A Look into my Collection - 1989 NFL Franchise Game cards

I'm going to take a look at another team set in my collection. It is an oddball set, the cards from the 1989 NFL Franchise Game. (And I don't know if that is the true name of the game, but it is what it is listed at on The Trading Card Database.)

The cards are 3" x 3 1/2", and printed on either a little thicker paper stock, or a very light cardboard stock.

There are 13 player cards, and one team card.

Obviously the Franchise Cost has something to do with the game, but I don't know what it is for. All the NFL teams in the game have the same $50,000,000 printed on them.

Here is the back of the team card.

I'm going to show the player cards in a ranking order of how I like them at this moment in time.

I just think this is a great photo. People in the sideline are watching, and there are spectators in the stands, so I assume it is a game photo.

I wasn't sure who the holder was, as I didn't remember who wore number 16 at the time. Looking at regular season team rosters, nobody wore 16 from 1986 to 1989. However, quarterback Paul McDonald wore it in 1985, and Matt Bahr was the kicker at that time, so I assume that he is the holder on the card, and that it is an older photo.

And, again, I have no idea of what the text on the bottom of the card is for, other than what I can easily read. I assume that the game has a salary cap for each team, and that is what the salaries are for.

A nice photo of Earnest Byner carrying the ball, looking to avoid the Chargers linebacker Thomas Benson.

To try and place when this photo was taken, Benson only played for the Chargers in 1986 and 1987. The Browns played San Diego in both seasons, but Byner didn't. He only played in the 1987 game, which was a 27-24 overtime loss, in San Diego, on November 1.

Byner had 9 yards and 1 touchdown on 5 carries in the game. He also had 6 pass receptions for 62 yards.

Byner was traded to the Washington Redskins after the 1988 season.

Cody Risen started in the offensive line for the Browns from 1979-1989. From 1980 on, he was their right tackle.

This is just a great photo of a play at the line of scrimmage.

It seems a bit strange to see the linebackers so close together before a play, with a referee peeking in from behind.

Perhaps it is a short yardage situation where they are crowding the middle for a possible running play. I don't think it would be for a convert or kick, as I think the players would still be wider apart.

Oh, and this is an uncorrected error card. His last name is correctly spelled Matthews.

I loved having Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner in the backfield together from 1985-1988. They both rushed for over 1000 yards during the 1985 season.

Although I like this photo as is, I wouldn't mind seeing the play zoomed out a bit. With the tilt of his body, and how high the ball is, I'm guessing that he jumped for a reception.

I wish this photo was just a touch lighter than it is, but it is a great look at a helmetless Bob Golic.

Golic played for the Browns from 1982-1988, making 3 Pro Bowls during that period.

He then finished his career with four years with the Los Angeles Raiders, and then went on to appear in Saved by the Bell: The College Years after he retired.

I don't know if I have any other Browns cards where a player is holding up his finger signifying that they're number 1!

Eddie Johnson played ten years for the Browns from 1981-1990.

This seems like an interesting photo. I'm wondering if he's just adjusting his helmet.

Rickey Bolden played for the Browns from 1984-1989. His first season was as a tight end, before he moved to the offensive line for the rest of his career.

There isn't anything really special about this photo, but at least it has a contrast where you can see Carl Hairston's face inside his helmet.

Hairston played on the defensive line for the Browns from 1984-1989.

I would definitely like this photo more if I could make out some of Sam Clancy's face in his helmet.

Clancy played on the Browns defensive line from 1985-1988. He was released after the 1998 season, and signed with the Indianapolis Colts, where he played five more seasons.

Okay, Frank Minnifield teamed with Hanford Dixon to form a first team All-Pro partnership at cornerback in 1988. But this photo! It is taken from so far away...

I can see that the body shape is Minnifield, and that the number is right, but it just doesn't seem like a good photo to me.

On the other hand, compared to this, Minnifield's photo is awesome!

I always thought there was something wrong with this card. I didn't like the sideview, where you really can't see the player, and it isn't a photo from behind, where you can read the player's nameplate, and maybe see what the player is seeing. 

But looking closely at this card, the problem with this Hanford Dixon card is that the photo isn't Hanford Dixon. Dixon wore #29. They sure did Dixon dirty.

