Tag Archives: Los Angeles Raiders

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL

Jackson, Bo

Action Packed 1990, #128

CARD: Action Packed 1990
ACQUIRED: 2022, In Person Signing

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Bo Jackson was a tremendously talented athlete, being selected first round by the New York Yankees (1982) before he even hit college.
  • Opting to go to Auburn, Bo went hog wild as a RB running for 4,303 yards over his college career.
  • He was also an accomplished track and field star.
  • After winning the Heisman Trophy, he’d be selected in the first round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
  • Bo refused to sign with the team, citing that they attempted to sabotage his budding baseball career.
  • He’d sign instead with the Kansas City Royals- who selected Bo in 1986.
  • While playing with the Royals, the Bucs gave up on Jackson, relinquishing his rights.
  • Bo was then drafted again- this time by the Los Angeles Raiders, in the 7th round of the ’87 NFL Draft.
  • After a bit of arm twisting and fan service, Bo signed with the Raiders, with the understanding that the team would not interfere with his baseball career.
  • Bo for the next 4 seasons would miss training camp and 6-9 weeks while he was wrapping up his baseball commitments with the Royals.
  • In his rookie year, he quieted doubters with a sensational MNF performance where he ran over the Seattle Seahawks and Brian Bosworth for a then Raider record 221 yards rushing.
  • He had 81 carries for 554 yards and a whopping 6.8 yards per carry and a 91 yard TD in 1987.
  • In 1989, Bo ran for a career high 973 yards and a 92 yard TD.
  • By this point Bo was becoming a multi sport star and one of the major darlings of sports marketing.
  • In 1990, he returned again to the Raiders, and helped galvanize the team to the playoffs, bursting for an 88 yard TD and 698 yards on 125 carries.
  • That year he became the first athlete to be named to both the Pro Bowl and the All-Star Game.
  • During the playoffs against the Bengals, Bo was tackled from behind where he suffered a hip injury that was later determined to be a career ending injury to his football career.
  • Bo was cut by the Royals soon thereafter, signing with the Chicago White Sox.
  • He’d be exclusively a baseball player and a DH, before spending his entire 1992 season rehabbing from the hip injury.
  • Bo played a final season for the California Angels in 1994- retiring after the season was ended due to a strike, to spend more time with his family.

ACCOLADES:

  • Heisman Award 1985
  • Pro Bowl 1990
  • Auburn #34 retired
  • College Football Hall of Fame
  • AL All-Star 1989
  • All-Star Game MVP 1989
  • 1990 Pro Bowl (reserve)

NOTES:

Bo, is of course, fondly remembered by fans of Tecmo Bowl for being an unstoppable force in the game. When my friends and I played, and one of us was the Raiders, about the only way to stop him was to actually select Bo’s run play on every play of the game, lest you take a chance that he runs for a TD on you on the one play you forgot to.

Outside of what media he already appeared in before he retired, Bo’s done a lot of stuff since retirement otherwise, dabbling in TV and commercials. He loves to do archery, and donates and raises a lot of money for charity.

I spent the most money ever on getting an in person autograph of Bo Jackson. I’m not sure what I was expecting. To him it was a transaction but to me I wanted it to be an experience. I guess I was ultimately disappointed.

My friend Jeff and I bought tickets to the event at Barton Creek Mall. We thought it’d be in a retail outlet, but instead it was in an open area where tables and memorabilia had been set up in the mall.

Once Bo sat down, he didn’t really have much to say, rushing us through, even telling Jeff he should have his items ready to be signed when he walked up. Later when I went through the line and got his autograph, he took the card of the guy in front of me and slightly bent it intentionally while he was talking to him before he signed it. Thankfully since I had a stiff Action Packed card, he didn’t have a chance to do the same thing for me.

Unfortunately Bo remains a strong set need for me, as I need him in multiple sets.

NFL

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MLB

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NFL

Hester, Jessie (2)

Gameday 1992, #29
Pro Set 1990, #758
Skybox 1992, #94

CARDS: Pro Set 1990 Update, Skybox 1992, Gameday 1992
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 7/6 RECEIVED: 12/13 (160 days)
FAILURE: 2010, C/o Home

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

Yes! At long last another retry reply in Jessie Hester. Jessie was one of my very first failures from way back in 2010. I thought that I had sent to him multiple times in between 2010 and 2022, but apparently I had not. He had some great cards that I appealed to, especially the classic shot of him from Pro Set’s 1990 Update. (An Action Packed 1992 and Pro Set 1991 were sacrificed to the mail gods in the previous attempt.) The Gameday and the Skybox cards over the year became particular set needs and all of them are welcome additions to the collection.

Arena, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Branch, Cliff (1948-2019)

Upper Deck Legends 1997, #AL-80

CARD: Upper Deck Legends 1997
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2021

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Breathtaking track man and WR played in ’70 and ’71 for the Buffs.
  • Caught 36 passes for 665 yards and 3 TDs, while rushing for 354 yards on 31 carries (5 TDs).
  • Selected in the 3rd round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.
  • Played during the prime years of the ‘Dead Ball Era’.
  • Had 60 catches, a league leading 1092 yards and 13 TDs in 1974.
  • Added another 893 yards and 9 TDs in ’75.
  • Had 1,111 yards, an 88 yard long, and a league leading 12 TDs in ’76.
  • Curiously his 24.2 yards per catch did not lead the NFL that year- despite catching 46 passes.
  • In ’77 posted 33 receptions for 540 yards and 6 TDs.
  • Continued to be a long bomb threat throughout the remainder of his career, posting an 86 yard catch in ’80 and a 99 yard TD in ’83.
  • Retired after the 1985 season.
  • Was the bridge between two eras of the Silver and Black winning Super Bowls XI, XV, and XVIII.
  • Played one season in the Arena Football League in 1988 for the Los Angeles Cobras.

ACCOLADES:

  • NFL Record – 99 Yard TD reception (tied)
  • All-Pro 1974-’76
  • Pro Bowl 1974-’77
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame 2022

NOTES:

It is a testament to the Silver and Black that Branch finally is in the HoF. Long overdue, he was being held back by his ‘Dead Ball Era’ stats, a logger jam of WR with sexier stats, and a stigma against inducting too many Raiders from that era into the HoF. Frequently the most dangerous offensive player on the field, Branch’s honor was long deserved.

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EPITAPH:

Cliff Branch passed away August 3rd, 2019 of natural causes. He was 71. He was posthumously was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.