Lawrence Dawsey played WR for Florida State from 1987-90.
Saw marked improvement every year in catches and yards playing for the Seminoles.
In his Senior year Dawsey posted 65 receptions for 999 yards and 7 TDs.
A 3rd round selection of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1991, Dawsey didn’t even start until Week 7 of the season.
He’d post 44 receptions after that point, including an 8 catch 100 yard (TD) effort against the Dolphins in week 13.
Finished rookie season with a career high 818 yards, 14.9 yards per reception, and 3 TDs (55 catches).
In ’92 Dawsey posted a career high 60 receptions (776 yards and a TD).
He’d play the next 3 seasons for the Bucs, finishing his career in Tampa with 2842 yards and 206 receptions (5 TD).
Joined the Giants for a season in 1996 starting 4 contests catching 18 passes for 233 yards.
Signed with the Dolphins in ’97 but saw no playing time with Miami.
After a year away from the sport in ’98, Lawrence played one final season in ’99 for the Saints, catching 16 passes for 196 yards and a TD.
In 2004 entered the college coaching ranks where he’s been a positional coach.
As of 2022, works as a WR coach at Appalachian St.
ACCOLADES:
1991 Offensive Rookie of the Year
Skybox Premium 1993, #179
NOTES:
Lawrence had been a white whale I’d been after for a while and I’d previously failed on two other occasions. I kept reloading in the hopes I could get his autograph on some cards and finally lucked out. Dawsey had an odd career trajectory in the pros. Over his 8 year career he caught 6 TDs on 240 receptions- with 3 of them coming in his rookie season.
Ernie Mills played WR for the Florida Gators from 1987-90.
Posted 81 receptions for 1585 yards, a whopping 19.6 yards per reception, and 15 TDs over 4 years in Gainesville.
Best year for the Gators came in his Senior year, when he had 41 receptions for 770 yards and 10 TDs.
Originally started as a DB but quickly transitioned to WR, hauling in his first career reception of 49 yards from Florida QB legend Kerwin Bell.
Selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 3rd round of the 1991 NFL Draft.
Mills spent his time on special teams and started two games at WR his rookie year.
He’d finish first in special teams tackles, and scored his first TD on a punt that hit the opposing team’s blocking back. (See Eugene Lockhart)
But things never really materialized for Ernie in Pittsburgh, who had a nascent passing attack, and he was battling for a roster spot with other fresh WRs, Chris Calloway and Jeff Graham.
He had his best season in Pittsburgh in 1995, catching 39 passes for 679 yards and 8 TDs.
It was a titanic year actually for Ernie as he quietly put up 2,024 all-purpose yards, including 1,304 on kick returns.
He’d be injured during Super Bowl XXX, tearing his ACL and being lost for most of the following 1996 campaign.
In 1997, Ernie signed with the Carolina Panthers and played one season for them.
The final two years of his career were spent in Dallas, as a key roleplayer for the Dallas Cowboys under head coach Chan Gailey, whom he’d played for previously in Pittsbugh.
Mills was oft injured, but still managed to post solid numbers as a reliable #3 option behind Michael Irvin and Rocket Ismail.
After a brief hiatus from the sport, Mills was spotted at Jacksonville University coaching WRs with his former college QB Kerwin Bell, holding the position from 2007-2012.
Then he coached WRs at Florida A&M from 2013-2015.
Star Pics 1991, #66Action Packed Rookies 1991, #58
NOTES:
Well, there’s Ernie Mills, with an incredibly long orbital trajectory. I had given up on Ernie basically on two separate occasions, but after noticing a few successes, I figured the one for 2021 was in the works to return to me. After some patient waiting, it indeed finally came through, and I added the Action Packed Rookies 1991 card finally to my collection.
Ernie frustrated me as he tended to sign in spurts, sometimes responding to people immediately, while on other occasions-such as mine, languished in wait. I was pretty happy to get the entry sent out in 2021 back early in 2022, but lo and behold, some 8 months after that, the original entry I sent from 2017, also arrived, rocketing up the longest wait charts officially to #5, at a cool 1806 days.
I don’t talk about Pacific 1991 enough right? To me the set was a bold design choice, but quite laughable. For some reason, it just stood out as being… simplistic, with the gradient and the 1970s style typeface. The back was again bold, but a bit wild, as the entire canvas of information was set at a 45 degree angle! I thought that the photo on this Pacific card really nailed it, so I thought it’d make a nice card to get autographed.
With these cards, I can firmly close the door on Ernie. I love his autograph. Well worth the wait and very original. A strong ‘E’, ‘M’, and ‘S’ punctuate his unique signature with great stroke, pen pressure, and placement.
Anthony Morgan played college ball at Tennessee from 1988-90.
Dangerous WR and return man, had 35 receptions for 546 yards and 3 TDs, and 37 kick returns for 862 yards over college career.
Selected in the 5th round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.
Bears used Morgan primarily as a receiver over his time with the franchise.
In both ’91 and ’92, he caught two 80+ yard TD receptions.
Anointed a starter for the ’93 season, Morgan oddly found himself the odd man out by August.
He’d be a mid season replacement by the Packers, and spend the next few years, on and off the franchise roster.
Still Anthony managed to hang on for a Super Bowl victory with the Packers.
In both ’94 and ’95 while in Green Bay, he caught 4 TDs in each season, and posted at least 40 receptions.
Cut by the Packers in ’96,he’d retire soon thereafter.
NOTES:
A special shout out to Chris for tracking this one down who had flown under the radar for some time. He signed these two nice cards for me, as another member of the Action Packed 1991 Rookies set is down. I like his autograph. It’s very linear, but the loops give it a great accent.
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
87
1283
14.7
12
84
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
