CFL, WLAF

Matthews, Don ‘The Don’ (1939-2017)

psetwlaf91 don matthewsCards: ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent:  8/5  Received: 9/27   (53 days)

The WLAF scored a coup when the Orlando Thunder was able to lure longtime firebrand head coach Don Matthews to the league. It immediately gave the league some credo in its attempts to stave off the future CFL invasion into the USA.

After spending time in the military, Matthews had some stints coaching at the high school and college level before emerging in the CFL in 1977. There he joined the Edmonton Eskimos led by coach Hugh Campbell and quarterback Warren Moon. The team went on to win 5 consecutive Grey Cup Championships before Don was hired to coach the British Columbia Lions. He’d turn the doormat into a Grey Cup contender, marking their first appearance in some 20 odd years. The Don brought the cup home to the Lions in 1985 as he won his first coach of the year honor. His teams always employed a smash mouth defensive style and his players lovedpset91 don matthews to ‘walk the way he walked’. He coached the Lions through 1987, before his stint in the WLAF in 1990.

Don’s 1990 team was uncharacteristic of his CFL entries. The team had a powerful offense led by Kerwin Bell, but their defense was trashed by most teams, leading to a 5-5 record in Matthews’ only season in Orlando. Don returned to the CFL after the season and coached for the Argos, before hopping over to Saskatchewan through 1993. As the CFL invaded the US market Matthews became the head coach of the Baltimore Colts/ Stallions. He’d earn coach of the year honors back to back as the Stallions won the Grey Cup. Don returned to the Toronto Argonauts from 1996-1998, before sweeping back to the Esks from 1999-2000. Again in 1997 this time, The Don earned another coach of the year honor as his team won back to back championships in 96 and 97. He’d be best remembered by many fans for his time in Montreal guiding the Alouettes, – a team that lived and played as hard as Matthews did, to another championship in 2002. After a year off from the sport, Matthews coached one more season in 2008 for Toronto. His 231 wins are only second to Wally Buono in CFL history.

Living in Oregon, Don has handled anxiety most of his coaching career. He was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2011 as a ‘League Builder’. A special thanks to DemonXXX on the sportscollectors.net message board for helping me find this one.

WLAF    W 5    L 5     T 0    Pct .500
CFL  W 231   L 133  T 1    Pct .633

UPDATE 6/14/17– CFL Hall of Fame coach Don Matthews passed away today at the age of 77, after a 4 year battle with cancer.

NFL

Ramsey, Patrick

Card: Topps Finest 2002
Acquired: 2012, Target Autograph Memorabilia

The Washington Redskins had been struggling for years to find a quarterback for the team, going back to the days post- Mark Rypien. Patrick Ramsey was supposed to be the answer to those woes, and coach Steve Spurrier had him pegged as their pick after the expansion Texans took David Carr with the first pick and the Lions went with Joey Harrington. Ramsey was the 3rd quarterback taken off the board with the 32nd pick of the 1st round during the 2002 draft.

Patrick had a phenomenal career playing for the Tulane Green Wave, helping re-energize the college’s program, and set 20 passing records while with the school.

After being drafted by the Redskins to play in their Fun & Gun offense, Ramsey struggled to maintain the starting job, frequently yielding to backup Danny Wuerfful and Shane Matthews.  Still, Ramsey posted a 2-3 record in the 5 contests he started, leading the league in yards per completion with a 13.2 yard average. In 2003, the offensive line collapsed, and Ramsey was frequently under siege but with a 4-7 starting record and 14 TDs under his belt, it looked as though Patrick was beginning to mature. 2003, however turned out to be head coach Steve Spurrier’s final season in Washington. With Joe Gibbs returning to the franchise in 2004, he brought in Mark Brunell and demoted Ramsey back to second string. Ramsey ended up relieving Brunell during the season, and completed 62.1% of 272 passes. Patrick was named as the starter for 2005, but against the Bears in the opener he suffered a neck injury, and found himself sitting on the bench the remainder of the year. It would be Patrick’s final season in Washington and begin the Jouneyman phase of his career.

Traded to the Jets to provide quarterback competition for incumbent Chad Pennington, he failed to unseat Chad and was cut following the 2006 season. Moving on to the Broncos, Patrick saw limited playing time backing up Jay Cutler through 2009. Ramsey has been on and off rosters since that time as pretty much a camp arm of the Titans, Lions, Saints, Jaguars, Dolphins, and Vikings.

 

NFL, University of Texas

Koy Jr., Ernie “Little Koy”

utud11 er koyCards: UT Upper Deck 2011, UT Upper Deck 2011 Memorable Moments, UT Upper Deck 2011 All-Time Alumni
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 3/4      Received: 3/8    (4 days)

A real surprise to open my mailbox and find Ernie Koy responded so kindly and quickly to my autograph request. Inside he signed all 3 cards and told me his fondest moment playing for UT was the 1965 Orange Bowl victory over Alabama, a game in which Koy ripped off a 79 yard touchdown run and finished with a school record at the time, 24 carries for 133 yards. I then realized that he had played in utud11 cotton Navy MMBOTH the ’64 Cotton Bowl and the ’65 Orange Bowl, and had forgotten to include another card.  I later wrote him back to get the final Memorable Moment card signed (in black).

Ernie Koy Jr. and his brother Ted, were part of a family father/sons lineage combo that enjoyed much success through the University of Texas, much like the McCoy family does today. A wingback in the Longhorns much touted Wishbone offense under head coach Darrell Royal, Ernie converted to fullback and led Texas in rushing his Senior season with 707 yards and 10 TDs in 1964. He was also an accomplished punter.

utud11 ekoy MM65A part of the 1965 NFL draft, Ernie was taken in the 11th round by the New York Giants. A multifaceted player, Ernie not only was able to play runningback, but also punter and returner as well. As a member of the shortlived ‘Baby Bulls’ backfield for NY, Koy was a member of a group of basically 5 fullbacks that were straight ahead in-line rushers, and all were roughly the same size and possessed great hands. Upon arriving in New York, Koy was named starting punter and played Flanker throughout his first two seasons.  After a move to Halfback, in 1967 he earned his only Pro Bowl berth, rushing for 704 yards on 146 carries, and 4 touchdowns.  He retired after the 1970 season.utud11 er koy ATA Over his career for New York, Ernie was a jack of all trades as evidenced by his statistics that not only included rushing and receiving, but punting, kick returning, and an occasional pass here or there.

Ernie is an upstanding member of the Texas community. He’s been a successful banker working from the ground floor up, and has given a lot of his time back through his charitable activities. He lives outside of Houston on a 200 some odd acre ranch, and has a masters in education.

G  79     Rush 414    Yds 1723    Avg 4.2     Td 9    Lg  61      |     Rec 76    Yds 498     Avg  6.3     Td 6      Lg 41
Att  12   Comp 6     Yds 129    Pct 50.0   Td  1    Int 1     Rat 81.6
Kr 25    Yds 439   Avg 17.6    Td 0   Lg 38
P 223    Yds 8583   Avg 38.5     Lg 67   Blk  0

Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.