Tag Archives: 1991 star pics

NFL

Ervins, Ricky (2) ‘Pinball Wizard’


Cards: Star Pics 1991, Score 1991, Score Supplemental 1991, ProSet 1991
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Work
Sent: 4/7/16  Received: 7/8/16   (92 days)
See Also: Ricky Ervins

I had wondered at some points if I had walked on the same streets where Ricky  grew up in Pasadena, CA and then later went to college at USC.  He has a stack of really nice cards from during the heyday of my collecting years, and Ricky is a really kind and reliable signer through the mail, so I thought I’d dig out the best and revisit him.

I really liked Ricky’s photo from his Score 1991 entry. It showcases him making a quick, low to the ground cut. He had a lot of power in a small package, and was likened to a pinball due to Ricky’s strong sense of balance and ability to bounce off of tacklers and stay upright.  Ervin’s Pro Set entry was sort of a gimme- since the company still had some really exceptional action shots. This one was from a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Score’s Supplemental set photo was equally as good, with him charging forward, in the shadow of his own endzone. Although his football career was punctuated by injury, Ervin’s short time in the league saw some great highlights, including helping the Redskins win SuperBowl XXVI. He runs Xtreme Xplosion, a sports facility in Fairfax, VA that focuses adult and youth players on guided training, and improving  conditioning,  speed, strength and agility.

 

NFL

Watters, Ricky ‘Running’

aprks91 rwatters stpi91 rwatters

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1991, Star Pics 1991
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent:  2/14/11              Received: 12/10/15       (1760 days)

Ricky Watters really distinguished himself at Notre Dame not only as just a runningback but as a flanker for the Irish (after Tim Brown departed for the NFL) in 1988.  He’d help the team secure the National Championship at the conclusion of the year. Ricky returned to his native position in 1989 and finished second in team rushing yards behind Tony Rice.  He ended his college career at ND with 1,814 yards rushing and 2,424 yards receiving. A surprisingly nimble return man, Watters also had 502 yards and 3 TDs on punts. Ricky had an extremely unique rushing style that allowed him to absorb hits while staying upright, and dodge would be ankle tackles by high-stepping.  Big and fast, with exceptional and fluid quickness to the hole, Ricky was considered a very good athlete by scouts, but they were unsure of his ability to run north-south.  San Fransisco selected Ricky in the second round with the fourth pick in the 1991 draft. Watters had his work cut out for him, being in the unenviable position of replacing longtime stalwart back Roger Craig.

Ricky’s rookie season was a complete loss for the 49ers as he spent the whole year shelved on injured reserve. He’d return for 1992 to pick up the slack and run for over 1,000 yards and a Pro Bowl appearance. While his next two seasons were middling near 1,000 yards rushing, it was really his ability to catch out of the backfield that made Watters an adaptable and dangerous runningback. In Super Bowl XXIX, Watters scored 3 touchdowns, but was beaten out for MVP honors by Steve Young.

In 1995, Ricky signed a lucrative free agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles helping to turn around the franchise’s bad fortunes. Running Waters had 1,707 yards from scrimmage that year, and led the league the next year in both carries (353) and yards from scrimmage (1,855). Despite having a pretty good season in 1997, Ricky was allowed to leave for greener pastures in 1998- signing with the Seattle Seahawks. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the next 3 seasons, and another 1,855 yards from scrimmage in 2000, but he did not earn Pro Bowl honors again. Overshadowed by young Shaun Alexander in Seattle, Watters entered a period of semi-retirement after the 2001 season.  He was contacted by many teams including the Eagles, Bucs, and Colts, but eventually opted to retire.

Watters’ body has suffered from the punishment of the hits he took over the years- A byproduct of 2,622 carries and 467 receptions. He like many players suffers from concussions, and is a member of the concussion litigation group that took the league to court. Many of his injuries were misdiagnosed and healed incorrectly, such as his cracked sternum. He also suffers from arthritis. Despite all this Ricky gives back to the community by through the Ricky Watters Foundation, coaching, and around the Orlando area, where he hopes to instill grounded values into his boys. He loves to paint and recently went back to school to receive his degree in Graphic Design from Notre Dame.

Watters is a member of the vaunted 10,000 yard club and finished with 5 Pro Bowl appearances. His 3 TDs from scrimmage during Super Bowl XXIX ties a mark held by Jerry Rice, Terrell Davis, and Roger Craig. Running Waters also holds two other interesting distinctions: He along with Willis McGahee are the only two runningbacks to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season with 3 different teams. His career long carry of 57 yards is also the lowest among runningback with over 10,000 yards- meaning he really ground out the yards.

