Category Archives: ufl

NFL, ufl

Rhodes, Dominic

Card: Top Notch UFL  2011
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o The Virginia Destroyers
Sent: 10/25/11   Received 2/2/12 ( 100 days)

A seemingly ageless runningback, Dominic Rhodes has seen stints with the Colts, Raiders, and Bills, since going undrafted in 2001 out of tiny Midwestern State. In his first season he ran 1104 yards, setting an NFL record for undrafted rookie runningbacks. Dominic also played in Superbowl XLI for the Colts, rushing for 113 yards and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears. After 6 seasons, Rhodes would play one season for the Raiders, and a preseason with the Bills.

In 2010 Rhodes signed with the Florida Tuskers of the UFL. He responded by leading the league in rushing with 547 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 919 net yards. His 260 yards on 12 kick returns were second in the league as well.  After the season he’d play for the Colts again briefly in 2010, before returning to the Tuskers in 2011, (who had moved to Virginia and been rechristened the Destroyers,) under the leadership of Marty Schottenheimer. Playing in his famous ‘Marty-Ball’ offense, Dominic ran for a league record 217 yards and 3 touchdowns, against the Sacramento Mountain Lions. After the 5 game season in which Dominic ran for 410 yards, he’d be named league MVP and also rush for 96 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries in UFL Championship Game III. At this time in 2012 he is the career leading rusher for the UFL.

I wrote Dominic courtesy of the Virginia Destroyers late last season. He responded in a flat 100 days and said that, “He’d love a copy of this card I designed.” I’ll shoot him out another high quality copy of the card in a few weeks when I have a bit more time.

NFL, NFLE, ufl

Gray, Quinn


Cards:  UD MVP 2003, Topps 2008
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Florida A&M Rattlers
Sent: 11/8   Received:  11/21   (13 days)

A strong armed quarterback that resembled Daunte Culpepper, (6’3″, 246) Quinn Gray set benchmarks at Florida A&M with 7368 yards passing and 57 touchdowns. Undrafted, Gray would be signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2002, and then be allocated to NFL Europe to play for the Frankfurt Galaxy in 2003. While with the Galaxy, Quinn would have a good season (58/131, 1099 yards, and 11 tds to only 5 picks) playing alongside former Texas Terminator and Texas Longhorn James Brown, leading the Galaxy to a World Bowl victory (XI). He’d return stateside, and not throw a pass in the NFL through the 2004 season.

Gray in 2005 saw some cleanup action, and again in 2006, earning a reputation as a solid backup. With the Jaguars jettisoning Byron Leftwich, Gray slid into the backup position behind incumbent David Garrard in 2007. He’d hop into the starting role near the end of the season as the injury bug would sideline Garrard. Quinn started 4 games, completing 80 of 144 passes for 966 yards and 10 touchdowns, including a head stomping of the Houston Texans. At the end of the season, Gray became a free agent and ironically signed with the Texans. Facing stiff competition, Gray would lose out on the backup job to Matt Schaub against Sage Rosenfels. Quinn later saw time also on the rosters of the Colts and Chiefs before being named the starting quarterback of the New York Sentinels of the UFL in 2009. The team would finish a woeful 0-10 and relocated to Hartford. In the meantime, Quinn has gone into coaching in what he calls, “A dream come true,” with his former Alma Mater, Florida A&M where I got his autograph in under two weeks via the school.

This Upper Deck MVP card is one of the ugliest I’ve seen and lacks any subtly to its design and texturing. The flagrant abuse of the jersey stock, not only on the front but the back as well, renders much of the type distracting and illegible, especially when there is use of thin black 6pt type on a gray backdrop. How did this get past QC? The Topps card, -probably the only one of Quinn in a Texans uniform, is a conservative yawner attempting to capture a look from years past in the use of the type. The framing and insistence of having the Topps logo front and center is ugly and makes me feel like I am looking at a one toothed monster, but I digress. I am none the less happy to add Quinn to the collection with his illustrious NFLE, NFL, and UFL careers behind him. Below are Quinn’s shockingly good limited NFL statistics:

G/Gs  12/4    Att  188     Comp   108      Yds 1328      Pct   57.4     Td  13      Int   5      Rat  91.4
Rush 25    Yds  111   Avg  4.4    Td  2    Lg 27

College Football HoF, NFL, ufl, University of Texas

Sisemore, Jerry

to81 j sisemoreto80 j sisemore

Cards: Topps 1980, Topps 1981
Acquired: In Person, 11/9/11 Card Traders of Austin UD 2011 UT Football Card Launch Party

Really Upper Deck? Shame on you for not printing a card of University of Texas legend Jerry Sisemore. I guess they are saving him for series 2. Pathetic. Well Jerry also appeared at the event and signed some cards. He was a last second booking, but I was happy to add him finally to the collection along with Bill Bradley, Johnny Walker, and Rod Babers.

The 3rd overall pick of the 1974 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, Jerry Sisemore was a man-mountain, at 6’4″, 250 after graduating from the University of Texas.  He’d go on to start 155 games for the franchise over the next 12 seasons at both guard and tackle. Sisemore played for an Eagles franchise from some of the lowest doldrums of the NFC East, to its apogee and the Super Bowl in 1980. In 1979 alone he played for a monstrous 430 minutes. Considered one of the Eagles finest linemen ever, he was inducted into the Eagles Wall of Honor in 1991 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Currently Sisemore partially owns a chain of sub shops in Austin called Delaware Subs, that used to air somewhat hilarious commercials where his Texas drawl and delivery were the punchline of them. He’s dabbled in coaching, lastly for the Florida Tuskers of the UFL.  Jerry also is highly active in commercial property development, which if you live in Austin is quite lucrative.