NFL

Brown, Kris

sco09 kbrownCard: Score Inscriptions 2009
Acquired: 2014, Albany Acquisition

Kris Brown is best known as the Texans first placekicker, and at this time is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. Originally drafted by Pittsburgh in 1999 out of Nebraska, Kris had a strong leg and some impressive kicks for the Steelers.  When the expansion Texans arrived in 2002, they poached the protected Brown off of the Steelers roster for a mere 7th round pick. It worked out pretty well for both sides. Brown returned home to Texas, got a nice raise, and the Texans got an experienced and proven kicker for the price that they’d normally pay for somebody fresh out of college.

Brown for most of his time with the franchise had a stellar career. He tied an NFL record making 3 field goals of 54+ yards in one game, and between the Capers and early on into the Kubiak years, he was leaned upon heavily to put points on the board for the offense. He’d earn an AP nomination in 2007. When 2009 rolled around Brown’s accuracy waned, and the pressure mounted for the team to get rid of him. He’d lose out a training camp battle to venerable Neil Rackers in 2010. Kris Brown was the last player of the ‘original’ franchise when he was cut, and he had a good run.

Brown joined the San Diego Chargers as a mid-season injury replacement for Nate Kaeding, helping them beat the Texans. He’d be cut with the return of Kaeding to the lineup. Kris signed with the Dallas Cowboys at the end of the year, but was cut in July of 2011. He’s embraced retirement and owns a chain of Dunkin’ Donuts franchises.

G 179         XPA 362      XMP 355      PCT 98.1%            FGA  331     FGM 256        PCT 77.3%       PTS  1123

CFL, WLAF

Alexander, Andre

ultwlaf92 a alexanderCards: Ultimate WLAF 1992, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Private
Sent: 1/4      Received: 1/25  (21 days)

A Facebook dispatch that actually paid off, I had written Andre sometime last year, but as we all know if you don’t know somebody it gets put in that pesky ‘other’ folder, so I threw out a friend request also to see if it’d catch his eye. Along with a batch of other WLAFers that I had found but had never been able to peg down, I just chalked it up as a loss and moved on. Lo and behold about 3 or 4 months later, he accepted my friend request. It took me a few months, but Andre one day was reminiscing about the past, posting photos of his days in the CFL and Fresno State, so I scanned in the two cards here, and posted them up telling him not to forget his roots. At his request I then put one up of his college teammate Dwight Pickens, and then we started talking. He not only agreed to signed the 2 cards I enclosed, he also got Dwight to sign his as well. As an added bonus, I sent him a few of his cards and other teammates cards from Fresno St to keep.

wcwlaf92 a alexanderAndre had a pretty solid Senior season for the Bulldogs in 1988. While the team had issues at quarterback, the other offensive playmakers were solid. Alexander finished as the #1 receiver on the team that year with 33 receptions for 703 yards and 3 TDs. A long bomb threat, he averaged 21.3 yards per catch. Undrafted, Alexander made the transition over to the CFL where he played for the Calgary Stampeders. The small statured Alexander made 19 receptions for 311 yards and 2 TDs.  Andre decided to join the WLAF and was a perfect fit for the Run N Shoot offense of Mouse Davis and the New York- New Jersey Knights. He hopped right into the starting lineup as the Knights’ punt returner. Alexander returned to the team in 1992 and hauled in 14 receptions for 256 yards and a TD. The WLAF went on hiatus after that year, and Andre returned to NorCal where he lives today.

While people tout the quarterback lineage of Fresno St, which certainly challenges Maryland on a level of college acclaim in that department, its really at receiver that there have been quite a few players that have made the jump to some sort of professional level.  The school became well known as the ‘WLAF connection’ and even had an article in GameDay magazine touting its pipeline. Along with Alexander, Dwight Pickens, Myron Jones, Malcolm Floyd, Kevin Sweeney, Mike Withycombe, and Gene Taylor were all guys who made the puddle jump to the WLAF.

Rec 18   Yds 319    Avg 17.1      Td 1     Lg 43t    |
Kr  1     Yds  21      Avg 21.0       Td 0     Lg 21      |
Pr 20   Yds 143    Avg 7.2         Td 0      Lg  18

Arena

Quiroga, Robert “Q”

TNTAFL11 RQuirogaCard: TNT AFL 2011, TNT AFL Talons 2014
Acquired: Acquired: IP, 3/1/14  Talons Season Ticket Party, 5/3/14 San Antonio Talons vs. Iowa Barnstormers

During Robert’s college career at Baylor, he caught 131 passes for 1,478 yards and 9 TDs in 46 games. Starting his career with the Los Angeles Avengers in 2006, Quiroga was a two way star for the team, playing both receiver and linebacker.  His 2007 totals included 27 receptions and 11 TDs, 49.5 tackles and a fumble recovery.  In 2010, Q joined the roster of the Orlando Predators again playing both sides of the ball. The Predators liked Robert so much that they traded the Chicago Rush to get him back for 2011. Robert stepped into the starting line up and recorded a career high 1,553 yards and 26 TDs on 126 receptions. With the Talons now in San Antonio, Robert elected to play for his hometown team in 2012. He’d make 32 receptions for 457 yards and 11 TDs. Although he only made one start in 2013, Q is looking forward to returning to form in 2014.

tntafl14 quirogaRobert was the first player I got at the Talons Season Ticket Party. I started talking to some of the members of the staff, and I asked them where he was, and he turned around! We talked for a few minutes about his career, and time in Orlando with Nick Hill. He liked his card, but he lamented that it was a Predators card.

Since he wanted something different than his Predators card, I burnt the midnight oil and punched out this Talons card of Robert in no time. I really like how it turned out. After the Barnstormers game I had him sign the Talons card.  Too bad he signed it with a black marker before I could hand him my silver one…

Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.