To me, it sure looks like it is wide receiver Gerald McNeil, who wore number 89.

That's enough to drop this card to the bottom of the rankings.

I'm sure the rules of the game would make me understand the card backs more. They have the position of the player in text on the top of the card, but then in the middle of the card, some cards have letter position abbreviations showing, or a FA for free agent...

...while some have numbers 1-4. And there are color differences for the numbers and letters. I'm not going to pretend that I know why.

I thought that I had put something else in that second defensive lineman spot. Oops.

The other interesting thing to me is the composition of the team used in the game.

The Browns are represented by:

2 Running Backs

1 Tight End (says Receiver on the back of the card)

2 Offensive Linemen 

3 Defensive Lineman 

2 Linebackers 

2 Defensive Backs (both are Cornerbacks)

1 Kicker

I know there are quarterbacks and wide receivers in the game, and I guess they may have been trying to balance all the positions, but I'm surprised that players like Bernie Kosar and Webster Slaughter are not represented.

I love oddball cards and sets, so I'm very happy to have these in my collection.

A Look into my Collection - 2001 Pacific

In my last post, I commented that I liked having backgrounds on cards, and like to see more of the play around the player.

I recently went through my whole collection and saw all sorts of wonderful cards that should be shown more. 

One of the sets that really stood out to me was the 2001 Pacific set. Writing this post, I'm sure it stands out to my because of one game that the photographer took many great pictures at, that were used for cards.

Looking at the Browns cards in this set, here they are in the order that I like them best at this moment in time.

Okay, how can I not like this card? It is in a noticeable snowfall, but the picture clearly shows David Patten watching the ball come to him through the air as the safety, Blaine Bishop, is bearing down on him. (I have to ignore the Pacific logo right on the ball.)

I love seeing the bundled-up people on the sideline.

Looking at the boxscore info at the Pro Football Reference site, I'm pretty sure this game was played in Cleveland on December 17, 2000, with a 20 degree temperature and winds of 35 mph.

The Browns lost 24-0 to the Tennessee Titans. Patten had 3 receptions for 26 yards in the game.

The 2000 season was Patten's only year with the Browns.

I showed a parallel to this card in a recent post. I just love the action in the card, running down the sideline with two Bengals coming in to make a tackle.

I don't know what happened in this play, but it doesn't look like he's about to head out of bounds with the ball.

From the back of the card, you can see that Dawson only played in 2 games during the 2000 season. He went on IR for the rest of the season on September 20th with a broken collarbone.

The photo on the front of the card would have come from the September 10th game in Cincinnati, a 24-7 win for the Browns. Dawson had 3 receptions for 14 yards in the game.

I love this photo of a fullback with the ball, fighting for whatever yardage he can get before he goes down.

Since there don't appear to be a whole bunch of linemen in the photo, it doesn't look likes he's trying to charge into the line, looking for a first down.

From looking at the 2000 schedule, the Browns played the Cardinals during Week 6, in Arizona, on October 8th. It was a 29-21 loss.

I found it interesting that Edwards only had two carries during the 2000 season. In the game against the Cardinals, he had 2 receptions for 17 yards.

This card brings us back to the snow game against Tennessee. It's a very hectic photo of Travis Prentice running the ball in a crowded space. I love the background with Marc Edwards on the ground.

Travis Prentice had 12 carries for 32 yards in the game, as well as 2 receptions for 13 yards. Unfortunately, he also had a lost fumble in the game.

I really like this photo of Darrin Chiaverini being tackled with the ball. It seems like an interesting photo for the card.

Looking at the Browns 2000 schedule, they didn't play the Chargers at all in the regular or preseason. They did play the Chargers in San Diego during the 1999 season, losing 23-10. 

Chiaverini had 4 receptions for 46 yards in the 1999 loss to the Chargers.

Tim Couch took a lot of sacks during his time in Cleveland. I like this photo of him getting ready to throw the ball with Gary Walker being blocked behind him.

The Browns played the Jaguars twice in 2000, but Tim Couch did not play in the December game in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars game in Cleveland was their season opener, a 27-7 loss. Tim Couch was sacked once, and it wasn't by Gary Walker.

Again, another great photo of receiver Dennis Northcutt running with the ball, and a couple of Giants diving and reaching behind him.

