Tag Archives: Minnesota Vikings

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Kirksey, William


Cards: Wild Card WLAF 1992, Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent:  2/25      Received:  3/4  (7 days)

William Kirksey played collegiality for Southern Mississippi where he first gained recognition during the 1988 Independence Bowl.  He led the team with 12 total tackles as the Golden Eagles sliced the UTEP Miners 38-18.  The following year he was a team captain of the defense and led them with 146 total tackles.  During that season he set the school single game mark for total tackles (21) and assisted tackles (19) against Louisiana-Lafayette.  At the conclusion of the year Kirksey was named Second Team All-South Independent.

He went unnoticed in the 1990 NFL draft, but was signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Vikings, dressing for 9 contests.  Near the end of the year, he was signed to the Falcons practice squad.

William was selected in the 3rd round of the WLAF draft in 1992 by the London Monarchs. Despite the team’s woes in the standings, William had a solid campaign, recording a sack, and returning an interception 27 yards to paydirt. After the season, William signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, but was placed on IR before the season even began. In 1995, he played briefly in the CFLUSA initiative with the Birmingham Barracudas notching 2 tackles.  After playing for the Montreal Alouettes in 1996, William retired from playing and went into coaching.

He’s coached at the High School and JC level for many years, as a defensive coordinator,  positional coach, and recruiting coordinator. I had been looking for Kirksey for sometime and had some near misses. Finally I decided to pay to play with Spokeo, and with the data I had already on his football cards, I was able to track down a working address.

WLAF     TAC N/a       SAC 1.0      FUM 0
INT 1       YDS 24        AVG 24.0     TD 1       LG 24T

NFL   9/0     TAC N/A    SAC 0.0      FUM 0
INT 0            YDS 0          AVG -.-      TD 0         LG -.-

CFL         TAC 2          SAC 0.0       FUM 0
INT  0     YDS 0         AVG -.-         TD 0             LG -.-

NFL

Wong, Kailee

udht02 kwongCards: Upper Deck Houston Texans Inaugural Season 2002, Topps 2005
Acquired: 2016, Texans Academy Tailgating Kickoff

As I slowly make my way through the team set, I had targeted Kailee Wong when I had heard he was a member of the Texans’ Ambassador Program. It’s usually a shot in the dark showing up at the events so even though I had gotten teammate Seth Payne sometime ago, it was still worth it to go to Katy to nab Kailee on these cards. Like most former Texans, Wong was impressed with his Houston Texans Upper Deck card. While signing he asked how many I had in my collection- a first in all my in person collecting.  He was very impressed that I had 2,500 in the collection. Wong recently left the company he was working for and told me life was treating him well.

tot04 kwongKailee was originally a 2nd  round draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings in 1999 from Stanford.  He tallied 271 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 5 interceptions for 55 yards and a TD.  Most of his stats came in his final two seasons with the Vikings, when he was slotted at middle linebacker.
I think that Kailee was the first defensive player that the Texans signed as a free agent back in 2002. He’d be part of a 3-4 defense alignment that’d showcase himself, Jaime Sharper, Jay mem16 texansForeman, and Jeff Posey
at linebacker. While with the Texans, Wong put up a respectable stat line at primarily left outside linebacker. Over his career there he tallied 164 tackles and 15 sacks. He was the career leader in sacks for the franchise at the time of his retirement. Highly effective in pass coverage, Wong blanketed defenders to the tune of 25 combined pass deflections in 2003 and 2004.

In the end injuries and age caught up to Wong in 2007. While the flame continued to burn bright for Wong, the Texans wanted to get younger and asked Kailee to accept a backup role and mentor the linebacker corps.  He asked for and was granted his release instead.

G/Gs  123/93         TAC    376       SAC   21.5        FUM   2
INT 6       YDS 55      AVG 9.0     TD 1      LG 27t

 

NFL, Pro Football HoF

McDaniel, Randall

Card: Action packed 1990
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent:  3/7    Received: 7/11
(126 days)

Randall McDaniel quietly established himself as one of the most decorated linemen in NFL history.  Drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 1988 draft out of Arizona State, Randall won Pro Bowl Honors from 1989-2000  and All-Pro from 1990 to 1998.  McDaniel’s consistency and well rounded game allowed him to play nearly every position on the offensive line and occasionally as a spot fullback. He finished his career playing for the Buccaneers in 2000 and 2001.

In 2006, Randall was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor. The accolades did not stop there for the former offensive lineman as he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.  Since his retirement he’s worked in public schools and given back to the community.

Randall signs for fans faithfully through the mail, however he only signs cards and no more than 2 signed through the mail.

G/GS 222/220