Category Archives: CFL

Arena, CFL, NFL, XFL

Pawlawski, Mike

Cards: Topps XFL 2001, Classic Blister 1992, Gameday 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent:  3/17     Received:  4/10  (24  days)

Mike Pawlawski has enjoyed nothing but one of the more curious professional football careers. It all started back in 1992 when the highly decorated signal caller from Cal was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 8th round. He spent one year with the team and the next two out of football.

Mike reignited his football career when he joined the Arena Football League. First with the SabreCats, and then later with the Miami Hooters in 1995. (- Yes named after the Hooters restaurant franchise.) He played one season with the team (66/133, 674 yards, and 6 TDs) in primarily relief duty. He also spent time in the CFL with their USA invasion as a member of the Shreveport Pirates. Mike jumped to the Albany Firebirds the following year- and really impressed (22/35, 296 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT) in limited play.  It’d be in 1997 that Pawlawski came into his own as a starter. He’d throw for 4,272 yards and 69 TDs on 509 attempts. For the next 3 seasons he’d be the unquestioned starter of the Firebirds and threw for at least 70 touchdowns in each year.

He heard the siren call of the XFL in 2001 and joined the fledgling league and be the starting quarterback for the San Fransisco Demons. In the lone season for the league Pawlawski finished second to only Tommy Maddox in passing, while leading the team to the Million Dollar Game. With the XFL hemorrhaging money and with bad TV ratings, the league shut down after the lone season.

Mike retired due to injuries and followed his passions for the outdoors, working on the show Gridiron Outdoors. He also does color commentating for Cal games for a variety of networks.

Mike was kind enough to sign these three cards in about a month’s time, however I wish he actually had a sharpie handy as his autograph gets lost on these canvases.

ARENA    ATT 2045   CPD 1351   YDS  16673
TD  303    INT 45   RAT 118.98
R 93    YDS 181    TD 19

XFL   ATT  297    CPD  186   YDS 1659    TD 12   INT  4

CFL, NFL

Harper, Josh

Card: Sage Artistry 2015  (26/100)
Acquired: 2016, Box Breaker

Josh Harper played for the Bulldogs of Fresno State. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the water or weather up there, but the Bulldogs just produce a ton of wide receivers, regardless Josh kept the lineage alive. He first arrived on the scene at Fresno in 2011.  After two decent years, he broke out in 2013 with his first 1,000 yard season (79 receptions, 1011 yards, and 13 TDs). Despite his numbers, he was not selected in the 2015 NFL Draft. He signed as a free agent with the Oakland Raiders that year but did not make the squad. Josh signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL the following year, but was cut soon thereafter.  Currently he is a free agent.

I love these Sage Artistry cards. They do the best they can for not having any college logos or uniforms and making exciting cards out of otherwise unheralded players.

CFL, NFL

Mallett, Martell

Card: Sage 2009
Acquired: 2017, Walmart Autographed Memorabilia

Martell Mallet has led a very interesting football career.  Admittedly there really wasn’t much to go on for scouts when it came to Martell. He played at Arkansas Pine Bluff and only saw action in 2007 and 2008. His body of experience was limited, With a bit over 170 touches and a little over 1000 yards to his resume, it is easy to see why the big back went undrafted in 2009.

Mallet still wanted to play, so he signed with the CFL joining the British Columbia Lions that year. He’d have a pretty sensational rookie year finishing with over 1400 yards rushing, setting the single game franchise rushing record (213 yards), and earning the CFL equivalent of Rookie of the Year.  After the season he’d join the Eagles in early 2010 and spent much of the early portion of the year on and off the squad. After a brief stay on the Browns practice squad during that year and a return to the Eagles in 2011, Mallett again was on the move to the New York Giants. An injury prevented him from suiting up, and he was given an injury settlement.

Martell decided to try his hand again with the CFL signing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2012. He got injured in camp and was on IR the entire year. During 2013 he’d be released and then in 2014 Martell signed with the Calgary Stampeders. At this point, Martell had gone roughly 4 years without playing in a game. He came in for the Stamps in a pinch and ran for 163 yards on 27 carries. His efforts helped the Stamps win the Grey Cup. After the season, he retired from football.

CFL  37     RUSH  241    YDS 1403     AVG 5.8     TD 6    LG 57
REC 50     YDS 414   AVG 8.3    TD 2   LG  26