Cards: Upper Deck 2009, Score 2010 Acquired: In Person 2018, AAF San Antonio Commanders Season Ticket Holders Party
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to even come close to picking up one of the greatest modern day NFL safeties and Pittsburgh Steeler legends Troy Polamalu- but here we are. I mean again, like in the past, one of the greatest pieces of advice that I can give a fellow collector, is: When you go to in person events, plan ahead by bringing cards of who you know will be there- and who you think might be there.
The second piece of advice I can give you is do your research and participate in the discourse of knowledge about the subject you are interested in. In this case, I participated heavily on the AAF boards and was made aware of the fact that a bold tapestry of many former players line the league’s offices with experience and knowledge. I thought maybe, just maybe since this was a big event, that the league would send down one of the player personnel to the celebration. I packed a box of cards for the players, and the executives and made my way to the event.
When the event began, Troy was seated on stage with the players and executives. I immediately recognized him based on his flowing mane. – Sure who wouldn’t right? I slipped out some cards and calmly bode my time. After the event concluded I waited in the picture line and kindly asked him for an autograph or two. I think Troy was both surprised and impressed that somebody had some cards of him at the event. His eyes lit up briefly and he smiled as he signed. I exchanged pleasantries with him about the new league and how excited I was, and then wished him luck. I’m not much for photos or selfies. The autograph was enough for me to regale in memory about.
Over a 12 year career, Troy Polamalu established himself as one of the greatest strong safeties to ever play the game. Drafted in the first round of 2003 by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of USC, Troy was a headhunter in the secondary, who had a nose for the ball with 46 career takeaways (32 interceptions, 14 forced fumbles), and 770 combined tackles. Polamalu was named to the Pro Bowl 8 times, All-Pro in 4 seasons, NFL Defensive Player of the year (2010), and won two Super Bowl Championships. He’d also earn honors as a member of the Steelers All-Time Team, and the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team.
Troy retired after the 2014 season and decided to focus on his family. In 2018, he was named the head of player relations for the fledgling Alliance of American Football, however that folded during 2019.
Late in the AAF season, the league brought out Topps cards of Troy, but with these two signed, I’m happy to close the books right where they are without the executive card signed.
Record: 3-5 Head Coach: Mike Martz Home Stadium: Qualcomm
The Fleet were decked out in battleship gray, gray, yellow, and white. SD’s alternate color jersey, flipped the battleship gray jersey out with the white numbers.
BACKGROUND:
San Diego was extremely sore about losing the Chargers back to Los Angeles in 2018- little less to Stub Hub stadium which only sat some 27,000 capacity. The city jumped at the chance to be a part of the AAF and was named as the 6th overall franchise to the league with Mike Martz as head coach. The pairing made sense as the offensive minded Martz was a big draw coach that could handle putting on a show for the media.
Martz immediately named a fully fleshed out staff, which caught the league off guard. Former NFL QB Jon Kitna as OC, and a variety of former NFL vets as positional coaches. Jackie Slater, TJ Houshmandzadeh, Vince Amey, and Dré Bly. For one reason or another which hasn’t been revealed, almost all of these coaches didn’t stick on the roster.
After Jon Kitna departed for the Dallas Cowboys to be their QBs coach, his brother Matt stepped in. Dre Bly got a college gig so Eric Allen stepped in and performed admirably in his first coaching stop. Ex NFLers Lamont Jordan, did a great job coaching runningbacks, while Anthony Becht was working with the TE group. Az-Zahir Hakim who had played for Martz in St. Louis at WR coached a solid group for the Fleet.
Since San Diego had a large naval base in the area, the team adopted the Fleet name on September 25th, 2018. The Commanders and Fleet considered each others rivals thanks in part to many commonalities.
Bishop Sankey was the veteran, big eyebrow raising signing by this team- but before the first game he pulled his hamstring, and was limited most of the season.
