Tag Archives: upper deck legends 1997

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Dorsett, Tony ‘TD’

udldg97 dorsettCard: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: IP, 11/22/14 Star Power Signing, Dallas,Tx

So Josh and I went to Dallas to nab Tony Dorsett. We thought that by leaving a few hours early, it’d get us a decent place in line. We got lucky. Encountering 2 hour delay due to an overturned semi on I-35, we arrived with only an hour and 15 minutes before the event. Still we hopped in line and took our place 3 quarters of the way around the building.

Two observations about the actual event:

I have never been to a ‘Star Power’ location. I probably would never go there again. Glitz, glamour, and a lot of the usage of the word ‘affluent’ to put off anybody who would ask, “How much is this?” It screamed of excess and the place flat out embraced it. To them, most of us who showed up were just a working class sideshow at the event.

In my time collecting, I have never been as incensed by the amount of flagrant double-dipping going on. There is no need for you to get your children to go and get the same item signed. 3 Tony Dorsett helmets, with one for each kid who didn’t care about football or who they were meeting.  It was just so obvious that there was a lot of people getting paid for this and that there was going to be an Ebay flood of items later that day.

Tony Dorsett was a one man dynamo for Pitt from 1973-1976, leading the school to a National Championship, Heisman accolades, and was the all-time leading rusher in college history with 6,082 yards.  A first round choice of the Cowboys (#2 overall) in 1977, he won NFL Rookie of the Year Honors  with 1,007 yards and 12 TDs. Over the course of his 11 year career in Dallas, Dorsett was named All Pro 4 times and won a Super Bowl title. He also holds the NFL record for longest TD run with a 99 yard gallop against the Minnesota Vikings in 1983. As injuries began to take their toll on the venerable back and the arrival of fresh legs in the form of Herschel Walker in 1987, Dorsett was traded to the Denver Broncos in 1988 playing one season before he retired.  At the time of his retirement, Dorsett was the second All-Time leading rusher in NFL history, and of a less distinguished note, was top 5 in fumbles with 90. He is the only player in NFL history to win the Heisman, and then win the Super Bowl and NFL Rookie of the Year the following season. To top it all off, Tony was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994, and had his number retired at Pitt.

Dorsett is one of the major names that has come out in regards to concussion litigation against the NFL. Tony in particular has suffered so many concussions he lost track. He suffers from memory loss, depression, and dementia due to CTE.  He was not in in great shape when I saw him, but Tony very graciously stayed over his appointed time to get everybody knocked out who was in line. He signed this one card for me, and tried to interact with every fan he met.

G/Gs 173/152      Rush 2936     Yds  12,739   Avg  4.3    Td 77     Lg 99t
Rec  398      Yds 3,554    Avg 8.9     Td 13    Lg 91

NFL, usfl

Renfro, Mel

to71 renfroudldg97 renfro

Cards: Upper Deck Legends 1997, Topps 1971, Top Notch Signature Select 2013, HoF postcard
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home*
Sent:  2/10     Received:   2/18   (8 days)
* Signing fee of $10 per flat included.

tnt13g mrenfroMel Renfro was a star 2 way player for Oregon, playing both cornerback and tailback, while also excelling at track for the Ducks. After rushing for 1,532 yards for the Ducks over 3 years, he was drafted in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys in 1964. Intially slotted to play runningback Coach Landry made the call to move him to safety where he had an outstanding rookie season with 7 interceptions, and was the NFL leader in kick and punt return yards.  In his second season the Cowboys switched Mel back to runningback in the hopes that he’d inject some life into the offense, but was returned to defense with the emergence of Dan Reeves.

Although he held the designation of return specialist for much of the next few years, Renfro moved from safety to corner in 1966, culminating in leading the NFL in 1969 with 10 interceptions. Over his career with the Cowboys Mel was named All Pro 5 times, and to the Pro Bowl 10. A two time Super Bowl champion, Renfro was co-MVP of the 1970 Pro Bowl and named to the Dallas Cowboys’ Ring of Honor in 1981. Mel is the team’s all-time leader in both career kickoff return average and interceptions. Renfro was inducted into the NFL HoF in 1996.
mem renfro

He’s spent some time coaching in the USFL with the Express, and the St. Louis Cardinals. A motivational speaker, Mel is pretty engaging with fans. I missed out at Dallas Stadium Fan Day at the end of the year. My timing was perfect to get Rocket Ismail, but so perfect, Mel came out just as I finished getting Rocket- so I ended up having to go to the very back of the line. I went ahead and wrote him a few days later including the customary signing fee.  Renfro signed all the cards I enclosed, and as a bonus included an autographed Hall of Fame postcard, a signed business card, and he asked if I could send him an extra copy of the custom Top Notch card that I sent.  A very short wait for such a great return, and a fair price to boot.

