Tag Archives: topps 1990

NFL

Hilliard, Dalton (2)

Card: Topps 1990 1000 Yard Club
Acquired: 2018, Future Considerations
See Also: Dalton Hilliard

Lance comes to the rescue again with another autograph from Dalton Hilliard- a virtual no signer through the mail. Dalton has a stack of great cards, which I couldn’t find, but thankfully it just made this choice easier as this one really spoke to me after all these years.

I didn’t really like Topps back in those days. When I bought them at the 7-11 at the end of my day, they were they were filler in my collection. What was going for the set was that they were cheap. The 1000 Yard Club was an insert series that ran throughout the Topps football card brand for around 10 years. Beyond the week to week recap of the stas on the back, they were of a higher quality than the standard Topps issue (glossy), had an action shot and were usually a bit more ornate in design.  One was included in each pack. Everything about this card really screams 1990, from the hand written manuscript underneath the bold 1000, to the strong yellow border. Dalton’s autograph shows up nicely on this card.

Dalton’s nephew Kenny Hilliard also went to LSU and continues on in his uncle’s football footprints. Lance told me that Dalton was going to be signing at a casino with a few other Saints. I loaded him up with cards and hooked him up with Deadhorse who also needed Hilliard. Thankfully Hilliard was more than happy to sign whatever Lance brought imploring him to, “Bust them all out.”  

NFL

Martin, Eric (2)

Card: Topps 1990 1000 Yard Club
Acquired: 2018, Future Considerations
See Also: Eric Martin

Eric Martin has some really nice cards but after getting the previous three signed, I was somewhat tapped out. Luckily while trying to locate a card for Dalton Hilliard I stumbled upon this gem as well. Topps wasn’t really well known for bringing out quality cards during this period but this action shot really got my attention.  Since Eric retired he has received a few honors, being inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. 

I was really pleased to get two of my favorite collectors connected. Lance and Deadhorse have been good to me over the years, and I’ve spotted them both freebees- and in return they’ve done the same for me. Deadhorse had big needs from the Topps 88 set in both Eric Martin (an erratic signer TTM) and Dalton Hilliard (a non-signer TTM). It just so happened that Lance let me in on a signing he was attending in Louisiana at a casino. After a bit of convincing I networked the two together. I did not need any thank-you’s. The act of knowing that I was able to connect two collectors by the sheer fact that they trusted me, was enough for me. We now have a tiny hobby network and try to collaborate together and help each other out when we can.

NFL

Carrier, Mark (WR-2)

Cards: Upper Deck 1992 Bucs Checklist, GameDay 1992, Topps 1990 1000 Yard Club, Action Packed 1990
Acquired: 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 1/2 Received: 1/11 (11 days)
See Also: Mark Carrier WR

Well 2019 is off to a good start with my first official success in Mark Carrier former Bucs, Browns, and Panthers receiver. Along the way with all three franchises he seemed to leave an indelible and respectable mark on each franchise. It wasn’t until 2018 that wide receiver Mike Evans of the Bucs broke Mark’s single season receiving yardage record for the franchise during the last game of the season. A stellar TTM respondent, Mark signs virtually everything- provided you of course don’t confuse him with the defensive back from the same era. As this is the 10th year I’ve been back at the game, I’ve decided to dust off the books and write some of those players who responded to me over the years. Mark was one of those who responded way, way back in 2011, signing a slew of cards for me.

In 2014, Mark announced the Panthers second round pick at the draft. As of this post he is the Director of Player Relations for the team.

A player with a stack of amazing cards, I had wanted to reload and get back to Mark again for a few more that I had overlooked.

Probably my favorite of this stack is the Upper Deck 1992 Buccaneers Checklist. The artwork is just amazing on this card. They just don’t make them like they used to anymore. The bold outline around the card is just right and frames the image in a very classy way. I especially like how Mark’s profile image and him catching the football take precedence over the buccaneers by simple boldness of color.

His 1,000 Yard Club card was like most cards from Topps to me at the time- always at least a distant 3rd or 4th in quality or interest to me. While the look is quite dated, that is part of the charm of this card. The boldness of the yellow combined with the orange and green is typical of design from that era. Still it is a great photo of him and at the time it was the only glossy card that was in each pack.

As usual during this period for the most part, Action Packed set a high bar for others to follow in terms of photo quality. This card was no different, and is an exciting action shot of Mark. Most photos it seemed were also framed from this distance in the set as well in a very comfortable ‘in your face’ distance. I didn’t have this card but when I saw it, I knew it’d look amazing autographed so I picked up one.

The GameDay 1992 card feels like the weakest to me of the group. Maybe because it is the only one with a defender in the image, or the fact that the rules of the card are for only the main subject to be in color, take away from the overall shot, but regardless- this was more of a set need than anything else.

Mark has a pretty solid autograph all the way around. The looping C in his last name really makes his mark go.