Tag Archives: New England Patriots

NFL, NFLE

Lambert, Dion

Card: Star Pics 1992
Acquired: TTM 1993, Patriots Blitz

Dion Lambert was drafted out of UCLA by the New England Patriots in the 4th round of the 1992 draft.  He earned Pac-10 Honorable Mention honors in 1990 when he made 48 tackles and broke up 4 passes, but his senior season was largely marred by a torn tendon in his right foot.  An aggressive man to man defender, at 6’1″, 190, Lambert was thought to be a nice sized defensive back that the team maybe able to slot at safety with his long arms and huge hands.  Dion was also strong for his size, rarely got blocked off the ball, and possessed tremendous closing speed.

Dion would play two seasons for New England, making 23 tackles and a fumble recovery in 1992, and 1 pick, 1 FF and 28 tackles starting 4 games in 1993. Lambert would sign with the Seahawks in 1994 where he’d play through 1995.  In 1997 the Amsterdam Admirals of the NFLE would draft Dion with their 8th round pick of the positional draft, and he’d play one season there before retiring. Since then, Dion has done some work for Greg Bell’s Athletes For Life foundation and football camps.

A nice signature in red ink on a great Star Pics 1992 card, I’d get Dion’s autograph along with a host of other Patriots at the conclusion of the 1993 season. Real nice job by the guys at Star Pics, but a common error in design is creating type that flows up the card, such as on the right of this card with the position and name of the player. Regardless, it’s still a well designed card outside of it, and the player framing inside the box is a tantalizing size to the eye combined with vivid colors and nice photography.

G/Gs 31/5     Tac  56      Sac  0         Fum  1        Int   1        Yds   0     Avg 0    Td 0    Lg 0

NFL

Vaughn, Jon

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1991, Sky Box 1992
Acquired: TTM 1993, 1994, Patriots Blitz

Dimunitive slasher back Jon Vaughn (5’9″, 203) was a speedy track Michigan Wolverine product, who declared as a junior and was drafted in the 5th round by the New England Patriots. Vaughn was perhaps most dangerous in the capacity as a kick returner where he had 4 touchdowns in 103 returns.  His rookie season Jon would return 34 kicks for 717 yards and a 99 yard touchdown. He’d follow up this with an impressive 1992, with 451 yards rushing and 20 kick returns for 564 yards and a 100 yard return for a touchdown. Jon’s 28.2 yard per return average would lead the NFL.

In 1993, Vaughn would find himself traded to the Seattle Seahawks, where again he’d find himself in the same role, playing there through 1994. In 1994 he’d return 33 kicks for 829 yards and 2 touchdowns, virtually splitting his time with the Seahawks and Chiefs averaging 25.1 yards per return. He’d be released during training camp in 1995 and retire.

Two of my favorite card sets side by side: Action Packed Rookies 1991 and SkyBox 1992. SkyBox with the giant name behind the player who bursts off the background and Action Packed with its red and gold and minimal design really make it happen. Jon Vaughn’s signature is interesting as I think it’s one of few where the player has changed the “#” to a “$”.

G/Gs  60/9     Rush  207          Yds 846            Avg 4.1           Td 4          lg 37   |
Rec 23       Yds  178             Avg  7.7          Td 1            lg 32   |
Kr  103        Yds  2390            Avg 23.2            Td   4       lg 100t

NFL

Rembert, Johnny

Cards: ProSet 1990, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 1992, 1993, Patriots Blitz

Johnny Rembert was drafted in the 4th round of the 1983 draft out of Clemson. A nice find by the Patriots at just the right place, Rembert would be named to the Pro Bowl twice during his career in 89 and 90 largely because he was a run stopper, recording  137 tacles in 1988, and 122 tackles in 1989.  Injuries began to set in after that and derailed future Probowl attempts. Johnny played 10 seasons for the Patriots starting 72 games at LILB, RILB, and LOLB for the team.

He was named to the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2009 and currently is the Jaguars Quality Control Representative that oversees uniforms.

G/Gs 126/72    Tac  N/a    Sac 16.0   Fum 11
Int   7    Yds  70    Avg   10.0    Td  0     Lg 37