Tag Archives: top 50 buffalo bills

NFL

Talley, Darryl ‘Spider-Man’

Cards: Action Packed 1991, SkyBox Colors 1993/94, ProSet 1991
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent: 12/6/16 Received: 7/30/18    (599 days)

A second round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1983, Darryl Talley never missed a game in 12 seasons for the Bills. The unusually injury immune linebacker was also a model of consistent play over his long career- that spanned in the end, 14 seasons and 4 Super Bowl appearances. Talley is the Bills’ all-time leading tackler with 1,137 takedowns, to go along with  38.5 sacks, 14 fumble recoveries, 12 interceptions and 2 touchdowns.  After the 1994 season, Talley hit the open market and signed with the Falcons, playing 1995 with them and 1996 with the Vikings before retiring.  He was inducted into the Bills Wall of Fame in 2003, and named to the Bills 50th Anniversary team in 2009.

Darryl has battled severe depression and financial hardship since his retirement, however he’s worked hard to conquer his demons, partially in part due to his wife and children. As of 2018 he acts as a football ambassador for the NFL Legends community of players. The goal is to reach out and help as many former players and let them know of the different programs that are available to them from the league. Here’s hoping things continue on the up and up for Spider-Man.

Darryl Talley had some fantastic cards over his years in the league. I was pleased to add these 3 interesting designs and/or dynamic photos to the Encyclopedia. His Action Packed 1991 card embodies everything I want to see in an exciting solo shot of a linebacker, with Talley in full pursuit about to pop a ball carrier. The card itself on the front is minimally designed, and this appeals to me, and Darryl inked this card in the right spot to accent it perfectly. – High marks indeed. Skybox had a smart debut with their base set in 1992. Their subsequent releases, not-so-much. It didn’t help that they along with their counterparts flooded the market with so much content it was impossible to stay loyal to any card company and follow a release schedule. Mind you this was the high days of adventure before the internet!

The ‘Colors’ 1993-1994 Skybox set was a really slick look but by the time this set came out, I had already had my bank account plundered regularly by the discovery of girls. Both this card and the ProSet 1991 showcase Darryl’s nice arm sleeves, that intentionally were in a webbed pattern to harken to his nickname- Spider-Man.

ProSet set the standard from 89 to 92 really. (Nobody talks about ProSet 93.) That was also their problem. I felt the cards were the minimum I’d expect from a company to show me, even though what ProSet showcased with the minimal design was really outstanding for its era before Photoshop. Great photo of Darryl. It is too bad that ProSet ate itself out of the market. I wonder what their brand would look like today if it still existed.  Overall though Darryl signed 3 of 4 cards, and has a great signature. I think I sent him a donation but honestly it was so long ago I can not recall.

G/GSTACSACFUMINTYDSAVGTDLG
216/187119038.5141218915.7261T
CFL, NFL

Christie, Steve

pset90 christieCards: Score Supplemental 1990, ProSet 1990, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 4/1    Received: 4/17   (16 days)

Steve Christie left William & Mary as the school’s All-Time leading scorer in 1989 with 279 points. He was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1990. The Bucs had a solid kicking game with Donald Igwebuike, but Christie beat him head to head in camp and won the job outright. Through Week 7 of the 1990 season Christie was the leading scorer in the NFL with 57 points and hit all of his XP, and was 14 of 16 of field goals.  By the end of the season Steve was named All-Rookie by the UPI, as he finished second in the NFC with a .852 field goal percentage.  After another solid season in 1991 with the Bucs, Christie was left unprotected by the team, controversially after he made promises not to leave the team.

The Buffalo Bills had finally decided that it was time for longtime kicker Scott Norwood to go. They offered Steve twice the salary he was making in Tampa to come to Buffalo.  Christie didn’t look back. scosup90 christieHe’d later cite that the ‘lack of winning tradition’ in Tampa as factoring into making his decision easier, because, “You get quite depressed only winning 3 games a season.”
Christie distinguished himself with the Bills almost immediately. and played with the franchise through the 2000 season, erasing many of the previous kicking marks held by Norwood. Steve set the franchise records that he set were the longest field goal (59 yards), the longest field goal in playoff history (54 yards), and the most career field goals in the playoffs (9). Steve is the franchise’s All-time leading scorer with 1,011 points, and set a franchise record with 14o points in a single season (1998).

In 2001, Steve signed with the San Diego Chargers after a somewhat contentious divorce from the Bills. A preseason injury forced the Bills to offer Christie an injury settlement- an offer that he rejected. So the team with no real choice at that point placed him on injured reserve, and then finally granted his unconditional release a few weeks later. He played with the Chargers through the 2003 season. From there he spent some time with thegday92 christie Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants in 2004.

Christie then entered a period of semi-retirement. He briefly played for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 2007 as a favor to general manager Mike Clemons- a teammate from William & Mary. Afterwards he signed a one day contract with the Buffalo Bills to officially retire as a member of the franchise in 2008.  He’s done some football commentary since then and has worked in the CFL as a player agent. As of 2014, Steve’s 1,476 points ranks 16th in NFL history and his 336 field goals rank 13th.

In this day and age, kickers have become more interchangable between franchises, but the best clutch kickers such as Christie, Stenerud, Anderson, and Andersen, have just become more and more rare, especially when they were able to pull of long stints with one team.

G  229           XPA 473         XPM 468         PCT  98.9
FGA 431         FGM 336         PCT  78.0          PTS 1476