NFL

Haley, Charles

Card: Action Packed 1992
Acquired: In Person, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 1994.

Charles Haley is perhaps one of the craziest players I’ve had the pleasure of getting an autograph from and unfortunately this reputation has denied him from entry into the Pro Football HoF.

There’s always that guy you hear ‘stories’  and rumors about- The one who pulls out his manhood and runs down the hall peeing on Carmen Policy’s office wall. The guy who masturbated during team meetings and talked about other player’s wives while he did it.  The guy who attacked head coaches (George Seifert) and had a wonderful vocabulary that he loved to share with the media but they couldn’t print it. The guy who was so crazy it was rumored that Ronnie Lott was assigned to keep him in line. A guy who nicknamed himself “The Last Naked Warrior” -but it wasn’t his fantasy football team.  The guy who once received bananas in his locker as a joke because of his Neanderthal-like ways.  That’s what I heard.

But there’s the guy who you hear the straight up truth about what he left on the field as a player and father. He’s also the guy who suffered from Bi-Polar disorder, was manic, and was only diagnosed with it a few years after football. He’s the only guy who’s won 5 SuperBowl rings (49ers and Cowboys) and is modest enough not to wear one. He’s the guy who’s daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia and decided to retire. He’s the guy who came back for a final season despite injuries ‘for the love of the game’. He’s the guy who racked up 100.5 sacks over his career as a budding situational pass-rusher and then later defensive end. He’s the guy who wrote his wife poetry when they dated at James-Madison. He’s the guy who loved to go on shopping sprees- for his mother. He’s the guy who walks with a slight bend after constant back surgeries and through therapy, self-discovery and medication has come to understand what he’s done.  He’s the guy who with a committee that values winning over statistical performance, both which he’s demonstrated- still has not gotten into the NFL HoF.

The latter is Charles Haley today and that’s how I choose to remember him, and despite my penchant for hating on Cowboys- I really liked him.

In 2011, although drafted by the San Fransisco 49ers, Charles was honored by the Dallas Cowboys who selected him to announce their 2nd round pick during the NFL draft, and also with an induction into the Cowboys Ring of Honor along with Larry Allen and Drew Pearson.

G/Gs 169/109     Tac  485     Sac 100.5      Fum 26        Int 2    Yds 9   Avg 4.5      Td 0     Lg  8

NFL

Ervins, Ricky ‘Ric’

Card: Action Packed Rookies 1991
Acquired: In Person, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 1996

Near the waning days of my first autograph collecting stint, (which could be directly attributable to a horrid relationship I began in a different story all together for a ‘my diary posting’,) I got wind that Ricky Ervins was signed by the Los Angeles Raiders who needed depth at running back to get through training camp because of injuries to many of their key players in 1996. I’d get him along with a few other players that year, but this would be my final time at Cowboys Training Camp at St. Edwards in Austin. It was a good, long run which yielded a slew of SuperBowl talent and interesting stories, but the Cowboys were leaving Austin and the Oilers had already packed Bud’s moneybags for backroom promises in Tennessee. I’d effectively tune out of the sport after 1997- not even watching it again until 2000.

Ricky Ervins from Pasadena, Ca is considered a USC legend- (holding many records that Reggie Bush would later break) for the squad and is most remembered for his 1990 campaign in which he won the Rose Bowl MVP honors. Despite his credentials, Ricky had to wait until the 3rd round of the 1991 draft to hear his named called-  by the Washington Redskins. You see, Ervins is another case of a player before his time.  At 5-7 , 200, Ervins was considered undersized for a tailback, but in this day and age Ricky would fit right in with most West Coast offenses and their 3rd down, ‘scatback’ roles. The Redskins immediately put him to work along side Earnest Byner and the electric duo would help the Redskins make other teams respect the run. In his rookie season, Ervins scampered for 680 yards (leading all NFC rookies), a 4.7 per carry average (leading all rookies),  a 65 yard long jolt for a touchdown, and win SuperBowl XXVI. (Ricky would be the leading rusher of the game with 72 yards.) He’d rarely see starting time but rather was brought in for a fresh set of legs and a change of pace. Ricky also was a formidable receiver out of the backfield making 32 catches in 1992 and start a career high 10 games en route to 51 more receptions in 1994.  He’d be signed by the San Fransisco 49ers in 1995, and inexplicably for no reason, got lost in the backfield shuffle and be out of a job at the end of the season. The Oakland Raiders came calling in 1996, where Ricky flew down to be in camp with the team in Austin for training camp. Unfortunately he wouldn’t make the final roster and retired. Since football, Ricky has opened a successful high school athletic prep academy called Xtreme Xplosion (http://www.xtremexplosion.net/) in Northern Virginia.

G/Gs 76/11   Att 554     Yds  2114   Avg 3.8   TD 8    Lg 65T    |
Rec 117    Yds 870    Avg  7.4     Td 2    lg  28

NFL

Johnson, Jeremiah

Card: Score 2009
Acquired: Texans Blitz 2009

Okay, here’s a guy I thought was a slam dunk and was very disappointed to have not seen make the final roster of the Texans in 2010.  The platoon mate to Johnathan Stewart in college started one season but made it count rushing for over a 1000 yards and a whopping 7.1 yards a carry. (He was so good that his stiff arm had a facebook page set up for it at one point!) He and his agent determined that a shoulder injury caused teams to stay away and as you know, runningbacks are a dime a dozen, so he was a free agent. Johnson would sign with the Texans along with fellow free agent runningback Arian Foster and be placed on IR after separating his shoulder in 2009.

In 2010, Jeremiah would have a pretty good training camp and in his limited playing time would work his way up in the preseason lineup. I was very impressed by his ability and physicality, and thought he had an outside shot at the starting assignment, but coaches thought otherwise. After an impressive performance against the Cowboys, Johnson would dislocate his toe in the final game of the preseason and would be cut. At this time the team is attempting to work out an injury waiver settlement and resign him to the practice squad or the regular roster in late September or early October as the team’s #3 back behind free agent signee Derrick Ward. It never happened. Here are some highlights of his preseason and college stiff arm work from YouTube. Currently Johnson is on the roster of the Denver Broncos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqOU9d8sR0M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynbo4ZjMJXk&feature=related

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