Tag Archives: cincinnati bengals

CFL, NFL

Woods, Elbert “Ickey”

flr90 woodsap90 woods

ap91 woodspset89 woodsCards: Action Packed 1990, Action Packed 1991, Score Supplemental 1989, ProSet 1989, Fleer 1990.
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o The Jovante Woods Foundation
Sent: 9/7      Received: 12/17      (102 days)*
*Donation required

So Ickey Woods was one of these indelible characters from the late 1980’s with a great personality, a good smile, and a wonderful post touchdown dance. Well you needed one back then if you were going to make a name for yourself during that era of the NFL right? Well the ‘Ickey Shuffle’ set the world on fire, and Woods became probably one of the league’s most popular players almost instantaneously with his almost bumbling bear dance.

Ickey played at UNLV, and was selected in the second round of the 1988 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. His rookie season was nothing short of spectacular. He ran for 1066 yards on 203 carries, scored a whopping 15 touchdowns, and led the league with 5.3 yards per carry from the fullback position. Woods lost out to John Stephens of New England for Rookie of the Year Honors, probably because of the fact that the Bengals had a much better supporting cast  of Esiason, McGee, Holman, and Brown. It appeared that he was off to his same routine going into 1989, but during the second game of the season, Ickey critically blew out his left knee tearing his ACL.

sco89 woodsFor a bit there, it was thought that Ickey might never do the shuffle again. In those days, the surgery and the rehab time took a lot longer and was much riskier. Back then an ACL injury usually meant a certain ending to a player’s career. Ickey made a tremendous comeback however. He missed 14 games of the 1989 season but rebounded to return for 1990 and scored in his first game back against the Browns. The Bengals were content with using Ickey as a short yardage bam-back and he played 10 games that season, but the knee just kept flaming up. He returned for 1991 but by now the backfield was getting crowded with James Brooks and Harold Green back there. Still Woods managed to start 2 games. He’d retire in 1992 with new head coach David Shula taking the reins from Sam Wyche. Ickey’s Frankenstein zipper knees just kept him out of the lineup too much to allow him to keep playing and teams were staying away. He attempted to make a comeback with Jack Pardee and the Birmingham Barracudas of the CFL USA in 1995, but was unable to re-energize his career and finally retired.

Woods hit rock bottom for a while there, but found a home selling Pre-Paid Legal. Then he became a coach and owner of the Cincinnati Sizzle, a women’s professional football team. His son Javonte also tragically passed away a few years ago after a sudden asthma attack. In his honor Ickey set up a charity  for him that the proceeds of his autograph signings go to. Woods in the meantime remains an extremely popular alumni of the Cincinnati Bengals organization.

G/GP  37/20   Rush  332   Yds 1525   Avg 4.6      Td  27    Lg 56    |
 Rec 47    Yds 397   Avg 8.4   Td 0   Lg 25

The Ickey shuffle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f-m-Fmd1lY

 

NFL

Shipley, Jordan

sco12 shipleyCard: Score 2012
Acquired: 2/2/13, IP Sam’s Club Austin

Jordan Shipley was an outstanding receiver for the University of Texas football program. At the time of his graduation he was the school’s all-time leader in receptions with 248, second in yards with 3,191, and second in touchdowns with 33. A two time All-American catching passes from Colt McCoy, Shipley also demonstrated versatility on special teams holding on FGs and returning punts and kickoffs.  (Jordan played 6 years at UT, losing 2 to medical redshirt.)

Shipley was taken in the 3rd round of the 2010 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were set with starters Chad OchoCinco (Johnson) and Terrell Owens, so he spent a significant amount of his time on the bench behind them. Thankfully with Carson Palmer under center at the time, there was plenty to go around. Jordan finished 2010 ranked 3rd among rookies with 52 receptions for 600 yards (11.5 YPC) and 3 touchdowns. Things were looking up going into 2011, but in week 2 he suffered a terrible kneemem shipley injury that required him to miss the entire season and a good portion of the 2012 preseason. Inexplicably he’d be cut by the Bengals, and was picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers briefly. Soon there after Shipley was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars and finished 2012 with 23 receptions for 244 yards, 10.6 YPC, and a touchdown. In early 2013, the Jaguars rewarded him by resigning him as an exclusive rights free agent.

I heard about the Jordan Shipley signing at Sam’s Club through the Texas Autograph Club boards. Surprisingly there was very little traffic for Jordan at the store, so he had no problem signing the Score card plus the Tyson’s card. I was a bit disappointed that I only had one of him, but hear that he’s always found signing things around Austin, so I will try to get back to him again. We talked briefly about his grizzled beard, if he’d sign with the Texans who needed a good slot presence, had a good laugh, and took a photo before I was out the door. Overall it was a pretty good experience and I hope he gets to prove himself with the Jaguars- just not when playing against the Texans.

 

NFL

Quinn, Richard “Big Rich”

Card: Playoff 2008
Acquired: 2012, Target Authentic Memorabilia Autograph Edition

At 6’4″, 260, Richard Quinn was a 2nd round pick by the Broncos out of North Carolina. A solid in-line blocker, the Broncos passed up some intriguing TE’s to reach for a prospect with only 12 career catches for 124 yards and 2 TDs, during the 2009 draft. Essentially the Broncos thought that he’d make a nice fit in Josh McDaniels’ offensive system as basically an extra tackle who could quietly release off the line of scrimmage and pull down a few receptions in Jumbo sets. “Big Rich” made his first career reception in 2010, with 1 reception for 9 yards, but after a knee injury, he’d be cut with an injury settlement in 2011 from the Broncos. The Redskins signed Quinn later that season and he’d see the turk in the final cutdowns of the 2012 season. He quickly found a home with the Cincinnati Bengals and has been off and on their roster a few times since.