Tag Archives: upper deck legends 1997

NFL, usfl

Rozier, Mike (2)

Cards: Score 1990, Action Packed 1990, Upper Deck Legends 1997, Panini Contenders 2018
Acquired: 2012 Akron Acquisition, TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 1/15/19 Received: 1/22/19 (7 days)
See Also: Mike Rozier

Slowly I had been working my way back around to Mike after about a 9 year layoff or so. I had been sold the Score 1990 card as part of a big lot of cards from the Akron Acquisition- so I needed a few more to fill out the ranks. Mike is another one of these players I didn’t want to see in his other NFL uniform (Falcons in this case). He still had some great Oilers cards I wanted to get signed- and once I got the Upper Deck 1997 card -in 2018, I made the decision to write him again. To seal the deal I also pulled this Panini Contenders card of him and put it aside for send out since I’ve gotten a few autographs recently around that set.

High grades for his Legends card from Upper Deck. Love the sports photography and how its got that nice action blur in the background. Far too often I’ve noticed photos where the people in the background are clear as day and distract from the player. In this case- this photo feels like a training or mini camp shot. I think the bushy trees give it away. Still, it’s a nice piece.

Mike’s Action Packed 1990 card is okay. I think it’s typical of AP at that time with that distance of framing images, but in this case, I feel like the image should’ve been pulled back a bit. Was Mike diving for a TD? Reaching out from a pile? Struggling to get back to the line of scrimmage? The design like all AP from 90 was simple and elegant however.

The Score 1990 set was a letdown from 89. I mean nothing could top what they did in that first set. The design here is nice, but the bordering with the logo is a bit heavy. The neon green marquee feels a bit unnecessary and forced. I kept wondering, “What does purple have to do with the Oilers?” It’s a decent action shot but I question Mike’s sense of dress as his thermal shirt sleeves are quite dated.

No question the Panini Contenders Draft Picks set has grown on me over the last… year or so. While I find it a bit over designed it’s a set that has a good selection of names in it. This shot however of Mike is terrible. He just looks like he’s jogging off the field to the sidelines.

NFL, Pro Football HoF, wfl

Warfield, Paul

Cards: Topps 1970, Upper Deck Legends 1997, Crown Royale 2010
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home*
Sent: 3/23 Received: 4/2 (10 days)
Failure: TTM 2018, C/o Home
* donation required/ Do not use this address

Hall of Fame WR Paul Warfield has been on my radar for sometime. I finally got these great cards together with the required donation sent his way in 2018- but was dismayed to find out that he was no longer signing TTM. I got a form letter informing me that I had to contact his agent who then had a fee schedule. After the agent never responded to me- I gave up on Paul until I saw a few responses come back from his home address again in early 2019. Annoyed, I went ahead and penned a new letter, enclosed the cards, and the signing fee/donation.

Roughly a month later I got a note from Paul with all my cards autographed, and a check reimbursement for the money order. In the note he indicated that he was between signing schedules with his agent, and he would honor my request, and refund my donation. I was pretty floored. It was very nice of him and I felt a bit odd having a check in my hand from a HoFer but there it was. Not only is his signature unique, Paul’s handwriting is wispy elegance.

By late April of 2019, Paul had gone ahead and signed with an agent again. I had gotten very lucky hitting him in that window as his fee/donation schedule had more than doubled. Warfield no longer accepts fan mail at his home address anymore. -Save your postage and contact his agent instead.

Paul Warfield played college ball at Ohio State from 1961 through 1963. He carried the ball 196 times for 1047 yards and 8 TDs, and contributed 39 receptions for 525 yards and 3 TDs over his time at Columbus.

Selected in the 1st round by the Cleveland Browns in 1964- Cleveland saw potential in Warfield initially as a defensive back, but later in camp converted him to wide receiver instead. Paul went on to put up some truly amazing numbers over his career with the Browns. In his first 6 seasons with the team, he finished 3 of those seasons averaging more than 21 yards a catch, lead the NFL in receiving TDs in 1968 (12), and was named to 3 Pro Bowls.
In a shocker Paul was traded on draft day 1970 to the Miami Dolphins for a first round pick.

Paul played the next 5 seasons for the ‘Fins. Undeterred Warfield was named the Pro Bowl every year he was with the team, and All-Pro in both 1971 and 1973. He’d average a career high 25.1 yards per catch in 1970, and then in 71 lead the NFL with 11 TDs. After the 1974 season concluded, Paul signed with the upstart WFL Memphis Southmen.

After limping through the 1975 season, the WFL folded, and Paul heard the siren’s call and returned to Cleveland. He played two final seasons there, retiring in 1978.

Paul was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. He is also a member of the Dolphins Honor Roll and the Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor. He’s done a variety of things since then including sportscasting and working for the Browns in the front office, but is currently retired and enjoying life living in California.

NFL G/GPRECYDSAVGLGTD
157/152427856520.186T85
WFLRECYDSAVGTDLG
2542216.93N/A

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Dickerson, Eric (3)

Cards: ProSet 1990 Pro Bowl, Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 7/13 Received: 8/24 (40 days)*
See Also: Eric Dickerson, Eric Dickerson (2)
*Fee Enclosed

The Holy Grail of ProSet cards was Eric Dickerson Pro Bowl #338 ProSet 1990. They were like $500.00+ on Beckett at one point! We’d open pack after pack of those Series One boxes hoping that a single Dickerson Pro Bowl would grace our presence- but it never did.

As the legend is told… Dickerson was not a part of the NFLPA so ProSet did not have his permission to print this card. You see players are given an all or none option by the NFL- so Dickerson opted out because he wanted the freedom of exclusivity. It was too late in the printing process so ProSet had to manually yank it from the production line- yet it was estimated a scant 40 of these cards made it out into the wild.

‘I don`t think there`ll be a market for this (Dickerson) card,” Denny said. ”It`s not a short print, under print, error or anything like that. When and if the NFLPA says it`s OK, we`ll offer the cards to collectors free by mail.”

-PROSET PRESIDENT LUD DENNY

Unlike the William Perry card in the 1989 set, ProSet did not replace or eventually get this card out. It was a gaping hole in the set that perturbed completionists such as myself. Eventually ProSet just gave up and issued a Lud Denny card in its place, but it was a promo card- certainly not available to the general public either.

After ProSet went out of business- well many years afterwards, everything went up for liquidation including these ‘rare’ cards that flooded the market. Apparently the company had just been sitting on them in their Dallas warehouse. (Since these cards existed before counterfeiting technology was developed- there’s no telling if these are fakes.) You can now find them on EBay for a relatively cheap price, hovering around $5.00, which in retrospect is probably still too expensive.

Still there’s a certain feeling of excitement looking at this card knowing it’s a part of the collection and the legacy involved- so I had to get it signed.

I loved Dickerson’s unique upright running style. While he absorbed a lot of punishing hits over the years and dropped the rock from time to time, there’s no denying his place in NFL history.

I had also wanted to get this Upper Deck Legends 97 card signed as well. It’s a beautiful canvas, and features a slightly elevated camera angle that makes it even more unique- and it is a great fill on a set need to boot!