Cards: Topps Stadium Club 1992, Fleer 1990, ProSet 1991 Acquired: TTM 2021, C/o Home Sent: 8/2 Received: 8/9 (7 days) Failure: TTM 2014, C/o Home x2
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
After playing offensive line at Tulane where he was a 3 year starter, Don Maggs was selected by the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL in 1984.
Spent 1985 with the New Jersey Generals.
Selected in the USFL Supplemental Draft by the Houston Oilers in the second round.
Provided versatile depth for the Oilers already stacked offensive line.
Blew out anterior cruciate ligament during training camp in 1987 and saw no action that year.
In fact, only started 3 games over 3 seasons with the Oilers before taking over fulltime at left tackle in 1990.
Was the Denver Broncos first official unrestricted free agent signing in 1993.
Played final two seasons (93/94) with the Denver Broncos.
Started 110 games over career.
Fleer Update 1990, #U-35 Pro Set 1991, #520
NOTES:
I had tried previously to get Don’s autograph but had failed twice. The first time was an RTS with his new address, so I packed everything up and resent. Everyone else got their stuff back but me. After waiting a few years and reloading I decided to give him another shot and got him on these great cards.
Cards: Score 1990, ProSet 1991, Topps Stadium Club Members Choice 1992, GameDay 1992, SkyBox 1992 Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home Sent: 10/10 Received: 10/29 (19 days) See Also: John Friesz
I had gotten John way, way back through the Chargers back in 1992, and always had hoped to come back around and get these remaining cards signed by him. He had some really nice and unique images and canvases to work with over the years, and he had a bunch of them.
His GameDay card was something I didn’t even know that really existed. I bought a box of the set in 2017, and was really charmed by this card. It was really what set me into action to go ahead and seek him out for a second pass at some autographs. It’s a pretty well framed shot, despite the slight blur on his left hand.
For some reason, his Score 1990 rookie was somewhat of a rare find initially. I think between myself and my friend Josh we opened 2 or 3 boxes and I just ran across one of these cards. So few players can get away with wearing yellow like this, but John looks pretty solid in that action shot, which represented his earliest rookie card. John’s Stadium Club and Pro Set cards make me feel like I should understand why he won the starting QB job over Billy Joe Tolliver in SD. They both seem to convey this sense of leadership that he has on his almost strained face.
I wasn’t too big a fan of Topps Stadium Club. Their 1991 set had a soft entry into the market, but they really played it up for 1992, and while I sparingly get them autographed, I really liked this card- even the hokey ‘Members Choice’ banner. It’s a really clear, high resolution image, and even John barking out an audible at the line of scrimmage looks impressive.
His Pro Set 1991 card was a part of the update set that was done later, and back then I was just too nervous to risk sending out his ProSet rookie card- little less from the 1991 update set. It’s a great picture, even if Friesz’s throwing motion looks a bit awkward in this image.
As a set I really liked Skybox 1992. It was a well designed and exciting foray into an already burgeoning football card market. (Skybox was able to weather the market longer, and was later purchased by Marvel if I’m correct, and then eventually dissolved when the market completely came apart.) This was one of the few Skybox cards however that didn’t really excite me. The framing of John just seems too perfect while the image itself at just the right distance. Note that neither of his hands or feet are visible, making this shot somewhat unappealing.
John turned around my greedy request in less than 30 days. A friend to the TTM community, John is a solid responder through the mail from Idaho, and graciously signed these 5 cards for me.
Cards: Topps 1992, Topps Stadium Club 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 12/16 Received: 12/31 (15 days)
Bo Orlando was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 6th round of the 1990 NFL draft. A co-captain of the West Virginia Mountaineer team that went undefeated and played for the National Championship in 1988, He made the squad primarily as a special teams guy and filled in a bit at safety for aging Terry Kinard. The team in 1991 made a concerted effort to draft defensive backs. Exposed in the playoffs and burned with regularity, the Oilers drafted Darryll Lewis, Mike Dumas, Steve Jackson, and Marcus Robertson that year, but it was Orlando surprisingly who made the biggest noise for the team in the secondary. After winning the starting free safety job in camp, he’d rack up 56 tackles and 4 interceptions in 1991. An injury shortened ’92, the emergence of Marcus Robertson at the position, and new defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan in 1993 meant Orlando wasn’t seeing much playing time, but still off the bench starting in 3 contests Bo still managed to make 3 interceptions.
In 1995, Bo was left unprotected and signed with the San Diego Chargers. He’d step in and record 69 tackles and a forced fumble, in his first full season of action since 1991. Again left exposed, Orlando signed with Cincinnati in 1996 and recorded a career high 72 tackles playing for the Bengals. He’d finish his career in 1998 with his homestate Pittsburgh Steelers, retiring after the season.
Injury ravaged during his career, Orlando is a great example of one of the lesser unsung players who really layed their bodies on the line week in and week out for our entertainment. While he has enjoyed a career as a high school football coach in Bethlehem, Pa, and been inducted into the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame, his body has certainly taken a toll from the abuse inflicted on it from his 9 seasons in the league.
G/Gs 129/55 Tac 267 Sac 2.0 Fum 4 Int 10 Yds 126 Avg 12.6 Td 1 Lg 38t
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
