Cards: Action Packed 1990, Score 1990, Ultimate WLAF 1991, Wild Card WLAF 1992.
Acquired: In Person, 1992. San Antonio Riders v. Orlando Thunder. TTM 2010, c/o Springville High School, UT.
Sent: 3/12 Received: 7/10 (120 days)
Scott Mitchell was drafted by the Dolphins in the 4th round of the 1990 draft from Utah. Mitchell would ride the Dolphins bench for the next three seasons, preparing to be the heir to Dan Marino. He was loaned to the WLAF in 1992 in an attempt by both the NFL and the WLAF to drum up the talent of the league by showcasing young and promising talent, while providing them ‘game live’ experience. (The Thunder’s drafting of Mitchell was slightly surprising because they already had a talented run ‘n shoot gunslinger in Kerwin Bell.) Mitchell played well that season and led the team to World Bowl II where they lost to the eventual champion Sacramento Surge. Scott returned to the Dolphins and saw starting duty for Miami in 1993- playing so well that he would bolt in free agency for Detroit in the off-season that year. Initially struggling upon his arrival, Mitchell adjusted to the offense and reclaimed the starting position with a vengeance in 1995. He was with the Lions when they made the playoffs in 1994, 1995, and 1997. Mitchell would play for the Ravens in 1999 and then finished his career in Cincinnati (2000-2001). Scott continued to be involved in football and was hired in 2010 to coach for Springville High School in Utah.
I wandered onto the field before the game and picked up Scott’s autograph on his Action Packed 1990 and Score 1990 card. It was a lazy day, and the security didn’t care. As the team hadn’t even started warm ups, I thought it would be okay. Scott rolled his eyes at me as he signed, but then again he may have been looking down at me as he is 6″6′.
After I read his Wikipedia entry, I was able to do the rest of the research to locate Scott at Springville High School. It only took about 4 months for a response from him which was at that time during my return to collecting- quite a wait.
NFL Games 99 Att 2346 Comp 1301 Pct 55.5
Yds 15692 TD 95 Int 81
WLAF Games 10 Att 361 Comp 201 Pct 55.7
Yds 2213 TD 12 Int 7
Newsome would always manage to keep his streak alive and ended up notching 150 straight games with a catch and retired at the end of 1990 after 13 seasons with the Browns. He was inducted into the HOF in 1999. Newsome moved with the Modell franchise to Baltimore where he has become an extremely successful general manager and the first black GM in the NFL for the Ravens.