Tag Archives: ttm football autographs

NFL

Miller, Chris (2)

Cards: Action Packed 1990, Score 1990, ProSet 1989, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o The Arizona Cardinals
Sent: 7/5  Received: 8/2   (26 days)
See also: Chris Miller

I got Chris’ autograph way back in 1993 at the CGA Youth Golf Tournament when he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons. I noticed that he was now on the staff of the Arizona Cardinals as their quarterbacks coach, and wanted to add him to my collection on a few more cards.   After I had recent success with former Falcons runningback John Settle, I decided to give Miller another shot after all these years, where he graciously signed all 4 of these cards for me in 26 days.

Really pleased with these 4 cards. They actually represent a good sampling of my favorite cards to collect during that time period, with Fleer, ProSet, Action Packed, and Score. I loved this classic 80s look of the Falcons, and miss this rich red color that they used back then. All of these cards had excellent action shots of Chris, with the Action Packed and Score cards really standing out with their dynamic poses. Design wise as you can see, near the end of the 80s nearly all the brands were framing all of their players in around all sides with a border. Fleer would become one of the first brands to ‘break the border’ as you can see with Chris’ helmet on his Fleer 1990 card.

NFL, NFLE, WLAF

Titley, Michael

Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home.
Sent: 7/26  Received: 8/8  (13 days)

After transferring from JC to Iowa in 1989, Michael Titley would provide stability at the tight end position for the Hawkeyes with his size (6’3″, 235) and hands (tied for team lead with 29 receptions) in 1990, replacing Marv Cook at the position. He’d post at least a reception in each game his senior season. Don Shula‘s Miami Dolphins would pull the trigger on Titley drafting him in the 10th round of that year’s NFL draft.

In 1992, Michael would sign with the WLAF’s Orlando Thunder. As a speedy, pass catching tight end, Titley would fit in well with the Thunder’s hybrid spread offense, under Galen Hall’s direction. He’d post a respectable 22 receptions for 215 yards catching passes from quarterback Scott Mitchell. After the Thunder lost to the Surge in World Bowl II, Michael would have to put his football playing days on hold with the reorganization of the WLAF. In the meantime, he’d return to Iowa and complete out his degree.

With the reemergence of the WLAF as NFLE in 1995, Titley would return to play in the league, this time as a member of the London Monarchs. He’d post his best season as a pro, making 45 receptions for 457 yards and 3 touchdowns. Michael would play for the Monarchs an additional two seasons hauling in almost 30 receptions and just over 300 yards in both seasons. He’d retire after the 1997 season, but not before having experienced professional experience on the rosters of the Eagles, Colts, Vikings, Bills, and Broncos over his career.

He currently lives in Houston, Texas where I tracked him down via Spokeo. For some reason I was able to get a bunch of addresses via the paid social crawl tracking service for free and Michael was on my list. He responded in a brief 13 days and thanked me for writing him and told me that he’d be more than happy to keep in touch. At some point, I’ll probably write him at a later date to get feedback on his WLAF/NFLE experience.

Below are his WLAF/NFLE statistics.

Rec 124    Yds 1281       Avg  10.3      Td 8      Lg 45

NFL, WLAF

McKenzie, Reggie

Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM C/o The Green Bay Packers
Sent: 7/26  Received: 8/6   (11 days)

Reggie McKenzie played collegiality for the Tennessee Volunteers and was taken in the 10th round of the 1985 draft by the then Los Angeles Raiders. A long shot to make the team, he’d make the roster and in fact start at right inside linebacker for the Super Bowl squad, making a sack and a fumble recovery in a respectable rookie season.  Reggie would again start all 16 games in 1986, and 5 in the strike shortened 1987 season. After only starting 3 games in 1988, McKenzie would sign with the Phoenix Cardinals in 1989. He would remain with the franchise through the 1990 season.

After sitting out a season where he coached high school football in the interim, Reggie signed with the Montreal Machine of the WLAF in 1992 and started alongside Ray Savage at linebacker. He would have a strong season, making a sack and an interception, which he returned 29 yards for a touchdown, but despite the team’s strong defensive efforts, the Machine finished a distant 2-8 at the end of the season. The WLAF reorganized after the season, but Reggie was not without a home for long, signing with the San Fransisco 49ers.  He retired after that season.

It didn’t take long for McKenzie to find himself working again in football serving as an assistant at Tennessee in 1993. In 1994, Ron Wolf, (architect of the Packers’ rebirth during the 90’s), hired Reggie to work in the front office, where he has climbed to the rank of Director of Football Operations in 2008. His Raiders Superbowl ring was unfortunately stolen a few years ago, but the Packers replaced that with their 2010 championship.

One of the strategies I use is poaching the coaching and staff lists of professional franchises for players that are on my lists, as typically they receive less autograph requests than their current player counterparts. Reggie definitely fell under this category and was also a member of the WLAF to boot which always makes it extra special to me as I received his autograph in a short 11 days care of the Packers organization. Below are his WLAF statistics:

G 10    Tac  N/a     Sac  1.0    Fum 0    Int 1     Yds  29       Avg  29.o       Td   1    lg 29t

UPDATE- 1/6/12  The Oakland Raiders, (under a recommendation from Packers Architect Ron Wolf,) hired Reggie McKenzie to become general manager of the franchise. Reggie becomes only the second General Manager in the history of the Raiders franchise, replacing deceased owner/GM Al Davis.