Tag Archives: Denver Broncos

Little, Floyd ‘The Franchise’ (1942-2021)

Action Packed Whizzer White 1991, #8

CARDS: Upper Deck Legends 1997, Upper Deck College Legends 2011, Panini HoF 2010, Action Packed Whizzer White Award 1991
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, C/o Home
SENT: 6/6/20 RECEIVED: 6/18/20 (12 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Floyd Little played at Syracuse where from 1964 to 1966, he ran for 2,704 yards and 46 TDs.
  • He’d be the 6th overall pick in the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft of the Denver Broncos.
  • In his first two years in the AFL, Floyd led the league in All-Purpose Yards, with 1626 in 1967 and 1,825 in 1968.
  • He led the league in yards per game in both 1969 (81.0) and 1971 (80.9).
  • His best season arguably came in 1971 when Floyd had a career high and league leading 284 carries, 310 touches, 1,133 yards, and 1,388 yards from scrimmage.
  • Little’s 1,113 rushing yards were the first time a member of the team had broken the 1k rushing barrier.
  • Floyd led the NFL in TDs in 1973 with 12 TDs.
  • After starting 105 games, Floyd hung up his cleats in 1976.
  • A Syracuse great, he returned to the school in 2011 as a special assistant to the athletic director- a position he held until 2016 when he retired to Las Vegas.

ACCOLADES:

  • Pro Football Hall of Fame 2010
  • College Football Hall of Fame
  • Broncos Ring of Fame 1984
  • Hall of Very Good 2005
  • All Pro 1969
  • Pro Bowl 1968-’71, ’73
  • Denver Broncos #44 retired
  • Syracuse Orange #44 retired
Panini Hall of Fame 2010, #5

NOTES:

Here’s a great example of how trading cards educate us about football history. I wouldn’t have really stumbled onto Floyd if I hadn’t collected the Action Packed Whizzer White set. So I chased a rabbit down the hole learning all I could about him, and then decided to go ahead donate some money to his cancer treatments and ask for his autograph on a few cards. He signed the three I included lightning fast, and included the HoF Panini card as a thank-you.

Floyd is nicknamed ‘The Franchise’ because he was instrumental in the Broncos staying in Denver. The team struggled badly in its initial years and Little helped put the team on the map by signing with them. He also helped champion the building of Mile High Stadium through his Herculaneum efforts every week for the team.

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EPITAPH:

1/2/2021- Floyd Little’s family announced that he had passed away from cancer after a years’ long battle with the disease, at his home in Las Vegas with them by his side. He was 78.

Droughns, Reuben

CARDS: Playoff Contenders 2006 Season Ticket, Leaf Rookies & Stars 2006
ACQUIRED: TTM 2021, C/o Home
SENT: 1/29/21 RECEIVED: 2/20/21 (22 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • A two year starter at RB for Oregon (’98-’99) Rueben Droughns rushed for 1963 yards and 18 TDs on 368 carries.
  • Selected in the 3rd round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.
  • Sidelined his entire rookie season with a separated shoulder.
  • In 2001, started 3 games and ran for 72 yards on 30 carries.
  • After briefly spending time on the PS of Miami, he joined the Denver Broncos in 2002.
  • It wasn’t until 2004 that Reuben saw measured success on the gridiron.
  • He’d take the NFL by storm rushing 275 times for 1240 yards and 6 TDs for Denver.
  • Traded to the Browns in 2005.
  • He’d add another 1232 yards to his career total and become the first Brown to rush for over 1,000 yards in over 15 years.
  • After rushing for 758 yards in ’06 for Cleveland, Droughns was traded to the New York Giants where the Giants used him primarily as a goalline back.
  • Droughns retired after the 2008 season.
  • Reuben has dabbled in coaching, working internationally for the CEFL from 2010-2013 and Serbian team Vukovi Beograd.
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Kiick, Jim ‘Butch Cassidy’ (1946-2020)

Upper Deck Legends 1997, AU-125

CARD: Upper Deck Legends 1997 Certified
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2022

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Jim Kiick played RB at Wyoming from 1965-’67.
  • He totaled 431 carries for 1714 yards and 10 TDs rushing, to go along with 52 receptions for 561 yards and 5 TDs.
  • Well lauded, he led the Cowboys in rushing all 3 years, and the team to the Sun Bowl and Sugar Bowl.
  • Kiick was selected in the 5th round of the 1968 AFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.
  • He’d go on to play for the Dolphins for the next seven seasons, where Jim established himself as a wonderful compliment to Larry Czonka in the backfield as a receiver, rusher, and blocker.
  • In 1969, Kiick led the AFL with 9 rushing TDs.
  • He’d have a career high 1,155 yards from scrimmage the following year in 1970.
  • And in 1971, rushed for a career high 738 yards.
  • Czonka and Kiick were known affectionately as ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ thanks in part to their drunken debauchery on road games.
  • In each of his first 4 seasons, Kiick had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage.
  • Over a period of time however, new players such as Mercury Morris and Paul Warfield were introduced to the team, eating into Kiick’s playing time and touches.
  • He and Larry shocked the football world when in 1975 Jim, Paul, and Larry jumped ship for the World Football League.
  • They all played for the Memphis Southmen.
  • Jim ran for 462 yards on 121 carries, scoring 9 TDs, while also catching 25 passes for 259 yards and a TD.
  • After the league folded, Jim returned to the NFL where he played the ’76 season for the Broncos.
  • He played the majority of the ’77 season with Denver, and finished out the year with the Redskins.
  • Jim had a variety of pursuits he chased after his NFL time ended, including private investigation, and owned a self-titled sports promotion company.

ACCOLADES:

  • Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame
  • Pro Bowl 1968, ’69

NOTES:

By the time I was back collecting and targeting this set, Jim had already started deteriorating rapidly from dementia- and he was one of the many players that had been diagnosed with CTE. It made me deeply sad, so I didn’t want to trouble him for his autograph during this private time of his life, even though he was still participating in private signings.

It’s difficult for me to talk about this subject. Care giving for one who is experiencing issues with mental cognition hits home for me. My grandfather suffered from Alzheimer’s near the end of his life in his 90s. He had to be placed into a senior care center. I just remember the last time I saw him, it was my birthday, and he thought I worked for him at the plant- somewhere he hadn’t been to in 30 years.

EPITAPH:

6/20/20- Jim had battled dementia and had been living in a assisted living community. He passed away at the age of 73. It was later confirmed that Kiick had suffered from CTE.

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WFL
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