Thursday, March 29, 2018

2011 Upper Deck Exquisite Signing Day #SD-HW

   


Another from the Upper Deck Exquisite line, this  2011 autographed card  features a signature, and also a line that in some way references the player's  alma mater. 
Here, Herschel Walker pays tribute to the beautiful female students at the University of Georgia by writing, "#1 Coeds."

Herschel's first wife,  Cindy, was in fact, a fellow student at Georgia.

The card is serial numbered to just 15, with this example being #12.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

2013 Upper Deck Ultimate Dual Patch #UJ2-CW

   


Yet another memorabilia card finds its way into the Herschel Hoard.   This is a 2013 Upper Deck Ultimate Dual Patch card, #UJ2-CW, and features jersey patch swatches from Earl Campbell and Herschel Walker, both in their college colors.

The card is a companion to the one that features Herschel and Bo Jackson, which I already have in my collection.

This card is serial numbered to 50, with this example being #32.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

2011 Upper Deck Exquisite Ensemble 2 Signatures #E2-WW

   


This is a dual autographed card from the  2011 Upper Deck Exquisite Ensemble line.  This set features autographs of two former college stars, in this case, Georgia's Herschel Walker, and U.S.C.'s Charles White.

The card is serial numbered to 25, with this example being #17.  There is also an Ensemble 3, and Ensemble 4 set, which, as one would expect, are signatures of either three, or four, athletes on each card. Those cards are tougher to get, with the "3's" numbered to 15; and the "4's" numbered to just 5.

All in all, a nice dual signed card from two Heisman Trophy winners.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

2013 Upper Deck Ultimate Quad Patch UJ4-JGDW

     It's good to get back to Herschel cards after my brief sojourn into a pack break. Today's feature is a 2013 Upper Deck Ultimate Quad Patch card shown below:
   


This  card features a jersey patch worn by Barry Sanders, Bo Jackson, Earl Campbell and Herschel Walker.

As I've discussed before, the Ultimate Series has a bunch of subsets.  There's Dual Patch and Jersey; Triples Patch and Jersey and Quad Patch and Jersey, along with autographed examples. Different players are also shown, Billy Sims, for example, is on one card, Sanders, the other.

I now have both the jersey and the patch cards in the Quad.  

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

1991 Pro Set Pack Break Card #'s 13 and 14.

     Card #13 of the pack break is:
   


Played a few years for the Packers.  Now he owns a couple Firehouse Sub franchises.

Card #14, the final card from the pack is:


A defensive back for the Houston Oilers, Jackson made it to the Super Bowl in his final season with the then Tennessee Titans as a substitute, but his team lost to the St. Louis Rams.
After his playing days, he became a safeties coach.

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

1991 Pro Set Break Card #'s 10, 11, 12

    Card #10 of the pack pull is:
             


Mike Kenn was a terrific tackle for the Atlanta Falcons.  He started all 251 games in which he played, and was a five time Pro Bowl player.  His number was retired by the Falcons.


Card number eleven is:



Didn't have that great a pro career, but as a Bills fan, I remember him well.  He was the leading rusher for the Redskins in Super Bowl XXV1, where he gained 77 yards as Washington beat Buffalo, 37-24.



Inserted in Pro Set packs, were these, "Think About It" cards, which contain inspirational messages from N.F.L. players.  The messages were of the "don't take drugs", "stay in school" variety.

This one, featuring Cornelius Bennett, says not to join gangs, or to engage in violent behavior.
The message turned out to tragically ironic, as in 1997, Bennett was convicted of performing vicious acts during the sexual assault of a woman. He was jailed for a short time, and had a lengthy probation term.

Should have taken your card to heart, Biscuit.

Monday, March 12, 2018

1991 Pro Set Pack Break Card #'s 7,8,9

    I forgot just how many cards came in Pro Set Packs.  There were more than I thought, so I'm knocking these off 3 at a time.

    Card #7 of the pack break is:
   


This is a tough one for a Herschel fan, as the Cowboys acquired Russell Maryland through some draft maneuvering, largely as a result of the picks garnered through the Walker to Minnesota trade.
When the predicted #1 pick, Raghib "Rocket" Ismail went to the Canadian Football League, Dallas worked a deal with New England, who held the first pick, and took Maryland.
He had a non stop motor, and was a very good player for the Cowboys.

I was kind of surprised to learn that he only made one Pro Bowl, however.  Herschel often gets crap for only making two, and I thought Russell Maryland had made more.

The #8 card is:


A big fullback who was a third round pick by Tampa Bay.  Sorry to say I don't remember him at all.

The #9 card is:


Hardy Nickerson is shown here with the Steelers, who drafted him in round five. At the time, Pittsburgh used a 3-4 defense, and Nickerson wasn't anything special.

