Tag Archives: chicago bears

NFL, NFLE, XFL

Pearson, Pepe

Playoff Contenders 2000 European Ticket #172

Card: Playoff Contenders 2000 European Ticket
Acquired: 2021, Future Prospects

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Played 4 years for Ohio State from 1994-1997, rushing for 3036 yards.
  • Best year came in 1996, rushing for 1484 yards and 17 TDs, while catching 19 passes for 218 yards and finishing with 1702 yards from scrimmage for the Buckeyes.
  • Went undrafted in 1998 and bounced around the NFL on practice squads and offseason rosters with the 49ers, Browns, Lions, Jaguars, Steelers, Buccaneers, and Bears.
  • Joined the NFLE in 2000, playing for the Rhein Fire.
  • Ranked second in the league with 486 yards rushing and 3 TDs on 102 carries that year.
  • Scored the game winning touchdown in World Bowl 2000.

  • In 2001,  topped those totals rushing for 597 yards on 166 carries (3 TDs).
  • Briefly saw time on the roster of the XFL Las Vegas Outlaws in 2001.
  • Has extensive coaching experience as a positional coach (Ohio Dominican, Youngstown State, Marshall, Dayton Warbirds, and as of 2021 at Tennessee State.)
  • Also had head coaching stops in the AFL2 with the Daytona Beach Hawgs (04/05) and the Marion Mayhem (08/09) where with the latter he also served as GM.
  • As of the time of this post, is currently offensive coordinator for Eddie George at Tennessee State.

NFLE

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AAF, CFL, NFL, XFL

McKay, Mekale

Cards: Panini Contenders 2016, Leaf Draft 2016, Panini Prism 2016
Acquired: IP 2019, SA Commanders Team Signing Dick’s Sporting Goods at The Rim

The Commanders big signing event of the season came at Dick’s Sporting Goods and with big names from the team appearing, it made total sense for me to go. Even though the event said NO OUTSIDE ITEMS, I figured I would take my chances and show up with my cards. It turned out nobody cared and I was able to go through the line 2 times to get all my cards covered. Mekale was next to Derron Smith, and they argued over which had the better cards. Mekale was sold on his Prism card, but he got trumped by Derron who had a Prism die cut card that looked like a fence. Overall it was a great event and I was happy with getting all the players’ autographs that were in attendance, as about two weeks later the league would disappear. Mekale’s autograph is very unique. I have never seen an M shaped quite like that.

Mekale was not drafted coming out of Arkansas (2012)/ Cincinnati (2013-2015), where he posted 108 receptions for 2034 yards and 19 TDs over his time between the two schools. A huge target stepping in at 6-5, McKay averaged an improbable 30.3 yards per reception in 2013 when he hauled in 16 catches for 485 yards and 7 TDs. He’d sign with the Colts after the draft in 2016, but be cut after training camp. Mekale then bounced around between the Jaguars, Broncos, Titans, Bears, and Cowboys over the next two years.

In 2019 McKay signed with the San Antonio Commanders of the now defunct Alliance of American Football. He’d post 22 receptions for 375 yards and 4 TDs including 1 2 point conversion. Mekale’s 17 yards a reception also was among the league leaders in that category. After the league ‘suspended operations’, Mekale drew interest from the Buffalo Bills and attended minicamp with the Browns.

Mekale was then selected by the New York Guardians of the XFL 2020, during the second round of the initial phase of the player draft. Over the course of the season he caught 12 passes for 184 yards and a TD, before the COVID pandemic cancelled the season. Two months later, McKay signed with the Blue Bombers of the CFL, but roughly a month later the league suspended play due to COVID as well.

NFL

Harmon, Ronnie

Cards: Skybox 1992, GameDay 1992
Acquired: 2020, Paid Signing

A big back clocking in at 6″0′, 220, Ronnie Harmon played 12 seasons in the NFL where he acquired a reputation as a solid pass catching threat out of the backfield, and a bruising back to take down.

He began his NFL career as a 1st round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1986. Harmon played there through 1989 catching 144 passes for 1452 yards and 10 TDs, while rushing 244 times for 968 yards and 3 TDs. By this point Ronnie had fit snugly into the 3rd down back role for the Bills, but with Thurman Thomas coming on strong in his second season as the bell cow back, the Bills felt they could let Ronnie go.

Ronnie took a big change of scenery when he signed with the San Diego Chargers in 1990, where he’d continue to be one of the most outstanding 3rd down backs in the NFL. A pass catching machine- Ronnie garnered 378 catches for 3939 yards, and 12 TDs over the next 6 seasons. In 1992 he caught a career high 79 passes and earned his only Pro Bowl honor, leading all runningbacks. He also never missed a game while playing for the Chargers.

In 1996, Ronnie entered the twilight of his career, playing for the Houston Oilers during their final year in Houston, and joining the franchise during their transition to Memphis the following year. During that 1997 season he’d be cut and sign with the Bears, before retiring, but not before tacking on another 60 receptions.

Ronnie holds the interesting record as the only player in NFL history to averaged 4.5 yards per carry on a minimum of 600 rushing attempts, while also averaging 10 yards per catch on at least 550 receptions.

Ronnie Harmon has a proven track record of not signing through the mail, and with a long and extensive NFL history, that criss-crossed the league, he has always been a player that I wanted to get the autograph of.

2020 was not a great year primarily because of COVID, but because of it, there were a lot more random private signings that popped up. Luckily I spotted a Bills signing with Ronnie and Lee Evans for a very affordable price, so I dropped these two cards in the mail.

I was more of a fan of Ronnie’s exploits playing for the San Diego Chargers than the Buffalo Bills, so I reached into the box and pulled out these two set needs. I really loved his Skybox card. It’s a great shot of him dashing for daylight and frames his size dynamically on the canvas.

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