Cards: Topps XFL 2001, Score 2010 Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o The Chicago Bears Sent: 2/4/19 Received: 4/2/19 (59 days)
Mike Furrey has made a very interesting professional football journey. After not being drafted out of Northern Iowa in 2000, he’d sign with the Colts but not make the squad.
Undeterred, he’d join the renegade XFL in 2001, where he’d play wide receiver for the Las Vegas Outlaws. He’d snag 18 catches for 242 yards and a 41 yard TD. As the team’s primary punt returner Mike also returned 11 punts for 94 yards.
After the XFL folded, he’d play for the New York Dragons of the Arena football league, spending two years with them in 2002 and 2003. During both seasons he posted 1000+ yard seasons and display a knack for playing defensive back, intercepting 6 passes. He’d also play for the St. Louis Rams in both of those years as well and oddly enough play both wide receiver and defensive back for the team, posting 21 receptions for 197 yards, and then intercept 4 passes for 143 yards, deflect 8 passes, and return one 67 yards for a TD from free safety.
Obviously Mike’s curious stat lines drew him attention in the open market as he signed with the Detrot Lions in 2006. He’d have his finest season as a WR, with 98 receptions for 1086 yards and 6 TDs in 14 starts, and follow that up in 2007 with 61 receptions for 664 yards and a TD. After a subpar 2008, Mike made a stop with the Cleveland Browns in 2009- where he saw significant time again starting 4 games at WR while moonlighting at safety as well. After the season concluded he joined the Washington Redskins but did not make the squad.
Very soon thereafter, Mike went into college coaching and as of this post in 2019, is the wide receivers coach for the Chicago Bears.
Some very interesting design between these two cards. I love the Score 2010, almost as much as Score 2009. It’s got great color, and the slightly off white helps the image stand off the canvas just a little more. I especially like the use of the designs in the top corners of the card to give it that painted effect. This set felt like a direct heir to the 2009 set that I adore.
The Topps XFL card represented everything gaudy about the Attitude Era that bled from WWE into the XFL. It’s an underused design to have both the player’s face and an action image on the front of the card, but this one pulls it off- albeit just a bit over designed.
Bruising fullback Roosevelt Potts reminded many of Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward coming out of college from NE Louisiana. A tireless runner with a low center of gravity, Potts had 558 carries for 3,061 yards and 17 TDs- finishing as the school’s all-time leading rusher, and earned the Southland Conference Player of the Year Honors in 1992 when he ran for 1,266 yards.
Potts was selected in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He’d finish his rookie year with 900 yards from scrimmage- 771 on the ground on 179 carries used primarily as a RB his rookie year. With the arrival of Marshall Faulk in 1994, Potts switched primarily to a blocking role. He scored his lone rushing TD of his career in 1994, posting 336 yards on 77 carries and catching 26 passes for 251 yards. After a 1995 with relatively the same results- Potts was a restricted free agent with a few caveats. First he had to have reconstructive knee surgery, and second, he had been found in violation of the league’s drug policy. It was his 3rd strike and he had to serve a mandatory season long suspension covering all of 1996.
Roosevelt returned to the Colts in 1997, but for the most part that season was a wash too. He played 2 games for the Colts, and 6 games for the Dolphins. He took his skills to Baltimore in 1998 where he served another 16 game stint at fullback, rushing 36 times for 115 yards, and catching a career high 30 passes. A sneaky backfield option with a downfield bulldozing motor- Potts caught 4 TDs in his career on 106 receptions.
But wait- Potts story doesn’t just end there! He joined the XFL in 2001 playing for the Memphis Maniax after a 2 year layoff. Still displaying his hard nosed and devastating blocking up front, Potts played in 4 games catching a pass for 5 yards.
He signed this Topps XFL card for me very quickly- but included a nice note indicating that he had accidentally sent my other cards to somebody else, and if I wanted to send more- he’d be happy to sign. Eager to take him up on his offer I dropped another Gameday 93 and Classic 93 into the envelope along with this ProSet 93. He signed in no time flat and kindly answered my questions telling me that he loved watching the Alliance and will watch the new XFL when it comes out. What a guy! I feel like I could sit down with Potts, have drinks and talk Spring football with this guy all day.
Potts is an Honorary Horseshoe Legend for the Colts, and was named into the ULM 2016 HoF class.
A breathtaking track man coming out of tiny Heidelberg college, Donteea Dye was reputed to run a 4.39 40 during the NFL Scouting Combine. In 2015, he posted 28 receptions for 701 yards (25 yards per catch) and 8 TDs for the Knights. He’d be signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the draft.
Donteea saw action in 10 games (starting 6) for the Bucs his rookie year. He caught 11 passes for 132 yards- which included his first catch that went for a TD. He’d spend the remainder of his career on and off the franchise’s practice squad. Unfortunately he is best remembered for catching a 44 yard bomb that he began to celebrate over, before realizing that the play was still live- resulting in him fumbling the ball.
After being released in 2018, Donteea signed with the Orlando Apollos for their upcoming 2019 season. He’d post 7 receptions for 133 yards and 2 TDs. His best game came in the final contest when he caught a 65 yard TD against the Memphis Express. Perhaps the final missing piece or secret weapon to the Apollos offense, Donteea’s role had been slowly increasing over the past few contests before the AAF shut down.
In October of 2019, Donteea was selected by the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
