Gerald Christian split time with Florida(2011) and Louisville (2013-2014) with the bulk of his numbers coming while playing for the Cardinals. He finished with 64 catches for 882 yards and 10 TDs.
Christian was selected with the final pick of the 2015 NFL Draft by Arizona, and spent the entire season on IR. In 2016, he was signed by the Bills and spent the next year on and off the roster through 2017, later briefly returning to the Cardinals.
Late in 2018, Gerald signed with the Alliance of American Football Atlanta Legends. He’d later end up on the Arizona Hotshots before the season kicked off. Gerald finished the season catching 14 of 20 targets for 158 yards and a TD.
Cards: ProLine 1992 Portraits, ProLine 1992, ProSet 1990 , Topps XFL 2020 Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home Sent: 5/19 Received: 5/29 (10 days) See Also: Jerry Glanville
After the final death rattle of the UFL, Jerry slipped into semi-retirement for a few years there. I mean don’t let him hear me say that. He probably kept himself busy doing all sorts of things. Jerry returned to coaching in 2018 alongside his former coaching buddy June Jones, who was now head coach of the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Jerry took the reins at defensive coordinator, but after a season he resigned due to personal reasons.
It didn’t take Jerry long to return to the sport again, this time with the XFL. He’d sign up to be defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Vipers under head coach Mark Trestman.
I was intrigued by the signing but had hoped that Jerry would be signed as Houston’s defensive coordinator. When I went to the Houston Roughnecks/ Tampa Bay Vipers joint scrimmage, I grabbed the three 90s cards I had of Jerry and went to the event. I camped out the Vipers side of field. Jerry was in his element, and his Man in Black personality always bring the crowd. I decided to not go for Jerry’s autograph at the event for a couple of reasons. First, Jerry’s name was listed in the checklist for the Topps XFL set that wasn’t out yet. Second, if I went for Jerry, I’d probably miss out on quite a few players. Third and finally, I was already aware of Jerry’s stellar TTM reputation. -He didn’t disappoint.
I was not a fan of the ProLine series but the portrait set card of Jerry was pretty unique. I really liked the design style, as the sharp edges matched Jerry’s style. He was kind enough to take the time to sign this one in silver so it picked up nicely. His other ProLine card I had, I liked it because it was a shot of him when he coached the Oilers. His final Pro Set card of the Falcons Back in Black was a set filler for me. (On a side note, I’ve never been fond of the black, and after a few years its become very stale. I wish they’d go back to those reds.) Jerry’s final card, from Topps XFL 2020 seems to capture all the usual of his ambiance and Man in Black persona.
Acquired: IP 2020, Houston Roughnecks Season Ticket Holders Kickoff Party See Also: Charles James
Charles James has continued to stay busy as a defensive back playing football and keeping the dream alive since his last stop in Houston going back to 2016. He joined the Colts for a game in 2016 and then spent the 2017 off-season with the Bills and the Jaguars.
After a year out of football, Charles found a home in the Spring league of the Alliance of American Football (2019). Charles was the old vet in a very young secondary, for the Memphis Express, posting 18 tackles and 5 pass deflections. In the final contest against the Orlando Apollos, Charles had his best game with 6 tackles and 4 pass deflections- as the Express almost upset Orlando, but lost in the closing seconds.
Charles next joined the XFL for the 2020 season originally with the St. Louis Battlehawks. He’d be traded to the Houston Roughnecks before the season, and added to an already capable secondary. In 4 contests Socks had 7 combined tackles and a pass deflection, before the league was ended by COVID.
James as a defensive back by nature is skilled in the art of smack talk, and with the XFL being very upfront and personal with sideline interviews you know they were bound to catch some quality audio from James, and indeed they did.
During the league’s week 4 contest against the Dallas Renegades- Renegades QB Landry Jones had a particularly poor game, throwing 3 interceptions in the first half. As the camera rolled on the sidelines, Socks blurted out to the camera crew, “Get that quarterback the f*** outta here!”
I met James at the Roughneck’s Season Ticket Holder Party. He was very grateful to sign autographs and meet fans, and he very much enjoyed his short time in the AAF.
I lobbied hard to get Charles an official football card from Topps, but surprisingly he was neither included in the AAF or the XFL card sets. About a year after the AAF folded I went ahead and designed Charles his card out based on the above shot he signed. Looking back I wish I had thought of doing this sooner, as I am sure he would have appreciated this card.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