The Browns hosted the Giants on November 5th, a 24-3 loss.

Northcutt had 3 receptions for 34 yards in the game. He also had one punt return for 12 yards.

Another nice action photo of a running Errict Rhett being tackled by what appears to be LeRoy Butler of the Packers.

The Browns played the Packers in Green Bay for their final 2000 preseason game, losing 34-33.

Rhett was signed as a free agent for the 2000 season. In the Packers exhibition game, he ran for 55 yards on 7 carries.

Sadly, after 5 games with the Browns, Rhett was put on IR on October 3, 2000, with a torn ligament in his left midfoot.  That was the end of his NFL career.

This is a nice clean photo of Spergon Wynn, with what appears to be good blocking in front of him, and a running back ready to pick up anyone that makes it through his blindside.

As a sixth round pick, Wynn was one of the quarterbacks drafted in the 2000 draft ahead of Tom Brady.

Spergon Wynn played in 7 games during the 2000 season, starting one of them. The photo on the front of his card could be from his start, at home against the Bengals, on October 29, 2000.

Another card from the snow game against the Titans. It is a great photo of Aaron Shea, and I really love seeing the frozen ground under, and around his feet.

Aaron Shea caught 2 passes for 8 yards in that Titans game.

Another good photo from the Titans game. I love how clear Kevin Johnson and his face are in this one.

Johnson only had 2 receptions for 3 yards in this season finale.

Doug Pederson started the finale against the Titans. Although it is a pretty traditional photo of a quarterback in the backfield, the snow adds to it a lot.

Once Tim Couch was placed on IR after starting the first seven games of the 2000 season, Doug Pederson wound up starting 8 of the 9 remaining games of the season. 

Pederson is probably better known for being a head coach in the NFL for 8 years, winning a Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2017.

Another snow photo from the Titans game. with Jamel White carrying the ball, and appearing to look at the defender whose arm you can see on the left edge of the card. This one might be higher on a different day that I am ranking these cards.

Jamel White had 4 carries for 3 yards, and 2 receptions for 12 yards in the season finale against the Titans. He also returned two kickoffs for 38 yards.

A good photo of Kevin Thompson on this card, but not very lively compared to the rest of the team's cards.

I have no idea when the photo would have been taken. As you can see from the stats on the back of his card, he only had one pass attempt in the 2000 season, which was completed for 8 yards. He also fumbled once, but recovered his own fumble.

Thompson was signed by the Browns on September 13, 2000, and placed on IR with an ankle injury on December 13, 2000. His one NFL appearance was for the final Browns drive of the December 3rd game at Jacksonville. He went on to play one season for the Cologne Centurions in NFL Europe, and two seasons with the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena League.

I don't own the base card for Bobby Brown, so I'm showing the Hobby LTD parallel card that I own.

Obviously it is another card from the Titans game in the snow. His pants seem to blend in with the snow, and the Hobby LTD writing going across the card.

Eventually I will get his actual base card from the set.

Bobby's prerogative? Oh, look at that clever write-up to start the back of his card.

Brown was targeted 4 times in the season finale, catching 1 pass for 6 yards.

The 2000 season was his only season playing in the NFL.

Since this was the last of the Browns team cards in the set, I just counted and saw that seven of the fifteen cards were taken at the December Titans game in the snow.

This draft pick card isn't that exciting. It doesn't mention the Browns drafting him, but is still part of my collection since he was drafted by them.

I don't yet own the card for the other Browns draft pick in the set, but I can borrow its scan from The Trading Card Database.

A much nicer photo on this draft pick card, but again the rookie cards say nothing about who drafted them. I would assume this was due to the set's release date.

I still need to get a copy of this card for my collection.

Another thing that I liked in a lot of cards from this set is the inset photo on the back of the card that mostly show helmetless players. It is good to get a look at the players' faces.

I hope you enjoyed this look at the Browns cards in the 2001 Pacific set.

---------------

While previewing this post before posting it, it occured to me that if they had seven Browns photos from the snowy Titans game, that maybe there are Titans photos used from the same game. It never really occurred to me to look.

I looked, and found the following:

Six of the Titans fourteen cards came from the Browns game. None are needed for my collection, but it was nice to see.