6/24/26 - Brian Blades

Name: Brian Blades

Team: Seattle Seahawks

Position: Wide Receiver 

Card Year: 1991

Card Maker: NFL Pro Set

Card Number: 298

After a long hiatus, we are back! I thought I would have the mental fortitude to keep writing these during the school year, and well folks - I did not. But it is once again the summer and my day-to-day responsibilities have plummeted, so I decided to dig through the big box of cards and pulled out the first of hopefully many for this summer - Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, Brian Blades.

I was especially excited to pick this card, because upon seeing the name and given the age of the card, my first thought was - this guy has to be related to former Lions safety, Bennie Blades. I remember Bennie Blades from my childhood, mostly because his name was Bennie Blades (His name was actually Horatio Benedict Blades). But sure enough, my suspicions were immediately confirmed on the back of the card with Brian being the older brother to Bennie (Horatio). 

But while I love to remember an alliterative Lion, this post is about an alliterative Seahawk - Brian Blades, member of the 1987 National Championship Miami Hurricanes and drafted by Seattle in the 2nd round of the 1988 draft. The 1988 draft was wide receiver rich, featuring three future Hall of Fame receivers taken in the first round - Tim Brown, by the Raiders, Sterling Sharpe, by the Packers, and Blades' teammate at Miami Michael Irvin, by the Cowboys.

According to the Seahawks website, Blades was selected as "heir apparent to [Steve] Largent" given that Largent was at the end of his career as the Seahawks number one receiver, and he started off his career in Seattle with a respectable rookie season. He caught 40 balls for 682 yards, resulting in a very solid 17.1 yards/reception. He also scored 8 receiving touchdowns, a career high, and made the NFL All-Rookie team with the aforementioned Tim Brown earning the other WR nod, as well as his brother Bennie (Horatio) at Safety. 

1989 was another successful year for Blades, as he eclipsed 1000 receiving yards for the first time in his career, finishing the season with 70 receptions for 1063 yards and 5 touchdowns. This season would be the first and only season that Blades would make the Pro Bowl. He was also the only Seahawk in that season to score two receiving touchdowns in a single game, doing so against the Chargers. 

Beyond the scope of this card, Blades played all 11 seasons of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, tallying four 1000-yard seasons in that time. In 1995 he was charged with 2nd degree manslaughter due to a gunshot wound that killed his cousin Charles Blades, during an argument in a condo that [Brian] Blades owned. He was convicted, but a judge overruled the verdict over lack of evidence. This led to a civil suit filed against him and his brother by [Charles] Blades' ex-wife. He remains third on the Seahawks all-time list for both receptions and receiving yards behind the aforementioned Steve Largent and Tyler Lockett. 

Sources

Pro Football Reference 

Seattle Seahawks Website 

UPI News Archives 

VA Tech Archives - Roanoke Times 

Seattle Times Archives

9/3 - Mark Jackson

 

Name: Mark Jackson

Team: New York Knicks

Position: Point Guard

Card Year: 1992

Card Maker: Skybox

Card Number: 162

We're back after a one-week hiatus with perhaps the card of the player most immediately relevant to current day sports at least up to this point in the blog - 1992 New York Knick, Mark Jackson. 

Mark Jackson was drafted by the New York Knicks as the 18th pick in the first round of the 1987 draft after four years and a 2nd team All American season in 1987 at St. John's. 

His rookie season couldn't have gone better as he won the Rookie of the Year Award and the Knicks reached the playoffs for the first time since 1984. During that season, Jackson averaged nearly 40 minutes per game playing time while scoring an average of 13.6 points and 10.6 assists per game respectively that season. Despite the Knicks losing to the Celtics in the first round, it was clearly their best season in some time and would be the first in a string of seasons where Jackson would unsuccessfully attempt to lead the Knicks against the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The next season was a statistical improvement for Jackson, as he averaged 16.9 points per game as a point guard. It would be his first and only All Star game, despite what would end up being a lengthy career. He would help lead the Knicks to the Eastern Conference semifinals, only to lose to the Chicago Bulls 4-2. 

The 1988-89 season also saw Jackson sign a multimillion dollar, 5 year deal with the Knicks only for his production to decrease and Knicks fans become impatient with the team's lack of playoff success. The 1991-92 season, the season of this card, would be Jackson's last season with the Knicks until much later in his career. He then was traded to the LA Clippers as part of a three way deal between New York, Los Angeles, and Orlando. After two years in LA he was traded to Indiana where he would play until 2000 with one season in Denver in between.

