Tag Archives: cleveland browns

NFL

Gonzalez, Zane

Card: Sage 2017
Acquired: 2017, Box Breaker

Looking at the stat line, Zane Gonzalez stands first in FBS history nailing 96 field goals over his 4 years at Arizona St.  He’s also pretty accurate hitting about 86% of those attempts, including 23 of 25 as a Senior for the Sun Devils. Gonzalez has a strong leg and has steadily improved over the last 3 years. Scouts ding him on the angle he takes in pursuit of kick returners, but let’s face it- he’s a kicker, not a torpedo.  Facts aside that he’s not Neil Rackers, Gonzalez was selected in the seventh round of the 2017 draft by the Cleveland Browns, where he will go head to head with Cody Parkey in camp.

NFL, Pro Football HoF, Super Bowl MVP

Dawson, Len (1935-2022)

Card: ProSet 1990 Super Bowl MVP
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Work
Sent: 12/15   Received: 12/31   (16 days)
Failure: 2013, C/o Work

Len Dawson saw a storied NFL career that stretched from the late 50s to the mid 70s.  After putting together a strong career at Perdue, Dawson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with their #1 pick in 1957.  Unable to dislodge Bobby Layne from the starter position, Dawson was traded to the Cleveland Browns in 1960 where he also faced an uphill battle for the starting position under center.

He’d join the rival American Football League in 1962, where he’d become the unquestioned starter of the Dallas Texans.  Power plugged into the Texans offense,  Dawson immediately turned the franchise into contenders going toe to toe with the Houston Oilers and winning the AFL Championship. Soon thereafter the Texans moved to Kansas City and Len went on to record numerous accolades including league single-game and season records including career touchdowns with 182 for the American Football League.

The AFL had never earned the respect of the NFL brass. They felt that the AFL played an inferior kind of ball- even though Joe Namath led the Jets to victory the previous year in Super Bowl III. While the Chiefs appeared to be snake bitten all season long- with injuries to Len or just plain bad luck, they made the playoffs, after not even winning their division. The Chiefs then dethroned the Jets on their home field in the first round, and then beat the Raiders on the road in Oakland – after not even beating them during the regular season. The hard fought victory, didn’t bring the Chiefs any respect. In fact, most media and sports writers had predicted that the Minnesota Vikings were going to roll Kansas City in Super Bowl IV.

Instead, KC which had become used to the underdog role, relished in victory, smothering the Vikings 23-7.  Dawson paced the Chiefs throwing for 142 yards and a TD on 12 of 17 passing, earning himself MVP honors- all while under duress of a gambling probe that was proven unfounded.  Dawson avenged himself for his previous loss to the NFL, when the Chiefs lost to the Packers in Super Bowl I.

Len played an additional 5 more seasons retiring after the 1975 season- after 19 seasons.

Len is incredibly popular in Kansas City Chiefs’ lore. He had his number retired and was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame. Dawson has done color commentary and insider reporting in the NFL for many years. In 1987 Len was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He also worked as a sports anchor for many years in Kansas City. 

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EPITAPH:

8/24/22- Len Dawson was moved to hospice in the last few days, where he passed away at the age of 87.

NFL, University of Texas

Whittaker, Fozzy (3)

sp12 fwhittakerpaut15_fwhittakerCards: SP 2012 #399/750, Upper Deck Star Rookies 2012, TNT UT, Photo Memorabilia, Upper Deck Star Pics 2012, SP 2012 Authentics, Panini UT 2015
Acquired: IP 2016, Mighty Fine Burgers Battle of the Beast, Coop UT Celebration.
See Also: Fozzy Whittaker, Fozzy Whittaker (2)

Fozzy’s NFL career has required a lot of grit and a good agent. He’s clawed his way into the lineup tntcol fwhittakerwith Carolina where he serves primarily as a 3rd down scat back for the Panthers offense, after brief stops in Arizona, Cleveland, and San Diego. During the last 2 seasons, Fozzy has played in 25 games, starting 2.  He’s rushed 57 times for 253 yards and 2 TDs, while catching 17 passes for 124 yards and a TD. He’s also spent a bit of time on special teams returning 20 kicks for 471 yards.
During his relatively brief NFL career, Fozzy has demonstrated a knack for being a dangerous receiver out of the backfield. He has had a few highlights, such as transforming a 26 yard screen pass to a diving TD against the Saints, and a swing pass 39 yards across the middle for a TD against the Cardinals in the Wild card game of the 2014  playoffs.

A great fan favorite, Fozzy signs at
all events, and volunteers regularly for team events to meet fans. At the Mighty Fine Burgers
Battle of the Beast event, Whittaker was in rare form. As the maitre ‘d of the event he was in charge of motivating local high school players to eat as much as they could. Surrounded by a large and raucous crowd Fozzy was in his element, with a beaming smile, having a great time. Whittaker has no shortage amazingly of great photos, whether it is him jumping over a would be tackler, galloping across the grass, or getting a kiss from a baluga whale, I did honestly
ask for a lot.
I’m not really a photo memorabilia kind of guy, but with such a plethora of great shots of Fozzy, I compromised and decided to get some things signed on high quality 4×6 photo stock- which could eventually become a thing for me as I run out of stuff for guys who appear regularly. Still Fozzy kindly and patiently signed everything, while discussing how his career has progressed along.  We talked also briefly about how some of those photos need to make their way onto Carolina Panthers cards of him, and how I thought his efforts in their Super Bowl loss provided the team a much needed spark.

Fozzy was also a guest star on the Comedy Central show Key and Peele which routinely made fun of NFL players and their outrageous names. Instead of lampooning Whittaker, they just had him appear on the skit and say his name. When I asked him about this event, he told me that it wasn’t like they flew him out to LA for the taping- they just shot the video in front of a green screen. After getting one of the Comedy Central photos signed, I gave him the extra one on me, which he really liked and showed his wife.

The fun times didn’t end there as I had two more cards to get Fozzy on at the Coop event in May. He signed his Panini UT card and this really nice SP Authentics canvas card.

Whittaker continues to blossom as a pro. In 2016 he posted career highs across the board with 57 carries for 265 yards and 25 receptions for 226 yards. He also chipped in 12 kick returns for 275 yards- a 22.9 yard average.