Tag Archives: score supplemental 1989

NFL, NFLE

Perry, William “The Fridge”

Cards: ProSet 1990 SB, Skybox 1992, Score Supplemental 1989
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home*
Sent: 1/3    Received: 1/14  (11 days)
*Signing Fee $5.00 per card

The Fridge. Of all the nicknames in football, William Perry’s moniker was among the greatest. The gentle giant, with trademark gapped teeth, William Perry, was a space eating destructive force at DT and in the middle for the Clemson Tigers. Mike Ditka and the Bears would snatch him up in the first round of the 1985 draft. A fan favorite, Perry earned the nickname, “The Refrigerator” because of his frame and weight, – the latter which has continuously been an embarrassing issue in his life. He’d anchor the center of the Bears vaunted 46 defense in Super Bowl XX. The team set numerous defensive records en route to a 15-1 record and the title. During the Super Bowl against the Patriots, Perry also got to try his hand carrying the ball at fullback and also scored a touchdown. The team also was a media darling, loaded with personalities, going so far as to record a SuperBowl video before the game was even played in which the lovable Perry with his gap tooth smile would perform. I even had his GI Joe “The Fridge” mail in action figure at one point, that had a chained mace styled to look like a football. (- Yes Hasbro was struggling with ideas by then.) He even capitalized off of his fame to become a wrestler briefly, appearing in WrestleMania II.

In 1989 his ProSet card became the most valuable card in the collection after it was accidentally printed. Very few were released, and he’d be replaced in the ’89 edition by Ron Morris. Although he’d appear in later card sets and editions of ProSet, his 1989 card was rumored to have been pulled because it showed his correct weight. I liked the Score and Skybox in particular because they really compliment him well. The Score shows him roving the field like a giant Great White, while the Skybox gives him the appearance that he is about to explode off the line.

The Fridge would continue to play for the Bears through 1993, before his weight and injuries became a distraction. Perry signed with the Eagles midway through the 1993 season after being cut from the Bears, -retiring after the 1994 season. It was very odd seeing him in an Eagles uniform. While his numbers in the NFL were not eye popping, with 29.5 sacks, “The Fridge” was a ‘hat guy’ that you needed to put two bodies on to stop from moving up field or occupying space. The first problem is when you assigned 2 guys to him, it freed up somebody else on the D line to come through, like Steve McMichael or Richard Dent. The other problem was Perry would plug up the middle so badly that it made it hard to run inside on the Bears.

After playing in the NFL,  Perry was not done yet. With the re-emergence of the WLAF, retooled as the NFLE, Perry attempted a comeback playing for the London Monarchs 1996. Although a lovable poster boy for the team, Perry and the Monarchs did not fare well enough to make the playoffs and he’d re-retire after the season.  He’s kept himself busy though, despite being debilitated by both his weight and Guillain Barre Syndrome. “The Fridge” has remained an endearing 80’s icon as well appearing regularly at functions around the US and his hometown of Aiken,SC dabbling in things ranging from equity investments to hot dog eating contests. He’s participated in football events for the Lingerie League and the Continental Indoor Football League (Chicago Slaughter) and was inducted into the Pro Wrestling HoF in 2006.

I had no problem paying a small signing fee for the gentle giant. With his struggles with Guillain Barre and his weight leaving him bed ridden at some points and haven been taken care of his brother Michael Dean,  it was the least I could do. The autographs were a bit light on these cards, as he autographed them in a fading silver sharpie, but I was very happy to lodge him as my first success for 2012.

G/Gs 138/111       Tac 506       Sac 29.5        Fum  5        Int 0   Yds 0   Avg  -.-    Td 0     Lg -.-

NFL

Smith, Dennis

Cards: Pacific 1991, Score 1990, Score 1991, Score Supplemental 1989, ProSet 1990 ProBowl, ProSet 1990.
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 8/6 Received: 8/11 (5 days)

Wow, new record with Dennis here, partially because he lives in virtually the same city. I sent only 3 cards to get signed with a few extras for him to keep. It was very gracious of him to sign all 6 anyway with the additional duplicate.

Dennis was a local product from Santa Monica. He’d go to USC under head coach John Robinson and would be paired with Joey Browner, and Ronnie Lott forming one of the most fearsome secondaries in the nation. In 1981 Smith would be taken by the Denver Broncos during the 1st round with the 15th pick.

