Tag Archives: score supplemental 1989

NFL

Muster, Brad

Cards: Score Supplemental 1989, Action Packed 1990, GameDay 1992, SkyBox 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 10/3/17 Received: 12/27/19 (801 days)

Stanford seems to have all the luck with the fullbacks. Brad Muster played there from 1984 to 1987. Classified as a RB, he had his best season in 1986 rushing 260 times for 1123 yards and 13 TDs. A solid blocker and receiver, Brad had 78 catches for 654 yards and 4 TDs in 1985. In his 4 years at Stanford, Brad posted 3010 yards (703 carries) and 28 TDs rushing. He also caught 198 passes for 1722 yards and 8 TDs.

Brad was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft. Notably Thurman Thomas was the only back in this group inducted into the HoF, however sandwiched on either side of Muster at 22 was recognizable names Lorenzo White, and 24 was Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward.

Brad switched to fullback in the pros. His best season came in 1990 when he rushed for 664 yards on 141 carries (6 TDs), and then caught 47 passes for 452 yards- giving Brad a career high 1116 yards from scrimmage. His numbers with the Bears were all the more impressive in the fact that he was neither the feature back and that he paved the way for 3 1,000 yard seasons for Neal Anderson.

Brad desperately wanted to be the feature back in Chicago after the 1992 season, but head coach Dave Wannstedt saw otherwise, so Brad signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints- playing there for two additional seasons. He retired after the 1994 season due to injuries.

Wow. 2017 seems like such a long time ago now. Nearly everything has changed about my life since then. Whether it was good or bad, it is amazing how time flies. -So at 808 days, it feels like these were out so much longer.

I think I liked the Skybox card of Brad the most here. It’s just a solid image all across, and I love that they used the secondary Bears logo instead of the primary ‘C’. Both Score and Fleer used that same shot of Brad, so I had to get one of them autographed, but the Action Packed card really sticks out because Brad’s neck roll pad means he’s ready to do some major hitting.

Brad is also a powerful hitting runningback in the Nintendo game Tecmo Super Bowl.

G/GSRUSHYDSAVGTDLG
95/7052022314.32435
RECYDSAVGTDLG
20219069.4748
CFL, NFL, ufl

Hairston, Carl ‘Big Daddy’

Cards: ProSet 1991 Legends, Score Supplemental 1989
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 10/20   Received: 10/27   (7 days)

During the Jurassic Period of football, there were some absolute beasts of defenders that took the league by storm in the 70s. One of them was Carl Hairston, a little known defensive lineman prospect out of UMES or (University of Maryland Eastern Shore). He played on some terrible teams during college, which allowed him to really hone his game. Hairston was named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team 3 times. In his final year with the team, he posted 147 tackles and 15 sacks, good enough to get noticed by the Philadelphia Eagles, who selected Carl in the 7th round of the 1976 draft. 

He’d make the squad and in fact lead the NFL in sacks in 1979 (unofficially) with 15. Then in 1980, he’d help champion the defense that got the Eagles to Super Bowl XV.  Injuries began to slow Hairston down in 1983, and soon thereafter he’d be traded to the Cleveland Browns, where he’d be a mainstay on the line until 1989. He’d finish his career in Phoenix the following season. 

Carl has an extensive coaching resume at the Pro level, and has seen stops in the NFL (Phoenix, KC, St Louis, and Green Bay), UFL (Florida, Omaha), and CFL (British Columbia). He earned a Super Bowl ring as the defensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams (Super Bowl XXXIV). 

Carl is another one of these players who should probably be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A dominant lineman during his time, unofficially he has 1,141 tackles and 94 sacks to his name in 184 starts. 

Both of these are really nice cards of Carl. I almost feel like they are nods to him out of respect- like these card companies knew he was long in the tooth but they still wanted to pay him respects with their brand of card. The ProSet Legends 1991 card is an absolute gem. Merv Corning can make a player standing on the sideline look exciting, and this highly detailed image is no different with its nicks and bumps. It’s a fine card with excellent minimal design- which screams classy. The Score Supplemental 1989 had always been floating around my doubles box, so I had been kicking around the idea of getting it autographed for sometime. It’s unique because it’s obviously a special teams shot, but he’s just sort of popping up in a sea of helmets.

G/GSTACSACFUMINTYDSAVGTDLG
224/184114194.0N/A14040.0040

NFL, University of Texas, usfl

Millard, Bryan

Cards: ProSet 1989, Score Supplemental 1989, ProSet 1990, Topps Stadium Club 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Work
Sent: 5/4   Received: 6/4  (30 days)
Failure: TTM 2017, C/o Home

Bryan Millard is regarded as one of the greatest Seahawks linemen ever, but it took him a while to get there, and still to this day he does not receive the respect and accolades he deserves.  He flies under the radar when it comes to great linemen, and even when retrospect sets come out, like the two University of Texas sets from both Upper Deck and Panini, Millard is conspicuously left out.

Bryan played college ball at the University of Texas from 1979-1982. While playing for the Longhorns, Millard honed his skills at both Guard and Tackle- winning All-SWC recognition for the latter in 1982. Surprisingly, he went undrafted in 1983 by the NFL, but the upstart USFL took a flyer on Bryan in the 12th round with the New Jersey Generals. He’d block upfront for the next two seasons for both Herschel Walker and Maurice Carthon helping pave the way for the Generals vaunted rushing attack.

With the league beginning to implode by 1984, Millard headed to the West Coast and joined the Seattle Seahawks, but did not join the starting lineup until midway through the 1985 season. Bryan saw action at both tackle positions before settling on the right guard spot- a position he’d anchor down for roughly the next 6 seasons. Durable, dependable, and strong (a weightlifting advocate who could bench press some 550 pounds), Millard somehow flew underthe radar while opening up holes for Curt Warner and John L Williams. Most notable about Bryan was that despite his size (6’5″, 282), he was nimble enough to trap on the off-side while also being able to take on the larger bull rushers of the era.  He earned one ProBowl nomination in 1988. Thanks in part to injuries, Bryan was forced to retire after the 1991 season.

Bryan lives in the Austin, Texas area. After dabbling in commercial real estate and pharmaceutical sales, he is now a full time real estate broker. I tried sending a few cards out last year, but they were RTS, so I attempted a new address and struck paydirt. Among Bryan’s other hobbies is actually collecting football cards, however I am not sure if he still partakes in the hobby since it has changed so much over the years from the 5 and dime, stick of gum.