CARD: Wildcard WL 1992 (8 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Richard Carey played DB at Idaho, where he recorded 111 career tackles.
Going undrafted he latched on with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1989 as an UDFA.
He’d pick off a pass, recover a fumble, and see some spot kick and punt return duties while with the Bengals.
This led to a one year stint with the Buffalo Bills in 1990.
After an off-season appearance with the Falcons in 1991, Carey joined the New York-New Jersey Knights of the World League .
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
Gameday 1992, #7
CARDS: Action Packed 1991, Gameday 1992, Skybox 1992(27 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Darion Conner was a 3 time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference Selection out of Jackson State.
In 1989 posted 12.5 sacks and 130 tackles.
Second round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 1990, Conner was prized for his versatility.
Settled at ROLB, and in first 3 seasons went over 100 tackles each year.
In 1994, played one season for the Saints, and had a career high 10.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and an interception for 56 yards.
1995 saw him take his skill set to Carolina, where he added another 7.0 sacks to his resume as an original member of the Panthers.
After two largely fruitless seasons in Philadelphia (’96-’97), Darion was signed by the ‘original but new’ Cleveland Browns.
Didn’t play a down for the team, so he decided to take his skills to the Arena Football League in 1999 playing OL/DL.
Connor was an impactful player in Arena Football.
He’d play with the Tampa Bay Storm through 2005.
Connor’s football career ended abruptly after he committed DUI-manslaughter and vehiculuar homicide.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison- of which, he has paid his debt to society and is now a free man.
Action Packed 1991, #4 Skybox 1992, #126
NOTES:
Darion signed all three of these cards for me masterfully with a silver sharpie. The Skybox card looks incredible.
TAC SAC FUM INT YDS AVG TD LG 519 33.0 5 1 56 56.0 0 56
NFL TAC SAC FUM INT YDS AVG TD LG 44 11.0 5 0 0 -.- 0 -.-
ARENA
CARD: Frankfurt Galaxy Team Issue 2003
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Coming out of college at Nevada, Johnny ‘John’ Thomas possessed the ideal size to man the trenches (6’2″, 315).
Signed and allocated to the NFLE by the Miami Dolphins.
Played in 10 contests at DT for the Frankfurt Galaxy in 2003.
Spent 2004 and 2005 with the Chicago Rush, and the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League.
TAC SAC FUM INT YDS AVG TD LG 13.5 2.0 1 0 0 -.- 0 -.-
ARENA
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