Card: Pro Set 1989
Acquired: In Person 1990, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp
Well we went to an event at Westlake High School in Austin that year when the Cowboys were hosting a scrimmage there. After the game they let the fans swarm the field to find players and get autographs of. I think I got Dennis and roughly 10 other players that evening on cards.
A free agent signee by the Chicago Bears in 1983 from Florida State, Dennis McKinnon would serve as a backup wide receiver and starting punt returner, where Mike Ditka would state: “He’s the best blocking receiver I’ve ever seen.” Starting 3 games his rookie season, Dennis made 20 receptions for 326 yards and 4 touchdowns and return 34 punts for 316 yards and a touchdown. McKinnon would win the Superbowl with the 85 bears, averaging a career high 17.9 yards a reception, but lost his entire 1986 to injury. Returning to the team fold in 1987, McKinnon returned punts again and had 40 of them for 405 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a long of 94 yards. 1988 would see career highs in yards receiving with 704 and a 76 yard bomb.
In 1990, Dennis signed via Plan B with the Dallas Cowboys where he started 7 games making 14 receptions for 172 yards and a touchdown, before injuries ended his 1990 season. He’d attempt a comeback with the Miami Dolphins in 1991 but did not make the roster and retired. Currently he’s CEO and president of Bearly Active Productions which provides motivational speakers, catering and celebrity appearances to corporate events.
John Offerdahl was a legendary Tecmo Bowl player on the Nintendo. The Dolphins could light up the sky with Dan Marino but outside of Offerdahl, the team had a very weak defense. The other problem was, most offenses were set up to have run plays that never allowed John to get free, thus you had to break through the blockers on run plays to get to the runningback.
A tackling machine at Western Michigan University, John Offerdahl would be selected in the second round (57th pick) of the 1986 draft by Don Shula‘s Dolphins. He’d step right into the starting lineup for the team, starting 15 games, 2 sacks and a pick, and a bazillion tackles. He’d be a lock for the ProBowl over the next 5 seasons recognized across the league for his solid tackling, nose for the ball, and flexibility to play all 4 positions at linebacker in the 3-4. His 1990 would culminate in being named All Pro after the season, however injuries over the next 3 seasons would limit his mobility and by 1994, he would retire. It’s probably not going to happen for John and the Hall of Fame even if he hadn’t had such an injury plagued finale- strictly because he was a tackling machine. As efficient as he was, tackles are such an unglamorous statistic, and with a long line of defensive talent and sack masters waiting- I doubt John will ever receive his due.
John since retirement is quite a businessman and cook, owning a series of cafe’s (Offerdahl’s Cafe & Grill) and while selling his bagel franchises. He’s also quite a popular personality on the ‘grilling circuit’ as well going by “The Gridiron Griller!” (www.gridirongriller.com) It probably is only a matter of time before he shows up on Food Network.
I sent John a few cards to sign along with some others to have. (-At this point in my life, it’s a good way to get rid of those cards and duplicates and my girlfriend is thankful for it.) Well, the rumors are true, and John is a generous signer as I got this one back in the mail in about 10 days flat. He signed 3 and included a card from TheGoal.com as well. It included on the back a religious scripture from Ephesians 1:18:
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.”
G/Gs 89/86 Tac N/a Sac 9.5 Fum 1 Int 4 Yds 44 Avg 11.o Td 0 Lg 28
Cards: Proset 1989, Proset 1990, Pinnacle 1992 Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home. Sent: 1/13 Received: 3/12 (42 days) See Also: Anthony Carter (2)
An elite, hard- working speedster allowed to wear the hallowed #1 jersey while in college at Michigan, Anthony Carter is the Wolverines all-time receptions leader and was nicknamed “AC” and “the Darter”. The Michigan Panthers of the USFL drafted Carter where he elected to play over the NFL counterpart Dolphins. With quarterback (and Autograph HoF member) Bobby Herbert at the helm, Carter had a nice rookie season with 60 receptions for 1081 yards in 1983. AC would be named to the All-USFL team as a punt returner after the season. An injury would sideline Carter in 1984 after only 6 games, but he’d rebound in 1985 with the Oakland Invaders with 70 receptions for 1323 yards and 14 touchdowns, which would earn him All USFL team honors.
As a member of a USFL team, Carter’s rights were locked in by the Dolphins who drafted him back in 1983 (so he was not subject to the USFL CFL talent dispersal draft that the NFL later held). He would be traded away to the Minnesota Vikings who were still looking for a solid receiving force to replace Ahmad Rashad. AC would fit right in with the Vikings, plus it kept him close to Michigan where he went to college and played the majority of his time in the USFL. He would be a great asset to the Vikings and would demoralize opposing defensive backs with his speed averaging 19.1 yards a reception his rookie season on 43 receptions. In 1987 he earned his first Pro Bowl honor with a jaw dropping 24.3 yards per catch on 38 receptions. He’d hit paydirt 7 times that season including a career long 73 yard bomb for a touchdown. 1988 would see career highs again in receptions (72) and yards (1225) for the USFL speedster. Carter would follow this up again in 1989 and 1990 going over 1000 yards both seasons. He’d also have an incredible playoff game where he burned the San Fransisco defense for 10 receptions and 227 yards. As the 1991 season approached, Cris Carter arrived in Minnesota effectively halving AC’s production, but Anthony would continue playing for the Vikings over the next 3 seasons providing the team solid veteran leadership. Anthony would be left exposed during the free agent purge of 1993 by the Vikings and signed with the Lions, however injuries and time had caught up with the former Wolverine and he’d play only 4 games with the Lions and retire in 1995.
A college football hall of fame inductee, Carter has amassed a fair amount of accolades since retirement. Like many former USFL greats, one has to wonder how Carter’s legacy would figure into the football landscape if he had declared for the NFL draft or been paired up with Dan Marino in Miami. He is considered one of the 50 greatest Minnesota Vikings players of all time and was named the the USFL All Time team as first team wide receiver and second team punt returner. In 2011 he was also named the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
After the stranglehold by Topps was loosened on the football card industry by Score and ProSet, the market was flooded with companies trying to cash in on the frenzy. Carter’s Topps cards really never did him justice, but Pro Set never failed to hit its mark. Since the implosion of the former card giant, I have gained a new found respect for how it revolutionized the industry and the 89 and 90 cards of Carter are excellent examples of this. Pinnacle was late to the party, and by that point I was sporadically collecting. They were revolutionary cards with a nice design at the time with a profile and action shot on the front.
With an average team on offense, AC was about ALL the Vikin– I mean ‘Monsters’ had in the original Tecmo Bowl. I also had Carter’s Starting Lineup action figure, which was a very plain action pose that Kenner used in that mold at the time.
