Tag Archives: nfl 75th anniversary team

AFL, College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Alworth, Lance “Bambi”

Acquired: Austin Citywide Garage Sale 1996

So I was wandering around a citywide garage sale and saw that a bar was selling all of its close out merchandise at breakneck prices. For 20 bucks I got a nice lot of autographed memorabilia, so I didn’t think it’d be a bad deal to get- even if they were bad considering how much they’d cost in real life. I started a new binder where I kept photo and other types of autographs than cards.

Well, Lance Alworth is a class of 1978 Hall of Fame receiver that played his career for the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys.  Nicknamed “Bambi” by his teammates because of his almost effortless moves he was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders,  who almost immediately traded to the Chargers where he played the majority of his career from 1962 to 1970, often playing quietly through injury including fractures to both of his hands in 1966. He was named an AFL All Star 7 times, and lead the AFL in yardage 3 seasons ( 1966, 1968, and 1969). After the 1970 season he was traded to the Cowboys where he scored the first touchdown in Superbowl VI and afterwards subsequently retired with both an AFL championship ring and a Superbowl ring.

Things have been slightly rough for Alworth. Players of that day and age weren’t paid like they are now, and he had a bad patch there. Since the mid seventies Alworth has opened a series of storage units across California. He’s been also inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame (1977), San Diego Hall of Champions (1972), his number (19) was retired by the Chargers, named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team, the College Football Hall of Fame (1984), the AFL All-Time Team, the Mississipi Sports Hall of Fame, and finally was named number 31 on the 100 Greatest Football Players of all time list from “The Sporting News”.

 

G 136   Rec 542   Yds 10266    Avg 18.9    Td 85   Lg 85

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF, usfl

White, Reggie ‘Minister of Defense’ (1961-2004)

Cards: Action Packed 1991, Action Packed 1992.
Acquired: TTM c/o The Green Bay Packers, 1994.

Reggie White is arguably one of the greatest defensive ends, and one of the best players to be imported to the NFL after the failure of the fledgling USFL.

After setting multiple records at Tennessee, White was drafted by the Memphis Showboats of the USFL in 1984. Playing in two seasons for the league he’d rack up almost 25 sacks and 200 tackles, before being signed by the Philadelphia Eagles, who held his draft rights. White grabbed defensive rookie of the year in 1985. As a cornerstone to the Eagles, Reggie sacked quarterbacks a mind-numbing 124 times with the Eagles, averaging more than a sack a game from his left defensive end position. In 1987 alone he’d rack up 21 sacks.  White was nicknamed ‘The Minister of Defense’ by his teammates, because of his ability to disrupt team’s offenses, and the fact that he was an ordained minister since the age of 17.

White was an important high profile name in a landmark lawsuit against the NFL, that would eventually allow for what is now known in the league as free agency. This allowed for a general rise in salaries and also inadvertently contributed to the concept of a salary cap.  In 1993, Reggie would become the first big name to switch teams from the Eagles to the Packers creating an immense amount of buzz. With Reggie also switching to the Pack this also shattered the notion that small market cities would not be able to compete with larger cities for marquee talent. The Packers played in two Super Bowls during his tenure there, and he notched 3 sacks in Super Bowl XXXI which still stands as a record today. Reggie retired briefly in 1998 but came back to play one final season in 2000 for the Carolina Panthers.

White’s career numbers and accolades are astounding: 198 sacks (2nd all time) , 1st team AP 10 times, All Decade Team of the 80’s and 90’s, and the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team.  He’d only have 3 seasons during his 15 year career where he’d have under 10 sacks, and finished with over 1000 tackles. Tragically Reggie White would pass away December 26th, 2004 of a cardiac arrhythmia in his sleep at the age of 43. Posthumously he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2006 and his jersey was retired by the Packers, Eagles, and Volunteers.

It is said that near the end of his life, Reggie strayed away from Christianity and towards more Judaic religious beliefs, but this is not so. White was extremely interested and respectful of religious ideals, and remained a devout Christian, (and an outspoken, controversial one at that) to the day of his passing. He’d also lend a helping hand to many churches during the spate of Southern Black church burnings during the 1990s.

I seem to remember being surprised to get this autograph back from the Packers -and in under a month or two to boot. I like it when players inscribe the cards with a bible verse. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the most religious person, but it tells me a bit about their personality and who they are. Reggie signed his cards with Matt 3:3-16. Now This isn’t 3:3,16. It’s 3:3 through 16. That’s a hefty amount of scripture so I’ll just leave it at 3:3

“For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

Games 232         Tac 1048       Sac  198       FF 33
Int  3     Yds 79       Avg  29.3      Td  0

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Taylor, Lawrence

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, SkyBox 1992
Acquired: TTM 2010, c/o home
Sent: 4/27   Received: 6/1   (34 days)

Lawrence Taylor is without a doubt the greatest football player to come from North Carolina and one of the most dominant linebackers of all time redefining the position during the 1980s and 1990s. He was drafted as the second overall pick of the 1981 draft (after George Rogers was taken by the New Orleans Saints) by the New York Giants after an All American career with the University of North Carolina. He’d would go on to win Defensive Rookie of the Year honors that year en route to his first multi-sack season. Lawrence was a character on and off the field, and this has led to a great deal of controversy with multiple run ins with the law. Regardless, Taylor has left a sizable footprint on the NFL landscape. He was named a 10 time Pro Bowler, and an 8 time all pro notching 7 straight 10+ sack seasons including a high 20.5 in 1986 and in 1991 he crossed the 1000 tackle mark. Taylor has hoisted awards for 1982 Defensive Player of the Year, 1986 NFL MVP and Defensive player of the year award, and multiple yearly awards from 1981-1990. He played for the Giants during their victories in Super Bowl XXI and XXV as part of the “Big Blue Wrecking Crew”. At retirement he was second on the NFL all time sack list and was named to the league’s 75th anniversary team.

Since retirement, Lawrence has continued to struggle with his inner demons, writing two books about his life and drugs, pursued a variety of interests including, acting, commercials for Weight Watchers, and most passionately golf. Nicknamed ‘LT’ he also worked as a commentator on games and also appeared as a wrestler in the WWE.  Despite his hard partying lifestyle Taylor was named to the NFL Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 1999. Recently he appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” and has invested in a variety of different capital ventures.

I met LT in 1993 at the CGA Youth Golf Tournament. He was taking his golf game very seriously, and broodingly instructed myself and the other fans to: “WAIT FOR ME AT THE CLUBHOUSE AND I WILL SIGN ALL YOUR AUTOGRAPHS.” Scared out of my gourd, I complied, but never got it since he was only on hole 3 at the time. It was one of the few autographs I kicked myself for never getting. I sent for his autograph in 2010, ironically the day before his most recent run in with the law, through the NFL HoF. I was surprised that he gave me his autograph in a bit under a month.  Since this post he plead guilty to the charges and has received probation.

Games 184    Sac 142     Tac  n/a     FF 11
Int 9     Yds 134      Td 2