Tag Archives: proset 1990

NFL

Tagliabue, Paul ‘Tags’

Cards: ProSet 1990 Special Insert, ProSet 1990 Berlin Wall
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 12/18/17 Received: 1/12/18 (25 days)

Taking the reins in 1989, Paul Tagliabue faced a very tall order: Following up the near canonization of previous commissioner Pete Rozelle. Paul steadied the boat of the league on numerous occasions, handling Raiders owner Al Davis in his on off love affair with Oakland, the Rams move from LA to St. Louis, the Oilers from Houston to Tennessee, and the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore. During each occasion he addressed each relocation publicly to keep the league from getting a public black eye from ‘stadium blackmail’. Tags also presided over unprecedented expansion. After the league got slammed publicly from the middle of the night departure of the Browns, the NFL gave the city back the franchise, name, and records. He also saw the league expand to Charlotte, Jacksonville, and back into Houston. Paul also oversaw the league’s bold plans to export international play of the sport into Europe and elsewhere in the world, culminating in the WLAF/NFLE/ NFL Europe, that he briefly served as commissioner of in addition to his NFL duties. Tags and his team navigated the deep waters of the 1993 bargaining agreement without a strike occurring. This brought about a salary cap, the end of Plan B free agency, an increase to the overall wages of all players in the league, and unfettered growth of the league. In the meantime the league created a feeding frenzy from the networks for their programming, allowing the league to return record profits.

Paul also took the high road on the state of Arizona, as when the state refused to honor MLK Day, the league pulled up its tentpoles for the Super Bowl and went to Pasadena. Tags also made every attempt to help keep the Saints in New Orleans after the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He served 17 prolific years for the league, creating a hand in hand workmanlike relationship between players and the league. He even briefly came back to serve as an arbitrator in a recent NFL case with the Saints, but despite all this, many players, media, and fans, remember him for his handling of the severity of concussions which really hinders his legacy. Eventually I believe the league will vote Paul into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and deservedly so, but at this time he remains too much of a hot button of a candidate for voters to choose.

NFL

Reeves, Dan (1944-2022)

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, ProSet 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 12/9    Received: 12/19   (10 days)

Dan Reeves has had a long and successful NFL career as both a coach and a player. The soft spoken quarterback went undrafted out of South Carolina in 1965. While with the Gamecocks, Reeves posted 2561 yards passing along with 16 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. He also rushed for 815 yards on 359 carries. The Cowboys liked Dan’s versatility enough that they signed him and converted him to runningback. He’d play with the Cowboys for 7 seasons from 1965-1972. His best season came in 1966 when Dan led the NFL with 16 total touchdowns. He also had a career high 175 carries for 757 yards, and 41 receptions for 557 yards. After a pretty solid followup season in 1967 (603 yards on 173 carries, 39 receptions for 490 yards, and 11 total touchdowns) Dan would see his playing time decrease thanks in part to a lingering knee injury.

In 1972 Reeves joined Tom Landry‘s staff as an assistant coach. A coveted member of the Dallas staff, Dan attracted the attention of the Denver Broncos who hired him as their head coach in 1981. At the time the move made waves as Reeves was the youngest coach in league history.  He was given sweeping powers at the time and made shrewd moves that changed the landscape of the NFL. Reeves brought winning ways back to Denver during his 12 years coaching for the Broncos. He identified numerous talent and fostered his own coaching tree. He engineered the trade that brought John Elway to Denver, and the Broncos made 3 Super Bowl appearances under his watch.  After a tumultuous 1992, Dan would be fired but quickly found a home with the New York Giants in 1993.

Reeves brought many of his former Denver castoffs to New York and rebuilt the franchise from the ashes of the Ray Handley debacle. He earned Coach of the Year honors for leading the Giants to an 11-5 record.  Dan coached with the Giants through the 1996 season.

Dan again found a new coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons. After a 7-9 campaign in 1997, he’d lead the team to new heights with a 14-2 record, with the Falcons making their first Super Bowl appearance in 1998, and Reeves again earning Coach of the Year Honors. He’d resign from the Falcons job in 2003, but his name came up constantly over the next 5-7 years for various vacancies.

In 2005 Reeves acted as a consultant for the Houston Texans. With the team showing poorly, Dan sat in the owners booth with owner Bob McNair to provide feedback on the coaching and overall organization. After the season concluded with a 2-14 mark, the franchise cleared house. While I would’ve been happy with Reeves coming in as head coach, the franchise opted for Gary Kubiak instead and hired General Manager Rick Smith. This laid the foundation for the Texans to get to a level of respectability in the NFL.

Since that time, Reeves has toyed with the idea of returning to the NFL, acting as a consultant briefly with Georgia State, flirting with the Cowboys as a consultant, and interviewing for the 49ers OC job in 2010.  He briefly dabbled in broadcasting and is very personable with his fans.

I never really considered getting Dan’s autograph until I came across his ProSet 1992 issue. It’s a great and poignant photo showcasing what a classy guy Dan is.

G/GS 100/39    RUSH 535     YDS 1990     AVG 3.7       TD 25    LG 67
REC 129     YDS 1693       AVG 13.1       TD 17      LG 60

W  190      L 165     T 2     PCT .535

UPDATE

1/1/2022- Dan Reeves passed away early in the morning on New Years, surrounded by friends and family at the age of 77 due to complications from a long illness.

NFL

Romanowski, Bill ‘Romo’

Cards: ProSet 1990, Action Packed 1992, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Work
Sent: 11/14/16  Received: 2/18/17   (96 days)
Failure: 2014, C/o Home

Ah now Bill Romanowski had some awesome cards. I mean he looked like a mean caveman who just had survived a knife fight. With tattered taped gloves and that war paint, he went from just being a linebacker to being a mean and nasty linebacker pretty quickly. His ProSet 1990 entry and Action Packed 1992 are among some of my favorites, and his GameDay card showcases his athletic ability as he gets up in the air, perfect for that tallboy card.

I really didn’t know who Bill Romanowski was at first when he popped onto the scene for the 49ers. Initially- you didn’t hear much about Bill. He was considered, I guess, a model citizen until he started having altercations on the Eagles- a clear 7 years into his career.  It’s not really clear about when he started abusing steroids while playing, but he admitted during a 60 Minutes interview that he was always cutting edge and staying one step ahead of the league.

As of 2017 he owns Nutrition 53 and also is involved in NASCAR.  Bill is a very outspoken and unfiltered guy, and his sometimes, lack of political correctness, has gotten him in trouble on social media. He also appeared on the cover of Midway Games’  Blitz: The League and as a prison guard in the remake of the movie The Longest Yard. In addition he’s done some coaching, and has expressed interest in returning to the NFL in that capacity.

During his career he was an easy plug-and-play linebacker. Instinctual, intelligent, and with solid coverage skills, by the time he hit his stride, Romanowski was not only one of the better linebackers in the league, he was a throwback to the gladiators of old, with that nasty streak.  He is also listed as the 5th dirtiest player in sports history by ESPN.

After playing for the 49ers through 1993 and winning 2 Superbowls, Bill joined the Eagles for the 1994 and 1995 seasons. He’d then head over to the Broncos and earn 2 more rings playing for them from 1996-2001. Afterwards he’d play 2 more seasons in the Raiders organization.  He earned 2 Pro Bowl nominations (1996, 1998) and posted a career high 104 tackles in 1993.

G/Gs  243/222         TAC  1116          SAC 39.5          FUM  16
INT 18       YDS  98       AVG  5.4         TD   1        LG   18