Tag Archives: buffalo bills

NFL

Bledsoe, Drew

Card: Classic 1993
Acquired: TTM 1995, C/o The New England Patriots

Drew Bledsoe was officially the last TTM  autograph I received in 1995, until I started collecting again in 2010- a period of some 15 years. The overall #1 pick of the 1993 draft, and first choice of then coach Bill Parcells, Bledsoe was a consummate professional and an avid student of the game, with a cannon for an arm. Bledsoe would start immediately, being thrown right into the fire by the Patriots but responded respectably, winning 5 games his rookie season. It didn’t take Bledsoe long, as in 1994 the team qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1986. He’d be named to the Pro Bowl and set the NFL record for most pass attempts in a season with a monstrous 691 attempts. Drew led the team to the Super Bowl in 1997 against the Green Bay Packers and was named the starter for the ProBowl. His consistency continued, leading his team to numerous playoff appearances and Pro Bowl nominations, but things changed in 2001, when Bledsoe was hit by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. The catastrophic injury caused internal bleeding, and Tom Brady replaced Drew in the lineup. Tom never looked back, leading the team to a SuperBowl victory. Bledsoe was a consummate professional about the whole thing, and never complained about losing his starting job.

After discussions with management about what he wanted- Bledsoe was traded to in-division rival Buffalo and played there admirably for 3 seasons, setting the team record for most passing yards in a game.  In 2005, Bledsoe signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, and was reunited with his former head coach Bill Parcells. He’d play well there for an additional season, but by this point his mobility had disintegrated to such a point that he was getting brutalized in the pocket. Additional erratic play emerged and in 2006 he was replaced in the lineup by Tony Romo. He’d retire after that season.

Bledsoe’s statistical legacy in the NFL is impressive. He’d finish at that time 5th in career attempts and completions, and 7th in yards. Drew since retirement has been active in his community, charitable events and has returned to his college roots in the Walla Walla area, where he owns a small vineyard, (Flying B Vineyards).

G/Gs  194/193   Att 6717    Comp  3859    Pct  57.2   Yds 44611
Td  251    Int 206    lg 86T    Rat  77.1

AFL, NFL, ufl, wfl

Schottenheimer, Marty (1943-2021)

Card: Proset 1990
Acquired: TTM 1994, C/o The Kansas City Chiefs

Linebacker Marty Schottenheimer was selected in by both the AFL (Buffalo, 7th round) and NFL (Baltimore, 5th round) of their respective 1965 drafts out of the University of Pittsburgh. He spent 4 seasons on the Bills roster (where it was comically shown on the retrospective “Full Color Football” that Schottenheimer’s name was so long on his jersey the type ran off the name plate and onto his right shoulder). He’d earn All Star honors in 1965, and be traded in 1971 to the Pittsburgh Steelers and again to the Boston Patriots before retiring.

Schottenheimer went into coaching in 1974 and worked for the Portland Storm in the World Football League as a linebackers coach, but before you knew it, less than 10 years after he got drafted by the Bills- Marty was coaching linebackers for the Giants in 1975. He’d then coach for the Lions on another 2 year stint, before catching on in 1980 with the Cleveland Browns as defensive coordinator where he established a smash mouth defense. In 1984, he’d get his chance as head coach, when Sam Rutigliano was fired midway through the season. He’d then be the face of the Browns for the next 4 seasons through 1988. The Browns would experience a consistent slate of respect and success during the Schottenheimer era. He’d also establish what is commonly referred to as ‘Marty Ball’ and the team would lose two heartbreaking games in the playoffs, known as ‘The Drive’ and ‘the Fumble’. With the reemergence of the Oilers in 1988 as playoff contenders, the Browns hosted them in the first round of the playoffs. Although favored to win, the Browns lost by a point. After the season was over Marty was fired, which angered many fans. His legacy with the team over 4 seasons was a large one, as he finished with a 44-27 record and a 2-4 mark in the playoffs. The Browns also advanced to the deepest levels of the NFL playoffs since before the AFL merger under his guidance.

Schottenheimer was not on the market for long. He’d head over to the Kansas City Chiefs to coach there for the next 10 seasons turning the team from a laughing stock into playoff contender in the span of 2 seasons. He’d win over 100 games with the franchise and the Chiefs would make the AFC Championship game in 1993. The Chiefs won the division 3 times and made 7 playoff appearances over 10 seasons. After quitting due to a disappointing 1998 season, Marty served as an analyst for ESPN for a season or two, and then was hired to be coach of the Washington Redskins in 2001.

Sights were high for the capital city after Schottenheimer came to town that year and the media circus quickly circled Marty. With Deion Sanders ducking out the back door and quickly announcing his retirement to get away from Marty, controversy erupted. Schottenheimer installed his brand of Martyball and the team was off to a slow start out of the gate losing its first 5 games. The media portrayed Marty as being outdated and out of touch with the current league, both with players and in offensive philosophy. The Redskins would respond by winning their next 5 games- (a first in NFL history) and narrowly missed the playoffs at 8-8 . In fighting between Schottenheimer and owner Daniel Snyder,  led to Marty’s dismissal after one season.

