Tag Archives: Los Angeles Raiders

NFL

Bell, Greg

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1990, Score 1990 Ground Force
Acquired: 2017, Paid Signing
Failure: 2010, C/o Home

Greg Bell is one of these pros that got no respect. He flew under the radar at Notre Dame, posting 158 career carries, 870 yards and 10 TDs. His stats were diminished due to a broken leg in his junior year and a sprained ankle in his senior campaign. He’d be selected in the first round of the 1984 draft by the Buffalo Bills. The Bills were reeling from the loss of All-Pro back Joe Cribbs to the USFL Birmingham Stallions.  They ran a ground pound offense that was very much dependent on a solid backfield.  Greg’s rookie season was that solid effort the Bills were looking for. He had 262 carries for 1100 yards -on the dot- 7 TDs and an NFL long 85 yard jaunt. He also displayed solid hands catching 34 passes for 277 yards and a TD. He’d earn his one and only Pro Bowl appearance after the season.

In 1985 things got awkward, as Joe Cribbs returned to the Bills. Greg split time at RB and FB for Buffalo, but with Cribbs return, it ate into Bell’s numbers. Still Greg set a career high with 58 receptions for 576 yards, to go along with a bit over 880 yards and 8 TDs rushing. After a poor showing in 1986, Greg found himself as an integral part of NFL history.

In 1987, Eric Dickerson was having a nasty holdout with the Los Angeles Rams- a notoriously cheap franchise at the time.  The Rams pulled a colossal trigger with both the Indianapolis Colts AND the Buffalo Bills. The Rams received a bevy of draft choices from both teams and running backs Owen Gill (IND)  and Greg Bell.  The Colts got Dickerson, and the Bills got Cornelius Bennett. Before the Herschel Walker trade, this was considered the largest blockbuster trade of all time.

Greg saw very little time in the lineup during 1987. It’d be in 1988 that he’d really shine. Under the Ernie Zampese Rams offense and coach John Robinson, the Rams were a threat not only to throw the ball with Jim Everett, but to run it as well with Greg. Bell had his best season as a pro in ’88, racking up 1212 yards on 288 carries, he’d also lead the NFL in rushing TDs with 16.  He’d follow up his stellar 88 season with much the same in 1989 with 272 carries for 1137 yards and a league leading 15 TD rushing. – All this from the guy who was considered a ‘toss in’ on the Eric Dickerson trade. The problem is Greg didn’t apparently really earn too many friends in the Rams organization. Bell was just different…  He was also what was termed as a ‘sidewinding runner’ which could also have contributed to the 13 fumbles he had in 2 seasons in LA.

Greg wanted to renegotiate his contract with the Rams in 1990. The notoriously stingy Rams felt otherwise, especially after just signing him to a new deal last year. With seemingly solid runningback depth at the time, and gambling on the health of former Seahawk Curt Warner, LA jettisoned Greg for a 4th round pick to the LA Raiders. There he just… disappeared. True. The Raiders were stacked at runningback with Marcus Allen and  (later in the year after baseball commitments,) Bo Jackson, but Bell had no media impact whatsoever. I remember looking at his Action Packed Rookies card and just being so upset he was a Raider.  He was active for just 6 games in 1990 rushing for just 164 yards on 47 carries and scoring just 1 TD. He’d battle for an injury settlement as a final roster cut and retire in 1991.

Greg has had a lot of time to reflect on his playing days. He enjoys being a dad and has his own radio show.

Well Greg Bell was turning into quite the white whale for me. When I mailed out to him in 2010, I was excited for the chance to get his autograph. Instead I got my return envelope back with my cards unsigned. While that was disappointing, I had hoped for another shot to get him on these two cards. Months turned to years, and I waited patiently for a paid signing. Finally almost 8 years after I failed, I found a paid signing through Sportscollectors.net.

