Bedford Stuyvesant native Vernon Turner attended Curtis High School on Staten Island where he lettered in both football as the team’s quarterback and in track and field. He was an All-City and All- State selection who left the school with over 4,000 yards passing. Years later, he was inducted into the Curtis High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Turner took his versatile skill set to Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee. During his time in Tennessee, Turner was a key cog in three of the team’s national championships when the Eagles won it all in 1986, 1988 and 1989.
He finished his college career ranked fourth on the school’s all-time rushing list while finding the end zone 28 times on the ground.
Undrafted in 1990, Turner signed as a free agent with the Denver Broncos but was released during the Broncos final roster cut that year. Just a week later he was signed by the Buffalo Bills to their practice squad and was eventually a part of the Super Bowl XXV team.
The following year Turner was released by Buffalo and was quickly scooped up by the Los Angeles Rams. It turned out to be a great decision by LA when Turner led the Rams in kickoff and punt returns for two consecutive seasons.
At the end of the 1992 season, he signed a free agent contract with Detroit where he backed up all time great return man Mel Gray. When he got his opportunities, Turner took full advantage, capturing multiple NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors during his time in the Motor City.
Turner once again found himself looking for a home when the Lions released him before the last game of the 1993 season. Once again, he wasn’t unemployed long, though, signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he became their leading return man during the 1994 season. The offensive Swiss Army knife went into the team’s history book when he became the first Bucs player to return a kick or punt for a touchdown. In 1995 he became a part of the Carolina Panthers inaugural season but was released during the team’s final roster cuts. He made his way back to Detroit midway through the 1995 season.
Turner then signed to play over three seasons in NFL Europe for the Frankfurt Galaxy and Scottish Claymores. His long and winding professional career finally came to an end with his retirement in 1998.
Turner has been as busy in retirement as he was during his playing days. He’s published multiple books, including his autobiography titled The Next Level: A game I Had to Play back in 2012 (it’s available on Amazon.com).
In 2019, a celebrity and sports who’s who including Gabriel Union, Dwyane Wade, Ciara and Russell Wilson all came together as partners to begin the production process to develop a feature film about Vernon’s miraculous life story.
He recently sat down with me to discuss the significance of seeing his rookie card for the first time, Walter Payton’s immense influence on his life and much much more.
Tony Reid- You have 29 official cards in existence. Your rookie card appeared in the 1991 Upper Deck set. It’s a picture of you making a return. Do you remember seeing that card for the first time?
Vernon Turner– Well you’ve got me bugging out already. You said I have 29-plus cards. I have only seen 12 of them. So, the fact that there are twenty some odd cards, wow.
I do remember my actual rookie card with the Rams. I remember when I was informed that it was out. I purchased a full box and took it home to my family. We were opening it up pack by pack. I will never forget. There were five of us, my two brothers and two sisters. My youngest sister, may she rest in peace, she just screamed! She’s the one that found it. It was an unbelievable feeling and experience because I shared it with my family.
TR– That’s such a cool story. That had to be a special, special moment.
VT– It really is, it cements or puts cherry on top of everything that my family went through. I enjoy my career more now than I did when I played. I reflect back and I am in that ‘holy cow mode.’ I really pulled it off. The fact that I am sitting here and you just informed me that I have that many cards… now I have to go searching! Now I have to go searching for these cards that I have never laid eyes on. That is really cool. I would like to pass those on to my kids. It been one heck of a journey, just the fact that I have trading cards out there. I will never forget the first time I saw my rookie card with the Rams. That is a very, very special experience for me.
TR– More than a few of your later cards mention your feat of being the first player in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history to return a kickoff for a touchdown. What are your thoughts on that accomplishment looking back now?
VT– People think my career and the pinnacle of it is returning the kick for a touchdown for the Buccaneers. If anybody really looked at that return, any return specialist would have been able to return that kick for a touchdown. The blocks were there. It was crushing block after crushing block after crushing block. All I had to do was stay in bounds and meet my teammates in the end zone. I am just happy and blessed that it was me. I was chosen to do that. You look back and I look at my teammates and holy crap, it was something special. I enjoy it more now and having people tell me things that I have done in the league or I see little video clips and they don’t realize I’m not that good. I wasn’t that good. I just had to get something done. I had to get it done.
TR– A truly special interaction is that of a fan asking a pro ball player for an autograph. Do you have a memorable autograph story?
VT– I have done so many interviews and appearances where people come up to me with trading cards. I tell you what, when you get kids that come up to you and you can tell that they genuinely want to see you, meet you and get that card signed. When you come across kids like that it warms your heart. It’s priceless. Most importantly, I try to double down and make it more special. If I have something on hand, a poster or whatever, I try to give them anything extra that I can. It’s such an honor to have someone look up to you. People take that lightly. I don’t take that lightly at all. I have to be the best version of me for them. I am unbelievably old school when it comes to a lot of things especially when it comes to the role and responsibility that we have as athletes. I was very fortunate and blessed. It’s a head scratcher that I made it to the league but the fact that I did make it and the fact that people of a younger age are looking at me and emulating me-what I do, what I say and how I carry myself. That is a role and responsibility that you have to take seriously. Whether athletes believe it or not, when we get to that upper echelon kids look, they listen and they watch and then they emulate. I want to make sure they are getting the best version of me.
TR– What athletes inspired a young Vernon coming up?
VT– Oh, my God. That is the easiest question on the planet for me. Walter “Sweetness” Payton. When I laid on eyes on Walter Payton for the first time I was 11 or 12 years old. I went to my first NFL game. It was a preseason game. My stepfather had season tickets. He was a New York Jets fan. I didn’t even want to go. My mom forced me to go. I went. That game changed my life. It saw this number 34 run. When he ran, he ran at the time, the way I felt. He had so much aggression, so much frustration and so much anger. He took it out on the football field.
After that game I ate, drank and slept with a football in my hand. I was obsessed with the game of football. Years go by and I am in college now. I am in desperation mode with my family. My mom and dad had passed away. I had to support my family. I am in a college library looking at a magazine. There is an advertisement for a Walter Payton fan club. I am staring at it. What the hell? I sat down and wrote him a letter. Less than three weeks later I get a reply. I don’t know if it’s Sweetness or not but the response did reflect everything I wrote about. He responded to it, from the passing of my parents to what I was trying to do. At the time, I made the decision that I wanted to try out for the National Football League. If there was anything in this world that I would put my heart and soul into, and I would die trying to achieve, it would be playing football. I asked him for words of encouragement. He gave me his training regimen. It was unbelievable. I was running in sand. I was running up hill. I always had resistance, whether it be weighted shoes, I did it all. The fact that this guy or someone from his camp, it was unbelievable for me. In my books, I always talk about that moment. He was my mentor. He gave me the mental strength to go beyond my limits. That is a moment I will never, ever forget and I story I will always share.
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