to say the least. Stepping into Rich Kotite’s offense, Neil was injured and the team finished at a lowly 1-15. Kotite was fired and Bill Parcells took over in 1997. Neil fared well under Bill’s guidance, and threw 17 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions. After the season, O’Donnell packed his bags for Cincinnati. While Neil again proved his worth in the pocket, leading the league with only 4 picks in 343 attempts, the Bengals finished at a lowly 2-9 under his direction.

He’d sign immediately with the Titans in 1999 where he’d enter the backup phase of his career, behind Steve McNair. Coach Fisher loves his veteran backups. Crafty, smart, adaptable, and ready to come into a game in a pinch, O’Donnell was a valuable member of the Titans organization. During the team’s Super Bowl run in ’99 Neil stepped in and led the team to a 4-1 record in McNair’s stead. He’d play sparingly over the next few seasons for the Titans, before retiring officially in 2004, after rejecting an offer from the Steelers to return to the organization to mentor young quarterback Ben Rothlisberger. Consequently the Titans organization under Jeff Fisher’s stead employed a scrappy veteran back up with Kerry Collins and Matt Hasslebeck both finding life as a journeyman under the reign of Fish.

O’Donnell lives in the Nashville area. He’s done color commentary for the Titans, but most recently has been involved in stadium turf sales.

G/Gs  125/100       Att  3229    Comp 1865      Yds 21690       Pct 57.8%      Td 120    Int  68      Rat   81.8  |
Rush  215    Yds  446           Avg  2.1      Td 4       Lg   27