Tag Archives: score 1991

Arena, NFL, usfl

Bentley, Ray

Card: Score 1991
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

After finishing college at Central Michigan in 1983, Bentley went undrafted by the NFL and was taken by the Michigan Panthers in the USFL Territorial Draft. He’d play for the Panthers over the next two seasons, helping them win the USFL Championship, as the connection from Bobby Herbert to Anthony Carter on offense was almost unstoppable. Bentley played with the Oakland Invaders in 1985, which had merged with the Michigan Panthers, and reached the championship again, but the league folded after the season. As one of the quieter names in the league in an unglamorous position, Bentley again was not selected in the draft- this time being the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players. He signed a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills in ’86.

An excellent find by the Bills, Bentley worked well in the team’s 3-4 alignment, alongside starters Cornelius Bennett, Shane Conlan, and Darryl Talley, plugging right into the lineup at right inside linebacker. A menacing run stopper, Ray relayed the play calls from the coaches to the team and made adjustments at the line of scrimmage for the defense.  An intimidating run stopper, Bentley was fond of using eye black and streaking it down his cheeks as though they were tears. After playing in Buffalo for 6 years, Ray finished up his career with one final season playing for the Bengals, recording his first professional touchdown on a fumble he returned 75 yards.

Ray has been a very active guy since his days in the NFL ended. He’s done a series of children’s books including “Darby the Dinosaur” and has spent a lot of his time in color commentary for the Arena Football League and Bills radio broadcasts. He’s considered a member of the ‘New’ USFL advisory board, and also spends time coaching high school football.

G/Gs  87/53   Tac  N/a    Sac 2.0    Fum 3     Int 3    Yds 71     Avg 23.6     Td  0    Lg  58

 

NFL

Reed, Jake

Cards: Score 1991, Score 1991 Supplemental, Star Pics 1991
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 5/6      Recieved: 12/3   (206 days)

A third-round choice in the 1991 draft by the Minnesota Vikings, Jake Reed is considered a part of the Herschel Walker trade as he was part of the future picks that switched hands in order to get the deal done between the Cowboys and Vikings. Originally a ‘wingback’ from Grambling- there was a lot of intrigue surrounding Reed and how he’d fit into a Pro style offense. (A wingback lines up directly next to a down lineman and then moves in motion staying upright and a step back at the other end of the line, to make catches, block, or rush with the ball. Probably the most famous wingback was Jim Thorpe. It certainly is a throwback position and is rarely used these days.)  Jake had all the measurables and work ethic, but not the experience at receiver, playing there sparingly over his college career; However, with Cris Carter and Anthony Carter on the outside, the Vikings could afford to be patient.

It wasn’t until 1994, with the retirement of AC culminating with the team’s trade for Warren Moon that allowed Reed to finally take flight. He’d post 4 straight 1,100+ yard seasons for the Vikings, and Jake (85) paired alongside Cris Carter (122) set an NFL record for receiver duos with 207 catches. Reed became a dangerous verticle threat averaging a career high 18.3 yards per reception in  1996. Oddly over this period Reed never got the respect he deserved, and never was named to the Pro Bowl. In 1998, injuries and new receiver Randy Moss took their toll on Reed’s production. After the 1999 season, he’d sign with the New Orleans Saints. One and done with the Saints in 2000, Reed again returned to Minnesota, as a valued backup. He’d come off the bench and make 27 receptions for 309 yards and a touchdown. Oddly Jake then turned around and signed again with the New Orleans Saints in 2002, making 3 touchdowns on 21 receptions to call it a career.

Jake enjoys coaching, and was briefly the owner of the Frisco Thunder, an indoor football team of the Intense Football League in 2007.  In 2012 Reed was inducted into the Grambling Hall of Fame. Reed was a first-team All-SWAC honoree in 1989 (2nd team) and 1990, leading all Grambling receivers as a senior with 954 yards and a 20-yard average per catch. Jake was honored to be one a select few players from Grambling to be invited to the Senior Bowl in 1990 as well. Reed also is still a Vikings fan through and through.

I really liked the Score ’91 and the Star Pics of Reed in his Grambling uniform. The photo of him on the Score card makes Reed almost look like a superhero, the way he bursts off of the page. There was a ProSet card, that I completely forgot about, and it was a great card and photo of him, but ah well. Reed is another player that I had found through SotL (before it went to a news feed format,) that I had been trying to track down. It did take a while but I was happy to get these three back in a bit over 200 days.

G/Gs 155/90   Rec  450   Yds  6999   Avg  15.6    Td  36    Lg 82t

NFL

Anderson, Alfred


Cards: Topps 1992, ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, Score 1991, Fleer 1991
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 1/25   Received: 1/30 (5 days)

I have over the past few years seen a few hits for fullback Alfred Anderson. As a Texan and a Baylor grad, he certainly earns my respect. Baylor up until the time of RGIII, had been a long suffering football program since the days of the SWC- but there was a  golden era, when guys like Mike Singeltary, Cody Carlson, Gerald McNeil, Walter Abercrombie, Ray Crockett, and big bam fullback Alfred Anderson roamed the land causing mass destruction for the Baylor Bears. A Waco, Texas resident, and the #1 ranked high school RB prospect in Texas, it seemed a no brainer for the local product to go to Baylor, where he helped the Bears make a Bluebonnet Bowl appearance in 1983. In his senior season Anderson rushed for 1046 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Minnesota Vikings made him their 3rd round pick in the 1984 draft. Alfred after the season would be named to multiple All-Rookie teams, leading the NFL among rookies with 773 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. He also notably completed 3 of 7 passes that season for 2 touchdowns. Alfred was utilized at fullback over the majority of his career, and blocked for players like Darrin Nelson and Herschel Walker, helping pave the way for 1,000 yard seasons. As a short yardage back, Anderson also had an ideal nose for the end zone, scoring 27 touchdowns over his 7 season NFL career on only 740 touches. He’d play for the Vikings through 1991 and retire.

Anderson was inducted into the Baylor athletic Hall of Fame in 1998 and remains a fan favorite of Baylor fans everywhere. His son, Tony, also played for Baylor as well. I met Alfred through Sotl.com, as I love talking to members of the NFL from ‘that era’ of football from my childhood. He and I began chatting back and forth about Baylor, and as I tend to lean Longhorns on everything, (and on the advice of Josh,) I took the Horns over Baylor in 2011 in football. Thankfully there was no money on the line, as Texas came out flat and got destroyed by RGIII. Anderson was a good sport however, and I was glad that in the end RGIII won the Heisman. As of late also the Bears from those glory days of Anderson, have finally gotten some press, and had a reunion this last season during one of the Bears home games.

I had a lot of Alfred’s cards when I was a kid. It used to be every other pack I’d find a common of his ProSet 1989 card. It’s a great card really, and that and his Score 1991 are probably his most solid. On the other hand, we have the Fleer 1991 entry, which stands in my mind as some of the most poorly designed cards in history. I was a fan of Fleer after their 1990 rebirth, but their 1991 entry certainly was an: “Are you kidding me?”, type effort. It’s a shame because this is a really good action shot. I never bought a pack of Fleer again after that.

I sent off for Alfred near the end of January and was really surprised to get  5 cards signed in a break neck 5 days.  I also gave him a stack of extras to keep as well.


Below are Anderson’s NFL statistics and a video of him rumbling through BYU in 1983:

G/Gs   108/70    Rush 626   Yds 2374    Avg 3.8    Td  22   Lg 29   |    Rec 114    Yds 1042    Avg 9.5   Td  5   Lg  54

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3CGKHB0O1Y