NFL Players Association Wants A Recall Of 1991 Pro Set Series 1 Football
May 10, 1991 | By John Leptich | Chicago Tribune
If you haven`t already bought your 1991 Pro Set series I football cards, you`d better get moving.
The National Football League Players Association Tuesday filed suit in Superior Court in Washington, D.C. seeking a temporary restraining order against Pro Set, the official card of the NFL. The suit asks for the recall of all series I Pro Set card packs and boxes, including those already sold. Dallas-based Pro Set`s football cards have been available for about three weeks.
Pro Set`s contract prohibits them from using players who aren`t members of the association. As with any licensee, if they refuse to comply, we go to court.``
Lawsuit or not, Pro Set cards will still sell. In its third year of manufacturing, Pro Set continues to churn out eye-pleasing products that have gained a solid foothold in the trading-card industry. From the looks of series I of its football set, Pro Set has another winner.
The most noticeable difference this year is borderless cards, allowing more room for photos.
There are 17 cards for awards and statistics leaders, with another seven commemorating player, coach or team milestones. Artist Merv Corning, who has created theme art for several Super Bowls, contributes art cards for the five new NFL Hall of Famers and 27 NFC All-Pro cards. AFC All-Pros will follow in series II.
NFL officials are shown on 18 cards, the first time the concept has been used in football. There`s also what promises to be a popular subset, the
Think About It`` public-service message series. Included are ``Crack Kills,`` ``Don`t Drink,`` ``Play It Straight,`` ``Read,`` ``Study,`` ``Don`t Pollute,`` ``Steroids Destroy,`` and ``Keep the Peace.`` A different player is shown on each card.
The NFLPA wants 13 cards which show its logo on the back removed from the series and destroyed because the players pictured aren`t association members.
Cards in question are for Cornelius Bennett (Nos. 74, 326 and 328); Andre Collins (No. 318); Eric Dickerson (No. 175); Bo Jackson (No. 335); Jim Kelly (Nos. 8, 46, 78 and 341); Bernie Kosar (No. 121); Webster Slaughter (No. 125) and Blair Thomas (No. 250).
Oddly, card Nos. 46 and 328 merely mention non-member players on the back. Several other cards which either show or mention non-members weren`t named in the suit.
Pro Set President Lud Denny would not comment on the suit. Doug Allen, the NFLPA assistant executive director, said: ``We`ve never purported to represent every player in the NFL. We`ve delivered the majority of players each manufacturer has asked for. Some players have asked not to be on cards. Their rights have to be respected. We don`t want players who haven`t been cleared to be on cards this year.
Pro Set`s contract prohibits them from using players who aren`t members of the association. As with any licensee, if they refuse to comply, we go to court.``
Lawsuit or not, Pro Set cards will still sell. In its third year of manufacturing, Pro Set continues to churn out eye-pleasing products that have gained a solid foothold in the trading-card industry. From the looks of series I of its football set, Pro Set has another winner.
Series I offers a whopping 452 cards. Series II will be out around August, with a final update late in the year.
The most noticeable difference this year is borderless cards, allowing more room for photos.
The set starts off with two No. 1 cards for Pro Set Rookies of the Year Emmitt Smith and Mark Carrier. Thus, there is no No. 2 card.
There are 17 cards for awards and statistics leaders, with another seven commemorating player, coach or team milestones. Artist Merv Corning, who has created theme art for several Super Bowls, contributes art cards for the five new NFL Hall of Famers and 27 NFC All-Pro cards. AFC All-Pros will follow in series II.
Pro Set honors winners of the Outland Trophy (Russell Maryland), Lombardi Award (Chris Zorich), Jim Thorpe Award (Darryl Lewis), Butkus Award (Alfred Williams) and Walter Camp Player of the Year (Raghib Ismail) with cards.
There are nine Super Bowl XXV replay cards and 18 more for significant plays or games of 1990. The NFL champion New York Giants and AFC-winning Buffalo Bills have 18 cards each, including a head-coach card, with all other teams given nine cards.
NFL Newsreel cards mark events such as Whitney Houston`s performance (was it live or Memorex?) of the national anthem at Super Bowl XXV, and gas mask-clad U.S. troops watching that game from Saudi Arabia. Houston`s card (No. 350) marks the first time a woman has appeared in a major sports trading card set.
NFL officials are shown on 18 cards, the first time the concept has been used in football. There`s also what promises to be a popular subset, the
Think About It`` public-service message series. Included are ``Crack Kills,`` ``Don`t Drink,`` ``Play It Straight,`` ``Read,`` ``Study,`` ``Don`t Pollute,`` ``Steroids Destroy,`` and ``Keep the Peace.`` A different player is shown on each card.
Pro Set, the official NFL card, carries the same designation for the World League of American Football. Cards for 32 WLAF players, head coaches and league President/CEO Mike Lynn are used as special collectibles.
Special cards, fewer in number and randomly packed, were made for Walter Payton Team 34; the Super Bowl XXV logo in Pro Set`s 1989 design; Pro Set Gazette, the company`s checklist magazine/catalog; the Russell Maryland No. 1 draft-pick and a memorial for Red Grange, who died Jan. 28.
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