His time in Indiana was similar to that in New York. He was a reliable point guard but not the star of either team (Patrick Ewing in New York and now Reggie Miller in Indiana) and in both cases, each team just didn't have enough to win an NBA championship. The Chicago Bulls earned their last championship with Michael Jordan in 1998, having just eclipsed the Pacers in the eastern conference finals 4-3 and ironically enough, the Pacers lost to the New York Knicks in the 1999 Eastern conference finals, though that Knicks team was handily beaten by Tim Duncan's spurs 4 games to 1 in the league finals. 

Jackson's playing career ended in the 2003-2004 season after spending a season each with New York once again, Utah, and Houston. He was consistently a starter for all but the last two years of his career, but he never reached the statistical peak of his sophomore season ever again. However, he did impact the game in a different way however, in literally changing the rulebook based on his style of play. It was not uncommon for Jackson to spend considerable time dribbling and boxing players out in the paint with his back to the basket before making another move - something that Charles Barkley also did to great effect. In 1999, the five second back to the basket rule was introduced, only allowing players five seconds of dribbling below the free throw line with their back to the basket until they stop, with violation of the rule resulting in a turnover. While not explicitly the result of Jackson, both Jackson and Barkley were the prominent players known for this style of play at the end of their careers and as such the rule is attributed to them both.

In 2011 he was hired as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, a team in a playoff drought similar to the Knicks when Jackson was first drafted. By the 2013 playoffs he got the team to the Western conference semifinals, and to the first round of the playoffs in 2014 but despite the general turnaround of the Warriors, he was not rehired as head coach. That job would go to Steve Kerr and the Warriors would begin their dynasty in the 2015 championship. There is much speculation as to what led to this decision by the Warriors organization, but it seems that under Jackson, there was a fair amount of dysfunction that occurred alongside the improvement in Golden State's record.

Finally in 2025 - the New York Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau after again not making an NBA finals and were in need of a new head coach. The likes of both Rick Pitino and Shaq publicly suggested Mark Jackson as a potential replacement for Thibodeau, but instead of getting his first coaching job since Golden State, Mike Brown is hired instead. Jackson immediately took to social media to demonstrate his displeasure with this outcome, revealing the insecurity that fans have been critical of his entire career. 

Jackson's frustration is understandable, both in that moment, and throughout his time in basketball. In so many cases he got close to championships both as a player and a coach but for whatever reasons, whether situational, personal, or some combination of both, he was never able to get over those humps. Time will tell if another opportunity will arise, and if so, will he be able to finally capitalize on it. 

8/21/25 - Doug Gilmour

 

Name: Doug Gilmour

Team: Toronto Maple Leafs

Position: Center (Hockey)

Card Year: 1996

Card Maker: Upper Deck

Card Number: 291

We're back on the normal schedule here and with a pretty stark pivot from last week's card. Despite the obvious difference of hockey versus basketball, last week's pick - Rich King had a brief, injury-filled career whereas this week's selection - 1994-95 Toronto Maple Leaf captain, Doug Gilmour had career longevity and success enviable by just about anyone. 

Doug Gilmour was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 7th round of the 1982 NHL draft. Despite concerns regarding his small size for an NHL center, he was able to make his way onto the roster and played his first season for the Blues in 1983-84 playing in 80 games and tallying a respectable 53 points. He tallied his first 100+ point season in 86-87 with the Blues, scoring 42 goals and making 63 assists. It was during this time with the Blues that he was given the nickname of 'Killer' by then captain Brian Sutter, due to his aggression and defensive abilities.

He would be traded by the Blues to Calgary after the 1987-88 season where he would go on win the only Stanley Cup of his career with an absolutely dominant Flames team in 1989. He was traded by Calgary as part of a 10 player trade, the largest in NHL history, to Toronto midway through the 1991-92 season which was the starting season shown on this card, with stats both from Calgary and Toronto.

The following two seasons, 1992-93 and 1993-94, would be Gilmour's most productive with 127 and 111 points respectively and making the All Star Game in both seasons. In the 1992-93 season, he would lead the Leafs in assists and overall points, and was only two goals behind Nikolai Borschevsky for the lead in that category as well. This would also be the first and only time Gilmour would win the Frank J. Selke trophy for best defensive forward. Despite only finishing third in their division, the Leafs made it to game 7 in the Western Conference finals, but lost to the Los Angeles Kings, the eventual loser to the Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens.

