Tag Archives: oakland raiders

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Guy, Ray (1949-2022)

Upper Deck Legends 1997, #AL-111

CARD: Upper Deck Legends 1997
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2021

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Ray Guy was an incredible athlete that played 3 positions (K, P, SS) for Southern Mississippi from 1970-72.
  • Over his time at the school he set multiple single game and career records.
  • Became the first punter to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft (1973).
  • Right out of the gate, averaged 45.3 yards per punt his rookie season.
  • From there he led the NFL in punting average in 1974 (42.2) and ’75 (43.8).
  • Punted a career high 96 times for 4,195 yards in 1981.
  • Over his career he had a streak of 619 punts without being blocked.

ACCOLADES:

  • College Football Hall of Fame
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame
  • Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame
  • Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
  • NFL All 1970s Team
  • Golden Toe Award
  • NFL 75th Anniversary Team
  • NFL 100th Anniversary Team
  • Pro Bowl 1973-78, ’80
  • All-Pro 1973-78
  • Second Team AP 1979-80

NOTES:

Ray was greatly disrespected by not being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame sooner. This was due to the fact that there is a longstanding stigma against special teams players. He was finally elected in 2014… and promptly stopped signing TTM.

I waited to acquire Ray’s autograph until the prices started dropping. Thankfully before the prices spiked again after his passing, I was able to pick his certified up on his Legends card.

EPITAPH:

Ray passed away on November 3rd, 2022 at the age of 72 due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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NFL, XFL

Heeney, Ben

CARD: Topps XFL 2020
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2021

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Ben Heeney played LB at Kansas from 2011-2014.
  • Became a starter in 2012 and immediately made an impact, posting 112 tackles, 11.5 TFL, a sack, 2 pass deflections and a forced fumble.
  • As a junior, added 3 picks, 87 total tackles, 11.5 TFL, and a sack to his growing resume.
  • In 2014, Heeney had a career high 127 total tackles, 13 tackles for losses, 1.5 sacks, an interception and 2 forced fumbles.
  • Ben was selected in the 5th round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders.
  • He’d start 3 games posting 38 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, a pass deflection and a forced fumble.
  • Injuries played a part though in his time in Oakland and he’d be waived in 2017.
  • After being claimed and released by the Saints, Heeney played for the Houston Texans that season, posting 2 more tackles.
  • In 2020, Heeney was selected by the New York Guardians of the XFL.
  • He’d post 30 total tackles, and 3 tackles for loss, before the league suspended operations due to COVID.

NOTES:

A great snipe for me here as I picked up this certified 4/5 black parallel autograph of Ben for just a buck fifty.

CFL, NFL, XFL

Butler, James (RB)

Topps XFL 2020, #108

CARD: Topps XFL 2020
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 12/11 RECEIVED: 12/27 (16 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • James Butler played RB for 3 years at Nevada from 2014-16.
  • He ran for over 1300 yards and 10 TDs in both 2015 and 2016.
  • Transferred to Iowa for Senior year in 2017.
  • Undrafted in 2018, but was a member of the Raiders practice squad.
  • Signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019 but was cut at the end of camp.
  • Returned to Raiders practice squad for the 2019 season but was not resigned.
  • Joined the XFL Houston Roughnecks Run N Shoot attack for the 2020 season.
  • Was a spark at RB for the Roughnecks, both on the ground and as a receiving threat.
  • Carried the ball 46 times for 221 yards (4 TDs) to go along with 11 catches for 42 yards and a TD
  • After scoring a TD in a home game against the St Louis Battlehawks, jumped into crowd creating a celebration dubbed, “The Houston Hop”.
  • COVID ended the XFL 2020, but James rejoined the CFL- with the BC Lions.
  • Rushed for 497 yards on 101 carries (2 TDs) and caught 39 passes for 243 yards and a TD in 2021.
  • Had first 1,000 yard effort in 2022 rushing for 1060 yards on 210 carries while also catching 53 passes for 384 yards for the Lions.

NOTES:

Well I had season tickets to the Roughnecks and of 3 games that they were able to play I was able to attend 2 of them before COVID knocked the league out. I went with my friend Kevin to the game, and with our endzone seats, I was able to engineer a guest star on James Butler’s Houston Hop, as I muscled my way in at the end of the highlight film. Look at that Legends jersey! Long live the AAF!