Marty was quickly named coach of the San Diego Chargers, where he’d guide the team to two playoff appearances and named coach of the year in 2004. Despite posting a 14-2 record in the latter season he was fired. -The first coach to be fired after securing the home field advantage through the playoffs. The reason for his dumping ranged from the fact that he had a 0-2 playoff record with San Diego, to charges of nepotism as he brought on more of his family on board as coaches. A public fight between the Chargers and Deion Sanders didn’t help either, when Sanders announced his ‘unretirement’ to come back to the league to play for the cross state Raiders, Schottenheimer quickly nabbed his rights before the Raiders. Sanders tore the team for its archaic practices and swore never to play for the team. In the end, the Bolts continued to hold Sanders’ rights throughout the season. Anyway regardless of it all, Schottenheimer was fired in what was considered without cause and still collected his salary for the next season, which damned the franchise even more.

Marty was rehired to be an analyst by ESPN where he did an excellent job for the network. After the Jets victory in the 2009 playoffs last season over heavily favored San Diego Chargers, coached by Marty’s replacement, he received a game ball in the mail from the team. (His son coaches for the Jets and Rex Ryan felt his firing was an injustice to the game.) I really lobbied hard and hoped the Texans would hire Schottenheimer after they released Dom Capers, but they went with Gary Kubiak instead.

Marty wanted to return to coaching and was rumored to have been in line for the Buffalo Bills job in 2010, but the team went in a different direction. In 2011, Marty Schottenheimer created quite a buzz when he signed to coach with the Virginia Destroyers of the UFL. He won the UFL championship later that year, and as the league collapsed, he opted to retire.

I got Marty’s autograph after the 1992 season through the mail in a few week’s time.

Games 327     Wins 200     Losses 126     Ties  1       Pct .613%

UPDATE 2/9/21- Marty Schottenheimer has passed away from Alzheimer’s disease.

Schottenheimer’s greatest legacy besides the sheer number of victories is the impact of his coaching tree. A Lou Saban apostle, Schottenheimer has many notable coaches that have been under his wing including: Marvin Lewis, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy. Marty Schottenheimer is the winningest coach in the NFL (retired), not to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with 14 winning seasons in a 21 year career.

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Gelbaugh, Stan

Cards: ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991 LL, Proset WLAF 1991, Ultimate WLAF 1991 ll, Ultimate WLAF 1991, Ultimate WLAF 1991 Team Card, Wild Card WLAF 1992.
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o work
Sent: 7/30   Received: 9/3  (34 days)
Stan Gelbaugh is one of a long line of noted quarterbacks that came out of the University of Maryland. A sidearm quarterback drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 6th round of the 1986 draft, Gelbaugh ended up punting for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL that season. Later he signed with the Buffalo Bills where he was backup for 4 seasons. Finally after a short off season with the Bengals in 1990, he found himself out of football and giving up the sport for good.  The ‘gods of football’ had different plans for Stan Gelbaugh though when former teammate Jim Haslett convinced Stan to take another shot when the WLAF opened its doors for business.
Drafted by the London Monarchs in their supplemental draft in 1990, Stan would get his second chance. Mentored by coach Larry Kennan, Stan started the season as the backup quarterback, but by the end of the first game he laid his claim to the starting job. He never relinquished it, grabbing MVP honors from the league and leading the Monarchs  to an 11-1 record and the first World Bowl championship.
After a rough political offseason between the WLAF and the NFL, Gelbaugh found himself on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, then quickly back in the NFL on the Phoenix Cardinals. Before the end of that 1991 season, he’d then be signed to the Seattle Seahawks, where former coach Larry Kennan was now offensive coordinator. As his roundabout tour continued, Gelbaugh exasperatedly returned to the Monarchs for the 1992 WLAF season, where the team collapsed under a new coach and a 2-7-1 record. (Gelbaugh  still turned in almost 2000 yards passing and 11 touchdown passes.) After the 1992 WLAF season, Gelbaugh returned to the Seahawks, where in one MNF contest, he ignited the Seahawks to an improbable comeback victory over their rival Denver Broncos. Stan retired after the 1996 season.
Gelbaugh since retirement has been involved in coaching and now works full time for a construction company in Washington DC and loves golfing. He finished his London career as the team’s leading quarterback in almost every category. Gelbaugh also finished as the WLAF’s career leader for attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. He’d also be the only quarterback in the league to throw for two 90 yard plus touchdown strikes.
I took a stab in the dark at Stan Gelbaugh, utilizing the power of the internet (Google) to find his address. His name isn’t the most common in the universe, and after about 20 minutes I was able to track him down. I broke a major rule when I mailed Stan: I sent more than 4 cards. In fact I sent seven, (every WLAF card he ever had). I told him he could sign what he wanted and return it and that would be fine. He kindly signed every one for me.  Included below are his WLAF career statistics.

Games 20   Att   582    Comp 336      Avg  57.7   Yds 4622     Td  28    Int 24     Lg 98T     Rat  82.1