Tag Archives: cleveland gladiators

Arena

Turner, Leslie ‘Pierre’

tntafl14 pturnertnttal14 turner2

Card: TNT AFL Talons 2014
Acquired: IP 5/17/14, San Antonio Talons vs. New Orleans Voodoo

I liked the second photo of Pierre so much more than the original I decided to get his autograph on it as well. He liked it, but told me that I didn’t have to keep doing this… (referring to making cards of him).

Pierre Turner collected 76 tackles and 8 sacks playing linebacker during his 4 years with the Richmond Spiders. He joined the Arena Football League in 2011 splitting time with the Cleveland Gladiators and Orlando Predators tallying 22 tackles, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble.

In 2012, he’d join the San Antonio Talons where he racked up 30.5 tackles, 5 sacks, and a forced fumble.  He’d have another 26 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2013.  An injury riddled 2014 resulted in 19 tackles and 2 sacks. With the Talons going on ‘hiatus’ after the 2014 season, Pierre was signed by the Jacksonville Sharks and had 14 tackles and a sack. In addition to playing linebacker, Turner briefly moonlighted as a fullback for the Talons carrying the rock 6 times for 11 yards and 2 touchdowns.

 

 

Arena

Lopez, Joe

tnttal14 jlopezCard: TNT Talons 2014
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent:   8/16    Received: 8/25 (9 days)

The Talons were ravaged with injuries during their final campaign and their wide receiver and defensive back corps turned into turnstiles at one point.  Joe Lopez had a brief stay on the Talons. There were no acceptable photos that I could find to work with, so I had to doctor an existing shot, like in the Brett Reece card, and I was not disappointed in the results.  After a bit of digging I was able to track Joe down through Twitter where he quickly responded to my request.

Joe Lopez saw his first action in the AFL with the Utah Blaze back in 2011, where he tallied 7 tackles and 1 pass break up. He was assigned to the Gladiators in 2012, and joined the Talons in 2014. A nasty special teams gunner, Joe has the speed and the size to lay a lick on opposing kick returners, recording 9 tackles and 2 assists for the San Antonio. Over his college career at SUNY-Cortland Joe had an interception in 6 straight games, which stands as a school record.

Arena, CFL

Jackson, LaRoche

tntafl14 ljacksonCard: TNT AFL 2014
Acquired: 2014, Trade

A fearsome hitter and defensive back LJ  joined the Gladiators in 2013 and tallied 85 tackles and 5 interceptions in 14 games. He got a fair amount of playing time also at kick returner in 2014, and finished with 26 kick returns for 578 yards and a TD. LaRoche has had an interception for a touchdown in every season he’s been in the AFL including 2014, when he had 3 interceptions for 74 yards, 105.5 tackles, and 2 FF, helping key the Gladiators Arena Bowl run.

LaRoche went to little Clark Atlanta University, becoming a starter at DB in the second game of his freshman season.  He held on to that spot the rest of the year, finishing with four interceptions. Jackson went undrafted in 2006. He’d sign with the then Carolina Speed and was named Rookie of the Year of the AIFA in 2008. The next season he played for the Bloomington Edge of the IFL. After a brief stint with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL in 2010, LaRoche landed in the Arena Football League in 2011. He’d swim with the Sharks of Jacksonville, earning an Arena Bowl title in his first season. En route, Jackson led the Sharks with 119 tackles, recovered two fumbles, and recorded six interceptions. In 2012, he recorded 97 tackles, another four interceptions, and a forced fumble.

Great finished product and even better looking autograph, LJ really tagged this one up nice. Once I got the autographs back I thanked them through Twitter. True to the reason why I do this, I could tell that LaRoche enjoyed getting the cards as much as I did getting the autograph.