Tag Archives: British Columbia Lions

CFL, NFL

Fernandez, Mervyn ‘Swervin’ (2)

Cards: Action Packed 1990, Score Supplemental 1989, Topps 1990 1,000 yard club, ProSet 1989
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 1/23     Received: 4/14   (83 days)
See Also: ‘Swervin’ Mervyn Fernandez

Ah, Mervyn Fernandez, such an underrated receiver. After proving his worth in the CFL for the BC Lions, Fernandez showed up to the NFL in 1987.  A shrewd selection by Al Davis in the loaded 1983 draft, Fernandez was picked by the Raiders in the 10th round.  After a few years with the Raiders, he returned to the BC Lions to finish out his career in 1994.  Always well remembered by the CFL, he’s received numerous accolades from the league since retirement.

Fernandez has some great cards. His Score 1989 Supplemental is really nice. The color on this card is outstanding, even without adjustment.  The Action Packed 1990 card was a really solid shot of Mervyn. It’s a dynamic action shot of him although the framing was typical of most cards of that era with the color framing in gold.  The ProSet 1989 was really the card set that blew the doors off of Topps stranglehold on the market. It’s a great card through and through however it suffers from the offset cutting issues that plagued ProSet throughout most of its print cycle. Topps inserted a nice glossy 1000 yard club card at the top of every pack which all had solid action shots of their players. After I ran out of Action Packed cards to buy at the 7-11 everyday after school, I’d slowly soak in the Topps cards. Mervyn’s autograph certainly stuck out nicely on this canvas.

CFL, NFL

Lockett, Colin

sa14 clockettCard: Sage 2014
Acquired: 2015, Box Breaker

Colin Lockett had an intriguing college career playing at San Diego State.  He began on the defensive side of the ball in 2011, and then was moved to wide receiver the following year, where Lockett hauled in 58 catches for 970 yards and eight scores. His 1,744 yards from scrimmage were second most on the team, as he made his living returning kicks as well. With another solid outing under his belt in 2012, he’d catch 20 passes for 293 yards and 2 TDs, while he’d return 35 kickoffs for a 25.9 yard average and two scores.  Considered one of the nation’s true deep threats, Colin had 52 receptions for 736 yards, 5 TDs, and 31 returns for 761 yards.

He’d go unselected in the 2014 draft, but sign a free agent contract with the Bengals. He’d end up on their practice squad for a few months, but eventually be cut. Colin later found a home with the Redskins- a team he’d bounce on and off the roster of as a practice squad member through 2015.  At last glance in early 2016, he was on the roster of the BC Lions, before finding free agency again.

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Phillips, Darrell

Card: ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent: 12/9   Received:  12/29   (20 days)

Darrell Phillips was a stud in the middle of LSU’s defense during his time playing for the Tigers during the mid-late 80s. In his Junior year, he had 100 tackles, 4 sacks, and 5 TFL. A versatile player, he also blocked 3 kicks on special teams and was named the team’s most valuable defensive player. In 1988 he was a First-Team All-SEC selection with 76 tackles and 3 sacks.

He wasn’t drafted but saw time in the camps of both the New Orleans Saints (1989) and British Columbia Lions (1990) before being selected in the first round of the WLAF positional draft by the Birmingham Fire in 1991. Phillips helped pace the stingy Birmingham Fire defense with 38 tackles and 2 sacks, which earned him second team All-World League Honors.  He returned to the team for the 1992 season and again notched another 2 sacks.

Darrell was one of the few members of the Birmingham Fire that escaped me when I was trying to get autographs back in 1992 during that humid night game against the Riders.  After some sleuthing, I was able to track him down on Facebook, where he was displaying his LSU pride.  He kindly responded to my message and agreed to sign this card for a few extras that he could keep.  Phillips has split his time between the US and Canada for the past few years.

His favorite memory from the league was: “Coach Chan Gailey and the defense. He was a great coach who treated you like a man and the players… all of them were a great inspiration one way or the other…”

WLAF     Tac N/a    Sac 4.0    Fum 0   Int 0   Yds 0   Avg -.-   TD 0   Lg -.-