G/GS 80/67     RUSH 1204     YDS 4959    AVG 4.1    TD 51   LG 85T
REC 157    YDS 1307    AVG 8.3    TD 7      LG 49

CFL, NFL

Fernandez, Mervyn ‘Swervin’ (2)

Cards: Action Packed 1990, Score Supplemental 1989, Topps 1990 1,000 yard club, ProSet 1989
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 1/23     Received: 4/14   (83 days)
See Also: ‘Swervin’ Mervyn Fernandez

Ah, Mervyn Fernandez, such an underrated receiver. After proving his worth in the CFL for the BC Lions, Fernandez showed up to the NFL in 1987.  A shrewd selection by Al Davis in the loaded 1983 draft, Fernandez was picked by the Raiders in the 10th round.  After a few years with the Raiders, he returned to the BC Lions to finish out his career in 1994.  Always well remembered by the CFL, he’s received numerous accolades from the league since retirement.

Fernandez has some great cards. His Score 1989 Supplemental is really nice. The color on this card is outstanding, even without adjustment.  The Action Packed 1990 card was a really solid shot of Mervyn. It’s a dynamic action shot of him although the framing was typical of most cards of that era with the color framing in gold.  The ProSet 1989 was really the card set that blew the doors off of Topps stranglehold on the market. It’s a great card through and through however it suffers from the offset cutting issues that plagued ProSet throughout most of its print cycle. Topps inserted a nice glossy 1000 yard club card at the top of every pack which all had solid action shots of their players. After I ran out of Action Packed cards to buy at the 7-11 everyday after school, I’d slowly soak in the Topps cards. Mervyn’s autograph certainly stuck out nicely on this canvas.

NFL

Williams, Harvey

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1991, Action Packed Rookies 1992, Gameday 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 8/1     Received:  8/11  (10 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

Harvey Williams is an intriguing story in football history.  A tricky inside runner with really nice hands, Harvey played for the LSU Tigers from 1986 to 1990. His best season came in 1987 when he had 1001 yards on 154 carries and 11 TDs, along with 20 receptions. He finished 3rd in school history with 2,660 yards rushing, and set a few records along the way. He rushed for a single game high 213 yards against Kentucky, and tied a school record with 4 TDs rushing against Miami, OH.  With intriguing size and speed, scouts were concerned about lingering knee injuries and his consistency entering the pro level.

Harvey was the second runningback taken during the 1991 Draft. He’d go at #21 overall to the Chiefs surprisingly- a team that was deep with Christian Okoye, Barry Word, and Todd McNair at runningback. Still Harvey was pictured as the game breaker that the Chiefs needed for their Martyball offense. (Notably the 1991 draft is a graveyard of runningbacks. Among them, the most successful is probably Gary Brown– and he was converted from Safety.)  Harvey had a pretty decent run his rookie campaign.  He led the team in yards from scrimmage with 1,118 yards putting in time as a kick returner (524 yards), and change of pace back (97 carries, 447 yards, 16 receptions 147 yards). He also scored 2 TDs receiving and 1 rushing.   He continued to bide his time in 1992 as a kick returner and 3rd down back.  After the backfield moved on from KC, Harvey got beat out by future HoFer Marcus Allen for the starting gig in 1993.  Things got worse when Harvey suffered a frightening hit that left him motionless on the turf.  While he recovered, it pretty much ended his season and his time in KC.

He finally reached his potential when he signed with the Raiders the following year in 1994. Harvey was a true Raider through and through. He walked the walk and talked the talk.  During his first season with the Raiders he ran 282 times for 983 yards and 4 TDs. He also got to display those impressive hands, snatching 47 receptions for 391 yards and 3 TDs. In 1995 he had his best season as a pro registering 1114 yards on the ground and 9 TDs, along with 54 receptions for 375 yards. While he lost the starting job to Napoleon Kaufman in 1996, Williams continued to play for the Raiders and even made a memorable transition to TE/ H-Back, retiring after the 1998 season.

Great cards here of Harvey. It was impossible to choose even my top 5, as all the vendors at the time had great photos of him in action. These 3 cards were among my favorite. Both of his Action Packed entries really stand out with their vibrant color and just bursting with action. Even though I am very disappointed in the dying marker he used to sign my cards, I was happy to finally get Harvey’s autograph.

G/Gs  110/47    Rush 1021    Yds 3952     Avg 3.9     TD  20     Lg 60
Rec  193     Yds 1442   Avg 7.5    Td 7   Lg 32
KR  54   Yds 1135   Avg 20.3    Td 0   Lg 76