Category Archives: WLAF

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Searcy, George

Card: Wild Card World League 1992
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 11/18/19 Received: 1/2/20 (45 days)

George played ball for Eastern Tennessee State from 1987-1990. A big an powerful tailback, George set many rushing records for the Bucs that still stand today. A member of the Bucs upset win in 1987 over NC State- Searcy caught a TD pass to help cinch the win. He then ran for 210 yards over the Citadel in 1989- a season in which he ran for 1,324 yards on 275 carries, and scored 17 TDs, winning the Southern Conference’s Offensive MVP Award. During that season he logged 5 games with over 30 carries and 4 games with 3 TDs. George closed out his career for the Bucs with 462 carries for 2,262 yards.

George was not selected in the 1990 NFL Draft. He signed as a rookie free agent with the Washington Redskins, but did not make the squad. He joined the San Antonio Riders in 1992 after being selected in the 6th round of the player draft. He was a key cog in the Riders World League leading rushing offense, blocking up front and spelling for league leader Ivory Lee Brown that year. George ran 43 times for 195 yards. A dependable receiver out of the backfield, Searcy caught 36 passes for 267 yards and a TD. Missing the final contest of the season with a knee injury, George finished second on the team in catches. After the World League folded George stayed in playing shape, and showed up again briefly on the radar of the CFL for the Toronto Argonauts in 1995.

I was positive that I had already taken a shot at George back 5-7 years ago, but after researching my records, I determined I had not. After doing some digging online, I found out that his daughter lived in Florida. The breadcrumbs slowly led me to him, so I decided to throw this card out there and take a shot.

He signed this card in 45 days and included this nice note:

i am sorry for the delay in returning the card. Thanks for being a fan. I had a great time playing in San Antonio. Good luck with your mission.

Merry X-Mas,
George Searcy #20

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CFL, NFL, WLAF

Savage, Ray (2)

Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 7/29 Received: 8/20 (22 days)
Failure: 2010, 2011 C/o Work
See Also: Ray Savage

The photo of this card of Ray was taken during the San Antonio Riders victory over the Machine in the opening game of the 1992 season. As such- these cards were not in production until near the end or after the season concluded- when there was still a belief that there’d be a season 3 in 1993. I had struggled over the years to get Ray’s autograph on his remaining cards, so I just decided to put it on the back burner for many years.

As I have begun to really go after the AAF, it renewed my appetite for the WLAF set, so I decided to check out some dead ends again, with the help of new technology. A few weeks after I sent this out I was genuinely surprised to get this autograph back from Ray with a sticky note attached to it.

He thanked me for truly putting a smile on his face that week, as he has fond memories of the WLAF and thinks about that time and those games often.

Ray loves coaching and was the head coach at Menchville High School, where he had a rich history of discovering and developing college football talent. He stepped down recently in 2018.

Arena, NFL, WLAF

Sterling, Rob (1966-2019)

Card: ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 12/7 Received: 12/21 (14 days)

A 5th round pick of the Orlando Thunder during the WLAFs inaugural positional draft in 1991, Rob Sterling played college ball at Maine. After graduating in 1988, he’d be selected by the Eagles, but spent the entire year on IR. Acquired via plan B by the Jets the following season, he didn’t make the squad, but returned to the Eagles where he saw time on the team’s developmental squad.

Still hungry to play football, Rob signed up with the fledgling Arena Football League, and played for both the Albany Firebirds and the Washington Commandos in 1990. In limited action, Rob had 5 receptions for 50 yards and a TD, and 8 total tackles- playing both ways.

A rangy playmaker with good speed, Rob finished 3rd on the Thunder in Tackles with 43 stops and 9 pass deflections- after sitting out the final game with a knee injury. Rob’s biggest highlight came when he took a lateraled interception 33 yards for a TD against the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks. He did not return to the league for the 1992 season.

I collaborate with fellow collector Mark (of Marks Signing Bonus) on a semi-regular basis through Sportscollectors.com. He and I send WLAF addresses back and forth of players we have gotten lucky on and while he claims that I am regularly on point, he comes up with some killer finds- including Rob Sterling. Rob originally hails from Jamaica, has got a pretty common name, and went to Maine (of all places), so I pretty much gave up on this one some time ago after doing a ton of research. Thankfully Mark passed this one along to me and Rob autographed this one in roughly 2 weeks.

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**UPDATE**- Upon retiring from football, Robert join the private sector working for Jackson & Tull Aerospace in Greenbelt, Maryland. In the late 1990’s he accepted a job with Ball Aerospace and relocated to Denver, Colorado. He received numerous awards and recognition program awards for his outstanding work in the aeronautics field. While working at Ball, he attended graduate school and obtained an MBA at the University of Denver in Technology Management. He also obtained a Certificate for Corporate Entrepreneurship. Robert also had a passion for coaching. During his time living in Denver he coached football for several youth teams at the Boy’s Club in Denver.

In 2010, he later moved to California to pursue his other passion, fitness. He started Sterling Fitness & Wellness 4U, where he trained clients to reach their optimum fitness and health goals. He found his new business to be very rewarding and was excited about changing people’s lives.

Due to health reasons he relocated back to Maryland to be closer to his family. On August 23rd, 2019 Rob passed away at the Lorine Rehabilitation Center in Columbia, Maryland.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/silver-spring-md/robert-noel-sterling-8831719