Tag Archives: edmonton eskimos

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Archer, David (2)

ultwlaf92 surgeCards: Ultimate WLAF 1992, Ultimate WLAF 1992 team card
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 5/23    Received: 8/8  (78 days)
See also: David Archer

I was kicking myself after getting David Archer’s autograph on some cards a few years ago. I realized that I didn’t get his Ultimate WLAF Sacramento Surge card signed. My general rule of thumb is to wait a few years before and if I contact a player again. I just feel like it is appropriate not to spam players with requests, so I put myself in my self-imposed penalty box and waited on this one. I sweated it out for a while but after a 3+ month wait he signed these two cards for me.

ultwlaf92 archerUltimate and ProSet went head to head during year two of the WLAF, with Wild Card showing up near the end. None of them found traction in the market, and today they are easily found in the secondary market. While ProSet focused on year one players, Ultimate was peppered with rookies and new names giving a nice blend to go along with ProSet. Wild Card showed up at the tail end of the 1992 season or had a weaker distribution network, so for autograph purposes it was completely out of the mix.

Archer was the quintessential journeyman quarterback, or one of the greatest third string QBs you’d ever seen. He played for no less than 7 teams during a 14 season football career spanning the NFL, WLAF, and CFL. He won World Bowl II with the Sacramento Surge in 1992, and later lost in the playoffs to the Jeff Garcia led Calgary Stampeders in his final game with the Edmonton Eskimos in 1998.

He still does radio today for the ACC in Atlanta and hosts an afternoon radio show.

Arena, CFL, NFL

Beavers, Larry Jr.

tntafl14 beaversCard: TNT AFL 2014
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 8/16    Received: 9/13     (27 days)

Larry Beavers is an outstanding talent in the Arena Football League. He attended a small Division III school, Wesley College in Delaware. There Beavers set the NCAA record for career kick return touchdows with a whopping 10.  He also demonstrated a knack for the ball, finishing second in school history with 2,366 yards.

He went undrafted in 2009 but was signed by the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately Beavers was among the final cuts that preseason by the squad. The following year Larry was signed by the New Orleans Saints, but again was cut in the offseason. In 2011, he signed with the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League, but quickly decided to take his talents to the CFL, landing on the roster of the Edmonton Eskimos.  Beavers returned to the Arena leagues the following year and was an offseason addition to the Pittsburgh Power.

It was in 2013 that Larry joined the New Orleans Voodoo, and that’s where he’s made an impressive impact. He’d earn second team All-Arena Team Honors in 2014 as a kick returner cracking the 1,000 yard barrier both as a receiver and as a kick returner. Larry was assigned to the expansion Las Vegas Outlaws for 2015, but ended up rubberbanding back to the Voodoo before the season was out, scoring 2 more TDs on kick returns.  The Voodoo (and the Outlaws) were taken over by the league before the conclusion of the season.

I had gotten a few customs I had made autographed by players in the league over Twitter. Impressed with Beaver’s play in the finale against San Antonio I created this custom of him and asked him if he’d like one, to which he gleefully signed this one for me in about 2 weeks.

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Davis, Wayne

pset91 wdavis psetwlaf91 wdavis

Cards: ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 7/5      Received: 7/11  (6 days)
Failure: TTM 2014, C/o New Life Covenant Church, Gordo, AL

Wayne Davis was a linebacker for the Alabama Crimson Tide.  He posted a career high 125 tackles his Junior year, and 85 in his Senior year. A 9th round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987, the season was sort of a mess because of the Players’ Strike. Davis saw playing time in all 12 nonstrike games that year, and also in all 16 games in 1988.  He’d sign as a Plan B free agent with the Los Angeles Rams in 1989, and then later with the 49ers, who let him go on the final cutdown. Wayne played for the Edmonton Eskimos in 1990, before giving the WLAF a shot. Davis impressed the league scouts enough, that Orlando saw fit to make him the first overall pick of linebackers in the 1991 positional draft.  Head Coach Don Matthews liked his overall speed and athleticism. He’d have a solid year, posting 33 tackles, and 2 fumble recoveries. Wayne also played on special teams, recording 8 tackles on kickoff coverage. His highlight of the year was a 9 tackle effort in Orlando’s 35-34 victory over the San Antonio Riders on opening day.  A man of God, Davis styled himself as being a new found ‘Minister of Defense’ ala Reggie White, bringing the Good Word to the masses, and had been quoted as stating, “God first. Football second.”  After starting off the 1991 season hot, the Thunder had a meltdown and finished 5-5. Matthews quit, and new coach Galen Hall decided to overhaul the franchise. With a plethora of new linebacker blood in camp, Hall had to make some difficult cuts- Davis among them. Wayne however, felt a calling to God greater than football, and was ordained in 1992. Reverend Davis later returned to school and earned to Masters in Education and in Pastoral Ministry and lives in Gordo, Alabama today where he preaches to his flock and congregation.

NFL 28/1   Tac   N/a   Sac  N/a    Fum N/a    Int  0   Yds 0   Avg -.-   Td 0   Lg -.-
WLAF    Tac 33   Sac 0   Fum 2    Int 0    Yds 0   Avg -.-  Td 0  Lg -.-