Tag Archives: proset 1992

NFL

Davis, Wendell (WR)

Cards: ProSet 1990, ProSet 1992, GameDay 1992, Topps Stadium Club 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 3/15     Received: 4/16  (30 days)

Wendell Davis was one of the top receivers in the 1988 NFL Draft. He played 3 years collegiately for LSU, racking up 183 receptions for 2708 yards and 19 touchdowns. His best year came in 1986 when the sure handed receiver caught 80 passes for 1244 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’d be the final pick of Round 1 by the Chicago Bears.

The Bears receiving corps was aging, and the team which was a run first smash mouth franchise, never really put much thought into it. With deep threat man Willie Gault departing for greener pastures with the then Los Angeles Raiders, this selection made total sense by the Bears front office.  Davis was not allowed to claim a starting position right off the bat. He’d have to fight up a roster that included Ron Morris, Dennis Gentry, and Dennis McKinnon, who were not only good receivers, but fine run blockers as well.  He didn’t start a game his rookie year, but Wendell had 15 catches for 220 yards. His numbers slowly increased over the next few seasons partially due in fact to the team’s maturation at quarterback under young Jim Harbaugh. Wendell had his best season in 1991 when he posted 61 receptions for 945 yards and 6 touchdowns. To put these numbers in perspective- Davis’ receiving numbers were the best by a Chicago Bears’ receiver since Dick Gordon in 1970!  While Wendell’s numbers slipped in 1992, all signs still pointed towards a solid 1993 campaign.

It was during a game in 1993 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Davis was going up to make what would be considered an ‘ordinary’ NFL catch, but as he laid back, his feet got caught on the exposed astroturf and he tore both of his patella tendons completely off, causing his kneecaps to go up into his thighs. Davis’ career was over.
Still, if there was a silver lining to what happened, Davis’ injury paved the way for the modernization and safety improvement/ removal of turf all over the league.  In 1995 Davis attempted a comeback with the Indianapolis Colts, but did not appear in any games.

He’s made his way into coaching with the 49ers, and at both the high school and college level since then. Currently he lives in Chicago.

I feel like the Topps Stadium Club, Pro Set 1992, and GameDay cards are all part of the same photographic sequence. It focuses on what Davis did best over his career: Hauling in the long bomb from whatever quarterback was currently under center for the Chicago Bears.  Overall, these are some very nice action shots, with the GameDay again being my favorite. Davis really nailed the autograph on this one however, and of the batch that I have received back in 2018, his certainly matches the excitement of his cards the best.

G/GS  81/54   REC 207    YDS 3000    AVG 14.5   TD 14    LG 75t

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

Smith, Rod (DB) (2)


Cards: Classic 1992, Action Packed Rookies 1992, ProSet 1992
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent: 4/7       Received:  5/26   (49 days)
See Also: Rod Smith

I reached into the open mailbox right before the 2016 Memorial Weekend Flood III, and found a soaked self addressed stamped envelope.  I had to medically remove the three cards that had
slid slightly out of plastic sleeve, from the envelope.  Some moisture was on the cards, but after dabbing them off, they were in surprisingly good condition, and the autographs were not harmed.

pset92 rsmithThe 1992 Action Packed Rookies & Stars was among my favorites during that early heyday of collecting. I had already gotten Rod Smith in a Patriots blitz I did in 1992 before the set came out. (Back then you could send a stack of cards to a bad NFL team and they’d typically respond by signing most of your stuff.) A great action shot here, I had been wanting to come back and get this one for a while. The ProSet and Classic cards were gravy on top. ProSet still had some nice action photos, sans the bad design and company logo.