Tag Archives: detroit lions

NFL, ufl

Zolak, Scott

Card: StarPics 1991
Acquired: TTM 1993, Patriots Blitz

Scott Zolak is another in a long line of fine Maryland Terps quarterbacks. The school has an absolute knack for locating and putting the best talent on the field at that position. Neil O’Donnell, Stan Gelbaugh, Boomer Esiason, Frank Reich, Shaun Hill, and Mike Tice, are among some of the names over the last 30 years who have played at the pro level in some capacity after graduating from the school. Zolak was no exception. In the 4th round of the 1991 draft, the New England Patriots rolled the dice on the young quarterback while they injected new blood into the aging position. He didn’t take the field that year at all, sitting at #3 behind Hugh Millen and Tom Hodson, but 1992 would prove to be a different story and thus he’d enter into New England lore forever for his actions. After Millen went down and Hodson was inneffective, Zolak would lead the winless team on a two game winning streak- playing respectably in 3 contests before Millen returned to finish out the season. In 1993, Drew Bledsoe would be drafted and another purge would happen at quarterback. Zolak, would survive the purge and remain on the team’s roster through 1998 playing sparingly and slowly moved up the depth chart to #2 behind Bledsoe. He’d also be on the roster through three coaching regimes (Dick MacPherson, Bill Parcells, and the shortlived Pete Carroll era), seeing life on the Patriots from an interesting perspective.

Zolak after 1998 would bounce around. He’d be cut out of Jets training camp and head over to the Dolphins for two unremarkable seasons and then try out for the Detroit Lions, but later opted instead to go up to the booth to become a color commentator. Scott has embraced his life as a sports personality head on and continues to do radio commentary for games and was recently picked up by the fledgling United Football League to do color commentary on the New England Sports Network for the Hartford Colonials games.

G/Gs  55/7   Att 248  Comp 124    Yds 1314   Pct 50%   Td 8    Int 7      Rat   64.8

NFL

Montgomery, Greg (1964-2020)

Card: Topps Stadium Club 1992
Acquired: In Person 1993, Houston Oilers Training Camp

An incredible punter with a booming leg, Greg Montgomery rarely, if ever, got his due. Try it on a prolific offense where you never got the chance to punt.

Drafted in the 3rd round in the 1988 draft out of Michigan State where he set numerous records, Montgomery was inserted right away into Jerry Glanville‘s raucous cast and crew of personalities. His rookie season would be his worst- at 38.8 yards a punt. In fact, over the next 8 seasons of Montgomery’s stellar career, he’d never average below 42 yards. Most notably, Greg averaged an incredible 46.9 yards a punt in 1992 (but he didn’t have enough punts to qualify because the Oilers offense scored so often). -This tied him for the highest punting yard average during the 1990s, while his 43.6 yard career average is one of the highest over that period.

Seeking a big dollar contract from the Oilers after his All-Pro season in 1993 in which he averaged 45.6 yards a kick, the Oilers opted to find another punter. Greg was cut, and signed with the Lions where he played one season in 1994 averaging 44 yards a punt. Out of football that following season, he’d return to play for two more seasons punting for the Baltimore Raviens in 1996 and 1997, before retiring at the age of 33.

G/SPYDSAVGBLKLG
142/142 5242283143.6877

UPDATE 9/4/20- Greg passed away on August 22nd, 2020 at the age of 55. The cause of death was not revealed.

Arena, NFL

Dixon, James

Card: Action Packed 1990
Acquired: In person, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 1990

I think James Dixon was the first Action Packed card I ever got autographed.  After being cut by the Detroit Lions in the preseason, James would be a savvy free agent find by Jimmy Johnson. Originally from the University of Houston in 1989, Dixon was a  speedy special teams player and kick returner.

His rookie season was a great start as James 47 returns led the NFL in 1990, while his 1181 yards would rank 3rd. Dixon’s return numbers in fact were the highest seen by a Dallas Cowboy since the merger. He’d also chock in a 97 yard touchdown. Dixon was the Cowboys primary long bomb threat, averaging just below 20 yards a catch on 477 yards receiving. He’d have 2 TDs receiving, including a 75 yard bomb. These would all be career highs as his return yardage and receiving statistics would slip until 1991 when he only suited up for 7 games. It’d be enough for him to make the cut for Tecmo Super Bowl.

James later resurfaced in the Arena leagues in 1994 playing for Fort Worth. He’d make 9 td grabs on 405 yards.

G/Gs 22/1   Rec  26  Yds 503   Avg 19.3   Td   2   Lg 75t |
KR 101   Yds  2315   Avg 22.9   Td 1    Lg 97t