1993-94 ended in similar fashion both for Gilmour and the Leafs. Toronto finished just two points behind the Detroit Red Wings in the new Central division of the Western conference and again made it to the conference finals, only to lose this time to the Vancouver Canucks, the eventual losers to the Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers. Gilmour was third on the Leafs in scoring this season, but still led the team in assists with 84 and overall points with 111. He would be named team captain at the start of the 1994-95 season, that of this card, though that season was significantly shortened due to a league lockout. 

The Leafs started to wane in that shortened season, finishing only 4th in the Central divsion. Gilmour remained in Toronto until rebuilding began, and was traded during the 1996-97 season to the New Jersey Devils. From there, he bounced around the league with stops in Chicago, Buffalo, and Montreal while never reaching the same statistical success he had achieved in Toronto and earlier on in his career.

In 2002, Gilmour returned to the Maple Leafs, but was injured in his first game, resulting in him missing the season and retiring in 2003 after a 20 year NHL career. His number 93 was retired by the Leafs in 2009 and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011 alongside Ed Belfour, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Mark Howe. He spent ten years with the Kingston Frontenacs serving as head coach, general manager, and head of hockey operations, but stepped down from his role there in 2025 to serve in a community relations role back with the Maple Leafs.

While he didn't have a long list of individual awards earned, Gilmour's consistency and longevity solidified him as deserving of the Hall of Fame accolades. With the exception of goals, he is effectively top 30 in all major career offensive statistics including both assists (15th) with 964 total and overall points (21st) with 1414. Extremely impressive for any hockey player, especially a kid who almost didn't make the league because of his height. 

Sources

Pro Hockey Reference

The Internet Hockey Database

The Kingston Whig Standard

The Hockey Hall of Fame

ESPN

8/11 - Rich King

 Name: Rich King

Team: Seattle Supersonics

Position: Center (Basketball)

Card Year: 1993

Card Maker: Topps

Card Number: 275

I have an early post for you all this week due to some upcoming responsibilities that'll keep me from looking up my silly stats. So not only do you get an early post, I've also pulled the first basketball card of the blog, that of 1991-92 Seattle Supersonics very large rookie center, and University of Nebraska star, Rich King. 

Rich King was taken by the Seattle Supersonics as the 14th overall pick of the 1991 NBA draft - a draft that included Larry Johnson going first overall to the still very new Charlotte Hornets, and Dikembe Mutombo going fourth to the Denver Nuggets. This was after a successful four years at Nebraska where at the time of this card's printing - King had the Nebraska single game, season, and career blocks records, as well as ranking third overall for all time rebounds. As of the current day he is still number 3 overall for career blocks with 183 and number 5 overall for total career rebounds with 761, fitting numbers given his huge 7 foot 2 frame. This card indicates that he had the single game block record with 7, however his name isn't shown in the Nebraska team reference page under that stat.

This is also the second Topps Stadium Club card I've picked out, Byron Evans being the first, if you're into that sort of thing. The reason I bring this up is The Sporting News skills rating system is also used here as it was on the Byron Evans card only with basketball skills instead. King gets 3.9's on both mobility and shooting range which to me translates to slightly above average (still assuming out of 5) - which feels generous but perhaps the card writer was grading on a curve given his size. However, that doesn't seem to be factored in at all to his 'intimidation' rating of 3.4 which is likely based on his poor 'defense' at 3.3. 

So while this card also alludes to his ability to both "pass the rock" and shoot the proverbial "J", his opportunities to do either of these things, let alone anything else basketball-related, was greatly limited in his time with Seattle. He was only healthy during his rookie season, playing 40 games and averaging 5.3 minutes per game. After that he fell victim to a slew of injuries resulting in 6 total surgeries between his thumb, back, knees, and feet. 

In a 2008 interview he describes the situation:

"Instead of being on the court, my memories of the Sonics are of being at Swedish Hospital, being in rehab, being with trainer Bob Medina. I'd never been hurt before that."

