Tag Archives: topps 1980

College Football HoF, NFL, usfl

LeClair, Jim

Cards: Topps 1980, Topps 1978
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

After a short stint at Minnesota-Crookston, Jim Transferred to North Dakota.  Still not gaining the eyes of professional scouts, it took an incredible banner year for the linebacker to finally get the attention he deserved. He was credited with 187 tackles, three interceptions, four fumble recoveries, 11 forced fumbles, and 20 tackles for loss in 1971, and captured Little All-American Honors for his titanic performance. – Just incredible numbers. LeClair was selected by Paul Brown’s Bengals in the 3rd round of the 1972 draft, where he’d spell equally impressive Bill Bergey and primarily play special teams. While Bergey moved on to the Eagles in ’73, it was obvious that the mantle at middle linebacker soon would rest on Jim’s shoulders. By 1975 LeClair had really taken off at the position, making a career high 3 picks in 14 games that year. In 1976, Jim received his first Pro Bowl nomination. In 1980, the Bengals switched to a 3-4 defense, and Jim moved to LILB, playing for the team through 1983.  Bill by this point had been playing for 12 seasons, but still had the sport in his veins, and signed with the USFL’s New Jersey Generals. He’d finish his career there in 1984, but still manages to make it down to a game or two to cheer on the Bengals each season.

He’s currently retired and lives in North Dakota, spending time as an insurance agent. Jim has done some wild stuff over his days, as an Army reservist, including  wrestling a bear to a draw. Not a Chicago bear, – a real bear. He’s been a mayor and was head coach of the Mayville State University football team from 1986 – 1988. He has been inducted into the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame and also is a 1999 member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

G 158    Tac  N/a     Sac N/a     Fum 10
Int 10    Yds  64    Avg   6.4     Td  0   Lg 21

 

NFL, XFL

Pearson, Drew (3)

to84 pearson pset90 sb X to80 pearson to79 pearson pset90 sb XXII

Cards: ProSet 1990 SB X, ProSet 1990 SB XII, Topps 1980, Topps 1979, ProSet 1992 88’s, Upper Deck 1997 MM, Topps 1984.
Acquired: IP 11/8/2014, GameDay Sports Tour Austin, Texas.
See Also: Drew Pearson “Mr. Clutch”, Drew Pearson (2)

Texas Autograph Club, or TAC for short, has been a valuable resource for my autograph collecting hobby.  I got wind through GameDay Sports Tours that they were coming to Austin through TAC, and although I have gotten Drew Pearson multiple times in the past, I was still interested in getting his autograph on a few more cards. Chief among them was this Upper Deck that he shares with James Lofton, that I will get Lofton on at a later date. The ProSet 1992 card that he shares with Michael Irvin is also a very nice card, however I doubt seriously I’ll ever get the other 88 to sign this card, especially for the exorbitant price he charges. The other Topps cards were filler in my inventory while the ProSet serve in historical retrospect of Drew’s career. Pearson scored a TD in the Cowboys pset92 pearsonirvin 88Super Bowl X loss to the Steelers,

The event went well enough. It was held in a moderately rough location in Austin, but living in California for a few years, – I had shopped in more impoverished places, so it didn’t bother me at all.  I ran into a few other members of the board that I knew and talked to them for a bit about what they were getting signed. I was pretty close to the front of the line, so it was easy for me to get all of these cards signed. Drew started signing and stopped only briefly to ask me, “If this was it?” He flashed his customary Super Bowl ring at me and I was done. It was pretty much an in and out transaction.

Drew was finally inducted into the Cowboys Ring of ud97 pearson lofton mmHonor and does a lot of sports radio work, hosting his own self-titled hour long show on the Fox Sports Network. He also does color commentary for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. Pearson lives in Plano, Tx and is considered one of the 10 Greatest Cowboys Players ever.

