I had thought that at some point over the years, outside my Patriots Blitz back in the early ’90s (when the team truly stunk), that I had gotten Greg on a few other trading cards- but I had not.
The Gameday one is one in which I had a Mandela Effect about. I swore that I had gotten him on this card sometime ago, and that he also had a Skybox 1992 Impact card. (That one turned out to be Hart Lee Dykes.)
Also the Topps Stadium Club 1992 card is one that I was particularly sore about for sometime. It is a photo of him catching a TD against the then HOUSTON Oilers, as the Patriots upset them for the win at Foxboro. (I had to go to school the next day, eat crow, and pay out a 20 buck bet.)
CARD: TNT XFL 2023 ACQUIRED: IP 2024, San Antonio Brahmas v Arlington Renegades
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Salvatore Cannella played TE/WR at Auburn from 2017-’19.
Oft used at the majority ground and pound school, he provided mismatches with his unusual size (6’5″, 228), speed, and hands.
He finished his college career with 25 catches for 330 yards and 5 TDs.
Undrafted, Sal played in 2020 for the TSL Generals of the Spring Football League.
He put in his all catching 5 passes for 66 yards and a TD in the Spring League Championship Game.
After a workout with the Colts, he played for the Generals again in 2021.
This led to short stints with a mini-camp at Chicago, and on the off season roster of the Dolphins that year.
The TSL retooled as the USFL, and Sal found himself as the second TE off the board in the positional phase of the league’s draft by the New Orleans Breakers in 2022.
Sal had a great season, catching 34 passes for 368 yards and a TD.
Shortly thereafter he spent roughly a month on the Packers offseason roster.
Cannella was a huge defection for the USFL, when he was drafted and signed by the Arlington Renegades of the XFL in 2023.
He finished second in receiving among TEs with 42 receptions for 415 yards, and was a key cog in the Renegades XFL Championship victory.
After offseason stints with both the Seahawks and Vikings, he resigned with the Renegades for the ’24 campaign.
Sal concluded the season with 53 catches for 497 yards and 6 TDs.
He joined the Bucs for the offseason, but didn’t make the squad.
ACCOLADES:
All USFL Team 2022
All XFL 2023
NOTES:
A little over a week before the game, I went ahead and created and ordered cards of Sal and Luis Perez. (I wasn’t going to be caught flat footed like the previous season.) I was pretty happy with the results.
When I went to the game, I arrived at my normal seats. The players were doing warmups and I flagged down Sal. He looked genuinely touched that I made a card of him and that it was of such high production value. Sal signed the card, and I let him keep the extras I had as thanks.
He picked off 2 passes- returning one for 17 yards.
Following the World League’s reorganization, Richard decided to play for the Arena Football League.
With the Rockers, he played two seasons, with 1993 being his best season as a pro totaling 60.5 total tackles, 19 pass breakups, a fumble recovery, and a pick.
He’d also catch 8 passes for 77 yards and a TD- as back then Arena players went both ways.
It’s unknown what Carey was doing from 1994-’95, but he appeared again one last time on the radar of the Tampa Bay Storm in 1996.
He’d drop 33 tackles, and 7 pass breakups to close out his career.
NOTES:
Another deep cut here that got lost in the shuffle of the 2020 COVID push, Richard signed this card in the midst of the pandemic for me. It’s really true what they say- As you get older time tends to move faster- fly by, and unfortunately, I’ve forgotten the background behind how I got this autograph.
TAC
SAC
FUM
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
N/a
0
1
1
5
5
0
5
NFL
TAC
SAC
FUM
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
N/a
0
0
2
17
8.5
0
17
WL
TAC
SAC
FUM
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
93
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
Arena
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
