Tag Archives: Atlanta Falcons

NFL, WLAF

Johnson, Undra

Card: ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o Work.
Sent: 5/10  Received: 5/17  (7 days)

Undra Johnson played college ball for the West Virginia Mountaineers where he led them in rushing as a senior to the Fiesta Bowl in 1989. Johnson then earned a 7th round choice out of the strong 1989 draft pool. Selected by the Falcons, he played for the Saints and Cowboys also that season. He’d then be drafted by the Riders with their #1 choice of the WLAF positional draft for runningbacks. Undra was a shifty halfback, and worked well in tandem with the power of Ricky Blake, eventually finishing the season with 258 yards and 2 touchdowns in 1991. He was also the team leader in kickoff returns. Undra had already started selling real estate and dabbling in finance and left the league behind for it full time in 1992. He currently is a securities advisor in Bridgeport, WV.

The first season of the WLAF in San Antonio had the Riders playing in dilapidated Alamo Stadium, (home of the Gunslingers of the USFL who even thought it was old,) where they went 4-6. It took them a bit of time to discover their defensive rhythm, and establish consistency under center, but once this had been done, season 2 was a vast improvement as Undra would finish behind teammate Ricky Blake in rushing that season. I sent out for his autograph after discovering his address with the help once again of Wikipedia and a small bit of detective work. He responded quite quickly signing this card that I had enclosed.

Games 10    Att  76    Yds 258     Avg 3.4   Lg 17    Td 2
Rec 10    Yds 55       Avg  5.5    Lg 12   Td 0
Ret 14     Yds 305     Avg 21.8   Lg  36   Td 0

NFL

Bartkowski, Steve

Cards: Topps 1978, Topps 1983
Acquired: In Person, CGA Youth Golf  Tournament 1993.

I got to the Golf Tournament early in the morning (before 8am) and was able to catch the early birds on the course before the crowds got there. The first three I got were the trio of quarterbacks, Steve Bartkowski, Billy Joe Tolliver and Browning Nagle. Bartkowski and the others were extremely nice and even let me ride around in a golf cart for a hole or two with them. They were more than happy to sign any cards I had, and Steve signed these two cards for me after I gave him and the others the drawings I did for them.

Steve was the #1 pick of the NFL draft of 1975 for the Atlanta Falcons, and garnered NFL Rookie of the Year Honors that year. Bartkowski lead the Falcons from 1975 to 1985 (and Rams in 1986).  He still owns many of the Falcons passing records to this day. Bartkowski’s career got off to an extremely rough start but blossomed as his career continued under center leading the team to division championships in 1980 and 1982. (You see in those days #1 choices and quarterbacks were given 5 or 6 years to blossom.) Steve was a two time Pro Bowler and threw 22 touchdowns to 5 picks in 1983. (He is also notable for being Leigh Steinberg’s first client and for being taken ahead of HoF runningback Walter Payton.)  After retirement Steve has continued to live and work in the Atlanta area, working for contractual commercial building firms, in sports broadcasting and television as a color analyst, sits on the board of directors for the Atlanta Falcons and is an avid golfer with a scratch handicap.

G 129    Att  1932    Comp 3456      Pct 55.9      Yds  24124
Td  156       Int  144       Rat  75.4

NFL

Doleman, Chris (1961-2020)

Cards: Action Packed 1991, Pro Set 1990, GameDay 1992.
Acquired: TTM 1992, C/o The Minnesota Vikings

Chris Doleman was the 4th overall choice of the 1985 draft. Originally drafted as an outside linebacker, Doleman was converted to a defensive end in 1987 and formed a dynamic duo with Keith Millard at DT.  The change was immediate as Chris became a force at right end, dominating the sack charts for the next 13 seasons notching at least 7 sacks in each season for the Vikings, Falcons, and 49ers.   He was traded to the Falcons after the 1993 season, and played there 2 years before going to the 49ers. In his final season he returned at the grand old age of 38 to the Vikings and notched 8 sacks before retiring.  Doleman was named All Pro from 1987-1990, 1992 and 1993, lead the league in sacks with 21 in 1989, and made the Pro Bowl 8 times. His sack totals currently rank him 4th overall in league history and he is listed on the NFL All 90s team. Unfairly cast as a ‘pass rush specialist’ Doleman had a streak of seasons with 90+ tackles (1989-1991) in addition to his high sack totals demonstrating his overall ability against both pass and run.

I sent off for Chris’ autograph in 1992, on a whim not expecting to get his autograph for my collection and received back all 3 cards signed.  Most people still don’t respect ‘sackers and tacklers’ but the league over the last few years has made a concerted effort to induct more of them into the HoF. With John Randle’s impending induction scheduled for 2010, the hope is Doleman should be next in the logger jam of defensive sack talent to go in.

In 2011, Chris was honored by the Vikings who selected him to announce their 2nd round pick during the NFL draft.

Games  232       Tac  914        Sac  150.5        Fum  44       Int   8        Yds  121      TD  2

UPDATE 1/30/2020: Chris Doleman passed away overnight at the age of 58. He had been battling brain cancer- and as recently as 2018 had triumphed over having a tumor removed.