The AAF did not employ the traditional draft system the NFL did, rather it employed an allocation system that kept players close to their college or pro locations to help build fan interest.
OFFENSE:
The San Diego Fleet under Mike Martz were expected to be a high octane offense, reminiscent of his teams in St. Louis. With the first overall selection of the Protect or Pick QB draft, the Fleet protected Josh Johnson. The pick was lauded as he was considered the most seasoned and intriguing quarterback in the league. His cousin Marshawn Lynch even mused coming out of retirement to play for the AAF so he could play with Josh. Things were abuzz in San Diego. The problem was, about a week later Josh got picked up by the Redskins.
Awkward.
Yeah so SD hoped that Josh would come back to them, but if not they’d wish him well anyway. In the end, Josh did perform well- but thankfully it was so soon after the draft that the Fleet was able to move forward with the quarterbacks they had.
In the stable was gunslinger Mike Bercovici, Alex Ross, and Philip Nelson. Bercovici was the day one starter, but after suffering a brutal beating during the first half against the Commanders in the first game, he’d be replaced in the lineup by Philip Nelson. Nelson shattered his clavicle in the 4th game and was replaced by Alex Ross in the lineup. The following week Berco took back over as starter for the remainder of the season while Alek Torgersen was added as insurance. Despite missing 3 and a half games, Bercovici was 6th in overall yardage with 1,311 yards. He also finished first with 9 interceptions. You could sense, despite his struggles though, fans overall really liked Mike. As a group the QBs finished second in yardage to only Orlando (1904).
The Fleet had some good receivers with two players ranking in the top 5 in yardage. Dontez Ford finished second in yards after the catch on just 15 receptions, and 3rd overall in yards (435), with his one and only TD catch, a 72 yard barn burner. Nelson Spruce also ranked among league leaders not far off with 426 yards (5th) and 2 TDs on 38 receptions- good for second in the league. Brian Brown was right at the periphery of the league leaders, finishing with 20 receptions for 224 yards.
The tight ends got a lot of work. All the teams in the league gushed over the potential former Dallas Cowboys project Gavin Escobar possessed. He clocked 16 receptions for 176 yards to rank 3rd on the team. Not far behind him was Marcus Baugh- the former Ohio State TE caught 13 passes for 208 yards and 2 TDs including at 38 yarder. Ben Johnson was also a reliable redzone option catching 12 passes for 75 yards and 2 TDs in 5 starts.
The runningbacks were at times utterly spectacular. Diminutive Ja’Quan Gardner led the Fleet with 311 yards on the ground (64 carries, 3TDs)- good for 8th in the league. His 83 yard scamper against San Antonio is a league record, and he led the Fleet backs with 12 receptions. Unfortunately he finished on IR. Terrell Watson also saw action in 8 games, putting together 271 yards on the ground (63 carries, 2 TDs). Finally, grizzled veteran Bishop Sankey had 30 carries for 119 yards in just 4 games. As a team San Diego finished in 4th place with 851 ground yards.
After being absolutely terrorized in the first game against San Antonio, the Fleet put together some decent offensive line production throughout the season, finishing fourth in the league allowing just 19 sacks. The team also boasted a 7 of a 11 (63%) 4th down success ratio.
DEFENSE:
(4-3) The Fleet’s defense was predicated on creating a lot of turnovers. Although they gave up a fair amount of yardage, they were pretty decent against the run (842 yards, 4th), but a bit more vulnerable through the air giving up 1768 yards (6th).
The secondary itself was tested early and often. Kameron Kelly (CB) had 4 interceptions and a TD along with 19 total tackles. Ryan Moeller also had a strong season with 4 interceptions for 97 yards and 37 total tackles at SS. Heartwarming comeback story Ron Brooks (CB), two years removed from an ACL tear, had a pick and 19 tackles, but really shined on special teams. Jordan Martin stepped in and had 31 total tackles and an interception. CFL DB Kendall James enforced the line of scrimmage with 36 total tackles, while Xavier Coleman finished with 15, and Demarius Travis came in at 13.
