Mervyn Fernandez built a Hall of Fame career north of the border in the Canadian Football League prior to taking his skill set to the Los Angeles Raiders who had drafted him in 1983.
Once he made the transition back to the United States and to the NFL, he quickly became the Raiders’ most productive wide receiver.
After six seasons in the silver and black, Swervin’ Mervyn retired with over 200 receptions nearly 4,000 yards and 19 touchdowns. Those numbers coupled with his gaudy stats in the CFL made for a very impressive professional football career resume.
In this latest installment of Card Back Q&A, he talks about his Hall of Fame CFL career, his world famous nickname, the transition to the NFL and much more.
TR- The back of your very first card, the 1983 JOGO CFL issue, mentioned the nickname Swervin’ Mervyn. How did that nickname come to be, and how do you feel about it today?
MF-It’s pretty catchy. People still call me Swervin’ Mervyn. I get fan mail and people send me cards to sign and some want them signed Swervin’ Mervyn. That originated from my high school quarterback, a guy named Jack Overstreet. We are still friends to this day. We still go to dinner. We still keep in touch. He doesn’t live that far from me. One day he said “there goes Swervin Mervyn.” It was just by the way I ran and moved on the field. I don’t know how he came up with it but it was just one of those things that stuck all the way back in high school.
TR–The back of your 1986 JOGO card mentions your 1985 season including being named the Most Outstanding Player. You had a record-breaking season, with 95 receptions for 1,727 yards and 15 touchdowns. The back of the card mentioned you as the premier deep threat receiver in the league. How was your time in the CFL?
MF-It was unbelievable. What a great time to be in Canada and the CFL. We started out with a stadium that was outdoors, almost like the L.A. Coliseum. It really wasn’t built for football. A year or two later they built the first big, giant dome in Canada and we used to pack that thing 70,000 strong, full of screaming fans. It was an awesome time.
We had some good games as a team and I had some great games as a receiver. We won a lot of games and got to the Grey Cup. It was a lot of great memories. I still have tapes and highlights of all that stuff that fans have sent me and other people have sent me. Its crazy to look back and think I really did that. It’s really wild.
TR–The back of your 1989 Pro Set rookie card mentions how you had already become the Raiders’ most productive wide receiver. Can you talk about the transition from the CFL to the NFL?
MF– It was a little bit of a transition. Playing on that CFL field- it’s bigger, longer and wider and we only had three downs. I was a big fish in a small pond. I got the ball all the time. There was no James Lofton and Tim Brown in the slot. There was no Willie Gault. I could go on and on. It was just me. It’s not that we didn’t have great players but those guys are Hall of Famers in the NFL. I had to compete with that. I think I held my own and things got better. When I first came into the league, we were on strike. I had just signed the contract with the Raiders. That was 1987. We were walking in front of the facility with picket signs. That was my introduction. We had the scab games going on. Then we came back and played half of the season.
The next season I missed half of the season with a dislocated shoulder. It was a fluke thing. I got the play that 1989 season and that was when they drafted Tim. I was standing on the practice field before that 1989 season with James Lofton and I said “Dude, one of us is getting cut. They drafted a receiver in the first round, some dude named Tim Brown out of Notre Dame.” They sent James to Buffalo. Long story short, it was not the greatest beginning to my NFL career. Not that I wasn’t capable of doing it, it just didn’t look like I was capable of doing it. I was hurt. We were on strike. I’m learning the new offense, so I didn’t really get a chance to absorb it all. Things got a little crazy but it all worked out and here we are today getting interviewed by somebody about my football cards. I think it all worked out good.
TR-It was interesting on the back of your 1989 Topps Traded rookie card that they listed your CFL and NFL stats together. By that point, you had over 400 catches for nearly 7,500 yards and 60 touchdowns. That was a great career stat line before you ever even played much in the NFL. 
MF-It would be nice if they would combine the two stats. They don’t. I read something about Warren Moon’s numbers when they combined the two leagues’ stats. That was crazy. He still got into the Hall of Fame. He was a great quarterback. I really only played in the CFL for five years. It was an exciting time for me from the beginning.
TR–The back of your 1991 Stadium Club card had a Sporting News analysis report. Under ‘strength’, it said “Fernandez combines terrific size and power along with intelligence, discipline and soft hands. In addition, he is not afraid to get physical.” Can you talk to us about how you combined all of your skills and attributes and attitude to have such a fine career in two professional football leagues?
MF-It was a love of the game and a God given talent. I think that my size back then, I was a giant compared to the guys back then and I am a little guy compared to what the guys are today. I was always a track guy. I was a seven-foot high jumper in high school. I came to realize that was pretty good back then. I ran the 100. I did the 220. I did the long jump. All of those things combined was a perfect recipe for my position and what I did. I don’t know how I became Swervin’ Mervyn but the way I ran and maneuvered myself around the field kept me healthy.
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