One Page PC - James Wilder

While digging through my football card box for Neil Lomax cards I came across a few singles of another underrated '80s NFL star that didn't get much national press because he played on a lousy team.

Drafted by Tampa one pick after St. Louis selected Lomax in 1981, James Wilder played ten NFL seasons - nine with the hapless Buccaneers, who only reached the playoffs twice in his tenure. Tampa parted ways with starting quarterback Doug Williams after the '82 campaign... and finished 2-14 in three of the next four seasons. 

Wilder did everything in his power to keep the Bucs competitive, leading the team in yards from scrimmage each year from 1982 to 1987. In 1984,  he led the NFL with a then-record 407 carries and set a single-season franchise record with 1,544 rushing yards -- still the highest total in Tampa Bay annals. Wilder also holds the Bucs' career records for carries (1,575) and rushing yards (5,957) 

While his average yards per carry (3.8) is sub-standard, he was an exceptional receiver out of the backfield. Among 1980s running backs, only Roger Craig and Marcus Allen had more receiving yards. 

Here's my nine pocket PC of James Wilder. The 1983 Topps and 1985 Topps Wilder cards are about as exciting as his '87 and '88 issues, which is probably why I skipped them. The man's name is Wilder. Show him in action, dammit! 

That's better. 

As a kid I was drawn to the Bucs' orange creamsicle uniform, and it became apparent from Topps team Leader cards that the only player worth following (or collecting) from that era was their running back. 

According to TCDB, James has 71 cards - four fewer than Lomax. Look closer and you'll see that some of those listings are actually Leaf All-American cards of his son, James Wilder Jr. - who won a national championship at Florida State and has over 440 cards despite never playing in the NFL. 

Oh Canada...our home and native land...

I'd be willing to bet that every other NFL franchise's career rushing leader has more cards to collect than Wilder. Go ahead, name one. 

Ottis Anderson? 627. 

Gerald Riggs? 142. 

Sam Cunningham? All right, you got me. 29. 

Looking at the list of franchise leaders, it does make some sense that Wilder has the second-lowest amount of cards since his yardage total is the second-lowest. His career barely extended to 1990, and he was only in two traded sets so the overproduction era couldn't boost his card count like it did with Riggs and Anderson. But how does he have only half as many cards as Gerald Riggs? Why wasn't Wilder in Upper Deck Legends or named a Franchise Legend by Panini Prizm? 

Here's a better question -- why haven't the Tampa Bay Buccaneers added their all-time leading rusher to their Ring of Honor? They have a running back and an offensive star from the early-mid 1980s. Guess the Bucs thought that Mike Alstott and Jimmie Giles have got those bases covered. (btw, did you know Giles was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1976? I didn't.) 

I'd love to end this post by showing off a James Wilder Starting Lineup figure, but 1988 Buccaneers are expensive! (This guy is dreaming; you can buy an autographed creamsicle jersey for that price.) 

Perhaps I'll pick up this SLU card someday. It's a sharper looking single than his Topps issues, but fifty times more expensive. 

🏈

I don't have any other mini-collections of overlooked football stars. The only other non-Hall of Famer who played before the 1990s and appears in my collection more than a few times is Steve Bartkowski, and he retired when I was in kindergarten. (Bart has 216 cards, btw.) 

Do you have any favorite "overlooked" football stars of your childhood?

Thanks for reading!



~