Tag Archives: score supplemental 1989

CFL, NFL

Fernandez, Mervyn ‘Swervin’ (2)

Cards: Action Packed 1990, Score Supplemental 1989, Topps 1990 1,000 yard club, ProSet 1989
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 1/23     Received: 4/14   (83 days)
See Also: ‘Swervin’ Mervyn Fernandez

Ah, Mervyn Fernandez, such an underrated receiver. After proving his worth in the CFL for the BC Lions, Fernandez showed up to the NFL in 1987.  A shrewd selection by Al Davis in the loaded 1983 draft, Fernandez was picked by the Raiders in the 10th round.  After a few years with the Raiders, he returned to the BC Lions to finish out his career in 1994.  Always well remembered by the CFL, he’s received numerous accolades from the league since retirement.

Fernandez has some great cards. His Score 1989 Supplemental is really nice. The color on this card is outstanding, even without adjustment.  The Action Packed 1990 card was a really solid shot of Mervyn. It’s a dynamic action shot of him although the framing was typical of most cards of that era with the color framing in gold.  The ProSet 1989 was really the card set that blew the doors off of Topps stranglehold on the market. It’s a great card through and through however it suffers from the offset cutting issues that plagued ProSet throughout most of its print cycle. Topps inserted a nice glossy 1000 yard club card at the top of every pack which all had solid action shots of their players. After I ran out of Action Packed cards to buy at the 7-11 everyday after school, I’d slowly soak in the Topps cards. Mervyn’s autograph certainly stuck out nicely on this canvas.

NFL

DeBerg, Steve


Cards: Score 1989 Supplemental, Action Packed 1991, Score 1991 Leader
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent:  1/9   Received: 1/20    (11 days)

Steve DeBerg is a warrior of old. Over his career, Steve played from 1978-1993, and 1998. He played some 17 seasons in the NFL and almost pulled off one of the rarest of feats of appearing in 4 different decades of football.  DeBerg is considered one of the great masters of play action, which served him well during his revival in the late 80s and early 90s for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Originally a 10th round choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 1978 out of San Jose State (and thought to be Roger Staubach‘s heir), Steve was traded to the 49ers before the regular season began. He’d start 11 games his rookie year in the NFL, but his numbers were atrocious (8 TD, 22 INT), and his win/loss record reflected it (1-10).  In 1979, DeBerg was allowed to spread his wings and led the NFL in Attempts (578) and completions (347), but young rookie QB Joe Montana was chomping at the bit.  In 1981, Deberg was traded to the Broncos, and he’d play there for through 1983, (when Denver got a hold of… John Elway).

In 1984, Steve was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’d throw for a career high 3554 yards that season and throw 19 TDs to 18 picks. In 1986 he’d back up future NFL HoF QB Steve Young, and then in 1987, back up Heisman Trophy Winner Vinny Testaverde.  After his 4 year stint with the Bucs concluded, DeBerg signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1988.

It’d be in 1989 that DeBerg was introduced to ‘Marty Ball’, and after fighting off Ron Jaworski, Steve Pelluer, and rookie Mike Elkins, posted a 6-4 record and almost led the Chiefs to the playoffs. It was a huge turnaround for the franchise- one that had been a doormat of the AFC West for most of the 80s. DeBerg continued his magical reinvention in 1990.  During that era of NFL football, only throwing 4 interceptions in 444 pass attempts was almost unheard of- but DeBerg did just that, leading the NFL with only .9 % of all his passes intercepted that season. He also had the highest adjusted average yards per completion at 7.58, leading the Chiefs to the playoffs. He played one more season with the Chiefs before being replaced in 1992 by Joe Montana (again).

Steve signed with the Bucs again in 1993. He’d be the backup QB for them for a few games over 2 seasons. Cut during 1994, DeBerg found his way onto the roster of the Dolphins and backed up Scott Mitchell after Dan Marino was injured.