Following his rookie year, he only played 3 games in 1992-93, 27 games in 1993-94, and 2 games in 1994-95. After being dropped by Seattle, he went to training camp for Denver, Minnesota, and Vancouver, but did not make any rosters. He called it quits after his sixth and final surgery but remained in Washington, getting married and raising two sons, Christian and Beckham. Christian played the 2024-25 season for Washington as a 6'8 redshirt freshman forward and transferred to Montana State for the 25-26 season. 

King's professional life has involved real estate, a current 14-year stint at Amazon, and most interestingly - starting an investment firm with former teammate, Detlef Schrempf a few years after his career ended. 

Given all of this, I think it feels safe to say that while his NBA experience was a disappointment, Rich King is living a life like well, just that. 

Sources:

Sports Reference 

Kent Pavelka UW Interview

Basketball Reference

Seattle PI Interview

8/7 - Doug Jones

Name: Doug Jones

Team: Houston Astros

Position: Relief Pitcher 

Card Year: 1993

Card Maker: Topps

Card Number: 171

The thing I've enjoyed most about starting this blog, even in the few posts I've written, is getting
to learn about and piece together the stories of the athletes whose cards I've drawn. So far, I've encountered several common sports narratives (the draft busts, the career-ending injuries, the steady success of a hall-of-fame career) but in this week's card - 1992 Houston Astro, Doug Jones, a new type of story emerges - that of the late bloomer who played to his limited strengths and was able to have a long and successful professional career. 

Jones was drafted by the Brewers in 1978 at the age of 20 as a starting pitcher and bounced around their farm system before being very briefly called up in 1982. He returned to the minor leagues until 1986 where Cleveland picked him up late in the season as a reliever and he was able to notch his first major league save, maintaining a 2.50 ERA over 11 games. He threw two pitches - a sub-90 MPH fastball and a change-up and had to rely on batters making contact to get most of his outs. He is quoted as saying "My game is to get batters to hit the ball to someone. If I walk people or give up home runs, I’d be gone in a minute because I don’t have anything else going for me.”

Jones was able to make the opening day lineup for Cleveland in 1987 and despite some hiccups early in the season, maintained his spot on the roster and ended up an All-Star for the first time in 1988, at the age of 31, and the first of three straight All-Star nods with Cleveland. The last of those All-star seasons was in 1990 where Jones tallied 43 saves - good for third overall in the MLB. Despite this, he never made the postseason with the Indians and in 1991 he was giving too many hitters too many good looks, causing Cleveland to not renew his contract, and making him a free agent going into 1992. He was then signed by the Houston Astros.

Jones ended the 1992 season with 36 total saves, a Houston team record at the time of this card's printing. He earned his 4th All Star nod and is still in the Astros record books with the 7th highest overall number of single season saves. He spent one more season with Houston until being traded to Philadelphia for "Wild Thing" pitcher Mitch Williams. Given his steady personality and low velocity, he earned the moniker "Mild Thing" while reaching the All Star game for the Phillies for his 5th and final time. 

After Philadelphia, Jones moved pretty consistently for the rest of his career from Philadelphia to Baltimore, the Cubs, back to Milwaukee in 1996 where he put together in 1997 playing in 76 games and earning 36 saves, then on to Cleveland in 1998 where he was part of a playoff squad for the first time in his career at 41 years old. That Cleveland team made it to the 1998 ALCS but lost to the eventual World Series champion New York Yankees. He finished his career in 2000 after two seasons with the Oakland A's - keeping his ERA below 4.00 at the ages of 42 and 43.

Jones finished his career with 303 saves and all but one of them after the age of 30. He sadly died in 2021 due to complications from COVID. He had a career that seemed perpetually on edge, but he was grounded enough to keep doing what was needed to keep it going for as long as possible.   

Sources

RIP Baseball

Pro Baseball Reference

Society for American Baseball Reference

MLB Obituary

7/31 - Byron Evans

 

Name: Byron Evans

Team: Philadelphia Eagles

Position: Linebacker

Card Year: 1991

Card Maker: Topps - Stadium Club

Card Number: 151

This week's card features Byron Evans of the 1991 Philadelphia Eagles - a defensive co-captain with Reggie White on what was a very, very good defense.

Evans is described on the card as a "hard nosed middle linebacker" who "specializes in stuffing the run" which is backed up by the numbers from that season. 

The 1991 Eagles only gave up 4 rushing touchdowns during the regular season tied for 1st in the league. They also led the league in team defense for both rushing yards and yards per attempt with 1136 total yards and 3.0 yards / carry, respectively.