The leader of the linebacking corps without a doubt was another comeback story- AJ Tarpley. Hearing the siren’s call to play again Tarpley had a banner season for the Fleet with 35 total tackles, and an interception he returned 27 yards for a TD. Travis Feeney logged 30 tackles and a 3 yard interception. Galen Robinson and Eric Pinkins were also key contributors to the corps with 28 and 29 tackles respectively. Frank Ginda started just 2 of the 8 games he played in but led the linebackers with 37 total tackles, while John Lotulelei posted 23 total tackles in 2 of the 8 games he started as well.
Along the defensive line, Damontre Moore (DE) was a house wrecker, leading the team in tackles (39) and was second in the league in sacks (7). Shakir Soto at DT had 4 sacks and 21 total tackles. Next to him was Taniela Tupou, with 24 total tackles and a sack. Alex Barrett played on the opposite side of Moore and had 29 total tackles and 1.5 sacks.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Fleet boasted the stiffest punt return unit in the league allowing just 12 returns for 57 yards (14 lg) and 10 fair catches. Their punt return unit was also the best in the league. Ron Brooks had 18 returns for 212 yards, and a 57 yard TD- the first in league history. The team employed two punters, but primarily it landed on Sam Irwin-Hill’s shoulders. He had 30 punts for 1,312 yards, dropping 10 in the 20.
Donny Hageman got plenty of chances to kick field goals hitting 14/19 attempts, winning an exciting match up against the Stallions in the final seconds. Hageman also blew the shortest field goal in AAF history against SLC in the final week of the season.
THE SEASON:
San Diego fans really wanted to stick it to Dean Spanos’ family after they left for Los Angeles so they were eager to embrace the Fleet. The Fleet looked at their rival Commanders team in San Antonio and wanted to top those numbers. San Diego had relatively encouraging numbers for an inaugural Spring football team- and the numbers they were pulling in were comparable to the Chargers before they left.
The Fleet’s 20,019 in Week 2 was the 3rd largest day home opening crowd in the league, and second highest that week to only San Antonio. After a dip down to 14,789 in week 3 in SDs rematch against the Commanders, the Fleet set team records for attendance in week 5 with 20,823, and then in Week 6 with 20,986. As the Commanders were in the midst of a 4 game road schedule, San Diego led the league in attendance through both of those weeks. When the league collapsed, the Fleet had one more home game left against the Hotshots in Week 10. San Diego’s overall attendance was good enough to rank second in the league, and 3rd in overall average attendance (19,154).
WEEK1
1
2
3
4
F
SD
0
6
0
0
6
SA
0
6
0
9
15
WEEK 2
1
2
3
4
F
SD
0
6
3
15
24
ATL
9
0
0
3
12
WEEK 3
1
2
3
4
F
SD
6
16
6
3
31
SA
8
0
3
0
11
Of note Ja’Quan Gardner of the Fleet blew by the Commanders defense on an 83 yard AAF record TD scamper.
WEEK 4
1
2
3
4
F
SD
14
6
0
3
23
MEM
3
12
0
11
26
WEEK 5
1
2
3
4
F
SD
3
3
12
9
27
SLC
8
0
3
14
25
WEEK 6
1
2
3
4
F
SD
3
6
14
6
29
BIR
6
9
6
11
32
WEEK 7
1
2
3
4
F
SD
9
6
0
0
15
ARZ
9
14
0
9
32
WEEK 8
1
2
3
4
F
SD
0
0
0
3
3
SLC
0
8
0
0
8
NOTES:
San Diego had some uniform issues that perhaps only I noticed. First was their original color scheme, which was a complete rip off of Buffalo Wild Wings. Second, their helmet decal was only a slight modification of the UFL Virginia Destroyers logo.
Curiously Topps did not create a Topps Now card for the Fleet/ Stallions matchup in Week 8.
