Tag Archives: score 1990

NFL

Fulcher, David

Cards: ProSet 1989, Score 1990, Fleer 1992
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

An incredible talent, David Fulcher was a safety best known for his hard hitting play, ball hawking skills, and gifted abilities in Tecmo Super Bowl.  At 6’3″, 238, Fulcher was of a rare breed of safety whom could line up and play as an extra linebacker, or fade back into coverage with his speed. After his Junior season at Arizona State in 1986, he’d declare for the ’87 draft.  The Bengals liked what they saw, and handed him the starting job out of the gate at Strong Safety after taking him with the 78th pick out of the 3rd round.

It didn’t take him long as he made his first two interceptions, picking off Warren Moon of  Houston during week 7 in a 31-27 win. By 1988, Fulcher had emerged as one of the most dangerous defensive backs in the AFC, earning the first of 3 consecutive Pro Bowl nomninations. A cornerstone of the Bengals defense, Fulcher’s emergence as a dominating defensive presence coincided with the Bengals second Super Bowl appearance after the season. In 1989 he won All Pro honors after notching 8 interceptions and recovering 4 fumbles. Fulcher was a fixture for the Bengals through 1992 when injuries limited him to just 12 games that season.At the time of his departure, he was ranked 3rd on the Bengals all time interception list. Exposed to free agency, he moved on to the Raiders in 1993 but retired after the season due to lingering injuries.

David has given a lot of his time back to the sport he loves. He runs a football camp in Ohio, and conducts many youth and charitable events in the Cincinnati area.  David currently spends time as a head coach for a local Christian school and also with the NFL and the Bengals. Fulcher is infamously memorialized as one of the best defensive backs on the classic Nintendo game “Tecmo Super Bowl”.

G/Gs 103/98    Tac  N/a    Sac 8.5    Fum 9
Int 31      Yds 246      Avg      Td  2    Lg 28t

 

NFL

Craig, Roger (2)

pset89 craigudldg97 craigflr90 craigpset90 craigflrsi99 craigsco90 craigud91 craig
Cards: Fleer 1990, Upper Deck 1991, Pro Set 1989, Pro Set 1990, Upper Deck Legends 1997, Score 1990, Fleer Sports Illustrated Legends 1999.
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 1/2    Received:  1/7    (5 days)*
*signing fee $5 per card
See also: Roger Craig

Finally. Well the first line is cast and I already hooked a big one in the form of undervalued fullback/ runningback Roger Craig! Sending a check in excess of the fee request, netted me 2 extra autographs plus he was willing to answer the questions that I enclosed.

I’ve been trying to be a bit more wacky about what I ask players when I insert a question into a letter. First it makes me stick out, and second it might give them a good laugh. Roger disclosed to me that if he could’ve played for any other team besides the 49ers, Raiders, and Vikings he played for, he would have played for the Dallas Cowboys. Wow. Now that would’ve blown my mind to have seen him play in the silver and blue at the end of his career.  Back in his college days and his early playing days, Roger liked to sport a mean looking mustache. I asked him if he’d ever grow it back. To my surprise he answered that, “Yes, one day,” it will return and put a little smiley face next to it.  For my final question, I asked him what tree he would be, and he responded that, “He would’ve been an oak tree, because it is a very big and strong tree”.  – A great success in my books, and I was extremely surprised to have gotten it back so quickly. I knew that Roger had a very high response rate and that he was good to TTM fans, but this was a near legendary response from a player who should be in the Hall of Fame. Total class act. I was so jazzed about this one, I really am considering sending out 2nd shots to my favorite TTM successes at some point.

Some great cards here of Roger. It was very difficult to select which ones to send. I might have missed one or two cards, but overall these action shots really represent him well. Really have quickly grown fond of the 1997 Upper Deck Legends issue. The photos are great and they cover some really good players.  I vaguely remember that Roger’s Pro Set 1989 card/shot was so dynamic that it made the box. It’s too bad that Pro Set went up in smoke so quickly. It was the up close action shots like this that put Topps on the ropes early.

NFL

Smith, Doug

Cards: Pro Set 1990 PB, Score 1990, Topps 1989
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

Doug Smith played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1978 through the 1991 season. Originally a free agent signee from Bowling Green University, Smith was signed as an afterthought as the Rams already had veteran Rich Saul and 3rd round pick Leon White in camp, but as they say, “The rest is history”. After a major knee injury while he was playing guard in 1979 almost ended his career, Doug rebounded, after he had a spiritual awakening, and returned to take the starting center job in 1980.  A quiet, ‘in the trenches’ technician with a great motor, Smith was one of the most unheralded and underrated centers in the game. Doug had great quickness and explosiveness off the line for his size (6’3″, 260), and was a formidable pass blocker with great range across the pocket.  He along with Jackie Slater and Kent Hill anchored down some impressive lines for the Rams, and blocked for the team through the Eric Dickerson era and on into the Jim Everett era.  With the consistency and excellence the Rams had at the position, this allowed them to transition offensively from a run oriented system to a more vertical attack seamlessly, and compete against their foes in the playoffs. Doug also was an offensive captain and called OL plays at the line of scrimmage for the Rams. Over his career Smith played every position along the line for the team, with the exception of left tackle. Smith went to 6 consecutive Pro Bowls over his career for the Rams, from 1984-1989. He’d also be inducted into Bowling Green’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2001, his fellow teammate Jackie Slater was inducted into the Hall of Fame where in his induction speech Jackie attributed much of his success to Doug’s unwavering faith and commitment to Jesus Christ to do your best each and every day.

G/Gs 187/160