Tag Archives: proset 1989 update

NFL

Byner, Earnest (2)

ud91 byner MVP pset89 byner

Cards: Upper Deck 1991 Team MVP, ProSet 1989, ProSet 1989 Traded, Skybox 1992, GameDay 1992
Acquired: 2012, Canton Acquisition. 2016, Future Considerations.
See Also: Earnest Byner

After his stint as a coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars runningback coach from 2010 to 2011 Earnest Byner was signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneer staff in 2012 serving under Greg Schiano. Unfortunately Shiano’s style didn’t mesh in the pros, and he was gone after two seasons. Byner was not retained as ownership decided to clean house after 2013.

Since that time Earnest has addressed ‘The Fumble’ in public, apologizing to fans for what happened, and giving a tear-jerking recollection of it during the 30 for 30 ESPN documentary “Believeland”.   Time heals all wounds though and the vast majority of Browns fans really embrace Byner as one of their own without judgement.  It goes without saying that it’s great that Byner has been able to move on from what happened- something that he said stuck with him and changed his playing style for the remainder of his career in the NFL.

Earnest has done a lot of motivational speaking too. He also has no problem engaging his fans in public and is very popular in Cleveland. My friend DeadHorse scored these Byner autographs for me along with Kevin Mack and Greg Pruitt at an Ohio based Cleveland Browns event they attended.  DeadHorse was kind enough to accommodate me on the 3 cards which I felt were his best action shots of Byner (Skybox 1992, ProSet 1989 CLE, and GameDay 1992).

College Football HoF, NFL

Nelson, Darrin

pset89 nelson Tsco89 dnelsonCards: ProSet 1989 Update, Score 1990, ProSet 1989, Score 1989
Acquired: 2012, Canton Acquisition. 2016, TTM C/o Home
Sent:  5/19    Received: 6/1  (12 days)

Darrin Nelson is most well known for briefly holding up the Herschel Walker trade in 1989. The Cowboys were dealt Issiac Holt, Jessie Solomon, Alex Stewart, and David Howard, along with Nelson and a slew of draft choices. Unwilling to report to the Cowboys, Darrin was traded to the San Diego Chargers.  This set off a flurry of trades at the bell, that eventually resulted in then backup Detroit Lions RB Paul Palmer being shipped to Dallas.

sco90 dnelsonWhile Nelson was back home in California, I guess  you could say his heart was still in Minnesota.  He’d return to the Vikings in 1991 where he finished out his career.

pset89 dnelsonThe Vikings first round choice (#7 overall) in 1982, Nelson was a dynamic rusher and receiver- somewhat of a rarity during the heyday of the ground game.  During his time at Stanford from 1977-1981, he accomplished a feat that nobody had ever done before in rushing for over 1,000 yards and catching at least 50 passes.  He did it not only his Freshman year, but repeated it again his Sophomore year and again in his Senior year.

During his time in the NFL  Nelson distinguished himself as a jack of all trades, rushing, receiving, and returning.  In 1986, Darrin had 1,386 yards from scrimmage and 7 TDs, and lead the NFL with a 4.9 yards per carry average in 1987.  In 2014, Darrin was named to the College Football Hall of Fame.  As of 2016, Darrin works in the external relations department at UCLA. A solid signer through the mail, Darrin not only signed 3 cards for me, he read my letter and noted that I had enjoyed playing Tecmo Bowl as him back in the 80s.

 

 

 

G  152       Rush 1020       Yds  4442      Avg  4.4       TD 18      Lg 72T
Rec  286       Yds 2559       Avg  8.9     TD 5     Lg 68TKR 163         Yds 3659       Avg 22.4    TD 0    Lg 53
PR    42      Yds 357      Avg 8.5      TD 0      Lg 35