Damien Mama was the first player that signed for me. He was switched to center during the opener against SA and came over to sign for a few kids.
Mike Martz was standing in all his glory maybe 3 feet from me, watching the quarterbacks warm up, but I was too intimidated to talk to him.
Ron Brooks was out before pregame and was throwing the football back and forth between fans. He and I talked briefly and he told me that he was just excited to be playing the game again. He immediately became a fan favorite of mine.
Six players from the Fleet found homes in the NFL after the AAF folded, primarily from their defensive line as Barrett, Moore, and Soto were all signed.
Donny Hageman took a curious route to the AAF. He was one of the rare guys where a Twitter message actually worked!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Really when you ran the numbers at that point of the season, despite their 2 game difference, the San Diego Fleet and their cousin the San Antonio Commanders were not too dissimilar statistically after the 8th contest. Both had bend-not-break defenses that gave up yards while coming up with big turnovers. San Diego actually had the better offense- albeit a more turnover friendly one. The Fleet were a bit better keeping their QBs clean in the pocket, and their rushing offense, would have finished in relatively the same spot as the Commanders if Gardner hadn’t been injured.
It could be said that San Diego with a bit of help still could’ve made the playoffs. Although they faced a gauntlet over the next two weeks playing both the Apollos and then the Hotshots, if they had beaten them both and then the Commanders had dropped their next two games, the Fleet would have made the playoffs at 5-5.
If you loved the AAF as much as I did, do I have a special treat for you. There were many great players who did not see a card produced of them. Welcome! This is my love letter to them as a fan and I expect this section to be a ‘living’ card set. Check back from time to time to see updated names, and check in with me to see the cards I’ve created.
If you’d like to see a copy of any of these players cards, have a special request for me, or would like me to produce a physical keepsake copy, please contact me on Twitter: leebo@mindfinger
Coach: Tim Lewis Record: 5-3 Stadium: Legion Field
The Iron sported an intimidating uniform that had no discernible logos on it at all. The uniforms were primarily black , dark gray, and an accent of light gray.
BACKGROUND:
Birmingham was a shoe-in for all the prognosticators of franchise locations for the AAF. A stronghold of football talent and fandom, with good proximity to its sister franchises in the East, Birmingham was the 7th franchise named to the AAF on June 4th, 2018.
From the get go, Birmingham set out to be completely different than the rest of the league. The Iron hired long time assistant head coach and former player Tim Lewis to be its head coach. Lewis – well known in NFL circles, had never held a head coaching gig at any level until Birmingham. No other team went that route willingly- as every other team took an established coach. He hired a coaching staff with a wide pedigree. Ted Cottrell earned the linebackers coach job, longtime coach and player Ray Hamilton coached the line, and Martin Bayless coached the secondary and assisted with Special Teams. Cadillac Williams joined the staff as an RB coach briefly- landing a job with Auburn before the AAF season began.
Named for the region’s rich history in Iron smelting and manufacturing, the Birmingham Iron’s colors of black, light gray, and dark gray, were announced on September 20th, 2018.
Games were hosted at creaky Legion Field, while a new state of the art stadium was to be completed in the next year or two. Birmingham itself has a rich history of supporting alternative football leagues. The Americans (WFL 1974-1975) had crowds in excess of 50,000. The Stallions (USFL 1983-1985) drew a crowd of over 60,000 for their home opener in 1984. In 1991, the Birmingham Fire (WLAF 1991-1992) had 53,000 at their season opener, and while the Barracudas (CFL 1995) and the Thunderbolts (XFL 2001) drew mixed reviews, the general perception was the AAF would be a hit in Magic City.
It was probably thought that Atlanta, thanks in part to its proximity and being a straight shot down I- 20 , would be the Iron’s primary rival; However, as the season unwound, it became more and more apparent that it was Orlando, strictly based on divisional jockeying. (Personally I saw it being more of a Memphis-Iron rivalry since they upset Birmingham during the last two weeks of the season, but I digress.)
