Tag Archives: Houston Oilers

NFL

Bingham, Gregg ‘Devil’

to83 gbinghamto79 gbingham
Cards:  Topps 1983, Topps, 1978, Topps 1979
Acquired: 2016, C/o Home
Failure: TTM 2012, C/o Home

Little known fact about Gregg Bingham is that he is the Houston Oilers career leading tackler with nearly 2,000 tackles. Surrounded by talent like Elvin Bethea, Robert Brazile and Curley Culp, during the Luv Ya’ Blue era of the 70s- it was easy for Bingham to be overlooked in the star studded defensive lineup, even if he led the league 11 straight seasons. Also tackles were an unofficial statistic for the league until the late 80s/ early 90s.

After toiling away his rookie season in a 4-3 at MLB in 1973, and earning all-rookie honors, Gregg slid over to LILB, as the Oilers converted to a 3-4 under new defensive coordinator Bum Phillips. Bingham had earned the nickname ‘Devil’ for his strong motor and style of play, and he punished ball carriers on every tackle.  Bum Phillips was once quoted as saying that, “You’d have to cut off his head and hide it, in order to keep Bingham off the field.” He’d start the next 5 seasons for the team, recording 10 interceptions and 5 fumble recoveries, returning one 34 yards for a TD.  Gregg was also counted on by the team for special teams as well.  The following season he switched to RILB, playing the position for the majority of the rest of his career. Considerably durable, Bingham would have challenged Bethea’s consecutive games started record if not for a hip injury suffered in 1982 at 135. He topped the 200 tackle mark 4 times and led the league in tackles consistently over his career.

to78 gbinghamAn interesting character, Gregg made every penny count, investing into a series of coin operated car washes and oil changes around the Houston area. He even had the business foresight to have an assistant sort the change that came out of the machines for valuable coins.

Years later in 2008, Bingham’s heir at linebacker, John Grimsely committed suicide. It was later linked to CTE- caused by concussions. Gregg became a concussion flashpoint himself in 2009 when he was working in one of his car washes, and blacked out. When he next woke up, Bingham was in the hospital and learned he had been in a coma for the past 3 weeks, due to a swollen brain. It took him well over a year to rehab, but Gregg connected the dots to his time in the NFL and concussions, -something that at the time was to be ‘shaken off’.  He later rejected an NFL concussion settlement, because it would have not covered his expenses.

He continues to live in the Houston area, and after failing on a request back in… 2012- he kindly signed two cards for me and tossed in a third.

G/Gs   173/173       TAC   1,985         SAC    n/a        FUM   14
INT  21     YDS   279     AVG 13.3       TD   0         LG  54

College Football HoF, NFL

George, Eddie

pp96 egeorgeCards: Press Pass 1996, Topps 1997
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Work
Sent: 2/16     Received:  6/27    (132 days)

Eddie George took Ohio State by storm. In 3 years with the college, he ran up to second place on the school’s vaunted rushing list including a school record 1,927 yards and 24 TDs in 1995. In 1996, Eddie George was the last 1st round Houston Oiler draft pick- ever.

It was a bitter moment of the franchise’s history.  Bud Adams, ever looking to shine his coffers, had gambled and lost with the city of Houston. After getting a stadium tax placed on businesses in Houston for luxury boxes at the Astrodome, he decided that he wanted a new stadium instead. Laughably he also called it, the Bud Dome in his proposal. With the Astros and Rockets not interested, Bud put it to the city leaders instead. Call it bad timing, but the city wasn’t interested. It also didn’t help that the salary cap hamstrung the team, and most of its talent was fleeced. After flirting and failing with a few suitors, Nashville stepped up to the plate. Desperate, but sensing a good deal, Adams signed. He intended to keep the franchise in Houston for a few years, but after making the announcement- fans stayed away in droves to show their displeasure.

Eddie in the meantime was declared the starting tailback coming out of camp and proceed to nab Rookie of the Year Honors in 1996 after rushing for 1,336 yards, 8 TDs, and a career long 76 yard gallop.

to97 egeorge FMThe following year in 1997, Bud accelerated his plans to move to Tennessee, finding a temporary home in Memphis while the stadium was being constructed in Nashville. Memphis itself was not happy about the situation. Memphis and Nashville have never had a great relationship, and on top of it, Memphis had long sought an NFL franchise of its own, so why should Nashville get it? Attendance improved, but only slightly, as the franchise changed from the Houston Oilers- to the Tennessee Oilers.

George continued his punishing running style, earning his first of four consecutive Pro Bowl berths, with 1,399 yards and 6 TDs on 357 carries.  At the time of the Oilers departure from Houston and transition to the Titans, I was going through a very tough time in my life.  It was probably good that I couldn’t focus on the heartbreak of the team leaving the city as I was dealing with a bad relationship of my own. Still I was able to watch George’s smothering effort against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, as the Oilers punished the Cowboys 27-14 behind a great defensive performance and 34 carries for 110 yards from Eddie.  (The Topps Finest Matters card above regales this tale with a certain amount of pride or Cowboy hate.)  Anyway, unhappy with the situation in Memphis, Bud again moved his vagabond team to Nashville, to play at Vanderbilt Stadium in 1998.  Finally in 1999, the Oilers changed their name to the Titans and settled in Bud’s dream Roman Colosseum by the river.