Evans had a solid season with 111 total tackles that year as well as 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries, but he was one part of just a monster defense featuring three 1st team All Pro players in Defensive Tackle Jerome Brown, the aforementioned Reggie White - who had a 15.0 sack season, and Defensive Tackle Clyde Simmons. 

Despite this brutal defensive front and a 10-6 record, the '91 Eagles did not make it to the playoffs as the NFC east was won by the eventual Super Bowl Champion Washington Redskins, with the Dallas Cowboys taking a wildcard spot from 2nd place. 

While never receiving the accolades of his storied teammates, Evans was an integral part to the Eagles defense for the duration of his career from his rookie year in 1987 to his last season in 1994. His career was cut short due to a severe injury - a broken tibia and torn MCL on the same play against the Cleveland Browns in 1994. 

What's interesting albeit a bit frustrating about this card is The Sporting News' skills rating system which despite my best efforts, I could not find the criteria used to come up with the given numbers. Given Evans' strengths, it makes sense that he'd have his highest rating against the run, which 4.4 out of 5(?) feels accurate - I guess? According to oldsportscards.com, these Topps cards were in response to Upper Deck greatly improving the photography featured on their cards. This could provide some explanation for the limited content provided, as the high quality photography was the focus for this set.

While disappointing that his career ended far earlier than it likely needed to, Byron Evans was a reliable run-stuffing linebacker, for some superior Eagles defenses. He may not have the name recognition of some of his teammates, but one thing he will always have and we will always have - is this.

Sources

Philadelphia Eagles - where are they now

Pro Football Reference

7/24 - Gerald Perry

 

Name: Gerald Perry

Team: Atlanta Braves

Position: First Base / Left Field / Pinch Hitter

Card Year: 1987

Card Maker: Donruss

Card Number: 437

While training camp has started and the NFL season is beginning to rear its head, it's still July and that means it's baseball season - something that as a Detroit Tigers fan - I am actively trying to process as healthy a way as possible at the moment.

So regardless of my current feelings about baseball - I pulled a baseball card for this week's blog - Gerald Perry of the 1987 Atlanta Braves.

1987 being one of the final years the Braves would still be utilizing the logo shown at the bottom right of the card.

I'm always somewhat astounded (and I realize I probably shouldn't be about the use of that logo), but what is the most surprising to me is that logo made it until the late 80s. I had just been assuming that was their logo from the 50s and 60s, but boy was I wrong. It wasn't until 1990 that the Braves fully switched over to just the name and tomahawk logo they currently utilize. That just feels so recent, which I also know it isn't, but then I think about how long Cleveland kept their logo and team name, and well, as stated above - I guess I just shouldn't be all that surprised.

In any event, Gerald Perry was a long time member of the Braves organization. He was drafted by the Braves in 1978 in the 11th round and bounced around their system from then until 1989. He was then traded to the Royals in 1990 and was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals, where he remained for the rest of his career until 1995. 

1987, the year this card was made, was a pretty good year for Gerald Perry, being one of his only seasons in the Braves starting lineup. He was 8th in the National League in stolen bases (42), and the only first baseman on that list though he split some time playing left field. He was also third in hits (144) and second in RBIs (74) on the 1987 Braves squad, which while deserving of the starting position - also indicated how rough a spot that team was in - finishing 69-82 - good for 5th out of 6th in the NL west division.

His 1988 season was his personal best, leading the Braves in both hits (164) and batting average (.300) making his first and only All Star game as a National League reserve 1st baseman. While statistically this was Perry's best season in baseball, the Braves as a team were even worse than in 1987, finishing with a 54-106 a record that was just shy of being the worst in baseball that year - an honor held by the Baltimore Orioles who also had 54 wins, but one more loss at 107. 

By 1990, Perry had been traded to the Royals where he would start one season at DH as George Brett had the first base position firmly locked down. The remainder of his career was spent in St. Louis, mostly as a pinch hitter. The last fun fact that I was able to dig up on him was that he holds the record for hits by a pinch hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals with 70. So while seeing only time as a reserve in St. Louis, he made the most of that time. 

A highlight from Perry's 1987 Season - Cubs vs. Braves 5/31/87

Gerald Perry and his Controversial Homer off of Pedro Martinez from another Blog

Sources:

Pro Baseball Reference