Tag Archives: Birmingham Fire

Arena, CFL, NFL, WLAF

McGowan, Paul

pset91 mcgowanCards: ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 1/24     Received: 2/18  (25 days)

Paul McGowan led all Florida State defenders in tackles for 3 straight seasons from 1984-1987. In his Senior season he was a First Team All-American as he made 150 tackles including 13 for losses, and won the Butkus Award as the nation’s preeminent linebacker, however he waited until the 9th round to hear his name called by the Minnesota Vikings. A final cut in the preseason, McGowan joined the Browns but was also cut as well. At 6’0″, 222, many teams felt he was undersized and slow for the position, but the numbers said otherwise.

Paul was signed by the Ottawa Roughriders of the CFL in 1989 and made 42 tackles, and ended up being cut early in 1990. He was drafted by the Birmingham Fire in the first round of the WLAF’s linebacker draft in 1991, and was a force to be reckoned with in the team’s 3-4 alignment. The team’s tenacious defense led the Fire into the playoffs, psetwlaf91 mcgowanand McGowan was charged with leading the linebacker corps with 59 solo tackles and 3 fumble recoveries. Head coach Chan Gailey called McGowan a ‘glue guy’; Basically, a player who makes sure that every player is lined up right and ready. Equally impressive linebacker teammate John Brantley, however won the WLAF Defensive MVP award. McGowan returned in 1992, and so did the Fire to the playoffs, losing again to Barcelona in the first round. Paul expressed interest in returning to the Fire for the 1993 season, however the WLAF reorganized shortly there after.

Paul joined the Orlando Predators of the AFL in 1993. As an ironman league at the time McGowan got to play both sides of the ball in the league’s traditional LB-FB switch off. He’d play for the team through 1997 when he decided to go into firefighting instead. In 1998 Paul was inducted into the Predators Ring of Honor and at the time of his abrupt retirement was the team’s career leader in sacks. In 2010, McGowan was ranked in a poll as the 11th greatest Florida State player of all time.

wcwlaf92 mcgowanI followed the internet rabbit in order to find this one and struck gold. Paul signed these cards and also included a nice note with them, thanking me for the reminder of the great memories.

WLAF     Tac  N/a     Sac  1.0    Fum N/a
Int  3    Yds  29     Avg  9.7    Td    0   Lg 12

AFL   LB   Tac  97   Ast  39    Sac 17    Fum 6
Int  0    Yds  0   Avg -.-   Td 0   Lg -.-

FB   Rush 139    Yds  555      Avg       Td   11
Rec  25     Yds 227     Avg     Td 2

 

NFL, WLAF

Hopkins, Mark

ult92 hopkinsCards: Wild Card WLAF 1992, Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Work
Sent:  7/20   Received: 10/10    (84 days)

A two time Mid-American Conference choice for the Central Michigan Chippewas, Hopkins caught 26 receptions for 326 yards in 1989. Hopkins was signed in 1990 as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons but did not make the squad.

wcwlaf92 hopkinsThe World League of American Football’s Birmingham Fire made him the first pick of the second round among tight ends. A skilled H-back, Hopkins fit quite nicely into Chan
Gailey‘s ball control offense.  In 1991 Mark caught 6 passes for 86 yards. He returned to the team again in 1992, and followed up with 11 more receptions for 94 yards. Equally adept at blocking as well as catching the ball, Hopkins frequently would bookend with fellow TE Phil Ross and the combined duo provided a safety valve for quarterbacks Brent Pease, Eric Jones, and Mike Norseth. The league reorganized after the 1992 season.

I enclosed a few cards in the envelope for Mark to keep after searching high and low to find out where he was at. He wrote me a nice letter and thanked me for bringing back some great memories. Mark also told me about how he was shocked the first time he saw his own card and how it brought him a great deal of joy, and his kids now that they are old enough to see them.  Mark has been working in the human resources industry for quite a while now and is the Executive Vice President of Wealth Management Services at WorkLife Financial.

Rec 17    Yds  180   Avg 10.6     Td 0    Lg 25

NFL, WLAF

Ross, Phil

wcwlaf92 rossult92 ross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cards: Ultimate WLAF 1992, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Work
Sent: 7/12   Received: 7/20   (8 days)

Phil Ross was a 4 year letterman for the Oregon State Beavers. He finished second on the team’s all-time receiving list with 153 receptions for 1,827 yards, and 6 touchdowns. His biggest highlight was an electrifying 73 yard catch and go as a redshirt freshman. Selected by the Dolphins in the 9th round of the 1990 draft, he’d be cut in training camp, but fit exactly what the WLAF was looking for in young talent. Offensive mastermind Chan Gailey selected Phil with the 10th pick of the 1st round in the TE portion of the WLAF inaugural draft.  His 6’4″, 238 frame mixed right in with the Birmingham Fire‘s offensive attack and he’d pair with Mark Hopkins to give defenses fits.  Based on his rushing stats, it looks like Gailey used Phil’s skill set at H-Back in addition to his normal duties at TE.

Every once in a while I scour the web and hit a virtual jackpot refining my Google technique. Around the middle of 2013 I readdressed what I liked collecting and decided to return to my roots and start really going back after WLAF guys. Thanks to modern networking sites I was able to locate a host of the members of the sets I need still. I emailed Phil and he was kind enough to accept and sign these cards for me. He also attached a nice note, and thanked me for updating him on the status of many of the members of the Birmingham Fire squad. Phil currently works in the mortgage industry in Washington.

Rec 24   Yds 227   Avg 9.5   Td 0   Lg 21
Rush 4   Yds 24   Avg 6.0   Td 0   Lg 11