1990 Score #649 Alton Montgomery

When people think of the 1989 University of Houston team, they generally think of Andre Ware winning the Heisman trophy and the Run and Shoot offense. There are good reasons to think of those things, especially since the offense averaged 53.5 points per game.

But the UH defense was also very solid giving up only 13.6 points per game. Even with a mediocre offense, by allowing less than two touchdowns per game a team can win plenty of games. The 1989 Cougar defense pitched two shutouts and allowed 20+ points only three times. One was a heartbreaking shootout loss to Arkansas 45-39. That Arkansas team finished at #13 in the polls, one spot above the Coogs. One 20+ point game was to Texas Tech although UH won fairly easily 40-24. That Tech team finished 19th in the polls. The final 20+ point game was 21 points for SMU. Of course UH won that game 95-21, so the defense can be forgiven for the 21 points given up there.

One of the great players on that defense was Alton Montgomery. A strong safety, Alton played for the Cougars from 1988 to 1989. In 1988 he was named Southwest Conference Defensive Newcomer of the Year, Second Team All Southwest Conference, and All American Honorable Mention. In 1989 he was First Team All Southwest Conference and again an All American Honorable Mention.

In 1990, he was selected in the 2nd round of the NFL draft (52nd overall) by the Denver Broncos. He played three seasons for the Broncos and then three seasons for the Atlanta Falcons.

Today's card is the 1990 Score #649. I think this is a great looking card. The border is primarily red with gradient shading on the sides from red to white. Major bonus points as usual for the player being shown in his Cougar uniform. You can barely see the skinny UH logo on the helmet. No airbrush removal of the logo here. I don't know if that's because it's barely recognizable as the UH logo or if it's because they received permission. Hopefully it's the latter. I absolutely hate airbrushed UH helmets. I love the red gloves too.