NFL

Renfro, Mike

to81 renfroCards: Topps 1980, Topps 1981
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 12/10    Received: 12/19  (9 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

Upon his graduation from Texas Christian University, Mike Renfro held virtually all of the schools’ receiving records, and was the Southwestern Conference’s all-time leading receiver for receptions (162) and yards (2,739) . The Houston Oilers drafted Mike in the 4th round of their blockbuster 1978 draft. To say that head coach Bum Phillips was not enamored with kids from the SWC that year was an understatement as Renfro joined fellow SWC rushing leader Earl Campbell as rookies on the team. Mike was fortunate. With Billy White Shoes nursing a knee injury, Renfro was able to begin building a rapport with quarterback Dan Pastorini, while honing his blocking skills. Later in the year Mike scored his first professional touchdown against the Oakland Raiders.

It’d be in the 1979 playoffs the next season, that the team met with that heartbreaking bad luck they always seemed to find in the oddest ways. The Oilers’ battles with the Steelers were titanic by this point and Houston was one of the few teams that was formidible in combat with Pittsburgh. The Oilers rode into 3 Rivers Stadium for the AFC Championship Game that year. Trailing 17-10, the Oilers drove down the frigid field, after starting from their own 14 yard line. Pastorini was hot on Renfro that drive, already striking to him for 21 yards to put the ball on the Steeler 6. It’d be on the next play that Renfro is perhaps remembered most for. Under a nasty rush, Pastorini lobbed the ball up in the air to Mike over the helpless defensive back Ron Johnson (who held Renfro). Despite the no call hold, Renfro pulled the ball in and cradled it before stepping out of the endzone. The side judge, made an initial no call, then made a weak incomplete pass signal. While the replays showed otherwise and the commentators agreed as such, there was nothing that could be done. The Oilers settled for a field goal, and this was the closest the franchise ever made it to the Super Bowl. The Steelers scored a final touchdown with 53 seconds remaining to inflate the score to 27-13. The play caused a national firestorm and debate over the sport. The call today is still regarded as one of the worst made in sports history- ever. While video replay had been in use going back some 20+ years prior, the major sports had been reticent to adopt it as a way to better assist officials in making  better calls in games. The USFL became the first major football league to open the can of worms and adopt instant replay formally in 1985. The fans universally appreciated the program, seeing it as a sign of fairness and transparency. The NFL finally followed suit in 1986. After a lot of trial and error, the program was modified, abolished, and reinvented by 1998 and has been in use with minor tweaks every season since by the league.

to80 renfroMike played with the Oilers for the next 4 seasons. As a run first team, Mike got the knack of being a fearless, possession receiver who had great hands and ran fine routes. Renfro’s stats, especially compared to other receivers (of this current time) hearkens to a bygone era of aggressive defenses and the Dead Ball years of the sport. He finished his tenure in Houston with 160 catches in 51 games for 2183 yards and 11 TDs. Mike was also witness to the dawn and sunset of the Earl Campbell era as well as being one of the last remnants of the old guard to move on before the beginning of the Moon era in 1984. That year, Mike found himself traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for WR Butch Johnson, and a swap of 2nd round picks between the Cowboys and Oilers. Oh the Oilers also threw in a 5th round pick as well, which the Cowboys used to draft some guy named Herschel Walker. In essence, the Cowboys can thank the Houston Oilers for the catalyst that propelled them into the dynasty they became in the 1990s. Renfro stepped into the Cowboys organization at a critical juncture as well. He became the go to man for young quarterback Danny White as the team transitioned between eras at wide receiver from Pearson to Irvin. Mike was there to pick up the slack when Tony Hill began to decline and Mike Sherrard broke his leg. Mike posted a career highs in receptions (60), yards (955), and TDs (8) in 1985. Mike is also remembered fondly for having one of the greatest Thanksgiving performances in memory in 1987 when he caught 7 passes for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings. Sadly though, Mike was at the end of the line after finding a new role in Dallas. In 1988, Michael Irvin joined the squad, and with a host of new talent at receiver, and Renfro banged up from the wear and tear over the years, knew it was time to go. No hard feelings for Mike though.  Retiring to the Dallas area, Renfro was a sucessful investor and horse breeder for a while.

I had written Renfro back in 2010, but did not receive a response because I had gotten the address partially incorrect. I did not realize that the error was on my end until I had recently seen some responses from him. I was happy to finally get him on these two Oilers cards. Mike also makes an appearance on the original Tecmo Bowl on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

G/Gs  123/95       Rec  323     Yds  4708       Avg  14.6      Td 28   Lg  60