Tag Archives: nfl 1970’s all decade team

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Dierdorf, Dan

CARD: Pro Set 1989 Announcers
ACQUIRED: TTM 2023, C/o Home
SENT: 1/3 RECEIVED: 1/23 (20 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Dan Dierdorf played OL/ DL at Michigan in 1967.
  • A skilled athlete, he was an excellent wrestler and accomplished shot putter.
  • By 1968 he was working fulltime at RT, and spot duty at LT.
  • He was a highly regarded and decorated senior in 1970, receiving numerous Big10 and post season awards.
  • Selected by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 43rd pick of the 1971 NFL Draft.
  • Saw action at all positions but center, and finally took over the RT duties for the remainder of his career there in ’73.
  • Considered one of the finest and dirtiest OL of the 1970s.
  • Sustained a grizzly knee injury in 1979 and missed nearly the entire season.
  • Returned to form in 1980, but retired due to wear and tear after the 1983 campaign.
  • Saw action in 160 contests, starting 150.
  • Started working in TV almost immediately as a color man and sports commentator.
  • Best known for his MNF stint with Al Michaels and Frank Gifford from 1987- early 99.
  • Retired after a 7 year stint in 2021 as the color man for the Michigan Wolverines.

ACCOLADES:

  • NFL 1970’s All Decade Team
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame 1996
  • College Football Hall of Fame
  • Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor
  • Pro Bowl 1974-’78, ’80
  • All Pro 1975-’78, ’80
  • Pete Rozelle Radio- Television Award 2008

NOTES:

Outspoken, beloved, and always ready with a great soundbite, Dierdorf made a natural transition to broadcasting. I remember him fondly for his time working as a commentator/ color man on MNF with Frank and Al. I felt that when he left MNF it was just… missing something. It’s just never been the same. And to me, he’s never been the same. Having him back on CBS after that from ’99 to ’13 just seemed… weird- although I enjoyed it almost as much.

I had wanted to get his autograph on a card for sometime, but the announcer card was the best thing that I had. His Topps cards were all those woeful sideline ‘water cup in hand’ type shots. Although the card got bent in transition back to me, it doesn’t matter, I’m just happy to have this childhood memory secured.

AFL, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Houston, Ken

Cards: Action Packed 1991 Whizzer White Award, Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 12//19 Received: 1/3/20 (days)

Ken Houston was one of the greatest NFL defensive backs to play the game. Playing at safety for the Houston Oilers in 1967, Kenny was a blessed athlete and track man with an incredible nose for the ball. He picked off 4 passes his rookie season and scored 2 TDs. (He scored a 3rd TD via blocked field goal that season as well.)

Then from 1968 through 1979, Ken was named to the Pro Bowl, while also garnishing 2 time AP Honors (10 time 2nd team AP Honors). He scored 2 more TDs on interceptions in 1968, then tied the NFL record with 4 (with a 5th via fumble recovery) on 9 interceptions in 1971.

Kenny was traded to the Washington Redskins in 1973. for at the time a blockbuster deal. The Redskins handed over 5 players to land Houston. Ken paid off as over the next 8 seasons recorded 24 more interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries.

Over Kenny’s storried career he scored a TD 4 different ways: Interception, Fumble, Punt, and Blocked Kick. He was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the 1986 class. He’s also been showered with honors and accolades.

As of 2020, Ken lives in the Houston area and is a member of neither the Redskins or Titans Ambassadors group, but rather the Houston Texans, and makes appearances for the team. He does quite a lot of work for charities, including Houston area hospitals.

I had hoped to get Ken on an Oilers card, but frankly I hated them all, so I went with these Redskins cards. Ah well, these two were by far my favorite, even though they were both post playing career finds. His Action Packed Whizzer White is an exceptional specimen, while is Legends shows him laying the wood out.

I had gotten these cards some time ago and sat on them. I hoped that I’d corner him at a Texans team function but no dice. I actually met his son at a pregame event back in 2015 when the Texans played the Chiefs and he was very nice. It only took me another 4 years or so to finally go ahead and send these out to him with a small signing fee. He turned these around in no time flat, and that in turn triggered a tsunami on different TTM sites for requests from him.

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NFL, XFL

Pearson, Drew (3)

to84 pearson pset90 sb X to80 pearson to79 pearson pset90 sb XXII

Cards: ProSet 1990 SB X, ProSet 1990 SB XII, Topps 1980, Topps 1979, ProSet 1992 88’s, Upper Deck 1997 MM, Topps 1984.
Acquired: IP 11/8/2014, GameDay Sports Tour Austin, Texas.
See Also: Drew Pearson “Mr. Clutch”, Drew Pearson (2)

Texas Autograph Club, or TAC for short, has been a valuable resource for my autograph collecting hobby.  I got wind through GameDay Sports Tours that they were coming to Austin through TAC, and although I have gotten Drew Pearson multiple times in the past, I was still interested in getting his autograph on a few more cards. Chief among them was this Upper Deck that he shares with James Lofton, that I will get Lofton on at a later date. The ProSet 1992 card that he shares with Michael Irvin is also a very nice card, however I doubt seriously I’ll ever get the other 88 to sign this card, especially for the exorbitant price he charges. The other Topps cards were filler in my inventory while the ProSet serve in historical retrospect of Drew’s career. Pearson scored a TD in the Cowboys pset92 pearsonirvin 88Super Bowl X loss to the Steelers,

The event went well enough. It was held in a moderately rough location in Austin, but living in California for a few years, – I had shopped in more impoverished places, so it didn’t bother me at all.  I ran into a few other members of the board that I knew and talked to them for a bit about what they were getting signed. I was pretty close to the front of the line, so it was easy for me to get all of these cards signed. Drew started signing and stopped only briefly to ask me, “If this was it?” He flashed his customary Super Bowl ring at me and I was done. It was pretty much an in and out transaction.

Drew was finally inducted into the Cowboys Ring of ud97 pearson lofton mmHonor and does a lot of sports radio work, hosting his own self-titled hour long show on the Fox Sports Network. He also does color commentary for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. Pearson lives in Plano, Tx and is considered one of the 10 Greatest Cowboys Players ever.