Category Archives: NFL

NFL

Quik Print Cowboys Basketball Autographs


Autograph Memorabilia
Acquired: In Person, Berger Center 1992

I don’t recall but I may have gotten some of these on cards as well at the time. Many of these guys I had already acquired on cards or met before, including Drew Pearson, Preston Pearson, and Ed Jones.  I’d also get Tony Hill, Duane Mitchell, and Doug Dooley that evening after the Cowboys finished playing a charity basketball game against some scrubs that they beat. It was like the Dallas Cowboys version of the The Harlem Globetrotters.

Tony Hill played 10 years for the Cowboys finishing with 479 receptions for 7988 yards and 51 touchdowns from 1977-1986 and is considered one of Dallas’ top 50 players of all time.

Doug Dooley played for the Cowboys from 1981-1984 after being drafted in the second round by the team. He finished with 55 receptions for 898 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Aaron Mitchell played for the Cowboys from 1979-1980 and was a second round pick. He’d play an additional season for the Buccaneers in 1981. Over his career he made 4 picks and a fumble recovery.

NFL, NFLE, WLAF

Titley, Michael

Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home.
Sent: 7/26  Received: 8/8  (13 days)

After transferring from JC to Iowa in 1989, Michael Titley would provide stability at the tight end position for the Hawkeyes with his size (6’3″, 235) and hands (tied for team lead with 29 receptions) in 1990, replacing Marv Cook at the position. He’d post at least a reception in each game his senior season. Don Shula‘s Miami Dolphins would pull the trigger on Titley drafting him in the 10th round of that year’s NFL draft.

In 1992, Michael would sign with the WLAF’s Orlando Thunder. As a speedy, pass catching tight end, Titley would fit in well with the Thunder’s hybrid spread offense, under Galen Hall’s direction. He’d post a respectable 22 receptions for 215 yards catching passes from quarterback Scott Mitchell. After the Thunder lost to the Surge in World Bowl II, Michael would have to put his football playing days on hold with the reorganization of the WLAF. In the meantime, he’d return to Iowa and complete out his degree.

With the reemergence of the WLAF as NFLE in 1995, Titley would return to play in the league, this time as a member of the London Monarchs. He’d post his best season as a pro, making 45 receptions for 457 yards and 3 touchdowns. Michael would play for the Monarchs an additional two seasons hauling in almost 30 receptions and just over 300 yards in both seasons. He’d retire after the 1997 season, but not before having experienced professional experience on the rosters of the Eagles, Colts, Vikings, Bills, and Broncos over his career.

He currently lives in Houston, Texas where I tracked him down via Spokeo. For some reason I was able to get a bunch of addresses via the paid social crawl tracking service for free and Michael was on my list. He responded in a brief 13 days and thanked me for writing him and told me that he’d be more than happy to keep in touch. At some point, I’ll probably write him at a later date to get feedback on his WLAF/NFLE experience.

Below are his WLAF/NFLE statistics.

Rec 124    Yds 1281       Avg  10.3      Td 8      Lg 45

NFL

Smith, Kevin “Pup”

Card: Classic 1992
Acquired: In Person, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 1992

I got Kevin Smith and Patrick Bates autograph at the same time during Cowboys Training Camp in 1992. They were chatting up a storm about ‘future plans’ and it was obvious that they were good friends since they were members of Texas A&M’s Wrecking Crew during the late 80s and early 90s.

Kevin Smith is the all time leader at A&M with 20 picks and he earned All American Honors at the end of the season. The Cowboys were looking for solutions at defensive back and grabbed Smith with the 17th pick of the first round. He’d start 6 games and make 2 picks as a reserve defensive back. He’d take over the starting role in 1993 making 6 interceptions and 90 tackles which would all be career highs. After a subpar 1994, Kevin’s 1995 would be completely derailed by an Achilles injury and after starting one game his season would be over.  He’d return in 1996 and make 5 interceptions, but nobody ever recovers back to top speed after an Achilles tear.  Kevin would play through 2000, and while it would be the downside of his career, Smith’s career probably would have been more stellar if he hadn’t lost his 1995 to an injury.

G/Gs 103/93   Tac 334   Sac 0   Int  19   Yds 190   Avg 10.0   Td 1    Lg 32