Tag Archives: skybox 1992

NFL

Baxter, Brad “Smooth”

sky92 baxterCards: Proline 1992, Skybox 1992, ProSet 1990, Action Packed 1991
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 10/31     Received: 11/15    (16 days)

Looking back at Brad Baxter’s relatively modest NFL career, it was surprising he didn’t go higher. While at Alabama State he finished with 3,728 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 19 100 yard games. These accolades alone would garner strong praise in today’s NFL scouting circles, but he probably carried the ‘small school’ stigma. Originally an 11th round long shot out of Alabama State by Minnesota  in the legendary 1989 draft, Brad Baxter did not make the roster of the talent deep Vikings. In fact, while the ’89 draft is considered one of the stronger ones in the modern era, it was disastrous for the Vikings’ front office. Still even after being cut by the Vikings, Brad believed in himself, and embraced his underdog status. The New York Jets picked him up quietly and placed him on their developmental squad before the season was out, and he played on special teams in the team’s season finale.  As head pset90 baxtercoach Joe Walton was shown the door after the 1989 season, the Jets front office decided to bring in Bengals offensive guru Bruce Coslet to coach the team. With Coslet, came a new offensive philosophy, and for Brad, -an opportunity. The Jets in fact had so much confidence in Baxter, they let incumbent 1st round choice Roger Vick go.

Brad did not disappoint. He’d be one of the best blocking backs in the league, handling the load for guys like Blair Thomas, Freeman McNeil, and Johnny Hector. The team as a whole was 4th in the NFL averaging 132.9 yards per game. Baxter also got into the act rushing for a club rookie (on technicality) mark with 6 rushing TDs, and paired with Thomas to be the first duo of Jets rookies to finish with 500+ yards rushing in a season. In fact Baxter’s 539 yards, were only second to Thomas among all AFC rookies that year.

Mr. Hit and Run followed up 1990 by leading the AFC with 11 rushing touchdowns in 1991, matching a team record, as the Jets discovered Smooth’s nose for the end zone. His 666 yards rushing ap91 baxterwere second again to teammate Blair Thomas. In 1992 Baxter led the team and ran for a career high 698 yards as the Jets struggled under a quarterback transition from Ken O’Brien to Browning Nagle. Johnny Johnson assumed the majority of the running load from Blair and Brad, as Boomer Esiason joined the team at quarterback in 1993, but Brad still managed to garner 559 yards and 20 receptions. Again, Brad survived another coaching transition with Pete Carroll taking over for Coslet in 94, and Rich Kotite for Carroll in ’95.

In the meantime Brad had gotten into an odd side business- cattle hauling. This caused quite a stir when he opted not to show up at ‘voluntary’ mini camp over the summer in order to manage it. OC Ron Earhardt apparently took it as a cardinal sin, and gave the job to Richie Anderson. Baxter, while a fine blocker and rusher, did not tally high numbers receiving and the new coaching staff saw his lack of willingness to participate in mini camp as a liability.  Baxter was cut after 7 seasons. The Jets then went 1-15.

Many fans today still consider Brad as the best blocking back the franchise ever had, as even in those lean years through all thosepline93 baxter bad teams and a turnstile of coaches, Baxter could be counted on the champion the runningback in the ground game, clearing paths, or finding a little wiggle room himself.

I absolutely detest the Proline 92 set. While it was ground breaking at the time, with its nameless cards, and displaying players frequently not playing football, this card of Baxter absolutely charmed me. It is so wacky, and really frames everything about that era of the sport. I had to get it signed. Brad also was a nasty one two punch along with Blair Thomas in Tecmo Super Bowl.

G/Gs  94/72  Rush 779  Yds 2928  Avg 3.8   Td 35  Lg 31   |
Rec  80    Yds 587   Avg 7.3    Td 0    Lg 34

 

 

 

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Dickerson, Eric (2)

sky92 dickerson aprks92 dickersonCards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, Skybox 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 6/10   Received: 7/13  (33 days)*
See Also: Eric Dickerson, Eric Dickerson (3)
*included donation of $10 per card.

Really pumped about these 2 coming back to me as I had followed this address on a hunch. At his website,  it stated very plainly that he does not sign free autographs, so I sweetened the pot a bit to see if I could game a response. It worked like a charm and I was shocked to receive a response in such a short time, as both of these cards were ones I really wanted signed. The Skybox was just a great photo of Dickerson. It really screams ‘poster card’. The Action Packed Rookies 1992 is from a set that I unabashedly collect. It is from his one season with the Los Angeles Raiders and I wouldn’t have gotten it signed otherwise.

I had decided to write Eric after going to the Houston Fan Fest this year. We were driving through Sealy, Tx on the way home from the event and passed by the stadium he ran to High School glory on, which prompted me to start thinking about Eric’s legacy.  A few days later Eric got into a brouhaha on Twitter with an unnamed child musical artist who can’t seem to drive safely in their shared neighborhood. I took it as though fate was slapping me on the face and took pen to paper that evening.

Dickerson is unabashed when asked about Adrian Peterson’s recent run at his record 2,106 single season rushing record, and said that he’s glad he still holds the record. While other more… let’s say modest… players might say otherwise, I actually agree with Eric. There are certain records that I hope never fall again. Some things such as 2,106 should stand the test of time, and I am glad Dickerson (HoF Class 1999) holds it. Eric is also a member of the 2,200 strong NFL alum that won litigation against the NFL for concussion related injuries. His name is the largest name in the hat, statistically, as he piled up over 13,000 rushing/receiving yards in his career.

