Category Archives: NFL

Arena, College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF, Super Bowl MVP

Elway, John

Cards: Upper Deck 1991 team checklist, Upper Deck 1991, Score 1990, SkyBox 1992, ActionPacked 1991
Acquired: In person 1993, CGA Youth Golf Tournament.

John Elway was a lot different than the other players at the tournament. While we were waiting for him to golf, he stopped, approached us and said, “If I sign all of your cards, will you leave me alone?” Wow man- how do you expect me to react? Josh and the other guys who were with me sheepishly said, “Sure John.” Of course I would throw in the barb of, “Good luck winning the SuperBowl this season!”, After he’d sign all 5 of my cards- (even though I was only gunning for two signatures tops). This was a memory that really stuck in my mind because he wasn’t gracious at all about his status, and in a way I’ve always held it against him.

In 1983, the consensus #1 draft choice from Stanford refused to play for the Baltimore Colts who in turn traded John Elway to the Denver Broncos where he’d become the face of the franchise. (The trade was executed for Chris Hinton, Mark Hermann, and Denver’s first round pick of the 1984 draft.) Elway would start 11 games that season under coach Dan Reeves play action offense and have a lackluster start with 7 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. John would display his innate ability to scramble early on with a 5.2 yard per carry average. By 1987, Elway had moved into the upper echelon of quarterbacking. He’d be named NFL Offensive MVP and lead the Broncos to Superbowl XXIII. This would begin a series of heartbreaks for John, who despite his record 47 comebacks, – was labeled a choker in the big game after losing 3 Superbowls.

By the early 1990s John’s feud with head coach Dan Reeves had come to a boil, and at one point during 1991 the Broncos discussed trading him to the Redskins. Reeves would be terminated after the 1992 season, an 8-8 record, and when Elway intimated it would be him or Reeves that had to go. With the hiring of Mike Shannahan, the team would quickly reload and march back to the playoffs by 1996. In 1997, Elway would get another shot at the SuperBowl, this time winning the big game at last against the Green Bay Packers. Owner Pat Bowlen after the game proclaimed, “This one is for John” and Elway beamed. He’d repeat again in 1998 in movie-like fashion, this time taking on the Atlanta Falcons and his ex head coach Dan Reeves. The Broncos would triumph and Elway would be named MVP. Soon there after Elway would announce his retirement due to age, lingering injuries, a desire to spend more time with his family and a feeling that he had no more to accomplish. He was inducted into the Pro Football HoF in 2004 as the first Denver Bronco with 9 Pro Bowl nominations under his belt and two SuperBowl victories.

Elway since football has participated in a variety of sports ventures. He was the owner of the Colorado Crush of the failed AFL, and owns a few car dealerships and steak restaurants. He also hosts his own golf classic and is an open Republican.

In early 2011 John Elway was named Vice President of Football Operations where he is expected to have a large amount of influence in the organization.

G/Gs 234/231   Att 7250    Comp 4123    Pct 56.9%    Yds 51475    TD 300    Int 226   Lg 86    Rat 79.9 |
Rush 774    Yds 3407    Avg  4.4    Td  33    Lg  31

AFL, College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Alworth, Lance “Bambi”

Acquired: Austin Citywide Garage Sale 1996

So I was wandering around a citywide garage sale and saw that a bar was selling all of its close out merchandise at breakneck prices. For 20 bucks I got a nice lot of autographed memorabilia, so I didn’t think it’d be a bad deal to get- even if they were bad considering how much they’d cost in real life. I started a new binder where I kept photo and other types of autographs than cards.

Well, Lance Alworth is a class of 1978 Hall of Fame receiver that played his career for the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys.  Nicknamed “Bambi” by his teammates because of his almost effortless moves he was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders,  who almost immediately traded to the Chargers where he played the majority of his career from 1962 to 1970, often playing quietly through injury including fractures to both of his hands in 1966. He was named an AFL All Star 7 times, and lead the AFL in yardage 3 seasons ( 1966, 1968, and 1969). After the 1970 season he was traded to the Cowboys where he scored the first touchdown in Superbowl VI and afterwards subsequently retired with both an AFL championship ring and a Superbowl ring.

Things have been slightly rough for Alworth. Players of that day and age weren’t paid like they are now, and he had a bad patch there. Since the mid seventies Alworth has opened a series of storage units across California. He’s been also inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame (1977), San Diego Hall of Champions (1972), his number (19) was retired by the Chargers, named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team, the College Football Hall of Fame (1984), the AFL All-Time Team, the Mississipi Sports Hall of Fame, and finally was named number 31 on the 100 Greatest Football Players of all time list from “The Sporting News”.

 

G 136   Rec 542   Yds 10266    Avg 18.9    Td 85   Lg 85

NFL, WLAF

Gailey, Chan

Cards: ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o The Buffalo Bills
Sent: 3/12    Received: 3/19  (7 days)

Georgia born Chan Gailey, has been coaching at the college or pro level now for roughly 35 years, working at a variety of levels before being hired to coach with the Denver Broncos in 1985 and is considered a member of the Dan Reeves coaching tree. He’d spend the next 6 seasons there culminating in the offensive coordinator job, before he became the head coach of the Birmingham Fire in 1991. Making his mark with the team in nearby Alabama, Gailey’s team would make the playoffs both years of the WLAF’s existence. The teams’ were surprisingly known not for their offense, but rather a staunch defense that kept the team in most games. After the 1992 season and the WLAF folded, Chan briefly returned to the NCAA football level, but in 1994 he’d be hired by the Steelers where he’d stay through 1997. He’d serve as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1998 and 1999, but could never shake the image as Jerry Jones’ puppet and that his teams were not tough enough. Even though his teams would make the playoffs both season and lose after the first round, (and Troy Aikman felt that Gailey was a prehistoric dinosaur) Chan would not be detained as the Cowboys head coach. He’d be hired almost immediately to be offensive coordinator of the Dolphins in 2000 staying there through 2001, before returning home to Georgia Tech in 2002. His name got consideration for the head coaching jobs in both Pittsburgh and Miami.  Gailey would coach Tech through 2007 and then be hired by the Chiefs in 2008 as offensive coordinator, but was demoted and not retained by the team. In a surprising move by the Buffalo Bills, in 2010 the team announced Chan Gailey as the team’s 15th head coach partially on a recommendation by former head coach Bill Cowher of the Steelers.

Gailey’s offensive philosophy is one that adapts itself to the players available on the team and along his stops, outside of his current one here in Buffalo, have been good at maximizing very average talent while more importantly hiding those players inefficiencies.  The charge against him in response to this is that his teams’ offenses have been charged with being too conservative.  I jump at the chance to get WLAF autographs and I got his autograph in a quick 7 days from the Bills office. I wish him all the luck but I honestly sent off so quickly for him because I haven’t given him much of a chance up there. The Bills have become a graveyard for good coaches. Below are his WLAF statistics.

W 12      L  7       T  1        Pct .600