Tag Archives: kansas city chiefs

NFLE

Dyal, Mike

Cards: Score 1990, ProSet 1990, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 9/30 Received: 10/5 (5 days)

Mike Dyal played collegially for Texas A&I University. Initially recruited as a QB, Mike just kept getting bigger and bigger, and moved from QB to WR, eventually settling at TE. Despite having soft hands, decent speed, and good blocking skills, Mike was not drafted in the 1988 NFL Draft. A lot of it had to do with small school stigma- but Mike was on the radar of many team’s priority free agent list. His agent convinced him his best shot was joining the Raiders, where an aging Todd Christensen was the starter, and the long snapper was his backup. He made an impression in camp, and then took a dive so he could make the squad and become the heir to Christensen at the TE position for the Raiders the following season.

In 1989, Mike had his best season as a pro, starting all 16 games for LA. He caught 27 passes for 499 yards- a whopping 18.5 yards per reception and 2 TDs- including a career long 67 yarder. 1990 and 1991 were largely a wash for Mike due to injury, but by the time he returned to the lineup, the position was in different hands under Ethan Horton. He spent 3 games with the Chiefs in in 92, and then split time between the Chiefs and Chargers in 1993 before retiring.

I had no clue that Mike was a living locally in Central Texas. Once I found that out, I wrote him pretty soon afterwards. He responded very quickly on these 3 cards. While Mike’s career was modestly brief as a starter, he made the most of it, appearing on many of the popular brands of the day. These three cards were my favorite of his, with the Fleer sticking out the most to me with a dynamic frontal shot of him with his helmet breaking the plane of the image design.

G/GsRECYDSAVGTDLG
32/183864016.8267
NFL, University of Texas

Cash, Keith

Cards: UT Upper Deck 2011, Pacific 1991, Wild Card 1991
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Work
Sent: 12/13/19 Received: 12/27/19 (14 days)
Failure: TTM 2014, C/o Home

Keith and his twin brother Kerry both played tight end for the Texas Longhorns. Keith really stood out his Senior year catching 33 passes for 605 yards and 6 TDs. (That’s 18.3 yards per catch- at tight end!)

He’d be selected in the 7th round of the 1991 draft by the Washington Redskins. Keith hopped around the league from there, playing in 1991 with the Steelers and catching his first professional TD. It’d be in 1992 that Cash joined the Chiefs, where he spent his final 5 season with. Over that period he’d catch 111 passes for 1046 yards and 9 TDs.

It’d be in 1993 that the Houston Oilers hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. With Joe Montana at QB the Chiefs pulled off a comeback victory over the Oilers 28-20. During that game, Keith caught a TD pass from Joe, and immediately spiked it square on the face of then Houston defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan. It was the proverbial nail in the coffin, not only for the game, but for the franchise itself.

It was rumored that Keith was mad at the Oilers, because like many teams do, they called him up, and told him that they were going to select him soon. Instead they passed on him, and he was eventually selected by the Redskins. I guess he never let that go.

Keith retired after the 1996 season- and so did his brother. They went back to school at UT and finished their Sports Management degrees.

A friend of mine on Twitter who is a big Chiefs fan was kind enough to pass Keith’s address on to me after he got his autograph. While I’ve always felt sore about Keith sticking a dagger through my heart when I was an Oilers fan, I had some great memories of him with his time at Texas and watching him and his brother on Raycom. As of 2020 he works for the Chiefs Alumni Association.

G/GSRECYDSAVGTDLG
64/3411811369.61038

NFL

Cook, Kenny

Card: Sage 2015
Acquired: 2016, Gunderson Trade

Kenny Cook played college ball at Gardner-Webb from 2012-2014 after transferring from Garden City Junior College. Playing wide receiver for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, Kenny finished tied for 3rd in school history with 188 career receptions to go along with 2432 yards and 21 TDs. He had 10 career 100 yard games, and averaged the highest number of catches per game in school history (5.7).  Kenny’s best year came in 2013, when he caught 76 passes for 1008 yards and 9 TDs.  He also set a conference record with 251 yards receiving (12 catches, 2 TDs) in a double overtime win over VMI in 2014. Cook finished his career with numerous honors including being a 2013 FCS All-American, a 3 Time All-Big South Player, and a 2014 Walter Payton Watchlist nominee. 

Going unselected in the 2015 NFL Draft, Kenny was signed as an UDFA by the Kansas City Chiefs bouncing on and off their practice squad for the remainder of the year. He’d be signed to a futures contract in 2016 by the team, but sustained a torn quadriceps in camp. Kenny was cut in 2017 is currently a free agent.