Cards From My Youth – Football Edition

I wanted to continue along the theme from a few weeks ago, Every Card Has A Story, but wanted to talk football in this post.  See, I’ve been all over the map with collecting since I started back in 88-89.  I’ve collected football, baseball and basketball at the same time for almost 30 years.  The sport seasons change and so does my collecting focus.  I even collected Hockey for a couple of years when Lindros, Lemieux and Jagr were young studs.  But if I added up all of my cards, I probably have more football than any other sport.  Football has always been my favorite sport to watch and collect but it’s always been pretty close with baseball and basketball.  Now, collecting football is a year round task with all the products that Panini puts out but I tend to focus on a few favorites and keep it under control.Back in 1989, there were only a few products, with the main manufacturers being Topps, Score and Pro Set.  Pro Set was always comparable to Donruss in baseball for me.  I really liked Pro Set as a teen but it really was way overproduced and error filled.  They were clean and crisp though back in the day.  They still are the most colorful set from my early football collecting days but they are a dime a dozen like other Junk Wax Era cardboard.  When I started this post, I had almost 30 cards on a list that were favorites from when I was 12-13 but I had to pare that down because I didn’t want this post to take 3 days to read.  So I knocked it down to 10 (in chronological order) and they are really special to me as it relates to nostalgia and forming my collecting habits as a youngster.  Most of them are pretty obvious too but I try to put my own spin on why I liked them.1987 Topps Randall Cunningham – My first favorite quarterback was QB Eagles.  Yeah, back to Tecmo Super Bowl we go but hey, it was a HUGE part of my childhood and my introduction to football.  Cunningham was deadly with his legs and his arm.  He threw for almost 30,000 yards and ran for almost 5,000 in 16 seasons.  He also added 35 rushing TD’s.  He remains the all time leading rusher among QB’s to this day.  And to add one more stat to the legendary status, he is #3 on the all time longest punt list with a 91 yarder against the Giants in 1989.  Talk about versatile!  This ’87 is his rookie card and one of my all time favorites of my football collection.1989 Pro Set Barry Sanders – Another absolute legend from the NFL and Tecmo Bowl.  I shouldn’t have to tell any of my readers who Barry Sanders is.  Barry played 10 NFL seasons and went to the Pro Bowl 10 times.  That’s a 100% all-star ratio.  He was also a 6 time 1st Team All-Pro, 4 time rushing leader and touchdown leader in 1991.  He ran for over 15,000 yards in that 10 year career and averaged 5 yards per carry behind a less than pro bowl offensive line most of his career.  Barry retired somewhat early and was still on top of his game at the time.  He retired as the 2nd leading rusher of all time behind Walter Payton and now sits 3rd behind Emmitt Smith and Payton.  This 89 Pro Set was a classic card with Barry in his OK State uniform, which matched the Pro Set border.  1989 was a huge rookie year for the NFL with Sanders, Troy Aikman, Neon Deion and this next guy.1989 Pro Set Derrick Thomas – I’ve mentioned before that I’m a sucker for cards with players in their college uni’s and this one is no exception, even though it’s Bama.  Derrick Thomas is a player that absolutely dominated his position for several years and was taken from this earth way too soon.  I like Thomas so much, I’ve considered several times making him my football PC.  I guess that can still happen but I’ve let a lot of time go by and there are probably a lot of cards out there.  Who knows, it could still happen.  I couldn’t decide between the 89 Pro Set or the 89 Score for this piece.  The Score holds more value but the Pro Set is more nostalgic and loved in my collection.1989 Score Bo Jackson – Who doesn’t remember this card?  Score did a baseball version as well and an image of that can be found on @beansbcardblog‘s avatar!  These cards are iconic for my generation.  Bo was the 1st highly touted 2 sport star and he was dang good at both of them.  His athletic career was cut way short with his hip injury in January 1991.  He only played from 1987 to 1990 but amassed 16 touchdowns, almost 3,000 yards and a Pro Bowl without ever playing more than 11 games in a season.  Sports fans around the globe were robbed of ever seeing him at full strength on the football field for 16 games!  He did play 16 games on Tecmo and averaged about 3,000 yards per season.  This 1989 Score is only one great card in one of the greatest football sets of all time.  It’s easily the best set of my generation!1989 Topps Herschel Walker/Eric Dickerson – There were several Walkers I could have included in this post.  I have his USFL cards, his NFL Rookie’s, Ground Force and an 89 Pro Set auto but this card sticks in my mind the most.  