Category Archives: Arena

Morris, Joe

CARDS: Pro Set 1991, Upper Deck Legends 1997
ACQUIRED: Ebay, 2020. Future Considerations, 2020
FAILURE: TTM 2020, C/o Home

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Joe Morris played RB for Syracuse from 1978-’81.
  • As a sophomore he ran for 1372 yards on 238 carries (7 TDs).
  • Over four years for the Orangemen, he ran for 4299 yards on 813 carries, scoring 25 TDs.
  • At 5’7″, 190, Morris was a big guy in a little package.
  • He’d be a second round pick of the Giants in 1982.
  • Joe saw increasing playing time as his career progressed, rushing for his first 1k season in 1984 (1,336 yards).
  • He’d also lead the NFL in TDs with 21.
  • 1986 saw him lead the NFL in rushing yards (1,516) and carries (341).
  • After the strike season he returned to form in 1988, rushing for 1083 yards on 307 carries.
  • A contract dispute and a foot injury caused Joe to not see the game field for two seasons.
  • At the time of his departure from the Giants, he held over 20 franchise records.
  • He’d sign with the Browns, and close out his career there in 1991.
  • Joe has dabbled in ownership, being a part owner of the New Jersey Red Dogs in 1997.
  • He’s also active in real estate and insurance.

ACCOLADES:

  • Pro Bowl 1985, ’86
  • Syracuse Orangemen #47 Retired
  • New York Giants Ring of Honor

NOTES:

I’ve been after Joe Morris since the very beginning of when I got back into TTM collecting. Unfortunately he doesn’t sign very often and when he does, he’s inconsistent. Joe appears in the original Tecmo Bowl for the New York Giants, and I was very comfortable running with him in that game. I also had his Starting Lineup figure as well.

I think Bryan had gotten him a few times and felt so badly for me he sent this one as a consolation. I later picked up his Upper Deck Legends card, and just sat on these for a while hoping I’d get him on something else. His youngest brother (Jamie) played RB for the Washington Redskins.

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Young, Michael

Gameday 1992, #430

CARDS: Skybox 1992, Pro Set 1990, Fleer 1992, Gameday 1992, Pacific 1992
ACQUIRED: TTM 2023, C/o Home
SENT: 5/30/23 RECEIVED: 8/23/23 (85 days)
FAILURE: TTM 2018, C/o Home

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Michael Young played WR for UCLA from 1983-’84.
  • He caught 48 passes for 737 yards and 7 TDs with the Bruins.
  • A 6th round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 1985.
  • Got caught in a numbers game as his playing time waned with the unretirement of Ron Brown.
  • Played for the Rams through ’88 catching 35 passes for 421 yards and 4 TDs.
  • Joined the Broncos in ’89 via Plan B and immediately paid dividends, spotting the Three Amigos.
  • From 1989-’91 he set career single season highs in receptions.
  • Caught a career high 4 TDs in 1990.
  • In the playoffs that year caught a 53 yard pass and a 70 yard TD against the Browns to help Denver reach Super Bowl XXIV.
  • Started 13 games in 1991 and caught a career high 44 passes for 629 yards (2 TDs).
  • Played for the Eagles in 1993 catching 14 passes for 186 yards and 2 TDs.
  • In 1994 dressed for two contests for the Chiefs.
  • After retirement, made the transition to the front office, serving for the Denver Broncos, and then the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League and then with the Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB).

NOTES:

When I first became a Rams fan, I saw Michael streaking down the field on a few plays. I thought he was going to really be something for them in their already strong WR corps. Then he went off and signed with Denver. I was a bit butt hurt. I knew he’d be clutch when it counted for somebody.

I was miffed that I failed on him back in 2018 considering I lived pretty much right around the corner from him at one point, however I reloaded and gave him another shot a few years later. After pointing out that I was confused because sometimes color men and Wikipedia called him ‘Mike’- he let me know that he indeed goes by Michael. He sent me an NFL Alumni sticker, 2 extra autographs, a nice note, and also his Dodgers business card in his return correspondence. Worth the wait.

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Jones, Malachi

CARDS: Topps AAF 2019, Topps AAF 2019 Certified
ACQUIRED: 2020, Box Breaker. 2021, Future Considerations
FAILURE: TTM 2019, C/o Home

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Malachi Jones played for 2012-’15 at WR for Appalachian State.
  • An UDFA of the Atlanta Falcons in 2016, he’d be cut after mini camp.
  • Malachi took his game to the NAL to the High Country Grizzlies in 2017.
  • In 10 contests, he caught 66 passes for 685 yards and 16 TDs.
  • After a short stint in the American Arena League’s Atlanta Havoc, he signed with the Albany Empire in 2018.
  • He had a solid debut, catching 77 passes for 1156 yards and 29 TDs.
  • After being signed and cut by the Bears, Malachi signed with the Atlanta Legends of the AAF in late 2018.
  • Despite the team’s QB woes, he caught 22 passes for 312 yards and 2 TDs over 8 contests.
  • After the league folded abruptly, Malachi resigned with the Albany Empire in 2019.
  • He had a spectacular return to the Arena Football League with 96 catches for 1,440 yards and 25 touchdown catches.
  • Malachi helped the team win the Arena Bowl XXXII after the season.
  • Although he was selected by the Seattle Dragons of the relaunched XFL, Jones opted to sign with the Montreal Alouettes.
  • In 2021, he returned to the Albany Empire, but the league quickly fell apart.
  • This led Malachi to play for the Carolina Cobras in 2022.

ACCOLADES:

  • NAL Offensive Rookie of the Year 2017
  • Arena Football Offensive Rookie of the Year 2018
  • Arena Football Wide Receiver of the Year 2018

NOTES:

I hadn’t had any luck with Malachi, when a friend of mine on Facebook who knew him, reached out and said he could get him for me.

He also collected World League stuff like I did. I helped him out on a few addresses, and he helped me. Then like that, overnight, he disabled his Facebook and I never saw him again.

Later Malachi had a good laugh when I sent him a Tweet of me in my Atlanta Legends Malachi Jones jersey sneaking in to represent the AAF during an XFL 2020 broadcast in H-Town.