Cards: Topps 1993, Fleer 1995, Topps Finest 1995
Acquired: In Person 1993, Houston Oilers Training Camp, TTM 2010, C/o The Tennesee Titans
Sent: 3/26 Received: 4/6 (11 days)
Another one of these players from Pasadena, Ca, Marcus Robertson played collegiately for Iowa State and was drafted in 1991 by the Houston Oilers in the 4th round. After a quiet rookie season, Robertson would step into the starting role for the Oilers in 1992, playing solidly in the secondary.
On my birthday in 1993 my brother invited me down to Houston where he lived, gave me a Houston Oiler flag, and took me to the Astrodome to watch the Oilers play the Browns. The Oilers that year were having the best season of the team’s history and much of it was due to their ball hawking secondary and Marcus Robertson’s play. After 13 games he lead the NFL with 7 interceptions, but a knee injury would end his season prematurely- ironically during the game I was at. He’d also garner All-Pro honors that season. The Oilers would continue to play well into the playoffs, where they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Kansas City Chiefs. It would be the last time the team would make the playoffs. I bought the Topps Finest card but was not able to get Marcus’ autograph before the team moved to Tennessee. After another injury plagued 1995, Marcus would again return to form and play for the Oilers and Titans through 2000. He’d play an additional 2 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and then retire after the 2002 season. Since then Marcus has worked as a coach and in 2010 is with the Titans organization as a defensive backs coach.
These sets of cards really reflect the evolution of quality and style in the 1990s of football cards. The 1993 Topps card is honestly like any other regular Topps branded football card up to this point during the football card war- boring. Realizing that Topps was probably getting killed in the market by other companies the brand by 1995 made a move to foil stamping, high quality photos, the removal of that gum that you could kill a man with, and a variety of other upgrades. The Topps Finest card here is truly among my favorites. Another one of my other pet favorites, after I had left the market completely was the Fleer 1995 cards. Fearlessly branding type across the card and around players that you normally didn’t see, you really got a feel for these cards on an epic scale complimented and framed by excellent photography. I was extremely happy to add these signatures to my collection.
G/Gs 162/144 Tac 638 Sac 1.5 Fum 9 Int 24 Yds 458 Avg 19.1 Td 0 Lg 69
In his career, Cecil made one ProBowl while with the Packers and was a favorite of the All Madden Team. He was also recognizable for his oversized ‘Gazoo’ helmet he wore to protect against further concussions. Despite his reputation as a hard hitting free safety, Chuck did more damage to himself, sustaining bloody noses and concussions on a regular basis, all for forcing 1 fumble in 445 tackles. A 2009 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Chuck’s 100 yard interception return was voted the greatest Wildcat play of all time.
Del Greco would win the job outright in Houston, (and at that time I wasn’t really impressed,) providing the Oilers with the consistency and clutch kicking that the team direly needed. He played for the Oilers the next 6 seasons, two for the Tennessee Oilers and then his final two seasons with the Titans- retiring after 2000 and 17 seasons. Del Greco currently stands at number 14 on the all time scoring list with 1592 points (as of 2010).