Then he went to Tampa Bay, where they used a 4-3 scheme, and he was a four time All Pro.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

1991 Pro Set Pack Break Card #6

     The sixth card pulled from my Pro Set pack is:
   


Finally.  A Hall of Famer, and possibly the most exciting running back in history, Barry Sanders was the best player pulled from this pack so far, by a mile.
Barry could lose six yards in the backfield, and the next play, take it to the house.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

1991 Pro Set Pack Break Card #5

   The fifth card pulled from my 1991 Pro Set pack is:
   


I'm sorry Carl.  I guess you were a pretty good linebacker for the Bengals, and real good for Tennessee in college, but I don't remember you.

Friday, March 9, 2018

1991 Pro Set Break Card #5

     The fifth card I pulled from my Pro Set pack is:
   


Quite simply, Steve Tasker was the best special teams player ever. A 7 time Pro Bowler, Tasker was just 5'9" and 185 lbs, but was known as one of the fiercest hitters of his era.
A Bills Wall of Fame member, Tasker was also voted one of the 50 greatest Bills by the fans.

Thursday, March 8, 2018

1991 Pro Set Pack Break Card #4

     The fourth card pulled from the 1991 Pro Set Pack is:
   


The best thing I remember about Bubby Brister is that in 1991, the Steelers were getting their butts handed to them by Houston.  Neil O'Donnell was in at quarterback for Pittsburgh, and coach, Chuck Noll wanted Brister to go in late in the game and take over.

Brister refused, famously saying, "I don't mop up for anybody."  However he did go in for O'Donnell in several future games, and pulled off some 4th quarter comebacks.
That was until new coach, Bill Cowher decided to go with O'Donnell full time.
Brister bounced around the league, then watched O'Donnell throw two interceptions right to Larry Brown of Dallas in Super Bowl XXX, in January, 1996, almost single handedly losing the game for the Steelers.
Brister later played as a backup in Denver, earning two Super Bowl rings.
Karma is a bitch.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

1991 Pro Set Pack Break Card #3

         Card number 3 from the Pro Set pack break is:
       


I honestly remember this guys dad, Billy Ray Smith sr., who played with the Colts, more than this guy.  But he was a pretty good player.  He is in the College Football H.O.F. , was voted Chargers team M.V.P. in 1987 and in 2009, was voted by fans as one of the 50 greatest Chargers.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

1991 Pro Set Break Card #2

      The second card from my 1991 Pro Set pack break is:

   


Lutz played 13 seasons in the N.F.L.  He missed only one game in his career, and that was to attend his father's funeral.

Lutz said that Oakland's Howie Long was the toughest and most intimidating player he ever faced.

Monday, March 5, 2018

Something Different, Just For Fun

     I came across an unopened pack of 1991 Pro Set Football cards amongst  my stuff.   Sometimes, it's best to leave unopened packs unopened, but Pro Set was so overproduced, that even unopened material is available for a song. Series I had cards 1-405; Series II had cards 406-850. The pack I found was from Series II.  Pro Set cards did have a lot going for them.  The photography was terrific.

     I thought it'd be fun to bust the pack, and show what it contained.  Who knows, maybe I'll pull a Brett Favre rookie, or more to the taste of the Hoard, another Herschel Walker # 576!

     Here's the unopened pack:
   


Let's see what the first card I pulled is:


This guy was one of the few who played two professional sports, and was pretty good at it.  He played pro football for the Atlanta Falcons; and played major league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers.

His best year in football was 1991, in which he voted as an alternate to the Pro Bowl. More successful in baseball, his best year came in 1998 with St. Louis. He batted .316, scored 100 runs and hit 25 home runs.  A rash of injuries cut his career short.  Stay tuned for the next card, which will be posted tomorrow.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Herschel Hoard Seek of the Week Feature To End Today

      The "Seek of the Week" feature on the Hoard, in which I post a card image and description of a  Herschel Walker card that I still need, will end with today's post.

      It's not that I don't have several blank spots in my collection.  It's just that I'm running out of image examples to show.  I've used up all of COMC's sold out images of Herschel's cards, which I don't already possess. I thought about putting up images of a particular card I need, but with another player's image, but feel that would be too confusing.

     So today's post will be the last in the series.

2006 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Material Red #TOT-60


    This card is serial numbered to 100; and is one of eight cards from this set that I am still looking for. I would like to again thank, COMC.com, for this image, and all the others they allowed me to use.
 

Friday, March 2, 2018

1990 Topps Blank Front Disclaimer Back Error Card #105

   


I'm not usually real big on error cards.  There are just so many variations that it's near impossible to have anywhere near all of them. But I decided to add this to the Hoard because the Trading Card Data Base added a blank spot for it on Herschel's page on their site.

The error part is that the card fronts were inadvertently left blank; the disclaimer part is because of a lawsuit by Topps against the NFL. The league had, at the time, used Pro Set as it's only authorized trading card manufacturer. 

The disclaimer comes in as a result of a lawsuit which Topps filed against Pro Set cards, which at the time, were the approved trading cards of  the N.F.L.

Just to the right of the football, on the bottom of the card back, is a statement which reads: "Topps Football Player Cards Are Not Manufactured, Sponsored or Authorized By Any Team Or League."

There is also a version of this card with the blank front, but NO disclaimer on the back.