Tag Archives: Memphis Express

AAF, NFL, XFL

James II, Charles (2) ‘Socks’

Acquired: IP 2020, Houston Roughnecks Season Ticket Holders Kickoff Party
See Also: Charles James

Charles James has continued to stay busy as a defensive back playing football and keeping the dream alive since his last stop in Houston going back to 2016. He joined the Colts for a game in 2016 and then spent the 2017 off-season with the Bills and the Jaguars.

After a year out of football, Charles found a home in the Spring league of the Alliance of American Football (2019). Charles was the old vet in a very young secondary, for the Memphis Express, posting 18 tackles and 5 pass deflections. In the final contest against the Orlando Apollos, Charles had his best game with 6 tackles and 4 pass deflections- as the Express almost upset Orlando, but lost in the closing seconds.

Charles next joined the XFL for the 2020 season originally with the St. Louis Battlehawks. He’d be traded to the Houston Roughnecks before the season, and added to an already capable secondary. In 4 contests Socks had 7 combined tackles and a pass deflection, before the league was ended by COVID.

James as a defensive back by nature is skilled in the art of smack talk, and with the XFL being very upfront and personal with sideline interviews you know they were bound to catch some quality audio from James, and indeed they did.

During the league’s week 4 contest against the Dallas Renegades- Renegades QB Landry Jones had a particularly poor game, throwing 3 interceptions in the first half. As the camera rolled on the sidelines, Socks blurted out to the camera crew, “Get that quarterback the f*** outta here!”

I met James at the Roughneck’s Season Ticket Holder Party. He was very grateful to sign autographs and meet fans, and he very much enjoyed his short time in the AAF.

I lobbied hard to get Charles an official football card from Topps, but surprisingly he was neither included in the AAF or the XFL card sets. About a year after the AAF folded I went ahead and designed Charles his card out based on the above shot he signed. Looking back I wish I had thought of doing this sooner, as I am sure he would have appreciated this card.

AAF, NFL, XFL

Horn, Reece

Card: Topps XFL 2020
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 5/4 Received: 5/26 (22 days)

Reece Horn played wide receiver at Division I football for the University of Indianapolis from 2012-2015. In both 2014 and 2015, Reece eclipsed the 1000 yard barrier, posting 1046 yards and 12 TDs in 2014, and 1396 yards on 108 catches in 2015. Playing 48 games for the Hounds, he posted 272 catches for 3562 yards and 31 TDs. In addition he spent time returning punts, and had 2 TDs in his senior year- including a 92 yarder.

After going undrafted in 2016, he spent the preseason with the Tennessee Titans, then took his game to the European circuit, playing in both Italy and Austria. In 2019, Reece signed with the Alliance of American Football. He was allocated to the Memphis Express.

The Express had offensive woes that stemmed from the quarterback position. Their #1 QB pick didn’t even make it through camp, and after Brandon Silvers became entrenched as starter, Johnny Manziel was brought in to keep the heat on him. As the season continued on however, Reece established himself as the go to receiver on the Express offense. He never failed to catch less than 4 passes per game, and in back to back games (in Week 6 and 7), Reece went over 100 yards (129 in Week 6 and 113 in Week 7). On the 2019 AAF season, Reece caught 28 passes for 429 yards and a TD. He returned to the NFL seeing some preseason work with the Miami Dolphins.

Reece was selected by the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL 2020. I remember hearing the pick and saying to myself, “That’s a good pick. Ugh, I wish the Roughnecks had gotten him.” He finished with 27 catches for 246 yards and a TD. His best game came in the final contest against the Wildcats when he caught 9 passes for 90 yards and a TD in a 34-31 loss.

I went to the Houston Roughnecks / Tampa Bay Vipers scrimmage before the season began with my buddy Lance. I felt that the players I really needed to concentrate on were from the Vipers, so I camped on their side of the field where they put their gear down. I knew Reece was on the Vipers from his days on the Express, but I was pretty surprised he didn’t have any cards of any sort. When he came over, I stopped him out of respect and told him I knew who he was and wanted to shake his hand, and that I knew that he was the machine behind the Express’ improvements over the last few weeks of the AAF season.

In Reece’s letter back to me, he thanked me for being a fan, and told me that the best is yet to come!

AAF, Arena, CFL

Guerra, Fabian

Cards: Topps AAF 2019, Arena Custom
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 4/15 Received: 5/2 (16 days)

Fabian Guerra played at Division II Fairmont University, where he set the standard at wide receiver for many of the school’s career statistical charts. Over his four years from 2013-2016, Fabian posted 233 catches for 2,805 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. He was not selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, so he elected to join the National Arena League’s Carolina Cobras. He’d post 70 catches for 818 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in his rookie year.

In 2018, Fabian joined the Memphis Express of the AAF. He’d make the final roster and start at receiver, but after an overall disastrous opener for the entire offense, he’d be cut. As the Express had offensive issues across the board, he’d be brought back late in the season, but finish with only one catch on the season.

His rights in the meantime had passed to the Arena Football League’s Columbus Destroyers in 2019. Fabian joined the league and earned Rookie of the Year Honors from the AFL, posting 61 receptions for 765 yards and 15 TDs. He also displayed a knack on returns posting 3 TDs on 39 returns (736 yards).

After the Arena Football League ended, Fabian was signed by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League for the 2020 season, but ultimate due to the Covid pandemic- had his career put on hold as the CFL cancelled the season.

Fabian has a pretty active Twitter account and gave away a couple of his cards to his fans. I missed out on that one but thankfully Mark’s Signing Bonus came through again and helped me out with the address. Guerra signed his AAF card and dropped in his custom for me, and wrote me a nice handwritten note for being a fan.