Keith Elias was the most prolific runningback to come out of the Ivy League since…. Ed Marinaro. At Princeton he shattered many of the school and league single season and career rushing marks from 1991-1993. At the time of his departure from the school, Elias held 4 I-AA records and 21 school career records including: rushing (4,208 yards), rushing touchdowns (49), yards rushing per game (140.3), carries (736), carries per game (24.5), yards per carry (5.72), all-purpose yards (4,739), overall touchdowns (52) and points (320).
After going unselected primarily due to the prevailing small school stigma, Keith signed with the nearby New York Giants as a free agent in 1994. He made the squad but after getting injured early in the season, he saw little playing time. Facing a stacked roster in 1995, Elias made the team based on his preseason performance and willingness to play special teams, endearing him to fans. He climbed the depth chart in 1996 and looked to be the team’s primary scatback on 3rd downs- but injuries again hindered his season.
Keith picked back up playing football in 1998 this time with a change of scenery playing for the Indianapolis Colts as a back up and special teams captain, moonlighting on returns. He’d be cut in 2000, and join the XFL New York /New Jersey Hitmen in the XFL that year, before retiring.
Topps XFL 2000 set was frankly- gaudy looking, but the certified autographs in there were just horrifically designed. My friend Joe, from a Facebook group I manage popped this in the mail to me as a gift, which I thought was really nice. Although I was not needing this autograph, I am more than happy to accept it into my collection as every player has a story to tell.
Charles Puleri played ball at New Mexico State and saw action in both 1991 and 1992. Playing in 17 contests Puleri completed 257 of 456 passes for 3634 yards, and 21 touchdowns to 17 interceptions as a traditional dropback passer.
He joined the CFL in 1993 and played briefly for the Sacramento Gold Miners- attempting 2 passes, and then riding the bench for the Shreveport Pirates in 94. In 1995 Puleri joined Arena Football League. He played for the Miami Hooters that year and then the Texas Terror in 1996 throwing 3 TDs. Charles then went overseas and played in the NFLE for the London Monarchs. Seeing more mop up duty he threw for 488 yards and 2 TDs. Afterwards he again tried his hand at Arena football playing for the Iowa Barnstormers in 98. He saw his best season as a pro throwing 11 TDs on 67 attempts that season. In 1999 he played sparingly as a backup for the New Jersey Red Dogs, and then was in the camp of the Dallas Cowboys in 2000 but did not make the squad.
Charles is perhaps best known for his time in the XFL in 2001. Selected by the New York/ New Jersey Hitmen, Puleri was the starter for the squad entering the season, but was benched in favor of Wally Richardson during week 2. The league was… different than the NFL. They scripted some of their events including a fake controversy between Puleri and Richardson.
After the end of the XFL, Charlie returned to the Arena Football League, playing two more seasons for the Detroit Fury (2002) and the Buffalo Destroyers (2003).
Since football, Puleri has worked his way into mortgage finance. He signed these two cards for me, wrote me a nice note and included a few business cards.
WLAF
ATT
COMP
YDS
PCT
TD
INT
RAT
94
42
488
44.7
2
4
ARENA
ATT
COMP
YDS
PCT
TD
INT
RAT
257
128
1604
49.8
20
14
CFL
ATT
COMP
YDS
PCT
TD
INT
RAT
2
0
0
-.-
0
0
-.-
XFL
ATT
COMP
YDS
PCT
TD
INT
RAT
64
29
411
45.3
2
2
-.-
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
