Tag Archives: Denver Broncos

NFL, University of Texas

Young, Selvin

Card: SP 2008
Acquired:4/9/12, Target Authentic Memorabilia Autograph Edition

Selvin Young joins a string of recent UT starting backs, (dating back to Priest Holmes) who made it good in the NFL.  Selvin struck me as an under the radar player, and with his 5-11, 207 frame, he was slightly undersized to be an every down back. Deceptively speedy, he ran a 4.58 40, but could really cut on a dime and explode which was really his best attribute. As a backup to Cedric Benson his rookie season, he split time as the primary kick/punt returner for the Longhorns. Young started in the 2005 championship over the Trojans, and finished his career with 3,060 all purpose yards and 29 touchdowns at UT.

Selvin was not taken in the 2007 draft and elected to go with the Denver Broncos, – a team that employed a zone blocking system, and really appealed to his strengths as a one-cut runner. He’d work his way into the lineup spelling time for former Bill Travis Henry as well as a 3rd down back, finishing his rookie season with 729 yards and a 5.2 YPC in 8 starts. His numbers led all AFC rookies in rushing yardage. It was an incredible rise for the young rookie, but a herniated disc, (similar to what had troubled former Texan Steve Slaton,) and a torn groin muscle sidelined him for much of 2008. In 2009 it was determined that Selvin needed more time to rehab his neck injury, and with the Broncos now sporting a full stable of runningbacks, -Denver opted to give Selvin an injury settlement. He has not been signed since, but from what I saw on Twitter, he continues to work out and claims now to be 100% rehabilitated.

Great card actually. I really like the super close up on the threads, and overall its a superior effort by SP. I was really happy to get this card, as I had hoped that the UT Upper Deck set would have spotlighted Young, but in the end, it was the luck of the draw from the Target Memorabilia Collection that got me this one. The best part about it is I was just talking about him at the Orange-White Scrimmage!

G/Gs 23/13    Rush 201    Yds 1032    Td 2     Lg 50   |   Rec  38   Yds 247   Avg  6.5   Td 0

Arena, NFL, WLAF

Perez, Michael “Mike”

Cards: ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991, Ultimate WLAF 1992, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Work
Sent: 5/29    Received: 6/12  (13 days)

Mike Perez played quarterback for the San Jose Spartans, where he led them to an upset victory over the California Golden Bears, and Stanford Cardinals in 1987. At the time his 309.1 yards of offense a game was an NCAA record. Drafted by the New York Giants in the 7th round of the 1988 draft, Mike did not make the roster as the team only carried quarterbacks Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler. A stomach injury further sidelined him for the remainder of the year. In 1990, Mike was a camp arm for the Houston Oilers, but found his first initial glory in the pros, as the third overall quarterback taken, playing for the Frankfurt Galaxy of the WLAF in 1991.

Leading the team to a 7-3 record, Mike threw 11 touchdowns to 17 picks, on 357 attempts.  His best contest came against the Orlando Thunder throwing for 346 yards in the team’s win. He also was the second least sacked quarterback in the WLAF behind Stan Gelbaugh. The team though failed to qualify for the playoffs after losing 2 contests to the Surge, and behind both the eventual World Bowl I participants London and Barcelona.  Perez returned stateside to the Giants, and then the Chiefs after the season.

Mike played in the WLAF during the 1992 season for the Galaxy, but met with less success as the team stumbled to a 3-7 record. He’d split time with Alex Espinoza and finished 4th among rated quarterbacks with 6 touchdowns and a 78.2 quarterback rating.

Again he’d spend time stateside as a camp arm- this time for the Denver Broncos in 1993. He’d then embark on a series of adventures in the Arena Football League, playing for the Albany Firebirds from 1994-1996, the New York CityHawks from 1997-1998, finishing out his career with the New England SeaWolves in 1999.ult92 perez His best season came in 1996 for the Firebirds, throwing for 4153 yards and 84 touchdowns. Mike’s career totals for the Arena Football League are 1384 of 2378, for 18875 yards, and 341 touchdowns to 84 interceptions.

Perez returned to his hometown of Denver, and currently works there for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He graciously signed 5 cards for me and even enclosed a nice note telling me that the memories he holds for the World League are some of the most cherished of his life.

WLAF statistics:
Att 504    Comp 257   Yds 3257    Pct 50.9      Td 19     Int  22

NFL

Lewis, Darryll (2)

Cards: Pro Set 1991 WC, Classic 1991
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 8/25/11   Received: 2/21/12  (180 days)
Previous Post: Darryll Lewis

Darryl Lewis was a player on the Oilers I liked to watch a lot, as he outperformed expectations despite his size. A consensus All-American and Jim Thorpe Recipient in 1991, great hands, productivity, deceptive speed, and leaping allowed Lewis to keep pace with many of the best wide receivers in the game and well into his career as a professional.   A member of the Houston Oilers Young Guns secondary, Lewis played for the Oilers/Titans, Chargers, and Broncos over an 11 season career.  I got his autograph via the team back in 1993 on my birthday, and always wanted to circle back around and get his again on these two cards I had.  He did some coaching at Oregon State with Mike Riley but unfortunately Lewis has had legal issues and had been detained for a few years. Recently he has been granted his release.

Since I had always wanted to get his autograph on this Pro Set card, I went ahead and took a shot at the former Oiler/ Charger DB where he lives near San Diego. This Classic 1991 card I had is probably among the ugliest ever produced outside of the Fleer 1991 entry. These cards are both considered error cards as they misspell Darryll’s name as “Darryl”.