Tag Archives: kansas city chiefs

NFL

Richardson, John “Bucky”


Card: Star Pics 1992, SkyBox 1992, GameDay 1992, ProSet 1992.
Acquired: In Person, Houston Oilers Training Camp 1992. TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 7/5    Received: 7/14   (9 days)

John “Bucky” Richardson was a scrappy quarterback from Texas A&M in the dying days of the Southwestern Conference who did almost as much damage with his legs as he did with his passing arm. He finished his career as the SWC All-time leading rusher for quarterbacks with 2095 yards, and just had a knack for winning, finishing with a 24-6-1 record,  2 SWC Championships and 2 bowl games victories, in the Cotton and the Holiday Bowl.

The Houston Oilers would make the surprising grab in the 8th round of the 1992 draft and take Bucky with the 220th pick. (Brad Johnson went 7 picks later to the Vikings, but as of this date, no member of the 1992 draft has been enshrined.)

An immediate fan favorite due to the proximity of A&M, Richardson unseated Houston 3rd string quarterback Reggie Slack for the position and rode the bench squarely behind Warren Moon and Cody Carlson. Bucky was a great athlete and with a ‘do it all’ mentality, even contributing on special teams for the Oilers. At training camp demand for his autograph even rivaled that of Warren Moon, but I would manage to get his autograph on this really nice Star Pics 1992 card.

After the Oilers collapsed again the playoffs in 1993, owner Bud Adams made good on his threats and dismantled the Oilers, starting by trading quarterback Warren Moon to Minnesota. With Moon gone, Carlson was the defacto starter to begin the 1994 season, but fans began clamoring for Richardson during the preseason after his memorable last second Herculaneum heroics against the Dallas Cowboys. Carlson’s career in the meantime took a bad turn and injuries sidelined him for the majority of the season, leaving the starting job firmly in the hands of 3rd year pro Richardson.

While fans were overjoyed hoping to see the same heroics from Bucky that they had seen during the preseason, he would not be given any luxury to learn on the job as the team completely collapsed. He’d step in throw for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns in an opening loss to the Colts,  but after misfires in the following weeks, Carlson stepped back in only briefly, before Richardson would split time with Billy Joe Tolliver for the remainder of 1994. Although Richardson was good as a change of pace quarterback, he finished with a 1-3 record as a starter for the team- with his lone victory coming in the 24-10 season finale win over the New York Jets.

With Jeff Fisher now in place as the Oilers coach, Richardson was allowed to leave via free agency at the conclusion of the season. The Dallas Cowboys signed Richardson in 1995, converting him to fullback but he would not see any playing time. He’d be on the move again in 1996 as Bucky signed with the Chiefs, ironically beating the Cowboys again in the preseason at quarterback. He’d finish his career sitting on the bench in Kansas City.

Since football Bucky has retired to Houston where he’s still remembered fondly by the A&M faithful for his playing days in the SWC. He also runs a water treatment facility and coaches little league football. I sent off for the Skybox, ProSet, and GameDay autographs last month, and received a response in under 10 days.

The GameDay card is an odd card with 4 players occupying the image. Of note this is probably the only card that exists for the trio of Davis, Dafney or Brown in their Oilers uniforms. Unfortunately none of them made the squad and Dafney and Davis would become journeymen, respectively at their positions. The ProSet 1992 Series 2 card is quite garish. Bad design, bad logo change, and don’t you think they could’ve gotten a photo of Bucky with his helmet on in action? -Unfortunately this is when ProSet really started cutting corners.  This Skybox one though is really nice, even though they sacrifice promoting the company on the card front. Exceptional framing, especially with Bucky silhouetted against the word “ROOKIE”. By far my favorite of the group, outside of the Star Pics offering.

G/Gs  16/4     Att  185    Comp  97     Yds  1257   Pct  52.5
Td   6    Int   6     Rat  71.4  |
Rush  33     Yds  225   Avg  6.8    Td 1    Lg 18

NFL

Okoye, Christian “The Nigerian Nightmare”

Cards: ProSet 1990 PB, ProSet 1990 LL, Score 1990 HC, Score 1990 GF, Action Packed 1992
Acquired: In Person 2011, Okoye Youth Sports Clinic
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o The Okoye Foundation

The last time I attempted to get Christian’s autograph was in February of 2010. He’d be the first RTS I’d notch on my way back into the collecting field. I really wanted to get his Pro Set 1990 LL card, Score 1990 Hot Card, and his Score 1990 Ground Force cards signed. I put the cards back into my box and forgot about them. I recently decided to do some volunteer work since this job market has been so frustrating. After doing a bit of research I recalled that Christian had a youth skills camp that he runs in Rancho Cucamonga- which is literally down the road from Pasadena. I shot his foundation off an email and asked them how I could volunteer and I received a fairly prompt response and soon I was in contact with Christian himself- which felt really odd- since he was an amazing runningback for the Chiefs back in the late 80s and early 90s.

I worked at the youth skills camp on June 19th and was able to grab his autographs on these cards after doing a lot of just different general things to help out. I was basically a jack of all trades, taking photos, helping with set up, and providing Christian a marker to autograph kids shirts with. I was amazed at how many kids didn’t know who he was or that he played professional football. When I broke it to them who he was they reacted with surprised glee. The whole process was very rewarding for me as I met a couple of players and shot the breeze with Chris Hale, Ricky Ellis, and Derrick Harvey (RB San Diego St) about a variety of things from the Houston Oilers being a horrible organization to player benefits pre 1990. There’s just this worthwhile feeling I got from watching these kids learn from professional players drills, secrets of the game, and general words of encouragement.  It was also nice feeling helpful and useful, but it was odd to have Christian ask me for my phone number so we could brainstorm some things for him in the future.

