Category Archives: NFL

NFL, WLAF

Garrett, John

Card: Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o The Dallas Cowboys
Sent: 4/26  Received: 5/2  (7 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o The Dallas Cowboys

The Garrett family has a long history in the NFL starting with their father, Jim, who had served in the league as a scout for almost 40 years. The boys, Jason, Judd, and John have all experienced a measure of NFL success, and all of them spent time playing in the WLAF during the early 1990s making their legacy quite unique.

John finished his career at Princeton leading all the receivers his senior season with 45 receptions for 617 yards and 2 touchdowns. He quickly signed with the Cowboys in 1988, eventually landing on the practice squad of the Cincinnati Bengals the next season where he made 2 receptions for 29 yards. John would later spend time in the off-season, with Buffalo Bills as well in 1991.

That year, all 3 brothers decided to play in the inaugural season of the World League of American Football.  John ended up being drafted by the San Antonio Riders in the second round of the WR positional draft, to catch passes from his brother, Jason.  (Judd was drafted by the Monarchs.) The Riders however had a rocky season, and injuries and inconsistencies eventually saw Jason split time with Mike Johnson at quarterback.  John finished the season though tied for 3rd on the Riders with 23 receptions. He’d also catch the last TD of Riders season from his brother Jason, during the final game  in a loss to the Knights. It is at this point that I am unsure if he was injured or cut before the 1992 season was underway. I do know he was at training camp for the Riders, and played in their scrimmage versus the Ohio Glory,  (as evidenced in the card pictured above,) who were the replacement franchise for the Skyhawks from the 1991 season.

He then returned to the NFL spending the next 12 seasons, with the Bucs, Bengals, and Cardinals in a variety of coaching postions. 2004 saw Garrett jump into the college ranks working for Virginia Cavaliers under Al Groh.  After a successful time with the Cavs John was reunited with his brothers Jason and Judd on the Dallas Cowboys in 2007.

I had sent to all three brothers in the past thinking that perhaps I could get them all in one envelope back in 2010. Unfortunately I didn’t have any success and I assume that it is lost.  I rarely send out to more than one player in one envelope anymore. It just increases the chance that you won’t get anything back at all.  John had only one card, but turned this around care of the Cowboys in roughly one week signing it with a bible inscription from Colossians 3:23-  “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human.”  It’s a great card, and although a heavy percentage of Ultimate cards suffered from cutting issues, overall I really liked the design and style of what they were doing at the time.

Rec  23    Yds  386     Avg  16.8     Td  3     Lg  48

NFL

Rogers, Carlos

Card: Donruss Silver Signatures 2008
Acquired: 2012, Target Authentic Memorabilia Autograph Edition

Carlos Rogers is an NFL defensive back who currently plays for the revamped San Fransisco 49ers defense. After a banner career at Auburn where he won the Jim Thorpe Award and was named a consensus All-American in 2004, Rogers would be drafted by the Washington Redskins with the 9th overall pick of the draft. Throughout his career Rogers has battled back from injury, breaking his thumb and tearing both his MCL and his ACL. He’d play for the Redskins through the 2010 season, finishing his tour of duty with the Redskins notching 312 tackles, 8 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles and 1 touchdown.

Overlooked by clubs looking for defensive help, while coveted Nnandi Asomugha and Johnathan Joseph would fly off the board, Rogers quietly signed with the 49ers. Immediately he’d step into a lineup for a weak San Fransisco defense under rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh, and help provide a steady hand in the secondary that turned it into one of the best units in the NFL. Rogers exploded in 2011 and had 52 tackles, and 6 interceptions for 106 yards and a touchdown earning his first Pro Bowl appearance.  He’d re-up with San Fransisco again in 2012 for a 4 year contract.

NFL

Highsmith, Alonzo

Cards: ProSet 1989, Action Packed Rookies 1990
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 4/5   Received: 6/22  (77 days)
See Also: Official Autograph Souvenir

Alonzo joins the Hall finally. I’ve missed out a few times on Highsmith. While I got his autograph on an official Houston Oilers Souvenir page back in 1988, it did not strike me at the time to get him on cards. Then when he was traded to the Cowboys, he was not at Cowboys training camp for me to get his autograph on. Finally I was still in California when he was at Fan Fest II in Houston last year. Had been working my way around to him since I got started, and for the longest time didn’t see any replies out of the former Houston Oiler, but recently he lit up sportscollectors.net, so I shot him out a request as soon as possible. I noticed that the response times were erratic, so I was happy to get a return in a bit under 80 days.

Alonzo Highsmith was a strong downhill runningback from the University of Miami where he played for Jimmy Johnson. He was the third overall pick of the 1987 draft by the Houston Oilers, and after an acrimonious holdout, he started 3 games at running back and ran for 106 yards. Jerry Glanville moved him to fullback to best utilize his skills, after a logger jam developed at runningback between Mike Rozier, Allen Pinkett, and recent draftee Lorenzo White.  His best season as a pro came in 1989 when he ran for 531 yards and 4 TDs, and caught another 18 balls for 201 yards and 2 TDs.  Frequent knee issues were taking their toll on Highsmith though.

aprks90 highsmithIn 1990, the Oilers had new head coach Jack Pardee and with a conversion to the Run ‘N Shoot full-time, the Oilers had even less room for runningback, little less a fullback.  Houston traded Highsmith to Dallas where he was reunited with former Hurricanes coach Jimmy Johnson. He’d start 6 games mid year for the resurgent Cowboys that season, and then sign with the Buccaneers where he finished 1991 and 1992, before retiring.

Alonzo followed the route of some other players after their playing days are over, becoming a professional heavyweight boxer. He’d go 27-1-2 with 23 KOs before returning to football as a scout for the Packers organization. Recently he moved up in the organization, and will be moving to Green Bay with his family to live fulltime in the Summer of 2012.

G/Gs 65/42    Rush 283   Yds  1195    Avg 4.2     Td  7   Lg 42    |
Rec 42     Yds  428    Avg  10.2  Td 3   Lg  33