Tag Archives: topps 1984

College Football HoF, NFL

Lyons, Marty

to84 lyonsto89 lyons
Cards: 1989 Topps, 1984 Topps
Acquired: Canton Acquisition, 2012

Marty Lyons was a man-machine in the middle for many years for the New York Jets. Although considered a terror along the line and well respected by opposing offenses, Lyons numbers have not garnered him a Hall of Fame nomination. Lyons was the 14th player taken in the 1979 draft and joined with (fellow draftee) Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, and Abdul Salaam to form the famed “New York Sack Exchange”.

Originally a member of the University of Alabama from 1975-1978, Lyons racked up 202 tackles, 20 sacks, and 6 fumbles while playing for the Crimson Tide. In his final year there, he earned consensus All-American Honors, and is considered one of the finest defensive linemen of his era. While considered a beast on the field, pummeling opponents and taking no prisoners, Lyons has received immense attention for his work at large for the community and giving, winning the NFL Man of the Year Award in 1984. He currently runs his own foundation, which is pushing near 30 years of service.

Over 12 seasons with the Jets, Lyons helped the franchise reach a level of respectability during the 80s playing defensive tackle, and occasionally kicking outside to defensive end. He earned Pro Bowl honors in 1982 and 1983 as an alternate while the team saw its first playoff berth since the days of Joe Namath in 1982, reaching the AFC Championship against Dan Marino and the Dolphins. They’d again return to the playoffs again in 1983 and 1985. In 1988 Lyons was named defensive captain of the team.

Since retirement, Lyons has been named to the College Football Hall of Fame (2011) and 5 other local and state Hall of Fames as well for his efforts on and off the field. In addition to his duties for the Marty Lyons Foundation, he has also been a color commentator for Jets radio.

G/Gs  147/135      Tac   n/a     Sac  29    Fum 8
Int  0        Yds 0        Avg -.-     Td 0        Lg -.-

 

 

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.

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL

Sims, Billy “Kung Fu”

udcollgd11 simsCards: Topps 1984, Upper Deck Legends 1997, Upper Deck College Legends 2011, OU Upper Deck 2011 MM.
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home.
Sent: 1/2     Received: 1/21   (19 days)

Billy Sims had a relatively short NFL career due to injury, but he left it all on the field, and harnessed accolades and awards along the way. Sims, the 1978 Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma, rushed for 1,896 yards and 22 touchdowns that year,  and would later be selected with the first pick of the 1980 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

ouud11 sims mmThe tiny dynamo took the #20 that he made so famous at OU during his college career and won NFL Rookie of the Year Honors that season, leading the NFL with 16 touchdowns (13 rushing and 3 receiving). In 1981, he’d up his numbers with 1,437 yards and another 13 TDs rushing in 14 games. While the 57 day long strike reduced Sims contribution to only 9 games, he’d still have 639 yards, and the team made the playoffs for the first time in 20+ years in 1982. Billy took the NFL by storm his first three seasons earning All-Pro honors from the NFL in each of those years. He’d have his final 1,000 yard season in 1983 rushing for 1,040 yards in 12 games. During the season he rushed for to82 sims replaya career high single game 189 yards against the Packers. The one man wrecking crew was beloved by the people of Detroit, and led the Lions to its first division championship in also over 20 years.

1984 was a catastrophic season for Sims and ultimately the Lions. In the 8th game of the season against the Minnesota Vikings, Sims took a routine handoff and got his foot awkwardly caught in the Metrodome turf.  Unbelievably his season was over- and the Lions spiraled out of control. The Lions were 23-11 since Sims joined the team. Without him, Detroit went the rest of the way 1-6-1 that year.  Sims had ligament damage to his knee, and the injury was so severe that he failed every physical he took after rehab.  As fast as Sims established himself as the Lions career leading rusher, both in yardage and touchdowns, Billy’s career was over.  He was only 30.

Sims has been held with reverence since by the franchise. Detroit likes to unofficially retire jerseys from circulation for extended periods of time, and such is that, the Lions refused to issue his #20 jersey until NFL great Barry Sanders asked to wear it. Billy was also well known for his celebratory high stepping as he scoredudldg97 sims touchdowns, and his strong and creative running that allowed him to pick a hole and make 3 yard gain out of nothing. There was just about nothing Sims could do. Leaping over a pile (like in his Upper deck Legends card), or catching a pass out of the backfield. Sims averaged 11.1 yards on 186 career receptions.  Despite playing only one full season in his short lived 5 year NFL tenure, Billy averaged over 1,000 yards per year.

While Sims has had a share of well publicized financial missteps much like Earl Campbell, Billy has bounced back and currently has chain of Billy Sims BBQ restaurants. He also spends time as a motivational speaker and is involved in sports marketing.

mem simsInducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995, Sims has also had his likeness immortalized as a statue on the OU campus as a Heisman Hero. His nickname was given to him by Chris Berman from ESPN, because during the highlight of a game against the Houston Oilers, Sims lept through the air over a defender and kicked cornerback Steve Brown in the head.

Billy is a wonderful signer through the mail for fans. He signed these
4 cards in less than a month for me, and also enclosed a free drink coupon for his restaurant in case I was ever in the area.  You can visit his restaurant site at billysimsbbq.com.

G/Gs 60/58    Rush 1131  Yds 5106   Avg 4.5     Td 42    Lg 81t |
Rec 186    Yds  2072   Avg 11.1   Td  5   Lg 87