NFL

Jones, Cedric

Card: Score 1990
Acquired: In Person, Houston Oilers Training Camp 1991

Cedric Jones was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 1982 draft. A dependable receiver with soft hands, Jones played 9 seasons for the Patriots, before he was signed Plan B by the Oilers attempting to find more wide receivers that would fit the Run and Shoot mold. A prized team player who could play all four wide receiver positions Cedric was very proud of his time with the Patriots and has fond memories of the team’s run to Super Bowl XX.  I got Cedric’s autograph at training camp at Trinity in San Antonio that year. He was walking off the field by himself and I was probably the only person who recognized him. He mumbled something to me about liking the football card and exchanged pleasantries with me before making his way off the field.

An avid history buff, Jones since retirement has found himself managing over the NFL’s Youth Football offices and at one point Cedric was part of a radio broadcast team and also as a financial consultant. Currently he’s Director of Athletics for the New York Athletic Club and on the board of “Beyond the Boroughs” scholarship fund. He continues to follow the Patriots while he raises his family and participates actively in charitable causes and speaking engagements.

G/Gs  120/37     Rec 191     Yds 2703   Avg 14.2    Td 16    Lg  65

College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL, usfl

Rozier, Mike

Cards: ProSet HH 1991, Score 1989, ProSet 1989
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o Home
Sent: 4/3  Received: 4/19  (16 days)

There were some incredible Nebraska teams over the years, and Mike Rozier was one of those immense talents coming out of college that was a surefire pick. The 1983 Heisman Trophy winner, he’d go pro in 1984- but throw the NFL for a loop jumping to the USFL and be signed by the Pittsburgh Maulers. He’d amass 792 yards and 3 touchdowns on 223 carries his rookie season. Tempted to jump back to the NFL, Rozier would resign and play for the Jacksonville Bulls in 1985 crushing opponents for 1361 yards on  320 carries. He’d also chock in 12 touchdowns. With the USFL crumbling and his rights relinquished to the Baltimore Stars, Rozier would be drafted in the supplemental draft by the Houston Oilers of the NFL with the second overall pick in 1984. The Oilers would finish buying out his contract and he’d make the jump to the NFL.

After his rookie season where he played fullback, Rozier would play runningback for the rest of his career from 1986 on out.  A great mixture of power and speed, injuries quickly limited Mike’s production in the NFL in an age where arthroscopic knee surgeries were not necessarily a given to rehabilitate players. Rozier would go to the ProBowl in 1987 (957 yards), and 1988 (1002 yards). By 1989 the team was utilizing a runningback by committee approach with Lorenzo White, Alonzo Highsmith, and Allen Pinkett alongside Rozier, but with the departure of head coach Jerry Glanville, Mike would be cut by the Oilers in 1990 after 3 games.  He reunited immediately with Glanville who was now in Atlanta and put up 675 yards in 13 games. Seeking a new contract after the season for roughly $1 million, Rozier briefly toyed with the idea of signing with the WLAF’s Birmingham Fire, but with comparatively low salaries- it probably never really entered into a serious negotiation. Mike would get his wish however and resign with the Falcons playing in 11 games and finishing out with 361 yards, but after arthoscopic knee surgery in January of that year he’d soon after announce his retirement.

After football, Mike moved back to New Jersey where he was born. Unfortunately in 1995, he was shot in his hometown of Camden where he suffered internal injuries to his liver. In 2003, he was brought back to Nebraska for a team reunion, and in 2005 Mike was inducted into the Camden sports Hall of Fame and the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Finally, in 2006 Mike Rozier was inducted into the College Football HoF.

G/Gs 92/59        Rush 1159      Yds  4462      Avg 3.8      Td 30    lg 67    |
Rec 90    Yds 715    Avg  7.9  Td 1   lg  52

AFL, NFL, Pro Football HoF, Super Bowl MVP

Namath, Joe “Broadway Joe”

Card: ProSet 1990 SB
Acquired: In Person 1993, CGA Youth Golf Tournament

Okay, the CGA Youth Golf Tournament had the hugest names- and there were few bigger than Joe Namath there, well unless you include Maury Povich who people were mistaking him for. Joe was a really cool guy, but reminded me of my grandpa. He got off the golf cart and the only thing I could look at were his knees. It was obvious that the frequent surgeries had taken their toll on him, especially when he was going uphill. He told us he was unable to sign any Upper Deck cards, since he had a contract with those, and any others he could only sign if they were personalized and would only sign one per person- but he’d sign one for everybody. I was ecstatic with that deal. He signed mine “Lee, Good meeting ya’, Joe Namath”. I laughed because he ran out of room on the card and used an insert carat to write “ya'”. The ProSet 1990 SuperBowl card was a perfect card though, and the illustration was well worth the man who made the greatest guarantee in sports history.

One of the biggest names of the upstart AFL against the NFL, Joe Namath was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the AFL’s 1965 draft out of Alabama. (Bear Bryant would state later that signing Namath at Alabama would be one of the best decisions he ever made.) While the St. Louis Cardinals would also draft Namath, but with a huge salary at the time on the line, would elect to go to the Jets and at season’s end would be named rookie of the year. Namath over the next few seasons would transform the struggling Jets team into a contender, culminating in SuperBowl III where he brashly proclaimed before the game to reporters that the Jets would win over the heavily favored NFL Baltimore Colts. He’d come through on that bet, and the team would help usher the AFL into the NFL merger on a high note and a fair amount of respect and garner MVP honors for the game. Joe would earn the nickname “Broadway Joe” for his engaging personality, great smile and the media circus that would inevitably follow. He would have a few notable run ins with the commissioner as well, but by 1970 Namath’s knee injuries had caught up to him. His next few seasons would be injury plagued, and in 1975 he was waived. Joe Namath would finish his career playing his final season with the Los Angeles Rams. Namath has a lasting legacy in the annuls of NFL history, as the first 4,000 yard passer and the winner of the first overtime game in NFL history. On a side note he also played in the first Monday Night Football game. Joe Namath after retirement went right into acting, where he’s had a steady stream of guest appearances in TV, film and ironically- Broadway. He has also spent a great deal of time handling color commentary, finished college and is a speaker for the March of Dimes. Namath also remains an active non-official spokesperson for the New York Jets and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

G/Gs 140/130     Att 3762   Comp 1886   Yds 27663  Pct 50.1%    Td 173   Int 220   Rat 65.5    Lg 91

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