Tag Archives: score 1989

College Football HoF, NFL, XFL

Long, Chuck

Cards: Score 1989, ProSet 1989
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Work
Sent: 5/17 Received: 5/23 (7 days)

Chuck Long made his mark at Iowa. Playing for the Hawkeyes from 1981 to 1985, showing growth in every season as he cemented his name in Iowa lore. In 1983, he threw for 2434 yards- on a gaudy 10 yards per completion. Chuck would be named to the All Big 10 in ’84, passing for 2871 yards, completing an unheard of 67.1% of his passes (216/322) and throwing 22 TDs. He’d finish his final year in 1985, breaking his single season passing records again, passing for 2978 yards, 26 TDs, on 351 attempts, and 231 completions. Chuck Long left the school owning virtually nearly all the Hawkeye’s passing records, both for single season and career passing numbers. His impressive resume included 70 career TDs, 721 completions on 1111 attempts, and 9671 yards.

Chuck was the second overall quarterback taken in the 1986 NFL draft, (behind Jim Everett) at #12 overall by the Detroit Lions. Chuck worked his way through training camp, and was entrenched behind incumbent Joe Ferguson. Head Coach Darrell Rogers planned to groom Chuck as the quarterback of the future, sitting on the bench that year.

Unfortunately almost right out of the gate, Joe Ferguson went down in the opener against the Cowboys, forcing Chuck into action early. Chuck played the next three games going 21 of 40 for 247 yards, and 2 TDs to 2 interceptions. In 1987, Chuck was handed the reins to the franchise. He responded by going 3-9, throwing for a career high 2598 yards and 11 TDs, however he led the NFL with 20 picks. With Rogers on a short leash for 1988, the Lions got off to a fast start winning their opener against the Falcons 31-17. Chuck was workmanlike efficient, going 13 of 19 for 107 yards and 2 TDs. Then the Lions proceeded to lose the next 6 games. Chuck was benched and soon thereafter Rogers was fired. He’d spend one more year in Detroit- but was firmly behind not only Rodney Peete, but Bob Gagliano, and Eric Hipple as well. Chuck was traded to the Rams in 1990 where he backed up Jim Everett at quarterback, before returning to the Lions to ride the bench in his final season in 1991.

Chuck went into coaching where he quickly rose up the college ranks, first at his alma mater Iowa, and then over to Oklahoma. He earned his first head coaching gig with San Diego State in 2005. He finished his tenure at SDSU at 9-27, and then was named offensive coordinator for the Kansas Jayhawks. In 2020, Chuck was named the offensive coordinator of the St Louis Battlehawks of the XFL. The Battlehawks finished second in offensive yardage averaging 349.6 yards per game, before the league was aborted due to COVID fears.

G/GSATTCPDYDSPCTTDINTRAT
27/21607331374754.5%192864.5
RUSHYDSAVGTDLG
34882.6015
NFL

Newberry, Tom

Cards: GameDay 1992, Score 1989, ProSet 1990, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 3/13 Received: 3/24 (11 days)

Tom Newberry was a 2nd round pick out of little known Wisconsin-La Crosse by the LA Rams in 1986. He developed so quickly in camp that the Rams felt comfortable moving long time offensive lineman Kent Hill to the Oilers as part of the Jim Everett trade. After settling in Tom earned AP honors in both 1988 and 1989. Versatile, durable, and aggressive, Tom was a fixture on the offensive line for the Rams throughout most of his career in LA starting 120 games at guard and 8 at center over 9 seasons. In 1995 Tom signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he played a final season for the team, and appeared in Super Bowl XXX.

Tom lives in Montana and is a big LOS ANGELES Rams fan. His autograph is pretty… pedestrian. I mean, Tom don’t get me wrong if you read this. I appreciate the subtle loop at the top of the T but everything else seems to fall into place with scribble for the last name. I think it says more about Tom’s workmanlike ethic that allowed him to stand out over his more prideful competitors over his well regarded career. I like the ProSet, Score, and GameDay cards a lot. They all show Tom pulling or blocking in every shot. His Fleer leaves much to be imagined, but it is still a well designed canvas.

NFL

Hoge, Merril

Cards: Score 1989, Score 1990, Action Packed 1991, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 10/20   Received: 10/27      (7 days)
Failure: 2011, C/o Home

Merril Hoge. Few players angered me more than Merril Hoge during the Red Gun/ Run ‘N Shoot era of the Houston Oilers. I considered him an ‘arch’ and he loved saying nasty things about the upstart Oilers, who by 1987 had started becoming bullies in the AFC Central under head coach Jerry Glanville. The Steelers had finally gone into a deep depression, and the Oilers were eager to take the stick to their rivals. Nobody expected much of the Steelers in 1989 as they had just come off of a 5-11 record from the previous year. Despite this they rallied down the stretch and put together a 9-7 record. The Oilers had thumped the Steelers twice during the regular season, but they’d be denied in the playoffs losing 26-23, causing Jerry to lose his job. I want to even say that Hoge said something to the media nasty about the Oilers, and it just stuck with me all those years.

I remember opening up my first packs of cards, and in a lot of cases, there was a Merril Hoge card to twist the knife just a little more. Even when I played Tecmo Super Bowl, I was reticent to use Merril because of the fact that he epitomized that Steelers working man mantra and the upset that made me so sore. Then after his playing days concluded, he became a commentator, and the Oilers left Houston even- I still got a furrowed brow when he’d come on ESPN. 


Dependable fullback Merril Hoge played for the Idaho State Bengals (a fact often repeated by national commentators almost every time he touched the ball) from 1983 to 1986. He finished his 4 years there with almost 5500 all-purpose yards, but more importantly the Big Sky Conference despite its trappings, prepared him for the rigors of pro level offenses.

After being selected in the 10th round of the 1987 draft, Merril played 7 seasons for the Steelers at fullback.  A versatile player out of the backfield, Merril was an excellent receiver and blocker who was rarely missed an assignment.  He had a career high 772 yards rushing in 1990, and a career high 487 yards receiving in 1988.

In 1994, Merril signed with the Chicago Bears, but suffered a terrible neck injury ending his career. Merril is also a cancer survivor beating non-hodskin’s lymphoma. 

Merril had a great selection of cards, so it was tough to even settle on just these 4. His Score 1990 is one of my favorite, and was from a rain soaked affair versus the Miami Dolphins that year. (Sammie Smith has a corresponding card from that game, and Mike Mularkey has been immortalized in a sports photo from that game that ProSet did.)  His Action Packed 1991 card does everything right in this one, and the determination on Merril’s face really makes you feel as though you are a part of the action.

G/GSRUSHYDSAVGTDLG
114/8482531393.82141
RECYDSAVGTDLG
25421338.41340