Card of the Week: Football & TV Stars, Fred Dryer

Continuing the theme from last week’s Gary Hogeboom card, this week’s football star turned actor is Fred Dryer.

Dryer was a star at San Diego State University (a teammate of Rocky’s Carl Weathers) before being drafted in the first round by the New York Giants in 1969.  He had (unofficially) 29 sacks in three years in New York, before being traded to New England in February 1972, and on to the Los Angeles Rams a short time later during the same year’s draft.

Dryer split time at the left defensive end spot with Jack Youngblood in 1972, before starting all 14 games on the right side in 1973, a season in which he became the only player in NFL history to record two safties in a single game. 

Dryer was a two time Pro Bowler (1970 and 1975), played against the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV, and finished his career with 104 unofficial sacks (sacks becomeing an official statistic in 1982, the year after Dryer retired).

Dryer’s acting career actually started in 1976, with an uncredited role in the classic Gus (you know, the one with Barney Fife and the kicking mule?).  He had a few one episode appearences on shows like Laverne & Shirley, Lou Grant and CHiPs, and in the movie Cannonball Run 2, before appearing as Detective Sergant Rick Hunter in the series aptly named Hunter, for which he would become most known.

Hunter was on the air for seven seasons, and has had a couple of come back movies as well.  Dryer also had some short runs on shows like Cheers, and Diagnosis Murder, and has his own production company.

The card featured is Dryer’s 1977 Topps issue, #513 in the set, which books for $1.00.  Or would, if it wasn’t fairly beat up.  Dryer has a total of 22 cards, the most valuable of which is the Mexican version of the same card, which books for $200.  I have no idea how the card ended up in my collection, but it’s actually the card that inspired me to post this series of cards.