Category Archives: CFL

CFL, NFL

Hill, Austin

leaf15 ahill sage15 ahill

Cards: Leaf Draft Metal 2015, Sage 2015
Acquired: 2016, Box Breaker

His Sophomore season was a breakout year at Arizona, as Austin Hill had 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns. Unfortunately he tore his ACL, going down in the second-to-last practice of the spring. After he returned in 2014, his numbers fell to 48 receptions for 630 yards and 4 TDs.  Concern lingered into the draft about his knee, and Austin went undrafted.

Austin has kept the dream alive, and his agent must be commended for how he’s kept Hill in the face of executives and scouts. He has been on the rosters of no less than 5 teams including the Raiders, Jets, Patriots, and the CFL Ottawa Redblacks. He became a fan favorite on NFL’s Hard Knocks with the Los Angeles Rams at his last and most recent stop, with his pure love for the game and his daughter.  He was among the final cuts made by the team, but may make an impression on an NFL team’s practice squad somewhere.

 

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Phillips, Darrell

Card: ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent: 12/9   Received:  12/29   (20 days)

Darrell Phillips was a stud in the middle of LSU’s defense during his time playing for the Tigers during the mid-late 80s. In his Junior year, he had 100 tackles, 4 sacks, and 5 TFL. A versatile player, he also blocked 3 kicks on special teams and was named the team’s most valuable defensive player. In 1988 he was a First-Team All-SEC selection with 76 tackles and 3 sacks.

He wasn’t drafted but saw time in the camps of both the New Orleans Saints (1989) and British Columbia Lions (1990) before being selected in the first round of the WLAF positional draft by the Birmingham Fire in 1991. Phillips helped pace the stingy Birmingham Fire defense with 38 tackles and 2 sacks, which earned him second team All-World League Honors.  He returned to the team for the 1992 season and again notched another 2 sacks.

Darrell was one of the few members of the Birmingham Fire that escaped me when I was trying to get autographs back in 1992 during that humid night game against the Riders.  After some sleuthing, I was able to track him down on Facebook, where he was displaying his LSU pride.  He kindly responded to my message and agreed to sign this card for a few extras that he could keep.  Phillips has split his time between the US and Canada for the past few years.

His favorite memory from the league was: “Coach Chan Gailey and the defense. He was a great coach who treated you like a man and the players… all of them were a great inspiration one way or the other…”

WLAF     Tac N/a    Sac 4.0    Fum 0   Int 0   Yds 0   Avg -.-   TD 0   Lg -.-

CFL, NFL

Dorsey, Ken

leaflim03 dorseyCard: Leaf Limited Phenom 2003
Acquired: 2013, Target Autograph Memorabilia

The 2003 draft for the most part is considered a train wreck of quarterback talent.  Carson Palmer, taken #1 overall, is the only quarterback from the draft to even make a Pro Bowl.  Ken was selected in the 7th round by the San Fransisco 49ers.

A two-time runner up for the Heisman, Ken Dorsey finished his college career at Miami, FL going 668/ 1153 for 9,565 yards and 86 TDs to only 28 interceptions.  During his time playing for the Hurricanes Dorsey led the team to a 38-2 record and a National Championship appearance in 2002.

His tenure in San Fransisco was… less than desired as he split time with Tim Rattay.  SF was going through a rough transition searching for their QB of the future. The combined Frankenstein effort resulted in a 2-14 record for the 49ers. Starting 7 games Ken posted a career high 6 TD passes and 1,231 yards and 9 interceptions.  After the season the 49ers switched from Dennis Erickson to Mike Nolan, and then drafted Alex Smith in the 1st round of the 2005 draft. Still Dorsey was able to post a 1-2 record throwing for 481 yards and 2 TDs.

In 2006, Dorsey was traded to the Cleveland Browns. He’d ride the bench for the next two seasons, before briefly stopping back into the starting lineup in 2008.  Starting 3 games for the Browns,  Dorsey threw for 370 yards and 7 interceptions.  Ken briefly resurfaced with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 2010 , retiring after the season concluded.

Ken joined the Carolina Panthers staff first as a scout in 2011, and then later as a quarterbacks coach- a capacity he’s held through the 2016 season.

Ken’s certified autographed cards briefly experienced a surge in value back in 2015, as he is one of a long line of starting Browns quarterbacks. Steiner Sports ran a promotion to apologize to fans who’d ever gotten a Browns starting QB certified autograph and was offering a $50+ dollar in store credit for any fan who sent in those autographs.  However now that the promotion is over, these autographs along with other former starting Browns’ QBs autographs have returned to normal.

G/GS  17/13     ATT 408    COMP 214     YDS 2082     PCT 52.5
TD  8       INT 18        RAT 55.2
RUSH 11        YDS 18      AVG  1.6      TD 0      LG  6