Tag Archives: proset 1989

NFL

McGee, Tim

Cards: ProSet 1990, ProSet 1989
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 6/20     Received:  7/1   (11 days)

Among wide receiver combos during the late 80’s-90’s, the AFC Central sported both the Houston Oilers’ in Hill,Givins,Jeffires and Duncan and the Bengals with equally talented- and in some cases superior group of Brown, Holman, and McGee. Originally a first round pick of the 1986 draft by Cincinnati out of the University of Tennessee, McGee finished as the college’s all-time leader in yards, receptions, and touchdowns. He’d be immediately paired with 1985 1st round choice Eddie Brown, freeing up Eddie and tight end Rodney Holman across the middle.

McGee would start initially as the Bengals’ kick returner. He’d finish his rookie season with slightly over 1000 yards returning and an additional 276 receiving. His total yards from scrimmage would be 1283 for 1986. A fearsome long bomb receiving threat, Tim averaged a 17.3 yards in his rookie season. In 1988, he’d average a career high 19.1 yards on 36 receptions, scoring 6 touchdowns. 1989 would be an impressive season for Tim, as he’d help lead the team to the Super Bowl, with 1211 yards receiving and 8 touchdowns. As the team suffered from the dismissal of head coach Sam Wyche and perennial quarterback Boomer Esiason’s departure, McGee’s statistics and starting time would diminish. As free agency rolled around in 1993, McGee would sign and play one season with the Redskins making 500 yards and 3 touchdowns. He’d re-sign with the Bengals in 1994 and retire after the 1995 season.  McGee is a great through the mail signer confirming this with an 11 day turn around on these 2 cards. He is currently a sports agent in the greater Cincinnati area.

G/Gs  134/97       Rec  321       Yds   5203       Avg    16.2       Td  28       Lg  78

NFL, WIFL, WLAF

Mitchell, Lyvonia “Stump”

Cards: ProSet 1989, Topps 1990
Acquired: In Person 1992, San Antonio Riders
Failure: TTM 2011, C/o Southern University

Stump Mitchell was drafted out of the Citadel by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 9th round of the 1981 draft.  A slashing runner with nice hands, he’d be a great bargain and compliment to incumbent runningback Ottis Anderson also getting in time on kick and punt returns. Stump’s best year would be in 1986 when he’d have 1006 yards rushing and 502 yards receiving for St. Louis and 1950 yards from scrimmage.  His 5.5 yard average would lead the NFL. Mitchell in the end, would play his entire career with the Cards racking up almost 12,000 yards from scrimmage before retiring from a bum knee after 1989.

In 1992 while attending San Antonio Riders games I would always get the program and saw that one of the assistant coaches was Mitchell. Eventually I found that I had a few of his cards in my collection and was able to get him to autograph these two cards. Right after the season ended I got a few more cards to have him autograph but the league folded and I was never able to do so.  The ProSet 1989 is one of the best looking cards from that set, but I suspect due to his name it was not a profiled feature picture on the box.

He was owner of the failed WIFL’s St. Louis Lightning and had Mouse Davis in place as his coach before the league quickly imploded. Stump would then return to high school and the college ranks before coaching the Seattle Seahawks runningbacks from 1999-2007. He’d spend 2008 and 2009 with the Redskins before going to Southern University where he at this time he remains the head coach (as of 2011). Along with Mike Johnson, Stump is considered a member of the Mike Riley tree.

I sent off for Stump’s autograph earlier this year in January to get those final cards signed but it came back return to sender. I turned around and sent it care of Southern University back in February, but as of this post I am still waiting on a reply.

G/Gs  116/53     Rush 986     Yds 4649      Avg  4.7       Td 32   Lg 64  |
Rec 209    Yds 1955     Avg 9.4     Td 9     Lg  46   |
Kr 177    Yds 4007     Avg 22.6    Td  0    Lg  67 |
Pr 156     Yds 1377      Avg 8.8      Td 1      Lg  50

 

NFL

Settle, John


Cards: ProSet 1990, ProSet 1989, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o The Carolina Panthers
Sent: 5/10   Receieved: 5/20   (10 days)

Nobody cared when John Settle graduated from Appalachian State in 1987. The knock on him was primarily based on the fact he went to a small school so he didn’t face ‘big time’ competition and that he just wasn’t big enough to play at 5’9″, 207. (I mean the only thing John did was set the school’s rushing record mark and finish ranked 3rd all time in 1-AA history.)  John would contact a few suitors and the Falcons would sign him to a free agent contract.

Behind starters Gerald Riggs and Rick Badanjek,  John didn’t get much playing time under head coach Marion Campbell his rookie year. He’d carry the ball 19 times for 72 yards and also grab 11 receptions out of the backfield for 153 yards in 1987.  1988 however was a totally different deal for Settle, as he’d start at runningback for the Falcons (after the team traded Gerald Riggs to Washington). John started all 16 games for the team and ran for 1066 yards. In addition Settle also had 68 receptions for 570 yards. His rushing totals were the highest for a free agent RB since the AFL-NFL merger and John was named to the Pro Bowl squad. In 1989, as the Falcons virtually abandoned the run, Settle rushed for 689 yards. He’d have his second season with 1000+ yards from scrimmage when you included his 316 yards receiving.

1990 saw a coaching change for the Falcons though as former Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville came to town. Glanville installed the Red Gun offense, signed Mike Rozier, drafted Steve Broussard, and decided to give 1989 prospect Keith Jones more playing time.  Settle suited up for only 6 games that season. He’d sign with the Redskins in 1991 winning a Super Bowl title there but didn’t suit up during the season. Settle retired after the 1992 season and went into coaching in 1994 working with his alma mater at Appalachian State.

He’d join Bill Belichick in Cleveland on his offensive staff working with runningbacks in 1995 serving the team through 1998, and in its transition to Baltimore. Settle then joined the Fresno State Bulldogs as their runningbacks coach- a position he’d hold for 8 seasons. Afterwards John’s next stop was in Wisconsin with the Badgers where Settle helped coordinate the first ever trio of 1,000 yard runningbacks in the same season. Finally, in early 2011, John was be hired by new head coach Ron Rivera to coordinate runningbacks for the Carolina Panthers.  He responded to my TTM request in a quick 10 days.

Of note about John is that while Appalachian State he played for little known then head coach Mack Brown his freshman year. He is considered a member of the Bill Belichick coaching tree and while playing for the Falcons did not appear in Tecmo Bowl or Tecmo Super Bowl.

John had some nice cards here and these 3 were his most solid and complete looking cards. The ProSet 1989 card is a really nice full body shot of him dodging a would be Ram tackler while the 1990 card is a shot featuring his running style gunning to place a stiff arm. I also liked his Fleer 1990 card and how he bursts out of the top of the card borders.  Also on a side note, I’d love to see the Falcons return to the ‘red look’ from the 80s, but they seem quite content with their current black look.

G/Gs    46/29    Att 439      Yds  1801     Avg 4.1     Td  10   Lg 62  |
Rec  118     Yds  1039       Avg   8.8     Td  3      Lg  36