A devestatingly hard hitter lining up at strong safety, Smith would only start 4 games his rookie season, hauling down a pick and recovering 2 fumbles. In 1983, he finished with 5 sacks, 4 picks and 114 tackles. 1984 would see his legend grow, as he made 92 more tackles and returned a fumble 64 yards for a touchdown.  It’d be in 1985 that Dennis finally started earning his stripes, earning his first ProBowl nomination that season, with 4 sacks, 3 picks and 66 tackles and quickly earn his second successive ProBowl nod the following season in 1986. After the strike shortened 1987 season and a slow 1988, Smith would earn his 3rd nomination in 1989 with 3 fumble recoveries, 2 picks, and 82 tackles while draftee Steve Atwater cemented down the other safety position. He’d grab his 4th and 5th nominations in 1990 and 1991 with 110 tackles in both seasons, and 5 picks in 1991. Despite almost duplicate numbers in 1992, with 4 picks, 2 fumbles and 120 tackles, he did not earn PB honors, but nabbed them one final time in 1993, before retiring after the 1994 season.

Over his career Dennis Smith was named AP 4 times in 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1989. Among Dennis other achievements is being inducted into the Denver Ring of Fame in 2001, the Colorado Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team. Since then he’s dabbled in real estate and reality television.

Nice cards through and through here. It was hard to choose which one to send to him. Some great shots here of Dennis playing it up for drama’s sake on some of these, but otherwise his Score Supplemental 1989 stands out as his most solid action shot to me. Otherwise, the best designed card, I have to hand it to ProSet here, as both of their cards are solid.

G/Gs 184/170   Tac 1152    Sac 15    Fum 17    Int 30    Yds 431    Td 0

NFL

White, Lorenzo “Lo”

Cards: Action Packed 1991, Score Supplemental 1989, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 1993, C/o The Houston Oilers
See Also: Lorenzo White (2) , Lorenzo White ‘Lo’ (3)

Wow… Lorenzo White had these suckers stamped.

Unlike the Jeff George cards that I had in 1992 that had suffered the same fate, (that I later replaced with real autographs) I was unable to replace these in time for this post. The ink didn’t pool at all on these cards. It is obvious though because the signatures are all at the same angle and there are articles of missing ink across each signature. I dislike stamps. I don’t mind autopens if they look legit. I compared this one to others and while there are some of these floating around, it’s obvious in comparison that this was lifted from his contract as opposed to his ‘natural signature’. I’d rather have a player return a card unsigned than stamp them, as it just ruins these cards for me.

Lorenzo White played with names such as Bobby McAllister, Willie Bouyer, and Andre Rison at Michigan State, during one of the team’s last heydays. He was drafted in the first round by the Houston Oilers in 1988 and had some exciting highlight film and some longer nicknames such as the “Great White Hope from the Green and White”. Lo was also an excellent receiver out of the backfield with deceptive speed at 5’11”, 222.

The problem was Lorenzo was a fumbling machine that rarely double cluched the football with both arms. In about 200 touches in 1990 he had 7 fumbles. The game Tecmo Super Bowl infamously memorialized  this by giving him some of the worst ball control in the game. He was almost guaranteed to fumble the ball once a game, and I’d always run out of bounds instead of take the hit with him. While his numbers improved and he became a pretty surehanded back after that, White never could completely erase those memories from fans.

With a new coach in place in Jack Pardee, he’d begin to thin the herd in 1990 after a conversion to the Run N Shoot offense. Gone were Alonzo Highsmith, Mike Rozier, and eventually Allen Pinkett. Lo would be one of the survivors and would produce a career high 1226 yards rushing and 641 yards receiving in 1992 starting for the team. His 1992 season would earn his one and only Pro Bowl moment.  He also gobbled down over 1,800 yards from scrimmage- the most by a runningback probably since Earl Campbell.

My best memory of Lo was that season when he made a 69 yard grab on a screen against the Cleveland Browns in the final minutes of the game to help the team engineer a comeback. He’d be injured during the 1993 season, clearing the way for Gary Brown to take the starting job.

In 1995, White signed via free agency and played for the Cleveland for one final season, but not before going down in Super Tecmo Bowl history as a member of the Browns.

Rush  1062         Yds  4242            Avg  4.0           Td 30              Lg 44            
Rec  192          Yds  1738          Avg 9.1            Td  6                lg  69