Category Archives: WLAF

AAF, CFL, NFL, usfl, WLAF, XFL

Riley, Mike

Cards: ProSet 1991 Helmet Card, Proset World League 1991, ProSet 1991.
Acquired: In Person, San Antonio Riders,  San Antonio v. Ohio Glory (preseason)

My father and I started going to WLAF games in the summer of 1992 down in San Marcos, Texas at Bobcat Stadium on the campus of what was SWT at the time. The team had played its games the previous season in San Antonio at the dilapidated Alamo stadium (home of the Gunslingers of the USFL), but in 1992 planned to move into the Alamodome. The Alamodome was running behind schedule and that and a combination of a disagreement on sales of alcohol prompted the team to move to a reasonable distance from Austin. The WLAF had a one game scrimmage/ preseason for each team, and the Riders drew the Ohio Glory who they beat soundly that day.

Coach Riley preferred sound defense and a strong running game. A former Alabama CB and Bear Bryant apostle, Mike Riley and I talked for a few minutes after the game about coaching. He was very nice and stopped to take a photo or two with me. Riley isn’t exactly a journeyman coach, but it’s easy to see him as such since he rarely has spent more than 3 years at any college. Winning two CFL World Cups for the Blue Bombers, Riley made the jump to the WLAF in 1991 where he coached the Riders to a  4-6 record and a 7-3 record in 1992. (The team was denied the playoffs by tiebreakers.) After the team folded he was hired by Larry Benson (owner of the Riders and signer on the helmet card with Riley) to coach the expansion San Antonio Texans of the CFL, but that team did not get off the ground and folded quickly.  Riley then went on to coach at USC under John Robinson as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, before he was hired by the Oregon State Beavers in 1997, whom he laid the foundations of success for. In 1999, though Riley was hired to coach the San Diego Chargers where he had a rocky tenure and was released after two seasons.  Riley proved though you could indeed return ‘home’ as he was rehired by Oregon State in 2003 where he has remained since posting 5 bowl wins and a .576 winning percentage in 9 seasons.

WLAF      Seasons  2      Wins 11      Losses 9      Pct .555

WLAF

Crossman, Dan

Cards: Wild Card WLAF 1992 #150, Wild Card WLAF World Bowl Champs, Pro Set WLAF 1991 World Bowl Trophy, Proset WLAF 1991 WB Replay
Acquired: TTM 2010 c/o The Detroit Lions
Sent: 4/27  Received: 5/6 (9 days)

I sent Dan Crossman these four cards, and a photo from a game I attended. Responding to me in 9 days, he thanked me for being a fan and wished me luck in getting all the WLAF autographs I could.  This kindness inspires me.

Dan Crossman played for the London Monarchs in the WLAF and won MVP honors for the first World Bowl in 1991 when the Monarchs beat the Dragons 21-0. Crossman was overshadowed all season by the rest of the members of the defense such as Dedrick Dodge and Corris Ervin, but Crossman made it count picking of Scott Erney 3 times in the game and returning one for a touchdown.

After the game ABC caught up with Crossman who explained how they figured out Erney. Dan explained that Erney would look to TE Demetrius Davis frequently on a crossing pattern when Erney saw outside man coverage, so the Monarch secondary would switch from man to zone and slip a guy underneath.

For receiving the MVP honors, Crossman also was given a bonus check and a brand new car. “Danny” would again return to the Monarchs in 1992 but the team would not fare as well, and the league soon after would be suspended for restructuring. In 1993, Crossman began coaching in the college ranks and has since then risen to the NFL where at the time of this post he is coaching with the Detroit Lions.

Games 20         Tac   N/a            Sac  0
Int       3           Yds   116       Lg 87T         TD   1

Arena, WLAF

Blake, Ricky

Cards: Ultimate WLAF 1991, Proset World League 1991
Acquired: In Person, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 1992

Ricky Blake was an All-Pro WLAF Prospect when he made the jump from the San Antonio Riders to the Dallas Cowboys, after he ranked third in the WLAF with 554 yards.

A bruising fullback with deceptive speed, Blake was not drafted out of Alabama A&M. In fact, he opted to leave college and play in the CFL for Winnipeg. He then took a year off, but had already gotten the attention of head coach Mike Riley, who drafted him to play in San Antonio where he was the bell cow of the Riders offense.  Surprisingly nimble for his size, clocking in at near 250- Blake was compared to big bodied Saints’ RB Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward.

After transitioning to the Cowboys, Ricky started out with a bang in ’91, then was injured after 2 games on a long run against Phoenix. He never played again for the Cowboys, sustaining a hip pointer much like the one that ended Bo Jackson’s career.

Blake however would return to play for the Fort Worth Arena league team in 1994, notching 12 yards on 4 carries and one tackle that year.  Later then he was picked up by the Barcelona Dragons of the newly reconstituted NLFE in 1995, playing for one season, rushing for 398 yards on 98 carries before hanging up his cleats for good.   It should be noted that it is commonly mistaken that Blake returned to the Riders in 1992, but by that point, Ivory Lee Brown had taken over for him in SA.

WLAF Games  10     Att   120         Yds   554        Avg     4.6            TD  5
Rec 16      Yds 107       Avg 6.7      Lg 24      Td 1