Category Archives: WLAF

NFL, WLAF

Davis, Demetrius ‘Truck’ (1967-2013)

ProSet World League 1991, #34

CARD: Pro Set World League 1991
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2022

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Played college ball at Nevada-Reno and was a talented TE, and big man (6’5″, 235) in basketball.
  • Switched from wingback to tight end, and as a Senior in 1990 caught 33 passes for 539 yards and 7 TDs, earning second team All-Big Sky Honors.
  • Finished career for the Wolfpack with 83 catches for 1296 yards and 13 TDs.
  • 12th round pick of the Los Angeles Raiders, became Mr. Irrelevant, as the last pick of the 1990 NFL Draft.
  • Cut in preseason, but later drafted by the World League Barcelona Dragons in 1991.
  • Finished second on the team in receptions with 34 receptions for 461 yards and 3 TDs.
  • Had monster game, catching 8 passes for 120 yards and 2 TDs, to help beat previously unbeaten London in final week of season.
  • Caught 34 passes for 374 yards in 1992.
  • Returned to World League, and the Dragons in 1995 after league hiatus.
  • Caught 40 passes for 544 yards and 2 TDs that season.
  • Played final season in 1996 with the Dragons, catching a career high 43 passes (376 yards and 2 TDs).
  • At time of retirement, was World League’s all time receptions leader.

ACCOLADES:

  • Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame
  • 1990 Mr. Irrelevant
  • WLAF 1991 Week 10 Player of the Week
  • Barcelona Dragons’ All-Time Career Leading Receiver

NOTES:

A lot of people are looking out for me, and again a special shout out to my friend CFLfaninPhilly for pointing out this auction on EBay to me. I was able to drop in and snipe it out at the last second at a very cheap price. I searched for a very long time for Demetrius, before learning of his passing only a few days after finding a working address. (It was eye opening to discover how many Demetrius Davis’ exist in this world.) As he is covered in all 3 sets, just finding one autographed was a major coup. The seller of the card indicated that he was old and done with collecting and loved going to training camps, through the mail, and spring training, so I figured this one was a low risk/ high reward situation.

EPITAPH:

Demetrius passed away of a heart attack (enlarged heart) in December of 2012 at the age of 45, following a pickup basketball game.  Truck touched a lot of people’s lives with his positivity, humor, and inspiration. CC Sabathia, (Davis’ cousin) a pitcher for the Yankees, renovated a North Vallejo basketball court at 1601 Fairgrounds Drive and named it after Demetrius.

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NFL, NFLE, WLAF, XFL

Luck, Oliver

CARD: Pro Set 1991 World League Insert
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 4/21 RECEIVED: 5/2 (9 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Played QB for the Mountaineers from 1979-82 setting numerous records at the school.
  • Selected by the Houston Oilers in the 2nd round of the 1983 NFL Draft.
  • Played 4 seasons for the Oilers, starting 9 games and winning 3 contests.
  • Best game perhaps came in 1985, leading the Oilers in a comeback win over the San Diego Chargers 37-35.
  • Threw for 286 yards on 24 of 42 passes with 1 TD and an INT during that game.
  • Over NFL career also rushed 44 times for 237 yards and a TD.
  • From 1984-86, backed up Warren Moon, but in 1987 the Oilers drafted Cody Carlson, so the writing was on the wall for Oliver in H-Town.
  • After retiring, has had a very successful career as an executive in the sport.
  • Got first taste as General Manager of the Frankfurt Galaxy from 1991-’92.
  • After the World League reorganized, returned to be the GM of the Rhein Fire from 1995-’96.
  • Served as NFL Europe President from 1996-00.
  • Returned stateside working with the Houston Sports Authority from 2001-05.
  • Named President and GM of the Houston Dynamo from 2005-10.
  • Served as Executive VP of Regulatory Affairs from 2014-18.
  • Poached to lead the XFL20 initiative, as Commissioner and CEO, but the league shut down operations as COVID took hold.

NOTES:

Getting Oliver for the XFL job was a huge, huge media buzz pull for the XFL. It was a savvy move for Vince to hand over the reins and let someone else handle the operations of the league, and Oliver was the most qualified. It really disappointed me how the league treated Luck after everything shut down and I hope he wins every dollar he sued McMahon for in court.

When I met him, Lance and I were at the Houston Roughnecks/ Tampa Vipers scrimmage, and Oliver just sorta meandered down from the stands down near the field where we were. He was, I don’t know, pleasantly amused that I recognized him, and possibly a bit befuddled nobody caught him before me. Oliver came over and we discussed the league and I told him that I was a big World League fan from back in the day and a season ticket holder to the Riders. He gave me the usual talking points that he circulates of his time in Frankfurt and how they didn’t have any desks and how unprepared they were, but it didn’t matter as we had a great conversation.

I meant to send to Oliver sooner but I couldn’t find a card of him. The only thing I could locate was a McDonalds scratch and win trading card from the mid 80s, but nobody had it in stock, or at a reasonable price. Eventually I settled on the Pro Set 1991 World League Galaxy helmet insert, and I can’t figure out why I didn’t start getting these signed sooner as they are perfect for the job. So I dropped this and a photo in, as well as a card of his son (Andrew), hoping that he’d have Oliver sign as well, but unfortunately that plan backfired, and Oliver signed that card as well. Ah well… Very happy with his response, signing the card and the photo for me with a nice note.

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NFL, WLAF

Austin, Teryl

CARD: Pro Set 1991 World League Helmet Insert
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o The Pittsburgh Steelers
SENT: 1/22 RECEIVED: 4/11 (79 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Teryl Austin played DB for at Pitt from 1984-87.
  • Had outstanding 1985, notching 7 picks for 186 yards.
  • Also used as return man, finishing with 96 punt returns for 640 yards.
  • Going undrafted in 1988, he eventually joined the World League of American Football in 1991.
  • Played for the Montreal Machine during inaugural season.
  • Made the jump to coaching later that year, joining Penn State for 1991 and 1992.
  • Over the 90s got more seasoning first as a DB coach at Wake Forest (1993-95) and then later as a Defensive Assistant at Syracuse (1996-98) and Michigan (1999-02).
  • Saw first turn in pros with the Seahawks (2003-06) and then Cardinals (07-09) as a DB coach.
  • After one year stint as DC at Florida (2010), worked for the Ravens as a Secondary Coach from 2011-13.
  • Then took reins with Lions (2014-17) and Bengals (2018) as defensive coordinator.
  • In 2019, joined Steelers as Senior Defensive Assistant and Secondary Coach, and in 2022 was promoted to defensive coordinator.

NOTES:

Another success story, Teryl has quietly made the puddle jump up the ranks of football coaching ranks after getting some seasoning in the World League.

Teryl came to my attention around 7 or 8 years ago, when he was considered for the head coaching position at the University of Texas. He actually played– so I wanted to get him on something. Since many players did not have cards who were in the World League, I thought this helmet card was the next best thing.

WLAF

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