Tag Archives: indianapolis colts

NFL, WLAF

Rentie, Caesar

Card: Proset WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 1992, C/o New York/ New Jersey Knights

For all of the football junkies out there Caesar Rentie is famous because he was the first player drafted in the WLAF.  Originally a 7th round choice of the Chicago Bears, Rentie played 5 games for the Bears in 1988, and then went Plan B to the Bills and Colts before being taken by the WLAF.  The son of deaf-mute parents, Rentie has faced adversity all his life. Playing for the Knights, Rentie provided valuable protection and excellent run blocking for Eric Wilkerson in 1991. He’d play part of the season for the Knights again in 1992, finishing up the season on the squad of the Birmingham Fire.

After the league restructured in 1992, Caesar felt a higher calling and decided to leave football where he then became an intern in pastoral care at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center and as of this post is affiliated with Arcadia Park UMC in Dallas as a Senior Pastor. I sent off for Caesar’s autograph during the 1992 season to the NY/NJ Knights. I got a fairly quick response and was pleased to get his autograph on his Proset card.

NFL, Pro Football HoF

Dickerson, Eric

Cards: Pro Set 1989, Pro Set 1991
Acquired: In Person, Cowboys Training Camp 1992
See Also: Eric Dickerson (2)

Back in the days of the Los Angeles Raiders, I would actually get excited when I heard they signed somebody like Eric, because I knew that player would be at the Cowboys training camp later that year.  I don’t think I missed a day at Cowboys training camp that summer, and I never wanted to miss an opportunity to double my chances when the Raiders came to town. Eric was much maligned in the media by now because of frequent contract disputes with the Colts over the last year or two but he was more than generous signing 2 cards for me during camp that year.

Dickerson would play 11 seasons in the NFL for the Rams, Colts, Raiders and Falcons.  A spectacular runner at SMU where he formed the “Pony Express” with Craig James, Dickerson was drafted by the LA Rams in 1983 and went on to set rookie records across the board, and finished as the ROY that year. In his second year, Dickerson established the record for most rushing yards in a season with 2,105.

In ’87 he was traded to the Colts where he continued his streak of 1,000 yard seasons playing until he signed with the Raiders in ’92, and finished with a brief stint in ’93 with the Falcons. Eric’s career totals included: 6 pro bowl selections, 5 first team all pros, named 1980s all decade team, 1986 offensive player of the year, having his number retired by the Rams, and elected to the HOF in 1999.  Post football Dickerson has been both a sideline reporter for Monday Night Football and also on KCBS in LA.

GM 146          ATT 2,996           YDS 13,259         AVG 4.4        TD 90