The city rallied around its home state hero and the AAF’s largest signing- Trent Richardson. He’d become an early star in the league (and somewhat akin to a player representative) as his signing was seen as a bit of a coup for the fledgling league. The team also picked up former Alabama QB Blake Sims, which fans also approved of. Chris Davis- the much celebrated ‘Kick Six’ Iron Bowl hero was also of interest to fans.
The Iron benefited strongly from their territorial player allocation model. Birmingham not only pulled form traditional college powerhouses Alabama and Auburn, they also pulled from other SEC schools, and the Patriots and Steelers in the NFL.
OFFENSE:
The Birmingham Iron featured the AAF leader in scoring, Trent Richardson. Richardson finished as the league leader in both rushing attempts (125) and TDs (11), and 4th in yardage with 366. He had to work hard for every yard as Richardson finished with an anemic 2.9 yards per carry, but that’d happen to you too if teams stacked the box. There really wasn’t much sophistication to the offense. The Iron just liked to pound the rock. Trent also caught the ball out of the backfield with pretty good results (31 receptions for 205 yards and a TD).
As a group, the Iron were last in the league in rushing finishing with 631 yards. Brandon Ross, LaDarius Perkins, Ty Isaac, and Marshaun Coprich rounded out an under utilized backfield. No other player rushed more than 25 times or for over 100 total yards on the season, as Trent accounted for over 50% of the ground game’s yards, 60% of the carries, and 100% of the TDs.
The Iron opted to select Luis Perez in the first round of the AAF QB Draft. Perez is an intriguing and smart QB talent. He threw for 1461 yards and 5 TDs, but his completion percentage (52.3) and yards per attempt (5.7) hovered in the doldrums of the league. Keith Price backed him up posting solid numbers playing primarily in two contests and starting the game against the Fleet.
Quinton Patton led the receiving corps in catches (33) and yards (372). Speedster L’Damian Washington set the league mark with an 83 yard TD to go along with 15 receptions, 250 yards, and a second TD- leading he team. Tobias Palmer had another 13 receptions for a buck 29. Outside of that, no other WR had over 6 catches as Amba Etta-Tawo, Quan Bray, DeVozea Felton, and Jamal Robinsion (124 yards on 3 catches), all pitched in to help the passing attack.
Tight end had a couple of bruisers. Wes Saxton just happened to be able to catch too- pulling down 17 receptions for 241 yards and a TD. South Alabama graduate Braedon Bowman had 4 catches for 43 yards and a TD, while bookends Connor Davis and Weslye Saunders snuck primarily to block catching 3 passes each, respectively.
The offensive line had some pretty decent names. Kitt O’Brien, Dominick Jackson, and JC Hassenauer held down the front. They allowed just 15 sacks on the season as they tried to give Luis Perez as much time to pass the ball as possible. Overall the passing offense was ranked 4th, as Perez and Price combined for 1626 yards on the season, but their 3rd down efficiency was pretty bad, coming in at 31%. Overall the offense put the rock on the turf with regularity- losing 12 fumbles.
DEFENSE:
The Iron kicked off the AAF season with a quieting thud, dominating defensive statistics and blanking the Express in the league’s only shut out. A solid front 7, the Iron defense didn’t make too many mistakes, but finished curiously in the middle of the pack both against the pass and run. The two places that Birmingham really excelled in was points allowed (20.6) and 3rd down defense (27%)- both of which the Iron ranked 1st in by a far margin. While the defense was much celebrated, they were prone to getting in trouble against pass happy opponents such as the Apollos, Fleet, and the Express (in their second meeting).
Beniquez Brown was a black hole at linebacker putting up 70 total tackles (2nd in the league), 3 sacks, and a forced fumble. The numbers for the other linebackers were pretty spotty. Shaeed Salmon had 17 total tackles in 3 starts and 8 games. Veteran Devin Taylor had 4 starts, 13 sacks and a tackle. Ike Spearman had 11 tackles in 8 games (1 start), and Matthew Wells started 4 games and had 16 total tackles.