While he has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he has not made it to the final cut.

Many years ago, I mailed the 49ers for Ricky’s autograph on the Action Packed Rookies card, but when I received the card back, it was stamped on the back. When I returned to the hobby in 2010, I decided to get this card signed again. I did not realize how long I’d wait as this response is now the longest wait/response in my collection.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a total stranger on Facebook, asking me if I had lived in California. Well after a long conversation it was revealed that the new tenant at my old address (from which the forwarding had expired some- 3 years ago or so) had received a few pieces of mail of mine, so I kindly gave her my forwarding address.

About a week or two later, I received a really nice Christmas card from her. Inside was a handwritten note, that warmed my heart. I had always wondered what it was like to receive a TTM request, and this really almost felt like it, especially when they told me that they had been looking for me for such a long time and how much it mattered to them to get these autographs in the right hands.

Lo and behold were autographs from Ricky Watters and Bruce Lasane (both circa 2011).  The people who mailed them to me asked nothing in return except that I have a Merry Christmas. (I am still going to send them a gift card or something.)

It’s so hard in this world now, to genuinely take people at face value when they just want to do something good for you. It’s so easy to not trust, or believe that there’s a hidden motivation behind everyone’s actions. I could have just said, “No way, I’m not giving you my address!”, but instead I just went with my gut and the sincerity that was contained in the original message. Anyway, if there is a moral to be learned from this, I guess it’s that there are good strangers in this world.  Merry Christmas everybody!

G/Gs 144/142     Rush 2622    Yds   10643      Avg 4.1     Td 78      Lg 57
Rec  467          Yds 4248          Avg9.1         Td 13            Lg 65

 

 

 

NFL, WLAF

Brown, Ivory Lee

Card: StarPics 1991
Acquired: In Person 1992, San Antonio Riders v. Orlando Thunder
Failure:    TTM 2010, c/o home.

So there was no security at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos where the Riders played. This allowed me to meander down to the  front of the stands and onto the field at half time. As Ivory Lee was galloping off to the locker room during half time, I crossed paths with him and asked him for his autograph. He smiled and kept jogging saying, “I got another half of work to do.” After the game he penned this Star Pics card for me.

Ivory Lee Brown graduated from tiny Arkansas-Pine Bluff where in his first season he rushed for an incredible 8.3 yards a carry and 1465 yards. An imposing powerback who could easily be mistaken for a fullback at 6’2″, 245, Brown was selected by the Phoenix Cardinals in the 7th round of the 1991 draft, where he’d be placed on the team’s developmental squad.

As the 1992 season opened up in the WLAF, the NFL made available many of its developmental squad members and future stars for the fledgling World League.  The San Antonio Riders were looking for a replacement for their previous runningback Ricky Blake– and found the upgrade in the form of Ivory Lee Brown.  The Riders were a classic offensive team built around a strong running game and tenacious defense. Ivory Lee would initially share the depth chart in the preseason with Tony Boles- but with Boles MIA by week 3, Brown would shoulder an increased workload for the team. By the end of the season Ivory Lee Brown would lead the WLAF in virtually all rushing categories with 767 yards, 166 carries, a 4.6 average, and 7 touchdowns.  His 767 yards would be a league record and he’d be named first team All World League. A big, shifty runner, Coach John Robinson during a broadcast remarked how Ivory Lee was more of a deceptive finesse runner in the open field.

As the season came to close against the Sacramento Surge, optimism was riding high for the 7-3 Riders that 1993 would be their season- but that would never be as the league folded North American operations and did not reemerge until it was retooled to a strictly European format in 1995.

Brown would return to the Cardinals where he’d emerge from the practice squad and be moved into the starting lineup for Phoenix while incumbent runningback  Johnny Johnson held out.  He’d start 5 games and run for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns in relief of Johnson, but would not be resigned after the season. Brown’s history from there is sort of… a mystery as he drops off the face of the Earth, but from time to time his name comes up in conversation as he’s the uncle to current Minnesota runningback Adrian Peterson.

I wrote Ivory in June of 2010 hoping to get the former All WLAF back’s signature on his Wild Card 92 WLAF card at his home address through the Meiselman list, but have been unable to reach him up to this point.

WLAF G/Gs 10/10    Att 166   Yds   767   Avg 4.6   Lg 54     Td 7   |
Rec 9     Yds  54     Avg   6.0      Lg 12    Td  0