I saw a cheap signing for Mark that I had to get in on, so I plunked down the cash and went all in. The Pro Set 1991 card, was actually a special edition #800 for the Defensive Rookie of the Year. It was released as part of the Pro Set 1990 Update. I hadn’t ever seen the All Madden card before. I had probably gone through nearly an entire box at 7-11, but never gotten one. Great pickups.
Cards: Pro Set 1990 DRoY, Pro Set 1990 Interception Leader, Action Packed Rookies 1990 Acquired: 2019, Paid Signing
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Played safety at USC from 1987-1989.
First player in USC history to win the Jim Thorpe award after a banner year in 1989 with 107 total tackles, 3 fumble recoveries, and 7 picks for 58 yards.
Selected in the first round, 6th overall, by the Chicago Bears in the 1990 NFL Draft to play free safety.
Recorded Bears rookie record 10 interceptions.
Played 7 seasons with Bears from making 20 interceptions for 197 yards and a TD along with 10 FF, and 587 TT.
Spent 1997-1999 with division rival Detroit, playing in 44 games and adding another 11 picks and 5 FF.
Last season in 2000 was with the Redskins.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
1990 Defensive Rookie of the Year
100 Greatest Bears of All-Time
Jim Thorpe Award (1989)
Pro Bowl (1990, 1991, 1993)
All Pro 1990
Second Team All Pro 1991
Action Packed Rookies 1990, #30. Pro Set 1991 Interception Leader, #18
NOTES:
This signing was quite affordable- I believe coming in at $10.00 a card, so I threw 3 out there. He’s nearly impossible to get by mail so I was very happy to get him on my Action Packed Rookies as it is a set need. It is a disappointing card, as it is his back… looks like in a huddle, and his face and hands are completely obscured.
Pro Set though- great cards. In fact he shares a Pro Set 1990 #800 with Emmitt Smith that was part of the Update set you mailed out for, as well as card #1 in Pro Set 1991. If another signing comes around this cheap, I will try again, even though his autograph is quite pedestrian.
Mark Carrier makes his debut in Tecmo Super Bowl and is a monster on defense for the Bears secondary clocking in as the 5th rated defensive back with the highest interception ability.
Well 2019 is off to a good start with my first official success in Mark Carrier former Bucs, Browns, and Panthers receiver. Along the way with all three franchises he seemed to leave an indelible and respectable mark on each franchise. It wasn’t until 2018 that wide receiver Mike Evans of the Bucs broke Mark’s single season receiving yardage record for the franchise during the last game of the season. A stellar TTM respondent, Mark signs virtually everything- provided you of course don’t confuse him with the defensive back from the same era. As this is the 10th year I’ve been back at the game, I’ve decided to dust off the books and write some of those players who responded to me over the years. Mark was one of those who responded way, way back in 2011, signing a slew of cards for me.
In 2014, Mark announced the Panthers second round pick at the draft. As of this post he is the Director of Player Relations for the team.
A player with a stack of amazing cards, I had wanted to reload and get back to Mark again for a few more that I had overlooked.
Probably my favorite of this stack is the Upper Deck 1992 Buccaneers Checklist. The artwork is just amazing on this card. They just don’t make them like they used to anymore. The bold outline around the card is just right and frames the image in a very classy way. I especially like how Mark’s profile image and him catching the football take precedence over the buccaneers by simple boldness of color.
His 1,000 Yard Club card was like most cards from Topps to me at the time- always at least a distant 3rd or 4th in quality or interest to me. While the look is quite dated, that is part of the charm of this card. The boldness of the yellow combined with the orange and green is typical of design from that era. Still it is a great photo of him and at the time it was the only glossy card that was in each pack.
As usual during this period for the most part, Action Packed set a high bar for others to follow in terms of photo quality. This card was no different, and is an exciting action shot of Mark. Most photos it seemed were also framed from this distance in the set as well in a very comfortable ‘in your face’ distance. I didn’t have this card but when I saw it, I knew it’d look amazing autographed so I picked up one.
The GameDay 1992 card feels like the weakest to me of the group. Maybe because it is the only one with a defender in the image, or the fact that the rules of the card are for only the main subject to be in color, take away from the overall shot, but regardless- this was more of a set need than anything else.
Mark has a pretty solid autograph all the way around. The looping C in his last name really makes his mark go.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