The Iron were very deep along the defensive line. While they didn’t bash out tons of sacks, they held the line well and put the pressure on when it counted. At defensive end, Jonathan Massaquoi started 6 of 8 games, posting 28 tackles and 3 sacks. Xzavier Dickson had 3 starts in 7 games to go along with 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception, while Johnny Maxey had 9 tackles in two starts.
Jeremy Faulk had a motor that wouldn’t quit. He led the Iron defensive tackle group with 33 total tackles and 3 sacks. Casey Sayles posted 16 total tackles and a sack. Rickey Hatley, had 9 tackles in 6 starts. Jake Payne stepped in and started a game while playing in 3. The Shenandoah graduate had 7 tackles and 2 sacks, while Nick James and Joshua Frazier rounded out the interior.
The secondary was difficult to gain yardage on, even though they did not force too many turnovers. Jack Tocho started all 8 games, recording a pick, 1 forced fumble, and 27 total tackles. Wildman Max Redfield had a pick, a fumble recovery and 34 total tackles in 7 starts. Jamar Summers out of Connecticut led the team with 3 picks, 2 forced fumbles, and 20 total tackles. Elijah Campbell got 3 starts under his belt and 21 total tackles. Joe Powell- from Globe Tech (NY) started 1 game and had 13 total tackles and a pick in 7 contests. Bradley Sylve started 4 of 8 contests and posted 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 30 total tackles. Chris Davis, Joe Powell, Bradley Sylve, Ryan White, Jacob Hagen, Trovon Reed, Christian Bryant, and Trey Johnson all helped out at some point during the season in a limited capacity.
The defense did the best it could to limit the offensive shortcomings of the team recording 9 interceptions and 7 fumble recoveries, finishing with a -2 turnover differential.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Iron had a pretty good special teams unit. Devozea Felton had 14 returns for 125 yards and a 47 yard long. Quan Bray also posted solid results with 7 returns for 51 yards.
Colton Schmidt dropped 20 punts inside the 20. He punted 44 times for 2024 yards (46.0) and a 65 yard long. The coverage team was decent, allowing 22 returns for 169 yards- but began to unravel near the end of the season. They also allowed the only punt block (for a TD) in league history (against Memphis).
Grizzled veteran Nick Novak – another Houston Ex-an, had an impressive season hitting on 13/16 field goals including a 53 yard long.
THE SEASON:
A modest 17,039 showed up to see the Iron crush Memphis- despite the city trumpeting the team and Trent Richardson for the past few months. The following week police literally set up barricades and handed out tickets to people to show up for the Iron’s defensive struggle over the Salt Lake City Stallions. The Iron persevered and moved to 2-0 before a crowd of just 17,319.
Media put a positive spin on it- trumpeting the ‘good signs’ of so many people showing up in ’50 degree’ weather. Other media groups called the numbers ‘sizeable’. But in actuality, underwhelming would be the best way to put the Iron’s attendance numbers when you lined them up next to the Iron’s predecessors in Magic City.
After a road game in Atlanta, the team returned to host the San Antonio Commanders in Week 4. That day- tornadoes and inclement weather forced many fans to stay home. A league season low 6,539 patrons showed up for the contest, a 12-11 loss to the suddenly streaking Commanders. In Week 5 the Apollos thumped Birmingham, as the Iron ‘doubled’ attendance from the previous week at 13,310. Birmingham’s final home game came in Week 8. They’d triumph over the Atlanta Legends to secure a playoff birth in front of a season high crowd of 17, 328- A mere 9 more patrons than their Week 2 victory over the Stallions.
The Iron were the top of the second tier in terms of attendance averaging 14,307 a game, squarely in 4th place 1,500 above Memphis and roughly 5,000 behind San Diego. Maybe it was the fact the league launched and bet that Birmingham was going to come out in force for the inaugural season- but 4 out of the first 5 games for the Iron were at home? That didn’t seem very well thought out. Birmingham was the only team in the AAF to play their entire home schedule before the league folded.
