Tag Archives: Houston Oilers

NFL

McDowell, Bubba (3)

scosup89 mcdowellpset92 mcdowellsky92-bmcdowellap90-bmcdowellpac91-bmcdowellgday93 mcdowellCards: ProSet 1992, Score Supplemental 1989, GameDay 1993. Pacific 1991, Skybox 1992, Action Packed 1990.
Acquired: In Person 9/13/2015, Houston Texans v. Kansas City Chiefs. 10/30/2016, Houston Texans v. Detroit Lions.
See Also: Leonard ‘Bubba’ McDowell, Bubba McDowell (2),

Bubba was at the Churrascos Pregame brunch with Curtis Duncan. It’d mark the first time that I’d meet him in person suprisingly- after all the School of the Legends (now defunct) discussions we had. I had quite a stack of cards and had hoped to get him at the Oilers 25th Anniversary Party but he had a last second commitment that prevented him from attending.  He’s even more engaging than I remember from the videos, and he was nice enough to take the time to sign a few cards for me from the stack.

Again it was a shame that ProSet made this switch mid-set to this design in 1992. Either look was okay with me for the time, but not in the same set. It’s a great full body photo of the hard hitting defensive back. His Score 1989 notwithstanding was one that I’ve tried getting autographed on numerous occasions but it got eaten by the mail gods. I never found this one until a few weeks ago and added it to the stack. It’s an oldie, with a purple frame and white marquee that leaves much to be desired. Still it’s his earliest rookie card. This GameDay 1993 card is a sizzling shot of Bubba. I mistakenly thought it was from the Bears game earlier that season when he took the ball to the house at the end of the half on Monday Night, but in reality it was one of the more grim days in Oilers history- a game referred to as ‘The Comeback’. Bubba intercepted this pass and returned it 58 yards for a score to make the game 35-7, before the Bills furious rally.

The next year, I went with my wife to the Texans v. Detroit Lions game. Bubba was among the selected players to appear in the fan zone, right inside the stadium gates, but outside of the stadium to give autographs. It was a long hike to the front of the stadium from our seats. The next problem I faced was that if you already have entered the stadium, you can not exit the stadium- even to go to the fan zone. It seemed asinine, but in this day and age of security I understood. After a brief conversation with the head of ticketing, they let me go through. Bubba was seated with former Oiler, Charlie ‘The Razor’ Frazier.

Unwilling to press my luck for more than three autographed cards, I selected the Pacific, Skybox, and Action Packed cards from my lot and let it rip. Bubba told me that he had a lot of great memories- fun memories- especially of former head coach Jerry Glanville.

 

AFL, NFL, NFLE, WLAF

Taylor, Lionel

Card: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 6/4/14  Received: 8/13/16  (801 days)

Lionel Taylor had an amazing career that began in 1959 playing for the Chicago Bears.  He didn’t record a reception for the team during his rookie year and opted to join the upstart American Football League during its inaugural season in 1960 for the Denver Broncos. Taylor went on to endear himself as one of the most dominant receivers in the history of the league, leading the AFL in receptions 5 of the next 6 years.  In 1961 he set a modern era record with 100 receptions (which was broken in 1964 by Charlie Hennigan at 101). He played for the Broncos through 1966- joining the Oilers for the 1967 and 1968 seasons.  Lionel retired from the gridiron in 1969.

Taylor established himself quickly as an up and coming assistant coach with the Steelers as a receivers coach in 1970.  He’d remain there through 1976, cultivating a reputation as a Super Bowl winning positional coach.  He joined the Rams from 1977-1979, where he was offensive coordinator in 1980 and 1981.  Lionel then applied his trade at the college level for Oregon State, and then as head coach at Texas Southern through 1988.  Returning to the NFL in 1989, Taylor worked with the Cleveland Browns tight ends and as a pass coordinator.

Taylor joined the World League of American Football in 1995 as offensive coordinator to the London Monarchs. As the league rebranded to the NFLE, he’d take over as head coach of the franchise in 1996 and shepherd the franchise through to become the England Monarchs. It was a tough run for Taylor as head coach at the end, as his team was a vagabond franchise playing all over England looking for a new home. Since there was no established fan base, this gave the Monarchs no home field advantage.  The Monarchs finished with a 3-7 record during their swan song season.

Taylor has fully retired from the sport and lives in New Mexico.  At a clip over 800 days, I had fully given up on getting a response from Lionel, so this one came as quite a surprise to get back. It’s a shame, as with many American Football League players, Lionel has gotten little to no traction in Hall of Fame circles, despite his impressive numbers.

AFL
G/GS 121/NA      REC 567     YDS  7195    AVG 12.7   TD 45    LG  80T

NFLE
W  11     L 17       PCT .393

NFL

Duncan, Curtis (3) ‘CD’

to88 cduncan sco92 cduncan tosc90 cduncan tosc92 cduncan

 

Cards: Topps Stadium Club 1991, Topps Stadium Club 1993, Topps 1989, Score 1992, GameDay 1992, ProSet 1992
Acquired: In Person 9/13/2015, Churrascos Club Pregame Party Texans vs. Chiefs
See Also: Curtis Duncan, Curtis Duncan (2)

Well I was quite the celebrity at the Houston Texans opener against the Kansas City Chiefs this year as I walked through the rows of tailgates and throngs of people wearing my powder blue Houston Oilers jersey. On quite a few occasions I was stopped and asked who it was a jersey of, and I’d quickly respond with, “Wide receiver, Curtis Duncan of the Houston Oilers. You know the least respected of the Fab 4 Run ‘N Shoot during who played during the late 80’s until the mid 90s.”

pset92 duncanPreviously I had met Curtis and liked him so much I busted out this old jeresy for the next time I saw him. When I ran into him outside the Churrascos he was very impressed and flattered that I had a jersey of him. Bubba McDowell laughed that I had it and said that I looked better than Duncan in it. I said, “Only my belly,” and rubbed it to their laughter.

The Churrascos event was a nice set up. There was a last second substitution, but Curtis was already on the docket to appear. I got a feeling of bourgeoisie from the catered all you can eat/all you can drink exorbitantly priced event- which made me feel slightly ill. There were photos and event tables and a lot of things to do. People who plan on attending should be there when it starts at 10AM, and prepare to leave 15 minutes early to reach their seats on time.

gday93 cduncanThe signing went well. Curtis wanted to take a photo with me, and I jabbed him telling him, “What so that you can prove to the world somebody is a fan of yours or has your jersey?” Bubba said it would be even more impressive if I had his jersey. Curtis signed every card I had. I previously got his rookie card signed, but we talked about it briefly joking that it was one of those Topps entries with him on the sidelines looking up into the air.

Overall these cards weren’t bad. There maybe just one or two more of Curtis I’d like to get autographed, but pretty much this does it. Even with these entries so late into the CD race, I was still pulling pretty decent looking cards and action shots of the former Oiler. The Topps entry of him sitting on the sideline is a well framed photo. About the only one I didn’t like was his 1991 Topps Stadium Club entry of him jumping up into the air with a defender draped on him.