At this time he does a lot of charity work, speaking, and golf tournaments to pass the time.

NFL, Pro Football HoF, usfl, WLAF

Kelly, Jim (QB)

sky92 kelly

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, Skybox 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Hunter’s Hope Foundation*
Sent: 3/18    Received: 5/13    (56 days)
* $50 donation requested

Great cards and great find! Okay, I really think that $50.00 is way too much to pay for a player’s autograph, but for two, and the fact that it goes to charity, makes it sting a lot less. (I normally draw a hard line at $10 per card.) That was the strategy I took for the former AP quarterback, and after a long wait, it paid off. I really liked both of these releases, especially his SkyBox 1992 card, which is a sports photo masterpiece. His Action Packed is really more of a grab for a set that I like, but still it is of Jim doing something else other than cocking it back and making a throw. Over the years I’ve realized I like the offensive player photography where they are more or less alone in the frame. On defense, it’s typically the moment of impact, a big play, or looking intimidating that does it for me.

So Jim Kelly finished with (a very pedestrian looking by today’s standards) 376/676  for 5228 yards 33 touchdowns to 28 picks in 44 games for the Miami Hurricanes. Kelly led a revival of the U’s program, and coming off his 1981 season everybody expected bigger and brighter things, but instead he ended up having a disastrous shoulder injury 3 games into his senior season. Still he is remembered fondly by the school and was inducted into the Miami Hall of Fame in 1992. He is considered one of the famed ‘QB class of 1983 ‘ that consisted of: Dan Marino, Todd Blackledge, John Elway, Tony Eason, and even guys like Babe Laufenberg, and Gary Kubiak.

aprks92 kellyAt the draft, in 1983, the Bills made the choice on the signal caller, but he opted instead to sign with the rival USFL.  You see, Kelly’s rights were originally held by the Chicago Blitz, but they felt that Kelly should play where ever he wanted, so the USFL could build a stable of star quarterbacks. He went on a whirlwind tour of the league and eventually chose the climate controlled Astrodome in Houston, with head coach Jack Pardee and their groundbreaking offense.

Under Pardee, the team was noteworthy for bringing the Run N Shoot to Pro Football, and Pardee went out and hired Mouse Davis as offensive coordinator to make it happen. The offensive fireworks that the team brought were nothing short of spectacular. In his first full season under center for the Gamblers Kelly threw for 5219 yards on 370 completions to go along with 44 touchdowns, earning rookie and player of the year honors from the USFL. The next year, the Gamblers became the first pro football team to utilize the No Huddle Offense. He had some great receivers too, in the names of: Gerald McNeil, Clarence Verdin, Ricky Sanders, and Richard Johnson. In Jim Kelly’s hot hands, the Gamblers made the playoffs in both years. Unfortunately a shift to a fall schedule before the second season (to compete directly with the NFL) doomed the fledgling league. After the season, the Gamblers were merged with the New Jersey Generals. What would have been was an incredible offense of Jim Kelly and Herschel Walker– but it never came to pass as the league folded.

The NFL held a special supplemental draft, but as Jim’s rights were already held by the Buffalo Bills, he tried to engineer a trade. Eventually, Jim signed with Buffalo in 1986, pressed on by his father who wanted to live a dream of tailgating to his son’s games in Upper NY- a stone’s throw from where they lived. Although Jim lamented the outdoor cold weather of Buffalo, he proved himself wrong, by really turning the team around and becoming the centerpiece to the Bills attack. Kelly quickly became adept at the Bills No Huddle Offense, – nicknamed the ‘K-Gun’. Few teams’ defenses could keep up with the Bills no huddle attack, and by 1988 (with the final addition of Thurman Thomas,) the Buffalo Bills were the premiere team in the AFC. Jim had some awesome weapons in Andre Reed and later also, James Lofton, but among the ones that was overlooked the most was his center- Kent Hull who played with Jim (technically) since Kelly’s days with the Generals. With Jim at the helm the Bills won 4 AFC titles in a row from 1990- 1993, but never won a Super Bowl title. Still Kelly earned a heaping of accolades and All Pro awards until his retirement after the 1996 season. His number has also been retired by the Bills and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He also dabbled in broadcasting briefly, handling WLAF color commentary for the USA Network back in 1991 and 1992. Combining Jim’s USFL #s with his NFL numbers gives him well over 45,000 career passing yards and 320 passing touchdowns. His number has also been retired by the Bills.

Jim has spent a great deal of his time giving back to the community, as his son tragically passed away from Krabbe Disease, in 2005. He also spends much time working football camps for children in Upper NY and is dedicated to keeping the Bills in Buffalo. You can write him courtesy of Hunter’s Hope Foundation with a donation for his autograph.

USFL    36/36   Att 1154   Comp 730  Yds 9842   Pct 63.3   Td 83   Int 45
NFL/GP  160/160   Att  4779    Comp  2874    Yds 35467    Pct 60.1     Td  237   Int 175   Rat 84.4   |  Rush 304   Yds 1049  Avg 3.5  Td 7   Lg 3.5