Tag Archives: Arizona Cardinals

AAF, NFL

Knight, Trevor

Cards: Sage 2017, Sage 2017 Red, Sage 2017 Peak Performance, Topps AAF 2019
Acquired: IP 2018, San Antonio Commanders AAF Season Ticket Holders Party. IP 2019, San Antonio Commanders v Arizona Hotshots

I pretty much pegged that Trevor Knight would show up at the season holders ticket party for the San Antonio Commanders unveiling party, being that he is an SA native.  Once the team had announced that he was a member of the franchise I rushed to find any cards of his. I was surprised to find that Sage had made both a base set card of his and also a Peak Performance card- which I luckily got in the last box I broke into a few weeks before the event.

He wandered up with his family to the gates and blended in. It was a pretty low key introductory event for fans and players. It was easy to go up and talk to Trevor. He did not have his card, so I gave him the two extra I had, to which he told me that, “I was the man.” (Lol. Anyway- compliment taken.) We talked for a few minutes and he caught me up on his NFL travels. After a short stint in Arizona, he landed on the Falcons roster- but broke a few bones in his back ending his time there. 

Trevor split college ball time at both Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Losing out to Baker Mayfield for the QB job in 2015- Knight bolted down to AtM to play for the Aggies in 2016. There he had his finest college season completing 193 of 362 passes for 2432 yards, 19 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. A dual threat on the ground, he rushed 102 times for 614 yards and 10 TDs. 

Trevor is from San Antonio, so it makes sense that he plays in his hometown for the Comamnders, but the team saw otherwise. Apparently the Commanders were stocked at quarterback, with Dustin Vaughan, Trevor, and Luis Perez all coveted by other teams around the league. The AAF decided to balance out the QB position on the rosters of each team by holding a QB Draft in which you pick or protect a player each round. The consensus was that SA was going to hang onto Knight, but in a surprise- the Commanders opted to keep former Dallas Cowboy Dustin Vaughan instead. Trevor didn’t have to wait long to hear his named called as later that round the Arizona Hotshots selected him with their 6th pick.

Instead of starting Trevor at QB, the Hotshots went with John Wolford. Knight settled into the backup role and has seen some spot duty. His most extensive action came during week 3 against the Stallions when he threw for 95 yards on 8 of 18 throws. He scored his first TD of the season against the Fleet in week 7 when he rushed 4 times for 10 yards.

Knight remembered me from the meet and greet and came over to sign his AAF card with Wolford during that final game in San Antonio. I still think he’s got the juice and might find a home in the XFL in 2020.

CFL, NFL, WLAF, XFL

Moore, Shawn (2)

Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992, Upper Deck 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Work
Sent:  8/28     Received: 9/12    (16 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Virginia
See Also: Shawn Moore

Shawn Moore eluded me a few years ago and it was really a pants down situation. I mean, I sent him a nice group of cards but never heard back. Luckily, I always have made it a habit to reload on WLAF cards I only had singles on; However, I didn’t have an extra copy of Shawn’s Star Pics 1991 that I really wanted to get signed so I ended up sending this terrible Upper Deck 1992 card of his with it. Still I should be happy to finally knock of this retry reply from my list. 

My friend Deadhorse got a trial subscription to Star Tiger, which is a competitor to sportscollectors. He loaned me the login since I was curious so that I could take a look. I found the hierarchy to be terrible, and most of the sports addresses were consistent with what I had already found, but I did find Shawn’s most recent address on there and decided to give it a shot. A few weeks later, a water soaked return envelope arrived at the house with Shawn’s autographs inside. (Thankfully the cards were not damaged.)

Shawn moved on from coaching at his alma mater after 2012. He’s had a few football related positions since then including working as the Director of Community Relations for the College Football Playoff system. Currently he works in administration system of a private school in Virginia.

NFL

Fina, John

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 7/2 Received: 7/19    (17 days)

After redshirting in 87 and then playing defensive line the following year, John Fina found a home at offensive tackle in 1989 at Arizona. By the time he graduated, Fina was a top rated and accoladed prospect for the 1992 draft. He’d be selected near the bottom of round 1 by the Buffalo Bills.

Fina didn’t start any games his rookie year for the Bills, but got his brief moment in the sun catching a tackle eligible TD pass during a Saturday Night game against the Colts.  With the departure of Will Wolford, John became a fixture at left tackle for the Bills starting 131 games (2 Super Bowls) over the next 9 seasons from 1993 to 2001.  He played one final season in Arizona in 2002 and then retired. John is notable for being a good tactician, who was quick on his feet, and was lethal in run blocking.

A native to the Arizona area, I talked to John about my travels through Tuscon, and stopping at the Motel 6 conveniently located near the junction of I-10 and the route to Tombstone. I also briefly mentioned the bizarre velociraptor statue standing outside the McDonalds in the area as well.

John has a well practiced autograph on these two cards. The loop in the F and the A in his name almost connect. I hadn’t gotten around to John yet because his Action Packed Rookies card looks so pedestrian… I think this is because his hands do not play a prominent role in the photo and he’s pass blocking, so there’s almost a pensiveness to the composition. I also feel like the size and the location of his autograph on this card match the temperament. Quite the opposite with the GameDay entry. You can really feel the drive block occurring off the canvas and the autograph itself scales in size and angles with the figure.

John is a decent signer TTM and is very good to fans in general. Since retirement he’s done some TV work, most notably appearing on a TV food show as a judge.

GGS
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