Tag Archives: proset 1990

NFL

Gary, Cleveland



Cards: ProSet 1990, Action Packed 1991
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 4/17    Received: 5/9   (29 days)

I had been looking for Cleveland Gary for some time. Oddly the ‘old’ LA Rams guard (pre St.Louis) are for the most part difficult to get or resentful of their playing time there.  I couldn’t find his ProSet 1989 entry in his Miami Hurricanes gear, so I just shot out his 90 ProSet instead. He signed these two cards for me in roughly a month. I really like both photos on these cards here. I was always a huge fan of Action Packed, and this moderately close image, framed was typical of this set.

A transfer from UGA, Cleveland Gary was a member of the 1987 Miami Hurricanes National Championship team.  Initially he played behind such football fullback stalwarts such as Alonzo Highsmith and Melvin Bratton before getting his break. In 1988, he ran for 480 yards and 7 TDs, and caught 57 passes for 655 yards and 4 TDs. His 57 catches at the time were a single-season Hurricanes record. The Rams loved their running game so selecting Gary- the premier fullback in the 1989 draft really made sense. He’d be the second of the Rams first round picks in that year, (and the second Hurricane that they’d select) at pick 26.

After a middling rookie season, Cleveland became a bright spot in the Rams overall underwhelming 1990 campaign. He’d work his way into the starting lineup starting 7 games, and lead the NFL with 14 rushing TDs on 204 carries (808 yards).  In one of his finest moments, Gary ran for 3 TDs against the undefeated 49ers in a rain soaked affair that season. The game marked the 49ers first loss in over a year.

1991 was an injury plagued year for Gary, yet he rebounded in 1992 after the Rams made a coaching change to Chuck Knox. Cleveland had a career high 1,125 yards  on 279 carries, and caught 52 receptions for 293 yards with 10 total TDs. 1993 was another off season for Cleveland. He’d rush for just 293 yards on 79 carries and catch 36 passes for 289 yards.

He’d be released by the team in late August of 1994 and then was sidelined by appendicitis. Gary recovered and in October of that year rejected an offer from the Dallas Cowboys and signed with the Miami Dolphins. He ran for just 11 yards in 2 games and retired after the season.

Cleveland has done pretty good for himself after football. After dabbling in minor league indoor football leagues he was last spotted as the CEO of the Black Shopping Channel in 2016.

G/GS 68/29     RUSH 674      YDS 2645     AVG 3.9      TD 24      LG 63
REC 135     YDS  874        AVG  6.5       TD 5         LG  60

 

Arena, NFL

Banks, Carl

plinep92 bankspset90 banks
Cards: ProSet 1990, ProSet 1990 SBXXI, ProLine 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Work
Sent: 11/17  Received: 12/8   (21 days)

Carl Banks played for the New York Giants on a stellar defense. He was a quiet, but noticeable force at outside linebacker that punctuated his career with hard hits and turnovers.  Frequently leading the Giants in tackles, Banks was a consensus All-American while playing at Michigan State, where he recorded 284 tackles over his 4 years for the Spartans. He’d be taken in the first round by the Giants during the 1984 draft.  His best season came in 1987 when he earned AP and Pro Bowl Honors,  with 9 sacks, 101 tackles, and 2 FF in just 12 games.  In 1988, Banks intercepted a pass in the 4th quarter and returned it for the game winning TD against the Falcons.  Later again in 1989, he posted a single season franchise high 7 forced fumbles.

pset90 banks sbBanks was frequently overshadowed by Lawrence Taylor on defense, but Carl had a habit of showing up most when it counted. In Superbowl XXI, he had a team high 10 tackles in a 39-20 win over the Broncos, earning Carl a nomination for the Super Bowl 25th Anniversary Team.

In 1993, he jumped ship for the Washington Redskins, and then a final 2 seasons in Cleveland for his former defensive coordinator (now coach) Bill Belichick, retiring after the 1995 season.

Carl loves doing radio- something that goes back to his playing days with the Giants. Banks was also part owner of a New Jersey Red Dogs in the Arena Football League, and briefly worked for the Jets in 1997. Otherwise, Banks has received numerous accolades from the Giants, including induction into the team’s Ring of Honor, and a member of the Giants’ All-Decade 80s team.

Carl had some amazing cards once the newer players got involved in the business. This ProSet 1990 card is among one of my favorites showing him in action stripping the ball carrier of the rock. I didn’t really like the ProLine series of cards. Most of the cards did not have a football shot, rather they focused on the player’s real lives, interests, and family. Still the subset of portraits, illustrated by Merv Corning (who worked on the Pro Set 1990 SuperBowl MVP subset) is just exquisite, and I am very impressed by the interaction that he uses to activate the white space on the page.

G/Gs 173/151      TAC  826        SAC  39.5           FUM   N/A
INT 3     YDS  21        AVG   7.0         TD   1          LG  15T

 

NFL

Davis, Eric

pset90 edavisaprks90 edavis

Cards: Proset 1990, Action Packed Rookies 1990
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent:  11/19/15   Received: 1/15/16   (57 days)

Eric Davis played college ball for Jacksonville State.  He was drafted in the second round by the San Fransisco 49ers in 1990.  At 5’11”,  185, Davis was considered undersized for the cornerback position, but quickly found himself chomping at the bit for a starting role.  Underrated, Davis was overshadowed by the bigger names in the 49ers secondary, that needed to be rebuilt after the departure of Ronnie Lott. Tim McDonald, Deion Sanders, and Merton Hanks all had impressive seasons in 1994, but it was Eric Davis that propelled the team to their Super Bowl win with his impressive playoff run- a season in which he had an NFL record interception in 5 straight playoff contests (spanning 93/94).  He’d have his best year in 1995, a year in which he won Pro Bowl and All Pro Honors.

For 1996, the 49ers made Eric Davis a free agent. Eric signed with the young Carolina Panthers team. He’d play for the Panthers for 5 years. During that run, Eric had 5 interceptions in each season.  He played for the Broncos in 2001,  and then moved to free safety for the 2002 season for the Detroit Lions.

Davis transitioned to the booth and into media seamlessly. He’s done color commentary for preseason games, and worked on early morning AM sports TV and radio shows.

Action Packed 1990 was one of my favorite sets of that era. Everyday after school my mom used to stop at 7-11, and I’d get a $2.25 pack- a stiff price to pay at the time.  I slowly bought a whole box out of the convienience store, only to find that the only card I hadn’t received was this Eric Davis card. I wrote Hi-Pro Marketing, (the company behind AP at the time) and they responded in a few weeks, enclosing 2 copies of Eric Davis and including a cool prototype/  test card of Barry Sanders from their 1992 set.

G/GS   188/150          TAC 593              SAC 2.0               FUM  14
INT 44          YDS  442        AVG 10.0            TD  4            LG 86T