Christian Okoye was born in Nigeria where he came to the United States to run track at Azusa Pacific. Initially, he really didn’t care for American football, but when his nation refused to accept him for the Nigerian Olympic team, he channeled that frustration into pummeling opponents on the gridiron. Okoye was a surprising combination of power and speed, reminiscent of powerback Earl Campbell, and would be drafted in the 2nd round of the 1987 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. (Brent Fullwood, DJ Dozier, Roger Vick, Paul Palmer, Kenny Flowers and Terrance Flagler would all come off the board before Okoye’s name was called.)

Okoye would have a subpar rookie season in 1987, rushing for 660 yards. In 1988, despite injuries, he’d pull in another 473.  With the hiring of Marty Schottenheimer in 1989, Okoye would explode out of the gates, leading the NFL in rushing and narrowly beating out rookie Barry Sanders for the NFL rushing title with 1480 yards. He would also lead the NFL in carries with 370, and be named to the ProBowl and All Pro after the season. 1990 would see Christian again limited by injuries rushing for 805 yards, but he’d rebound in 1992 with 1031 yards and another ProBowl nod. In his final season in 1993 Okoye would be limited to primarily goal line situations, and retire after the season after 6 seasons as the franchise’s all time leading rusher (since surpassed).

When I met Christian I mentioned Tecmo Super Bowl to him, he told me that he was aware of the game. I explained to him that in the game that he was virtually unstoppable and  he just tossed players aside on the field like rag dolls, which he found to be pretty funny. Blessed with good speed and tied for the highest hitting power in the game at a whopping 94, you just had to select Okoye plays on defense to keep him from scoring. He was truly a Tecmo Super Bowl legend.

Since retirement Okoye has retired to the Rancho Cucamonga area. He is the president of the California Sports Hall of Fame, runs the Christian Okoye Foundation and also is very active on the NFL Alumni circuit. He also remains one of the most popular and requested Chiefs for public speaking and appearances.

G/Gs 79/65     Att 1246        Yds 4897        Avg  3.9          Td  40        Lg  59   |
Rec 42       Yds 294      Avg  7.0       Td 0      Lg  22

Here are the photos from the 2011 Okoye Youth Skills day I was at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wleebolton


NFL, WLAF

Laufenberg, Babe

Card: Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: In Person 1993, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

Most famously remembered as the Dallas Cowboys 3rd string quarterback during the late 80s and early 90s, Babe Laufenberg was also the #2 overall choice of the WLAF expansion Ohio Glory in 1992.

Originally drafted out of Indiana in the 6th round of the 1985 draft by the Washington Redskins, Babe would not see playing time with the team. In 1986, he’d sign with the Saints, suiting up one game, but not play. This trend continued for Babe as he returned to the Skins for 1987.

In 1988 however, Laufenberg signed with the Chargers and started 6 games for the team that year. He’d compile a 2-4 record as a starter, throwing for 778 yards, with 4 touchdowns to 5 interceptions.  He’d move to Dallas in 1989 as the 3rd string quarterback behind Troy Aikman and Steve Walsh. He’d suit up for 3 games in 1989, after Aikman went down with an injury, but Babe still did not see any playing time until 1990.

With Steve Walsh traded to New Orleans, Laufenberg was elevated to second string for the remainder of the season.  Once again, Aikman was  injured, this time during Week 16 against the Eagles. Babe finished out the game,  as the team lost 17-3, completing 13 of 36 passes for 140 yards…. and 4 interceptions.  Laufenberg then started week 17 throwing for 129 yards and a touchdown to Jay Novacek in a losing effort blow out to the Atlanta Falcons 26-7. It’d be the last time he’d start a game in the NFL.

In 1991, Laufenberg rode into camp I’d swear on a Vespa. A character- you could always count on Babe to say something quotable or give people appropriate nicknames, like “Moose“. The Cowboys were comfortable with newly signed Steve Beuerlein in camp behind Aikman and cut the Laufenberg early on into camp that year to give him a chance to catch on somewhere else.  He’d sign with the Chiefs for the season.

Babe wound up being drafted by the Ohio Glory of the WLAF in 1992. I remember in that preseason game against San Antonio at San Marcos, Riders fans heckled Babe, as he was sacked and intercepted multiple times, en route to a shellacking by San Antonio. The Glory returned to play the Riders later in the 1992 season, but by then the team was starting Pat O’Hara.

Fans were still wrathful about the Cowboys missing the playoffs in 1990, blaming Laufenberg for the loss to the Eagles and Falcons, but really the Cowboys had to win both games- and they never stood a chance against the Eagles in the first place. Sports is a great place for revisionist history however, and Babe to many fans, despite his popularity was scapegoated by fans in Dallas  at that time for those games. -Personally, I loved the guy. Great personality. Amazing to listen to talk.

After the WLAF folded, Babe went into broadcasting where through 2011 he is a successful color commentator and sports broadcaster in Dallas.

G/Gs   N/a    Att 115   Comp 62   Yds  622  Pct 53.9   Td  2   Int 6    Rat  53.6