Tag Archives: proset 1991

NFL

Talley, Darryl ‘Spider-Man’

Cards: Action Packed 1991, SkyBox Colors 1993/94, ProSet 1991
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent: 12/6/16 Received: 7/30/18    (599 days)

A second round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1983, Darryl Talley never missed a game in 12 seasons for the Bills. The unusually injury immune linebacker was also a model of consistent play over his long career- that spanned in the end, 14 seasons and 4 Super Bowl appearances. Talley is the Bills’ all-time leading tackler with 1,137 takedowns, to go along with  38.5 sacks, 14 fumble recoveries, 12 interceptions and 2 touchdowns.  After the 1994 season, Talley hit the open market and signed with the Falcons, playing 1995 with them and 1996 with the Vikings before retiring.  He was inducted into the Bills Wall of Fame in 2003, and named to the Bills 50th Anniversary team in 2009.

Darryl has battled severe depression and financial hardship since his retirement, however he’s worked hard to conquer his demons, partially in part due to his wife and children. As of 2018 he acts as a football ambassador for the NFL Legends community of players. The goal is to reach out and help as many former players and let them know of the different programs that are available to them from the league. Here’s hoping things continue on the up and up for Spider-Man.

Darryl Talley had some fantastic cards over his years in the league. I was pleased to add these 3 interesting designs and/or dynamic photos to the Encyclopedia. His Action Packed 1991 card embodies everything I want to see in an exciting solo shot of a linebacker, with Talley in full pursuit about to pop a ball carrier. The card itself on the front is minimally designed, and this appeals to me, and Darryl inked this card in the right spot to accent it perfectly. – High marks indeed. Skybox had a smart debut with their base set in 1992. Their subsequent releases, not-so-much. It didn’t help that they along with their counterparts flooded the market with so much content it was impossible to stay loyal to any card company and follow a release schedule. Mind you this was the high days of adventure before the internet!

The ‘Colors’ 1993-1994 Skybox set was a really slick look but by the time this set came out, I had already had my bank account plundered regularly by the discovery of girls. Both this card and the ProSet 1991 showcase Darryl’s nice arm sleeves, that intentionally were in a webbed pattern to harken to his nickname- Spider-Man.

ProSet set the standard from 89 to 92 really. (Nobody talks about ProSet 93.) That was also their problem. I felt the cards were the minimum I’d expect from a company to show me, even though what ProSet showcased with the minimal design was really outstanding for its era before Photoshop. Great photo of Darryl. It is too bad that ProSet ate itself out of the market. I wonder what their brand would look like today if it still existed.  Overall though Darryl signed 3 of 4 cards, and has a great signature. I think I sent him a donation but honestly it was so long ago I can not recall.

G/GSTACSACFUMINTYDSAVGTDLG
216/187119038.5141218915.7261T
NFL, WLAF

Maye, Mark (QB)

Card: ProSet 1991 WLAF Insert
Acquired: 2018, Amazon
Failure: TTM 2017, C/o Home x2

An exceptional all around athlete in basketball, football, and baseball, Mark Maye came back from rotator cuff surgery to turn things around for the Tar Heels in 1986. In his first start he’d break a school record throwing for 311 yards. Over the next year and a half, Mark broke that school record 3 more times, including a school record 406 yards and 4 TDs in a 30-23 win over Georgia Tech.  Maye finished as the school’s second leading passer in history.

Going undrafted in 1988, Mark was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and spent the season as the 3rd string QB. Due to injury Mark spent his 1990 back at his Alma Mater helping out the Tar Heels’ coaching staff.  Mark opted to play in the WLAF in 1991. He’d be selected in the first round by his home state Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks.  It seemed like a perfect match, and Maye was the uncontested starter in camp.

After an underwhelming opener against the Sacramento Surge ended in a 9-3 loss, Mark was injured during a brutal hit in Week 2 against the Orlando Thunder. He’d be placed on season ending injured reserve and essentially his football career was over.  The Skyhawks didn’t really have a good offensive line or a back up QB plan. Joe Pizzo and Bobby McAllister battled it out the remainder of the season, but the franchise finished a woeful 0-10. After the season the franchise was dissolved and replaced by the Ohio Glory.

Mark lives in North Carolina. I’ve tried him twice now at least with no such luck. The first time I got a body bag from the USPS. The second has been in the mail for sometime. At this point I just threw up my hands and decided to take a shot. Seeing a WLAF autograph on an auction site is a rarity, so I just took it at face value that this one was authentic.

WLAF 2          ATT 33        CPD 15        YDS 158       PCT 45.5
TD  0        INT 2         RAT 47.1
RUSH 2        YDS 2       AVG 1.0       TD 0       LG 2

CFL, NFL

Ismail, Raghib ‘Rocket’ (2)

Cards: Fleer 1996, All World Promo 1991, Classic 1991, Atomic 2001
Acquired: TTM, 2018
Sent: 1/2       Received: 1/8   (6 days)
See Also: Rocket Ismail

Shortly after attending one of the Dallas Cowboys Rally Days where I met Rocket and got his autograph on a handful of cards, he started signing TTM again. I thought initially, “Oh well,” but knew I needed to double back to him to get a few more cards signed. So rolling over to 2018, what better way to kick it off by getting Rocket again as my first autograph of the year?

These cards really offer a cross section of his career starting at Notre Dame on this Classic 1991 promo card. Hand it to Classic trying to be edgy out of the gate, but the name line feels right aligned because the weight is tied to WR. I also wasn’t too big a fan of the brushed granite look, but it beats the cheetah pattern they later used. Overall, it’s a great photo of Rocket and there were quite a few of them to choose from.

From there we move on to the terrible All World CFL series, which tries to emulate the ProSet 1989 design by just angling the lines. There’s also the terrible color choices as the red and blue just feel like they clash a bit too much. It does not help that the Argonaut helmet just sort of -sits there arbitrarily on the canvas. As a promo however it sells what it is: The first set to have Ismail in his professional debut threads.

After his time in the CFL, Rocket jumped back to the NFL courtesy of the Los Angeles Raiders. It seemed to make sense. I mean the only other place with as bright stars and marketing would be Dallas, right? I liked this card. Fleer 1995 was all.. over.. the.. place.. design wise from team to team. It embodied everything I liked and hated in the 1990s sets as the companies started really embracing Photoshop. This one for example has a very unnecessary grain. I like the fearlessness of the design on the front, but it is a bit too much.

After his time with the Raiders, a stop in Dallas was next. It took me a while to come around to the sets of the early 2000s as I didn’t collect any while I was on my football hiatus. Among them I liked the die cut Atomic. I have a soft spot for gimmicky cards, and these certainly look better once you see one.