Tag Archives: chicago bears

NFL, WLAF

Rentie, Caesar

Card: Proset WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 1992, C/o New York/ New Jersey Knights

For all of the football junkies out there Caesar Rentie is famous because he was the first player drafted in the WLAF.  Originally a 7th round choice of the Chicago Bears, Rentie played 5 games for the Bears in 1988, and then went Plan B to the Bills and Colts before being taken by the WLAF.  The son of deaf-mute parents, Rentie has faced adversity all his life. Playing for the Knights, Rentie provided valuable protection and excellent run blocking for Eric Wilkerson in 1991. He’d play part of the season for the Knights again in 1992, finishing up the season on the squad of the Birmingham Fire.

After the league restructured in 1992, Caesar felt a higher calling and decided to leave football where he then became an intern in pastoral care at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center and as of this post is affiliated with Arcadia Park UMC in Dallas as a Senior Pastor. I sent off for Caesar’s autograph during the 1992 season to the NY/NJ Knights. I got a fairly quick response and was pleased to get his autograph on his Proset card.

College Football HoF, NFL, usfl, wfl

Pardee, Jack (1936-2013)

Cards: Proline Portraits 1992, Pro Set 1990, Pro Set 1991, Topps 1970.
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o home.
Sent: 3/26    Received:  4/1    (6 days)

I went through Fanmail.biz to locate Jack’s address, putting a request up on the message board. One of the admins was kind enough to respond with his address. I wrote to Jack that night to discuss the book “Oiler Blues” and he responded in a record 6 days to my request.

Jack Pardee took over as coach of the Oilers from Jerry Glanville, and the difference in personality was night and day. While Glanville was firey and emotional, Jack, was much on par with the personality of Tom Landry. Subdued was basically an understatement of Pardee’s restraint. Jack would bring with him from the University of Houston (and the USFL,) the Run ‘N Shoot offense that the Oilers would employ full time.  Jack would pull the Oilers over the hump, as he would become the only coach in the history of the Houston franchise to take the AFC Central title, which he would take in 91 and again in 93.  The 1993 team would also grab the best record in the league at 12-4. Despite going forward, the Oilers always seemed to freeze in the playoffs, being victims of the infamous ‘Comeback’ game, and also Montana’s last playoff run. Pardee was infamously ordered by owner Bud Adams to wear a headset on the sidelines, mitigate the circus that was Buddy Ryan and the furor that ensued when the team fined David Williams for ‘Babygate’. These dramatic elements would be the end of the ‘golden age’ for me in football. In 1994 the team collapsed without Warren Moon at the helm, and after going 1-9 Jack Pardee resigned. His young defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher took over from there and within a few months owner Bud Adams was whining about a new stadium.

One of the infamous ‘Junction Boys’, Jack in addition to coaching days also played in the NFL from 1957-1973 as a linebacker conquering melanoma along the way.  He then jumped ship to head coaching for the Blazers and Fire of the WFL, and then onto the NFL as the coach of the Bears and Redskins, and as a defensive coordinator for the Chargers. Coaching continued to be in his blood as he then coached in the USFL for the Gamblers, and then over to the Cougars with a record setting offense, before coming to the Oilers in 1990. In 1995 he coached in the CFL and then entered a period of semi retirement where he runs his ranch in Gause, Tx outside of Houston.

In 2010, a wonderful article was written about him from CNNSI where it was revealed that he would jump at the opportunity to coach again even at the age of 73.

G 196  tac n/a    sac  n/a     Fum 17    Int  22    yards 305  Td  5  Lng 46
Wins   87   Losses 77   Pct .530

UPDATE- On April 1st, 2013, Jack Pardee passed away at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer.

AFL, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Blanda, George (1927-2010)

Card: Topps 1972
Acquired: TTM 2010, c/o home
Sent: 3/26  Received: 4/13  (18 days)

This card was the oldest card in my collection (for a time) ironically because my friend Josh brought over his card collection and accidentally spilled them all over the floor. He let me have this card, because he thought it was in such bad condition that it was trash.  Being the big Oiler fan I am, I knew about George’s history with the team, but it never seemed to cross my mind to locate him for an autograph and for many years the card languished in my collection.  I started a TTM drive to get autographs of many of the classic Oilers after watching the NFL Network presentation of “Full Color Football”. (While the broadcast gives the AFL some credit, it still failed to give the Oilers teams credit of the early 60s, Charlie Hennigan any exposure, and does not acknowledge the contributions of many of our now injured and fallen gladiators in dire need of medical attention and pension assistance.) George was at the top of the list.

George Blanda is an amazing story of longevity in sports history. In a sport like football, with players average playing time of less than 5 years, Blanda would play in 4 different decades, spanning 26 seasons, longer than any other player in football history. He began playing for the NFL in 1949 for the Bears, where he’d play for 10 seasons. Forced with an ultimatum to become a kicker full time and not a quarterback, he opted to retire; However fate would smile upon “The Grand Old Man” who was granted a reprieve when the upstart AFL started in 1960. Signed by the Houston Oilers, he led them to the first 3 championships, winning the first and second with an impressive aerial attack. After seven seasons, he’d move on to play with the Raiders, where he served as backup quarterback and kicker for the team for an additional nine seasons. Blanda at the time of his retirement held the record for most games played and most points scored. He was inducted into the Pro Football HOF in 1981.

G 340   Att 4007   Comp 1911    Avg 47.6    Yds 26920
Td 236    Int 277
FG 335    Att 641   XPA 943    XPM 959    Pts 2002

UPDATE -George Blanda passed away quietly at the age of 84 on September 27th, 2010.  He is survived by his wife and 11 children.