Tag Archives: orlando predators

Arena

Richardson, Jeramie

tntafl14 jrichardsonCard: TNT AFL 2014
Acquired: In Person, 5/3/2014 Talons vs. Barnstormers.

Jeramie began his indoor football career in 2010 with the San Angelo Stampede of the IFL. Since then, he’s played for the Utah Blaze, Cleveland Gladiators, Orlando Predators, and New Orleans Voodoo, before landing a home in 2014 with the San Antonio Talons. A versatile player, Jeramie has rushed 29 times for 46 yards and 16 touchdowns from the fullback position, while collecting 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks.  The Talons in 2014 relied on him heavily to contribute along the defensive line. He finished the season with 29 tackles and 5 sacks in 17 games. San Antonio went dormant after the 2014 season.

Arena

Benson, Mykel

tntafl14 bensonCard: TNT AFL Talons 2014, TNT 2011 AFL promo
Acquired: IP, 5/3/2014 Talons vs. Barnstormers, 5/17/14 Talons vs. Voodoo

With Chad Cook sitting out the season for the Talons, the team signed Mykel Benson to be the starting fullback. A compact, low to the ground runner, Benson was originally signed by the Milwaukee Mustangs in 2011, after graduating from Florida A&M. While playing for A&M, Benson lodged 14 career scores.

During his rookie season with Milwaukee, Mykel ran for 178 yards and 17 touchdowns. The following season, he’d split time with the Georgia Force and Orlando Predators, but still managed to record 8 scores in 74 carries. He’d continue playing for the Predators in 2013, rushing for 89 yards and 10 more scores, before hopping over to the Talons for the 2014 season.

When I got Mykel’s autograph he remarked that the cards looked similar to one he had signed of himself in his Mustangs uniform.tntafl11 benson I must admit that I am flattered that somebody out there printed out the older card previously and had him sign it. When I told him that I was actually the person who designed that card, he quickly also asked me for a copy of that card as well.

I approached Benson after the Voodoo game, this time with his 2011 promo. He told me he had already framed up the card I gave him in his Talons uniform, and also printed out a copy of the card I made of him back in 2011 from my drawingwithlee.com website. He thanked me profusely for the Mustangs promo and signed an extra for me to keep. It is amazing how things work out, as I never would have thought back in 2011, that the promos I was working on would ever be treasured so much by these players- little less signed by them. As word has spread, a lot of players have begun requesting a copy of their cards that I designed or for me to design one for them. It brings me great joy that I can bring these players happiness and added sense of pride/ accomplishment through what I do for them. It is the least I can do to pay them back for their efforts on the gridiron and in the arena.

Arena, CFL, NFL, WLAF

McGowan, Paul

pset91 mcgowanCards: ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 1/24     Received: 2/18  (25 days)

Paul McGowan led all Florida State defenders in tackles for 3 straight seasons from 1984-1987. In his Senior season he was a First Team All-American as he made 150 tackles including 13 for losses, and won the Butkus Award as the nation’s preeminent linebacker, however he waited until the 9th round to hear his name called by the Minnesota Vikings. A final cut in the preseason, McGowan joined the Browns but was also cut as well. At 6’0″, 222, many teams felt he was undersized and slow for the position, but the numbers said otherwise.

Paul was signed by the Ottawa Roughriders of the CFL in 1989 and made 42 tackles, and ended up being cut early in 1990. He was drafted by the Birmingham Fire in the first round of the WLAF’s linebacker draft in 1991, and was a force to be reckoned with in the team’s 3-4 alignment. The team’s tenacious defense led the Fire into the playoffs, psetwlaf91 mcgowanand McGowan was charged with leading the linebacker corps with 59 solo tackles and 3 fumble recoveries. Head coach Chan Gailey called McGowan a ‘glue guy’; Basically, a player who makes sure that every player is lined up right and ready. Equally impressive linebacker teammate John Brantley, however won the WLAF Defensive MVP award. McGowan returned in 1992, and so did the Fire to the playoffs, losing again to Barcelona in the first round. Paul expressed interest in returning to the Fire for the 1993 season, however the WLAF reorganized shortly there after.

Paul joined the Orlando Predators of the AFL in 1993. As an ironman league at the time McGowan got to play both sides of the ball in the league’s traditional LB-FB switch off. He’d play for the team through 1997 when he decided to go into firefighting instead. In 1998 Paul was inducted into the Predators Ring of Honor and at the time of his abrupt retirement was the team’s career leader in sacks. In 2010, McGowan was ranked in a poll as the 11th greatest Florida State player of all time.

wcwlaf92 mcgowanI followed the internet rabbit in order to find this one and struck gold. Paul signed these cards and also included a nice note with them, thanking me for the reminder of the great memories.

WLAF     Tac  N/a     Sac  1.0    Fum N/a
Int  3    Yds  29     Avg  9.7    Td    0   Lg 12

AFL   LB   Tac  97   Ast  39    Sac 17    Fum 6
Int  0    Yds  0   Avg -.-   Td 0   Lg -.-

FB   Rush 139    Yds  555      Avg       Td   11
Rec  25     Yds 227     Avg     Td 2