George logged three more Pro Bowl berths during his career, culminating in 2000 with his first and only AP nomination, when he led the NFL in carries with 403. That season he also rushed for a career high 1,509 yards, 14 TDs, and 50 receptions.  He played for the Titans through 2003,  finishing his career in Dallas in 2004. Like many greats, George’s time in Dallas is largely an afterthought as he is remembered by and large as a Titan, but the season there in Dallas allowed him to break the 10k career rushing yardage mark.

Eddie personified durability. Over his career he started 136/141 games in 9 seasons, and did not miss a single start until 2004. Of note, Eddie holds the NFL record for most consecutive seasons with 300 or more carries, at 8.  Eddie is the all-time leading rusher for the Tennessee Titans with 9073 yards and holds many of the franchise’s records. (He played only one season for the HOUSTON Oilers.) George also was the last Oiler that I’d get a jersey of.  It was one of the many pieces of personal things I’d lose after a hasty move out from an ugly breakup in 1998.

The Oilers leaving, coupled with discovering girls, graduating high school, escalating card prices for garbage product, and getting a job, culminated in a perfect storm, with me eschewing the football card market all together.  I happened to be stumbling around Toys ‘R Us one day somewhere during those more blurred years and decided out of the blue to pick up a blister pack of Press Pass 1996. Included was the whole set, but more importantly, the Eddie George Ohio State card that survived all those years.

George has had his jersey retired by Ohio State and in 2011 was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He enjoys television- all forms really, as he has contributed as a fan on the sidelines of Ohio State games, as a commentator and color commentator, and as an actor, in reality, mainstream, sports, and musical productions.

I had long sought Eddie, but his nasty price tag prevented me from taking a shot. Recently a few friends were able to track him down c/o the Ambassador Theater in NYC and got an autograph. Eddie has gone headfirst into acting and was on Broadway in the Musical Chicago.  I got my stuff there before the show closed in February, but his responses slowed to a trickle. Luckily a few months later he came back to his mail and signed my two cards- a big coup for me.

Remember kids: “Always strike while the iron is hot.”

G/GS 141/136
RUSH  2865    YDS 10441     AVG 3.6     TD 68      LG  76t
REC  268      YDS 2227      AVG 8.3     TD  10      LG   54

NFL

Williams, Lee

ud93 lwilliamsCard: Upper Deck 1993
Acquired:  2014,  Albany Acquisition
Failure: TTM 2012, 2013, C/o Home

It appears that my namesake is a shaky TTM signer, and if you are lucky he signs about once a year- all in a batch. Well over a year passed between both my attempts, so I pretty much gave up on this one, and just took him out at auction. It’s a shame because he played for the Oilers, and has my same name, but those thoughts are not a realistic basis for disappointment.

Lee Williams had a pretty stellar career for the Chargers. There’s a lot of amazing talents from college who got to the pro level and fizzled out. Draft pundits now call it, ‘a lack of motivation’ or ‘takes off a few plays’. Williams was a great example of a player who had this knock on him, but did what he had to overcome that label. Coming out of Bethune-Cookman, the Chargers surrendered their 5th pick during the USFL/ NFL Supplemental draft to acquire Williams. It was a gamble at first, but Lee really paid off.  The defensive end came in his rookie season and intercepted a pass, returning it for 66 yards and atouchdown.  In 1986, he had a career high 15 sacks. He’d also hit double digits in 1988 (11) and 1989 (14), selected to the Pro Bowl in both of those seasons. Williams felt he got no respect however and wanted a raise and decided to hold out.

The Oilers were looking to get over a hump. Converting to the 4-3, defensive coordinator Jim Eddy preferred keeping the line fresh, subbing in and switching out players with extreme regularity to keep them fresh.  They just needed one more guy to do it, and with Sean Jones holding out every year or two for a new contract and putting the Oilers feet to the fire, Williams could just help this team get to the next level, while offsetting the future loss of Jones.  The Oilers finally bit on a trade. They offered a 1st and a 5th, but the Chargers settled for a 1st and wide receiver Shawn Jefferson instead. Williams was happy to join the Oilers, and the Chargers in exchange also decided not to go after Lee for the time he was not in camp.  At the time of the trade, Williams had 67.5 sacks, and needed just one more sack to become the Chargers’ All-Time sack leader. He joined the Oilers in 1991  -and promptly broke his forearm. Although he was able to rotate back into the lineup, eventually starting 5 games during the season, Williams had a paltry 3 sacks on the year. His lowest total since his rookie season. With a full 16 game slate under his belt in 1992 however, Williams was able to rack up 11 sacks as the team kicked him inside to defensive tackle. His 1993 season: Not so hot, as again Williams chipped in only 3 sacks, and had reconstructive knee surgery.  After the season with the salary cap looming, the Oilers were caught with their pants down. The salary cap hit them hard and the Oilers had to make hard and bitter decisions. They opted to cut Williams in the hope of resigning him at a reduced salary, but he failed his physical. Lee retired, and currently as of 2015 lives in South Carolina.

G/GS    140/107      TAC  N/a         SAC   82.5        FUM   7
INT 2       YDS  83      AVG 41.5     TD 1       LG   66t