Tag Archives: buffalo bills

NFL, usfl

Cribbs, Joe

Card: Upper Deck Legends 2006
Acquired: 4/9/12, Target Authentic Memorabilia Autograph Edition

Auburn is a college that cranks out quality runningbacks. Among them Joe Cribbs, was a second round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1980. He’d get the starting nod on offense for the team, and end up running away with NFL rookie of the year honors after a banner season, rushing for 1185 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cribbs earned a ProBowl nod after the season. Cribbs earned another ProBowl nomination for his 1981 season rushing for 1097 yards. A strike shortened 1982 limited Joe to only 633 yards, but he’d lead the league with a 90.4 yard average per game. His final Pro Bowl season in 1984, saw him rack up 1131 yards on the ground.

Well in 1984 Cribbs decided to hop ship for the new USFL, which led to an infamous trial in Buffalo, where head coach Kay Stephenson claimed that Joe was not replaceable in the team’s lineup. Cribbs ended up winning, despite the Bills’ claims of first refusal on the contract, and played for Birmingham Stallions for the next 3 seasons till the USFL imploded. Returning to the NFL in 1986 Joe played for the 49ers through 1987, then played his final season split between the Dolphins and Colts in 1988.

After football Cribbs returned to Alabama, where he went into financial advising. He currently assists many players with the reality of retirement and investing. He also has been involved with the AAFL (Team Alabama), and the United National Gridiron League.

G/Gs 102/70   Rush  1309    Yds  5356       Avg 4.1      Td  27      lg  62   |
Rec  224    Yds 2199   Avg  9.8      Td  15     lg 65
NFL, WLAF

Garrett, John

Card: Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o The Dallas Cowboys
Sent: 4/26  Received: 5/2  (7 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o The Dallas Cowboys

The Garrett family has a long history in the NFL starting with their father, Jim, who had served in the league as a scout for almost 40 years. The boys, Jason, Judd, and John have all experienced a measure of NFL success, and all of them spent time playing in the WLAF during the early 1990s making their legacy quite unique.

John finished his career at Princeton leading all the receivers his senior season with 45 receptions for 617 yards and 2 touchdowns. He quickly signed with the Cowboys in 1988, eventually landing on the practice squad of the Cincinnati Bengals the next season where he made 2 receptions for 29 yards. John would later spend time in the off-season, with Buffalo Bills as well in 1991.

That year, all 3 brothers decided to play in the inaugural season of the World League of American Football.  John ended up being drafted by the San Antonio Riders in the second round of the WR positional draft, to catch passes from his brother, Jason.  (Judd was drafted by the Monarchs.) The Riders however had a rocky season, and injuries and inconsistencies eventually saw Jason split time with Mike Johnson at quarterback.  John finished the season though tied for 3rd on the Riders with 23 receptions. He’d also catch the last TD of Riders season from his brother Jason, during the final game  in a loss to the Knights. It is at this point that I am unsure if he was injured or cut before the 1992 season was underway. I do know he was at training camp for the Riders, and played in their scrimmage versus the Ohio Glory,  (as evidenced in the card pictured above,) who were the replacement franchise for the Skyhawks from the 1991 season.

He then returned to the NFL spending the next 12 seasons, with the Bucs, Bengals, and Cardinals in a variety of coaching postions. 2004 saw Garrett jump into the college ranks working for Virginia Cavaliers under Al Groh.  After a successful time with the Cavs John was reunited with his brothers Jason and Judd on the Dallas Cowboys in 2007.

I had sent to all three brothers in the past thinking that perhaps I could get them all in one envelope back in 2010. Unfortunately I didn’t have any success and I assume that it is lost.  I rarely send out to more than one player in one envelope anymore. It just increases the chance that you won’t get anything back at all.  John had only one card, but turned this around care of the Cowboys in roughly one week signing it with a bible inscription from Colossians 3:23-  “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human.”  It’s a great card, and although a heavy percentage of Ultimate cards suffered from cutting issues, overall I really liked the design and style of what they were doing at the time.

Rec  23    Yds  386     Avg  16.8     Td  3     Lg  48

NFL, ufl

Krumrie, Tim


Cards: Score 1990, Fleer 1990, Pinnacle 1992
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 3/25  Received: 4/4   (9 days)

Tim Krumrie was the man in the middle at nose tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1983-1994, and the team’s last Super Bowl appearance in 1988.  His stabilizing force on the line allowed the Bengals to make multiple appearances in the playoffs under head coach Sam Wyche. At nose tackle, Krumrie made an astounding 1017 tackles and 34.5 sacks over his career.  It is also of note that he held at one point the most career tackles at his college, (Wisconsin,) with 444. Tim probably would’ve had even more of an impact at the pro level, if not for a broken lower leg he sustained during Super Bowl XXIII, -considered one of the most gruesome injuries caught on television. Still the hard-charging Krumrie returned from injury by 1990, and continued to play for the franchise until his retirement a few seasons later.

Tim continued to be involved in football and jumped pretty much into coaching after retirement, joining the defensive staff of the Bengals in 1995. In 2003, Krumrie punched his ticket to Buffalo for a few years, joining the Chiefs in 2006. It was with the Chiefs, he would be lionized in the TV show “Hard Knocks” on HBO, before his dismissal in 2010. The timing couldn’t have been worse, as the lockout left him knocking on doors. The UFL’s Hartford Colonials led by Jerry Glanville offered him the defensive line job for the 2011 season, and Krumrie jumped at the opportunity, putting in a playbook and planning to look at potential players, but the league suspended operations of the franchise leaving him in limbo.  In the meantime, he’s embraced a lifestyle as a fitness nut, dabbling in high school football, and lives with his wife in Colorado.

G/GS  188/161    Tac  1017       Sac  34.5   Fum 13
Int  0   Yds 0    Avg -.-     Td  0     lg  -.-