A deep cut find out of East Tennessee State, DB Thane Gash was selected in the 7th round of the ’88 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
After not really seeing the field in his rookie year, Thane slotted in at FS where he quickly developed a reputation as a headhunter with a nose for the endzone.
In 1989, he picked up 3 interceptions (returning 2 for TDs) and led the team in tackles with 134.
Only had 1 pick in 1990, but duplicated his tackle feat, leading the team with another 134 tackles.
During the offseason in 1991, Gash herniated a disc in his neck, and was placed on IR for the entire season.
In 1992, joined the 49ers to replace Ronnie Lott at FS -who had left the previous season for the Raiders.
Gash started 3 games that year, and then retired after the 1993 season
Pacific 1991, #77Action Packed 1990, #36
NOTES:
I had been sitting on Thane’s cards for a while. He has a stack of really good cards combined with set needs that I had wanted. Thankfully he’s a voracious signer (when he does) and he signed all 5 cards I sent to him.
Donald Driver played WR at Alcorn State catching 88 receptions for 1993 yards over his college career.
Late 7th round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 1999 NFL Draft.
Stuck behind Antonio Freeman and Corey Bradford early in his career, but with Bradford’s departure to Houston in 2002, things quickly changed.
He’d start all 16 games in 2002, and go over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career on 70 catches.
After a down year in 2003, Driver went on a very improbable run, going over 1.2K yards the next 3 seasons, and over 1K yards the following 3 seasons after that.
In 2009, Donald became the Packers all-time leading receiver, finishing eventually with 743 catches when he retired following the 2012 season.
ACCOLADES:
Pro Bowl 2002, 2006-08, 2010.
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
NOTES:
I really wanted Donald’s autograph, but after missing out on him back in 2015, I didn’t really expect to get another shot, so I never reloaded. When he started signing, about the same time of year as he did back in 2015, I just grabbed what I could and sent it out as soon as I could with a small donation to grease the wheels.
A venerable signer TTM, Steve Grogan wraps up his collection for me by signing these two set needs for me. I never saw his Action Packed in the wild so when I bought a box of the set before the market blew up, I was very inspired by his entry- even though it’s of him handing the ball off. The Upper Deck Legends, well, I didn’t see why I should spend a dime on a certified autograph from him when I could get it TTM for free. This too is a great looking card. Too bad it doesn’t feature the signature ‘Grogan Lob’ from Tecmo Super Bowl.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