DeBerg was long thought retired after that and was hired by Dan Reeves to be a QB coach with the Giants in 1995. Later when Reeves moved to Atlanta, he hired DeBerg as his QB Coach in 1996, however in 1998 they’d decided it’d be best if DeBerg backed up starter Chris Chandler. Steve finally reached the Superbowl with the Falcons- a game that they lost to the Broncos and… John Elway.

Truly, in the football universe for a while there, everything was six degrees of Steve DeBerg, with him being connected to so many great quarterbacks. A true competitor, Steve always left it out on the field. I remember during one season, he played a few weeks with a cast on his non-throwing hand during his time with the Chiefs.

Steve’s a signer who does so in random spurts, so it was somewhat difficult to peg down when I should send out to him. Along the way, Steve’s modern era cards (let’s say post 1988) were pretty nice, and it was hard for me to trim it down to under 3 of them. Sadly the Score 1991 Leader card that I liked the most got smudged- Usually a by-product of rushing signatures before they dry back into a sleeve or envelope. Still one can’t complain. I liked all 3 of these a lot. They really stood out among the sets to choose from. The simplicity of the Action Packed 91 almost couldn’t be touched, and the Score 1989 card is vibrant.

G/GS  206/140    ATT  5024    CPD 2874    YDS 34241    PCT 57.2
TD 196      INT 204        RAT  74.2

RUSH 204     YDS 200     AVG 1.0       TD 7       LG 15

NFL

McDowell, Bubba (3)

scosup89 mcdowellpset92 mcdowellsky92-bmcdowellap90-bmcdowellpac91-bmcdowellgday93 mcdowellCards: ProSet 1992, Score Supplemental 1989, GameDay 1993. Pacific 1991, Skybox 1992, Action Packed 1990.
Acquired: In Person 9/13/2015, Houston Texans v. Kansas City Chiefs. 10/30/2016, Houston Texans v. Detroit Lions.
See Also: Leonard ‘Bubba’ McDowell, Bubba McDowell (2),

Bubba was at the Churrascos Pregame brunch with Curtis Duncan. It’d mark the first time that I’d meet him in person suprisingly- after all the School of the Legends (now defunct) discussions we had. I had quite a stack of cards and had hoped to get him at the Oilers 25th Anniversary Party but he had a last second commitment that prevented him from attending.  He’s even more engaging than I remember from the videos, and he was nice enough to take the time to sign a few cards for me from the stack.

Again it was a shame that ProSet made this switch mid-set to this design in 1992. Either look was okay with me for the time, but not in the same set. It’s a great full body photo of the hard hitting defensive back. His Score 1989 notwithstanding was one that I’ve tried getting autographed on numerous occasions but it got eaten by the mail gods. I never found this one until a few weeks ago and added it to the stack. It’s an oldie, with a purple frame and white marquee that leaves much to be desired. Still it’s his earliest rookie card. This GameDay 1993 card is a sizzling shot of Bubba. I mistakenly thought it was from the Bears game earlier that season when he took the ball to the house at the end of the half on Monday Night, but in reality it was one of the more grim days in Oilers history- a game referred to as ‘The Comeback’. Bubba intercepted this pass and returned it 58 yards for a score to make the game 35-7, before the Bills furious rally.

The next year, I went with my wife to the Texans v. Detroit Lions game. Bubba was among the selected players to appear in the fan zone, right inside the stadium gates, but outside of the stadium to give autographs. It was a long hike to the front of the stadium from our seats. The next problem I faced was that if you already have entered the stadium, you can not exit the stadium- even to go to the fan zone. It seemed asinine, but in this day and age of security I understood. After a brief conversation with the head of ticketing, they let me go through. Bubba was seated with former Oiler, Charlie ‘The Razor’ Frazier.

Unwilling to press my luck for more than three autographed cards, I selected the Pacific, Skybox, and Action Packed cards from my lot and let it rip. Bubba told me that he had a lot of great memories- fun memories- especially of former head coach Jerry Glanville.