An 8th round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 1990, Thomas ‘TD’ Woods played college ball for the Tennessee Volunteers from 1986-1989. At 5’6″, 182 TD was one of the smallest speedsters to hit the gridiron. He caught 124 passes for 1617 yards and 7 TDs, and 60 punt returns for 656 yards and a TD as well. After not making the final roster of the squad, TD was selected by the Barcelona Dragons of the WLAF. In 1991 he caught 20 passes for 223 yards, returned 13 kicks for 263 yards, and returned 9 punts for 123 yards.
In 1992, Woods became the primary receiver after the departure of Gene Taylor. He caught 51 passes for 546 yards, and a barn burning 86 yard TD. Thomas was also the primary punt returner, with 19 punt returns for 147 yards.
He returned to Tennessee and finished out his degree in 1996. Since that point, TD has spent a lot of time at the college level as a wide receivers coach for Appalachian State, Western Carolina, Mississippi, Jacksonville State, Tulane, and Eastern Illinois.
TD has two cards in the Ultimate World League 1992 set. I had hoped he’d sign both of his cards, but I was happy to get one of two out of him, after searching high and low for years, for his address.
Card: Wild Card World League 1992 Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home Sent: 5/9 Received: 5/16 (7 days)
Eric Lindstrom played for Boston College where he was a starter for 3 years. He was listed as a defensive end, but clocking in at 6’3″, 230, he was probably an outside linebacker/ tweener, who played a fair amount of time with his hand in the dirt. Eric finished with 4 interceptions for 59 yards, and competed in two bowl games during his college career. He joined the WLAF in 1991, and went to play ball for his college coach Jack Bicknell, and the Barcelona Dragons.
In 1991, Eric had 4 sacks, 26 tackles, and a pick for the stingy Dragons defense at outside linebacker. He returned to the WLAF in 1992, and led the team with 7 sacks as the Dragons won the European Division. Afterwards he signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. Lindstrom made 2 tackles, and an interception for 86 yards that he took for a TD during his brief time in the league. After a brief hiatus, (while the World League was reorganizing) Eric returned to play for the league one more time in 1995 adding a final sack to his resume.
After tracking down Eric, he signed his Wild Card in about a week, and wrote me a nice note thanking me for being such a big fan.
Pete Metzelaars made his mark at tiny Wabash, as a two sport star playing basketball and football. He was selected in the 3rd round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. After catching just 27 passes in 3 seasons for the Seahawks, Pete was traded to the Buffalo Bills in 1985.
He caught 49 passes for 485 yards and 3 TDs in 1986 starting his first 16 game slate. In 1988, Pete put up another 33 passes for 438 yards and a TD. After a few years being used primarily as a blocking tight end Pete saw an uptick in 1992, and then caught a career high 68 passes for 609 yards and 4 TDs in ’93 starting all 16 games for the first time since 1989. Metzelaars played one more season for the Bills in 1994, adding another 49 catches for 428 yards and 5 TDs.
In 1995, Pete was allowed to walk via free agency. He joined the expansion Carolina Panthers for a season catching 20 passes and recording 3 TDs. He then played 2 more additional seasons for the Detroit Lions in 1996 and 1997 catching 17 passes in both years. Metzelaars retired after the ’97 season, and decided to go into coaching.
Pete spent 5 years honing his craft at the high school level as an offensive coordinator. He then coached in Europe with the Barcelona Dragons in 2003, and Wingate College as well. In 2004, Pete joined the Indianapolis Colts where he saw the most success, coaching the offensive line from 2004-2011. He then saw a one year stint as tight ends coach of the Bills in 2012, and then the Chargers in 2014 and 2015. After spending another two years back at the high school level, Metzelaars coached offensive line for the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football in 2019.
G/GP
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
235/157
287
3638
9.6
29
53
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
