Tag Archives: birmingham iron

AAF, CFL, NFL

Palmer, Tobias

Topps AAF 2019, #81

CARD: Topps AAF 2019
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, C/o Home
SENT: 11/25/20 RECEIVED: 1/29/21 (65 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Played WR at NC State in 2011 and 2012.
  • In Senior year, posted 54 catches for 781 yards and 6 TDs.
  • Was also a monster on KRs, returning 44 kicks for 1124 yards and 2 TDs.
  • Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jaguars after the 2013 NFL Draft.
  • Spent time on and off the franchise’s roster and practice squad, eventually landing on the Chargers.
  • After being released in 2014, Palmer was on and off the rosters of the Saints (14), Bills (15), Steelers (16), and Panthers (16).
  • Then it was off to the CFL with the Alouettes (17), and Argonauts (18).
  • In 2019, Tobias made the squad of the Birmingham Iron of the AAF.
  • On 20 targets, he’d catch 13 passes for 129 yards.
  • His best game came against the Apollos in Week 5, when he caught 5 passes for 36 yards.

NOTES:

Topps did a really good job with this set. Lots of interesting names in here. Based on how the card companies were really swarming the rookie market in 2011, it was surprising that nobody- even Sage- had a card on Palmer, until this card came out in 2019.

AAF

Isaac, Ty

Card: Topps AAF 2019 Certified
Acquired: 2019, EBay

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Much ballyhooed RB, Ty Isaac, played one year at USC in 2013, before entering transfer portal to be closer to home.
  • After sitting out a year played from 2015-17 for Michigan.
  • Averaged a whopping 6.1 yards per carry over seldom used time at Michigan, finishing with 232 carries for 1406 yards, and 10 TDs.
  • Was not selected in 2018 NFL Draft.
  • Joined the Birmingham Iron of the AAF in 2018.
  • In a crowded backfield where the lion’s share of carries went to Trent Richardson, Isaac finished with 2 carries for 5 yards and 3 receptions for 24 yards in 2019.

NOTES:

Ty set an Illinois High School Playoff football rushing record by running for 515 yards… in… one… game…

AAF, NFL

Lewis, Tim

Card: Topps AAF 2019
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o The St. Louis Battlehawks
Sent: 2/18 Received: 2/29 (11 days)
Failure: TTM 2019, C/o Home

Tim Lewis was an imposing defensive back out of Pittsburgh. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers with their 1st round pick in 1983. Lewis’ career was off to an incredible start. He started just 7 games in his rookie year at right corner, but recorded 5 interceptions for 111 yards while forcing 3 fumbles. In 1984 Tim returned a pick 99 yards for a TD, en route to adding 7 more interceptions on his resume, and 4 more the following year in 1985. It’d be then that Lewis’ football playing career came to an end during 1986, when he suffered a terrible neck injury against the Bears.

In 1987, Tim went into coaching, first at Texas A&M, then later at SMU, Pitt and then back into the pro ranks with the Steelers in 1995. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2000 with Pittsburgh, then joined the Giants in that same capacity from 2004-2006. Since that time, he saw stops with the Panthers, Seahawks, Falcons, and 49ers.

2019 was an interesting year in football. With the Alliance of American Football on the radar, Tim took the coaching reins of the Birmingham Iron. They’d finish 5-3, as only the second team to clench a playoff berth in the short lifespan of the AAF. The team very much reflected Tim’s style with a smash mouth defense that begrudgingly gave up yards.

Unable to get his autograph through his home address, I sent this card to the Battlehawks where he was coaching the defensive backs of that solid squad, before COVID wiped out the XFL in 2020.

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