The Topps 1971 set has grown on me over the years and is a seminal classic to me. On the other hand the Upper Deck Legends 1997 is very disappointing. Considered a classic as well in its own right, I was pretty disappointed in this entry. The photo is not inspired, and it even looks like a thumb got in on the action on the left side. Sad. The profile photo of Mel is also from later in his career.  I went for some action photos for Mel’s Top Notch entry. I very much enjoy the classic press photo shots that were very popular during the 70s and used two different ones  for either side.

G/Gs 174/152     Pr 109     Yds 842     Avg 7.7     Td 1     Lg 69t
Kr 85    Yds 2246    Avg 26.4     Td 2      Lg 100t
Tac N/a     Sac N/a     Fum 12     Int 52    Yds 626    Avg 12.0      Td 3    Lg 90t

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL

Sims, Billy “Kung Fu”

udcollgd11 simsCards: Topps 1984, Upper Deck Legends 1997, Upper Deck College Legends 2011, OU Upper Deck 2011 MM.
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home.
Sent: 1/2     Received: 1/21   (19 days)

Billy Sims had a relatively short NFL career due to injury, but he left it all on the field, and harnessed accolades and awards along the way. Sims, the 1978 Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma, rushed for 1,896 yards and 22 touchdowns that year,  and would later be selected with the first pick of the 1980 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

ouud11 sims mmThe tiny dynamo took the #20 that he made so famous at OU during his college career and won NFL Rookie of the Year Honors that season, leading the NFL with 16 touchdowns (13 rushing and 3 receiving). In 1981, he’d up his numbers with 1,437 yards and another 13 TDs rushing in 14 games. While the 57 day long strike reduced Sims contribution to only 9 games, he’d still have 639 yards, and the team made the playoffs for the first time in 20+ years in 1982. Billy took the NFL by storm his first three seasons earning All-Pro honors from the NFL in each of those years. He’d have his final 1,000 yard season in 1983 rushing for 1,040 yards in 12 games. During the season he rushed for to82 sims replaya career high single game 189 yards against the Packers. The one man wrecking crew was beloved by the people of Detroit, and led the Lions to its first division championship in also over 20 years.

1984 was a catastrophic season for Sims and ultimately the Lions. In the 8th game of the season against the Minnesota Vikings, Sims took a routine handoff and got his foot awkwardly caught in the Metrodome turf.  Unbelievably his season was over- and the Lions spiraled out of control. The Lions were 23-11 since Sims joined the team. Without him, Detroit went the rest of the way 1-6-1 that year.  Sims had ligament damage to his knee, and the injury was so severe that he failed every physical he took after rehab.  As fast as Sims established himself as the Lions career leading rusher, both in yardage and touchdowns, Billy’s career was over.  He was only 30.

Sims has been held with reverence since by the franchise. Detroit likes to unofficially retire jerseys from circulation for extended periods of time, and such is that, the Lions refused to issue his #20 jersey until NFL great Barry Sanders asked to wear it. Billy was also well known for his celebratory high stepping as he scoredudldg97 sims touchdowns, and his strong and creative running that allowed him to pick a hole and make 3 yard gain out of nothing. There was just about nothing Sims could do. Leaping over a pile (like in his Upper deck Legends card), or catching a pass out of the backfield. Sims averaged 11.1 yards on 186 career receptions.  Despite playing only one full season in his short lived 5 year NFL tenure, Billy averaged over 1,000 yards per year.

While Sims has had a share of well publicized financial missteps much like Earl Campbell, Billy has bounced back and currently has chain of Billy Sims BBQ restaurants. He also spends time as a motivational speaker and is involved in sports marketing.

mem simsInducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995, Sims has also had his likeness immortalized as a statue on the OU campus as a Heisman Hero. His nickname was given to him by Chris Berman from ESPN, because during the highlight of a game against the Houston Oilers, Sims lept through the air over a defender and kicked cornerback Steve Brown in the head.

Billy is a wonderful signer through the mail for fans. He signed these
4 cards in less than a month for me, and also enclosed a free drink coupon for his restaurant in case I was ever in the area.  You can visit his restaurant site at billysimsbbq.com.

G/Gs 60/58    Rush 1131  Yds 5106   Avg 4.5     Td 42    Lg 81t |
Rec 186    Yds  2072   Avg 11.1   Td  5   Lg 87