1
2
3
4
F
MEM
0
0
0
0
0
BIR
3
6
0
17
26
1
2
3
4
F
SLC
0
9
0
0
9
BIR
0
0
6
6
12
1
2
3
4
F
BIR
0
9
11
8
28
ATL
0
6
0
6
12
1
2
3
4
F
SA
3
0
6
3
12
BIR
0
3
0
8
11
1
2
3
4
F
ORL
14
6
3
8
31
BIR
0
8
6
0
14
1
2
3
4
F
BIR
6
9
6
11
32
SD
3
6
14
6
29
1
2
3
4
OT
F
BIR
8
8
3
6
0
25
MEM
0
8
6
11
6
31
1
2
3
4
F
ATL
3
3
3
0
9
BIR
0
11
3
3
17
NOTES:
When Birmingham was announced as the 7th city, my heart immediately dropped- as I thought that there was no way that the Alliance would select San Antonio over St. Louis for that final franchise spot.
At the season opener the Iron gave away towels to all the fans in attendance, while at the final game they gave away an inaugural team poster of the team.
The Iron were the only other team besides the East leading Apollos to secure a playoff birth in the AAF. Their playoff contest versus the Apollos was locked in three weeks from the folding of the league. A win in Week 9 by the Apollos however, guaranteed Orlando home field for their playoff matchup.
TTM, and through EBay the Birmingham Iron have been the most difficult to acquire.
The Iron tradition was to have somebody beat on an anvil with a hammer at certain points before and during the game.
Briefly a few months after the league folded the Birmingham Iron’s Twitter admin took back over the page and talked to fans. This lasted all of 3 hours and changed the header and the hashtag to #ForgeOnForever.
At some point, the Twitter account decided I was a bad guy- for whatever reason and decided to block me.
Birmingham’s hashtags were #ForgeOn and #WeAreBirmingham.
The Iron sported some 19 players who attended Alabama colleges on their team- including 8 that went to Alabama and 5 that went to Auburn.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
From the signing and play of Trent Richardson, to the encouraging attendance numbers, then on to their smash mouth defense- it seemed that the Iron did a great job of garnering a lot of really positive press.
The Iron were sort of an enigma. Were they the second best team in the league behind Orlando- or were they the 4th best team that lost to Memphis in OT? Week 9 and 10 were going to determine the Iron’s true pole position in the league with matchups in Arizona against the hot Hotshots and on the road at Orlando in Week 10. Birmingham could easily finish 7-3 or 5-5. Birmingham had a stout defense against teams that ran to set up the pass- but when teams just came out and gunned them down throwing the ball, things could get out of control quickly. Supposing as much, Arizona beats Birmingham, then the Iron play Orlando. Does Spurrier play his starters and open up the playbook knowing that Birmingham will play them again the following week for a 3rd time that year?
I feel like the Birmingham Iron was a season finale for a show that got cancelled. Things were really starting to get interesting in that final game. Was Luis Perez still the QB to lead the offense or was it Keith Price? Marshaun Coprich was really starting to show some colors against Atlanta. Was he going to be the solid 2 punch to go along with Richardson? Sadly we will never know the conclusion to the Iron’s story, other than they qualified for the playoffs.
If you loved the AAF as much as I did, do I have a special treat for you. There were many great players who did not see a card produced of them. Welcome! This is my love letter to them as a fan and I expect this section to be a ‘living’ card set. Check back from time to time to see updated names, and check in with me to see the cards I’ve created.
If you’d like to see a copy of any of these players cards, have a special request for me, or would like me to produce a physical keepsake copy, please contact me on Twitter: leebo@mindfinger
QB: KEITH PRICE WR: L’DAMIAN WASHINGTON TE: WES SAXTON DB: JACK TOCHO
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
