Tag Archives: texans ambassadors

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.

 

NFL

Texans Ambassadors

mem ambassadorsAcquired: IP 9/1/2013,  Houston Texans Kemah Boardwalk Kickoff

Initially I had not intended to attend the Houston Texans 2013 Kickoff at Kemah. A 200+ mile drive to stand in the sweltering heat for a few hours to get the autographs of players to be named was a risk I didn’t really feel like taking, but after being prodded by a fellow collector to go, I barreled right into the event and didn’t look back. I made sure that I had all the cards I could get of the ambassadors, minus the few that didn’t have any.

The wait was abysmal as expected. The most exciting part of it was the middle aged, bleached blond, tacky glittered shoes, big haired woman, her brood, and henpecked husband that decided with an hour to go, that they were justified to skip everybody in line and move to the front. When their initial plan was foiled, she went to the manager in charge and started complaining. After losing the argument, she smugly told her family that they were just going to cut everybody else in line through the exit anyway. The management dispatched 2 15 year old girls to block the exit, but the woman pushed in anyway. As myself and the others in front began to get antsy over the woman and her brood’s behavior, the courtesy patrol showed up and pushed them all out, much to our glee, and the woman’s cursing.

Autographs:

ND Kalu played collegiality for Rice University and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round of the 1997 draft. He also played for the Redskins, before returning to the Eagles, and then finally the Texans retiring after the 2008 season. He finished his career with 157 tackles, 31 sacks, 2 FF, and a pick for 15 yards he returned for a TD. He’s retired to the Houston area and works in sports radio.

JJ Moses is the Texans all-time leading yardage leader in punt returns for the Houston Texans. He played for the team from 2003-2006 and was one of the shortest players in the league’s history. In addition Moses is an NFLE veteran with the Scottish Claymores and is considered one of the league’s warmer rags to riches stories. He has taken to calling me ‘Superfan’ since he remembered me from the 2013 Austin draft party event and my penchant for remembering his specific career details.

Jamie Sharper had an exceptional career for the Baltimore Ravens before joining the Texans via the Veteran Dispersal Draft in 2002. He’d go on to lead the team from RILB for 3 seasons and be the only player not to miss a single start. In 2003 he led the NFL in combined tackles with 301. After the 2004 season, Jamie played a final season with the Seattle Seahawks, making his second Super Bowl appearance. He is one of two players I own a jersey of.

 

NFL

McDowell, Leonard “Bubba”

Cards: ProSet 1990, ProSet 1991, Score 1990, Score 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Prairie View A&M
Sent:  9/2  Received: 9/15
Previous Failure: C/o The Houston Cougars 2010
See Also: Bubba McDowell (2)

Bubba McDowell is one of the few Oilers that I never had any luck with at training camp, but I always saw that others had. As one of my favorite players, he was a fearsome hitter that also had the occasional knack for finding the end zone with his ball hawking skills.

As a member of Jimmy Johnson‘s Miami Hurricanes, McDowell played strong safety for their 1987 National Championship team. The team was loaded with talent on both sides of the ball that included: Michael Irvin, Wesely Carroll, Randall Hill, Steve Walsh, Jimmie Jones, Cortez Kennedy, Danny Stubbs, Cleveland Gary, Brian Blades and Bennie Blades. Even their punter, Jeff Feagles was able to make it into the pros.  During the monstrous 1989 draft, McDowell would be taken in the 3rd round by the Houston Oilers.

Bubba would lay down the law immediately, replacing long time veteran Keith Bostic at safety. He’d start all 16 games and have a great rookie season recording 97 tackles, a sack, 4 picks, 4 forced fumbles, and a safety. Right before half time in a 1992 Monday Night game against the Chicago Bears at the Astrodome, Bubba picked off Peter Tom Willis and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.  He also notched the last score for the Oilers in their notorious meltdown against the Bills in the playoffs later that season. As Houston slumped in 1994, McDowell would be injured and only start 3 contests.

The Oilers would leave Bubba exposed to free agency and the expansion Panthers snatched him up in late April 1995. He’d finish out his career there with one final pick, but not before being immortalized in both the Nintendo Tecmo Super Bowl and the Super Nintendo Super Tecmo Bowl. After retiring he’d begin coaching and also participated in the Minority Fellowship Program. He remains an active speaker and gives time to charity where he lives outside of Houston, Texas with his wife and family. He is also a member of the Houston Texans Ambassador Club, and was a second team AP in 1991.

So Bubba is another failure turned success for me as last year I wrote him courtesy of the Houston Cougars, but he had already left the organization by then. Doing a bit more research I saw that he had resurfaced at Prairie View A&M as their secondary coach. He would sign all 4 of the cards plus an extra, even though I offered it to him. He also told me that I could keep in touch with him and other players through SoTL.com (School of the Legends). Bubba had some great cards, but both ProSet and Score bought the exact same photo in 1990. I lost a good deal of the other cards I wanted signed, including an Action Packed, GameDay, and his rookie Score 1989 Supplemental cards, but I was happy to get him on these other ones including this spectacular ProSet 1991, and this great looking (but loathesomely designed) Score 1992.

G/Gs 102/83   Tac 470    Sac 5.0     Fum  6      Int  17    Yds 223    Avg 13.1     Td 1    Lg 33