This is one image I see when I think back to my original collecting days.  Herschel, the Georgia Dawg, in his Cowboys gear and Eric Dickerson with no helmet and the goggles.  Herschel did not have the pro career that many thought he would but he more than made up for that at UGA and that’s what really mattered to me.  He was a Heisman winner and a National Champ in Athens and remains the most beloved Dawg of all time.  Dickerson was no slouch either as a member of The Pony Express in college.  Dickerson had the better career in the pros and even played for the Falcons late in his career.  In 1988, they each led their respective conferences in rushing and thus, they were commemorated on this memorable card.1989 Topps Traded Deion Sanders – There are so many things to like about this card.  First, I loved the 89 Topps design with the team color bars on either side.  Second, it showcases the old red helmets the Falcons wore, which are still my favorite.  Finally, it’s a Deion Sanders rookie card!  Prime Time was another two sport star and played for my Atlanta teams at the same time.  He had a much longer career than Bo but may not have been quite as dominant in both sports.  He was very good at baseball but his football career was clearly the better of the two.  He did manage to win a World Series and multiple Super Bowl’s in his career.  Deion has always been a flamboyant superstar and this card has always stuck out in my collection!1990 Pro Set André Rison – This is one of the wildest cards of my youth.  First off, I should have had stock in 90 Pro Set as much as I bought it over the years.  It is probably the most purchased card product in my card collecting life.  And yet, still never pulled the Santa Claus autograph.  I’ve been watching one for months on eBay but have never been able to pull the trigger.  It would really set off my early football collection.  One day, I suppose.  But back to the Rison card.  He had 4 versions in the Pro Set product that year.  The first was the Colts base card.  The second was the Colts card with the Traded banner in the bottom corner.  The third was the Colts card with the Traded banner in the corner and the redemption language on the back.  The final was the Falcons version.  I owned all of them at one point but can’t seem to place the redemption version now.  Maybe I’ll have to buy another box or two of 90 Pro Set.  “Bad Moon” Rison was a stud in Atlanta but had his issues from time to time.  He’s still a favorite of mine and so is this card.1990 Pro Set Emmitt Smith – This card was the first trade I ever made.  I don’t remember what I gave up but I got Emmitt’s rookie in return.  It was in poor condition and I still have it in a toploader but I have added several other copies that are closer to mint.  I will always keep that poor condition card though because it’s an important one in my collection.  Emmitt went on to have a stellar career and remains the all time leading rusher in the NFL.  He did have 5 more seasons than Barry but that’s not a knock on Emmitt as much as continued disappointment in not getting to see Barry play longer.  This is the gem of the 90 Pro Set collection (until I get Santa) and makes the cheap boxes still a worthwhile purchase in 2017.1990 Pro Set Super Bowl Joe Montana – As if the base set of 90 Pro Set weren’t enough, I remember investing heavily in the Super Bowl mini set they produced that year.  The set was loaded with artist sketch cards and images from Super Bowls past.  My favorite of the bunch was this Joe Montana and it sat on the first page of my football binder for many, many years.  Montana had several cards in this set but this one was always my favorite.  I would literally lose my mind if Pro Set came back in a couple years and made a retro set using these designs and sketches.  I love 90 Pro Set more than anyone should love an inanimate object.1991 Pro Line Walter Payton – I have a couple of vintage Payton cards that are in reasonable condition but this one always jumps out at me.  When you see it, it’s pretty obvious why.  The design of the 91 Pro Line set is still an odd one and was explained very well by David Wright (@LongFlyBall) on the Beckett Radio podcast in February.  This was a card produced after the legend’s retirement but is still a cool retro card of him.  It just screams 1991!  The racing jacket, the debonair pose and the gold Rolex oozes “Sweetness”.  If Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith are on this list, I had to make room for Payton.  I have a couple of the autographed Pro Line cards (Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith) but not Payton.

So here’s 10 cards from my collection that will always have value to me regardless of the production runs or availability.  These are cards I picked up in the heyday of my youthful collecting and I will always hold onto at least one copy of them.  Fortunately, I have multiples of many of them, thanks to the aforementioned production runs.  What are some of the cards that hold that special place in your collecting heart?

J-Dub