Tag Archives: topps 1987

NFL

Gibson, Dennis

Card: Topps 1988
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

Dennis Gibson is best remembered by Charger fans as being the savior of the team in the 1994 AFC Championship Game, when he blocked a TD pass from Steelers’ QB Neil O’Donnell in the endzone to win the game. The play propelled the Cinderella Chargers of 1994 into the SuperBowl- their only SuperBowl appearance to date.

A home grown Iowa product who went to school at none other than Iowa, Gibson went to the bright lights of the city of cars and industry, as Detroit took him in the 8th round of the 1987 draft. Considered a budget find, Gibson stepped right in and contributed almost immediately, and later went on to play beside both Michael Cofer and Chris Spielman at right inside linebacker for the Lions 3-4 alignment. Gibson also appears alongside his teammates in the classic football game Tecmo Super Bowl. He saw some of the better glory days of the reborn Lions under Wayne Fontes and started 7 seasons for the Lions defense. In 1988 Gibson had a career high 116 tackles, and in an injury shortened 6 games in 1989 he recovered 3 fumbles. He’d sign with the Chargers in 1994 and play there through the 1995 season before retiring. At last glance in 2013, Gibson runs Encore Pizza in near obscurity outside of Des Moines, Iowa.

G/Gs 121/120    Tac 582    Sac 2.5   Fum 6     Int 3     Yds  15   Avg 5.0   Td 0    Lg 10

College Football HoF, NFL

Lomax, Neil

Cards: Topps CL 1985, Score GC 1989, Topps 1987, Score 1989, ProSet 1989
Acquired: In Person 1993, CGA Youth Golf Tournament

Incredibly underrated and forgotten quarterback Neil Lomax lit up the scoreboards during the 1980s for the St. Louis Cardinals. Discovered by then offensive guru Darrell ‘Mouse’ Davis up at Portland State, Neil helped put the school on the map setting offensive passing records in the NCAA.  Lomax would be drafted in the 2nd round of the 1981 draft (,and finish as one of only 2 quarterbacks[ Wade Wilson], to make the Pro Bowl from that draft).

In 8 seasons, he only posted 2 losing records- but finished with a 47-52-2 record. His career highlights would include a 1984 in which he threw for 4614 yards, (which still stands as a team record), and he’d lead the NFL in attempts, completions, and yards averaging 282 yards a game in 1987. An injury in 1989 would curtail his season, and while he’d sit on IR all year, doctors would discover Lomax had an arthritic hip, effectively ending his career. It’s a shame really because if Lomax just had a few more years under his belt, he’d probably be remembered by Cardinals fans as affectionately as Kurt Warner is. (He was at the time of retirement and still over 20 years later, ranked in the top 100 of quarterbacks since 1950.) With the untimely loss of Lomax, the Cardinals would quickly collapse into the doldrums of the NFC East where they’d remain until the emergence of Jake Plummer in 1998.

I met Neil at the CGA Youth Golf Tournament in 1993. He was really flattered by the drawing I did of him and his kids clamored around to look at it to, “Oooh and ahhh”. Neil asked if I had a problem letting his kids hang it up in their room (to which I obviously didn’t) and then signed all of the cards I had brought. An accomplished golfer, Neil is president of the ProMax corporation and has dabbled in coaching. Lomax was inducted into the Oregon Sports HoF in 1993, and the College Football HoF in 1996. He and his family currently reside in Oregon.

G/Gs 108/101    Att 3143   Comp 1817    Yds  22771   Pct 57.6
Td 136     Int 90    Rat 82.7   Lg 93