Tag Archives: proset 1990

NFL

Paige, Stephone

pset90 paige ap90 paigeCards: Pro Set 1990, Action Packed 1990
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent:  11/8     Received: 1/3   (58 days)

Ahh… Stephone Paige. A reliable target in the Kansas City Chiefs offense on Tecmo Super Bowl. When playing against an opponent determined to stop the Chiefs impressive ground game, you could always rely on Paige to be open for a deep bomb. Over the years, Stephone had some impressive cards that captured some of his greatest catches. From his Score 1990, where Paige is getting his jersey ripped off, to these two,-especially the Action Packed 1990 card, Paige was an artistic virtuoso at his position who was well known for his penchant for making one handed catches. If not for a turn-style at quarterback and a ground heavy offensive approach, who knows how Paige’s career would’ve turned out? Stephone completely embodies that type of underrated player that I like to get autographs from, especially when they write even the smallest note to me.

Stephone Paige is another in a long list of wide receivers that saw prominence in the NFL during the 1980s. This list included: Stephen Baker (NYG), Henry Ellard (LAR), Gene Taylor (NE), Andre Alexander (Knights WLAF), and Dwight Pickens (Riders- WLAF).  The link, is that these kids were all coached by Jim Sweeney at Fresno State- father of prolific Bulldogs quarterback Kevin Sweeney.

Paige saw playing time at Fresno in 1981 and 1982. He really made an impact in ’82, a year that he piled up 48 receptions for 942 yards and 8 touchdowns. Going unnoticed in the 1983 NFL Draft, he joined the Chiefs as a free agent. Paige became an off the bench role player for KC early on. It wasn’t until his breakout year of 1985, when he led the NFL in yards per catch with a whopping 21.9 average on 43 receptions, that Paige finally got the credit he deserved. At that time, he also set an NFL record for most receiving yards in a game played in regulation with 309 yards against the Chargers (since surpassed by Calvin Johnson). From that season on, Paige was counted on to lead the Chiefs wide receiver corps. He’d continue to be an outside threat for the team, including a career high 11 TDs in 1986, and 65 receptions for 1,021 yards in 1990. Stephone however suffered a career ending knee injury during the 1991 season. While Paige’s final career numbers are modest, especially compared to today’s NFL pass happy offenses, he held the franchise record for most consecutive games with a catch (85), at the time of his retirement, which ranks his numbers among the best free agent wide receivers of all time.

G/GS  125/81       Rec   377          Yds  6,341       Avg 16.8        TD 48            LG   86

 

CFL, NFL

Manley, Dexter “Secretary of Defense”

pset89 manley pset90 manleyCards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, Score 1991
Acquired: 2014, Paid Signing
Failure: 2012, C/o Home

Dexter Manley has proven himself to be a very popular and colorful figure during and after his time in the NFL. A dominant pass rusher during his time with the Washington Redskins, Manley spent as much time in his career injured as he was suspended for drug abuse. Dexter Manley was a fast lane living defensive lineman at Oklahoma State University. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the 5th round of the 1981 NFL draft. During his rookie season, he posted 6 sacks (before the NFL recognized them officially as a statistic). In 1983, Dexter began to establish himself as a top flight defensive terror, with his first of 4 consecutive 10+ sack seasons with 11.  Over the next 3 seasons, Manley’s sack numbers continued to climb, from 13.5 in 1984, to a league leading 18.5 in 1986. It’d all culminate in a Super Bowl victory in 1987 and an appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He’d post 8.5 sacks in 87, and back to back 9 sack seasons in 1988 and 1989. By this time though the nasty spectre of cocaine began to assert itself in Dexter’s life- and by the 10th game of the 1989 season, Manley had received his 3rd strike and was suspended by the league for 1 year. Later Manley was cut by the Redskins, unceremoniously ending his tenure in Washington.

sco91 manleyA year after the suspension, Manley signed with the Phoenix Cardinals and played 4 games for the team in 1990. In 1991 he’d sign with the Buccaneers and experience a return to form, drawing in another 6.5 sacks. Unfortunately Manley relapsed and received a lifetime ban from the NFL, forcing his tearful retirement. Still desiring to play football, Dexter played for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the CFL from 1992 to 1993.

After officially retiring, Dexter has continued to make waves, testifying before a league senate committee that he was a functioning illiterate even after college.  He’s also had to battle multiple relapses, was briefly incarcerated, and at one point facing homelessness, even pawned one of his Super Bowl rings. Still Manley has his friends and family to thank who strongly stuck by him through thick and thin, – and he did get that Super Bowl ring back. In 2002, he was named one of the 70 Greatest Redskins of all time, and in 2005 underwent surgery to treat a life threatening brain cyst. Still a popular figure in Redskins lore, he’s done talk radio and is a motivational speaker.

Dexter used to be a decent signer through the mail, and I attempted to get him a few years ago, but it was RTS. After seeing multiple failures on him, I went ahead and just did a paid signing for him through Sportscollectors.net. I always liked Dexter as a kid, unaware of drugs or what it was doing to him. I even had Manley’s Starting Lineup figure and had always hoped that he would return to the defensive dominance that he exuded during the mid-80s.

G/Gs 143/120    Tac  N/a    Sac 103.5      Fum  6      Int 2     Yds -1   Avg -.5     Td 0    Lg -.-

 

NFL, XFL

Pearson, Drew (3)

to84 pearson pset90 sb X to80 pearson to79 pearson pset90 sb XXII

Cards: ProSet 1990 SB X, ProSet 1990 SB XII, Topps 1980, Topps 1979, ProSet 1992 88’s, Upper Deck 1997 MM, Topps 1984.
Acquired: IP 11/8/2014, GameDay Sports Tour Austin, Texas.
See Also: Drew Pearson “Mr. Clutch”, Drew Pearson (2)

Texas Autograph Club, or TAC for short, has been a valuable resource for my autograph collecting hobby.  I got wind through GameDay Sports Tours that they were coming to Austin through TAC, and although I have gotten Drew Pearson multiple times in the past, I was still interested in getting his autograph on a few more cards. Chief among them was this Upper Deck that he shares with James Lofton, that I will get Lofton on at a later date. The ProSet 1992 card that he shares with Michael Irvin is also a very nice card, however I doubt seriously I’ll ever get the other 88 to sign this card, especially for the exorbitant price he charges. The other Topps cards were filler in my inventory while the ProSet serve in historical retrospect of Drew’s career. Pearson scored a TD in the Cowboys pset92 pearsonirvin 88Super Bowl X loss to the Steelers,

The event went well enough. It was held in a moderately rough location in Austin, but living in California for a few years, – I had shopped in more impoverished places, so it didn’t bother me at all.  I ran into a few other members of the board that I knew and talked to them for a bit about what they were getting signed. I was pretty close to the front of the line, so it was easy for me to get all of these cards signed. Drew started signing and stopped only briefly to ask me, “If this was it?” He flashed his customary Super Bowl ring at me and I was done. It was pretty much an in and out transaction.

Drew was finally inducted into the Cowboys Ring of ud97 pearson lofton mmHonor and does a lot of sports radio work, hosting his own self-titled hour long show on the Fox Sports Network. He also does color commentary for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. Pearson lives in Plano, Tx and is considered one of the 10 Greatest Cowboys Players ever.