Card: Playoff Contenders 2000 European Ticket Acquired: 2021, Future Prospects
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Played 4 years for Ohio State from 1994-1997, rushing for 3036 yards.
Best year came in 1996, rushing for 1484 yards and 17 TDs, while catching 19 passes for 218 yards and finishing with 1702 yards from scrimmage for the Buckeyes.
Went undrafted in 1998 and bounced around the NFL on practice squads and offseason rosters with the 49ers, Browns, Lions, Jaguars, Steelers, Buccaneers, and Bears.
Joined the NFLE in 2000, playing for the Rhein Fire.
Ranked second in the league with 486 yards rushing and 3 TDs on 102 carries that year.
Scored the game winning touchdown in World Bowl 2000.
In 2001, topped those totals rushing for 597 yards on 166 carries (3 TDs).
Briefly saw time on the roster of the XFL Las Vegas Outlaws in 2001.
Has extensive coaching experience as a positional coach (Ohio Dominican, Youngstown State, Marshall, Dayton Warbirds, and as of 2021 at Tennessee State.)
Also had head coaching stops in the AFL2 with the Daytona Beach Hawgs (04/05) and the Marion Mayhem (08/09) where with the latter he also served as GM.
As of the time of this post, is currently offensive coordinator for Eddie George at Tennessee State.
Card: Playoff Contenders European Ticket 2000 Acquired: 2021, Future Consideration
Ben Snell paired with Siran Stacy in the Claymores backfield to form a nice one two punch. He’d play two seasons in NFLE, rushing for a career high 259 yards on 48 carries and scoring his first TD of his career in 2000. He then joined the XFL in 2001, playing for the Las Vegas Outlaws. -Snell rushed 31 times for 123 yards, while catching 6 passes and a TD for LV before the league folded.
A four-year starter at Ohio Northern, Snell rushed for a school-record 16 touchdowns and 1,137 yards on 158 carries (7.2 avg.) as a senior in 1999. All in all with Ohio Northern, Ben’s rushing totals included 2,871 yards rushing on 502 carries and 33 touchdowns to go along with 275 yards receiving on 38 receptions. He’s also the nephew of Jets great Matt Snell.
Cards: Topps XFL 2001, Score 2010 Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o The Chicago Bears Sent: 2/4/19 Received: 4/2/19 (59 days)
Mike Furrey has made a very interesting professional football journey. After not being drafted out of Northern Iowa in 2000, he’d sign with the Colts but not make the squad.
Undeterred, he’d join the renegade XFL in 2001, where he’d play wide receiver for the Las Vegas Outlaws. He’d snag 18 catches for 242 yards and a 41 yard TD. As the team’s primary punt returner Mike also returned 11 punts for 94 yards.
After the XFL folded, he’d play for the New York Dragons of the Arena football league, spending two years with them in 2002 and 2003. During both seasons he posted 1000+ yard seasons and display a knack for playing defensive back, intercepting 6 passes. He’d also play for the St. Louis Rams in both of those years as well and oddly enough play both wide receiver and defensive back for the team, posting 21 receptions for 197 yards, and then intercept 4 passes for 143 yards, deflect 8 passes, and return one 67 yards for a TD from free safety.
Obviously Mike’s curious stat lines drew him attention in the open market as he signed with the Detrot Lions in 2006. He’d have his finest season as a WR, with 98 receptions for 1086 yards and 6 TDs in 14 starts, and follow that up in 2007 with 61 receptions for 664 yards and a TD. After a subpar 2008, Mike made a stop with the Cleveland Browns in 2009- where he saw significant time again starting 4 games at WR while moonlighting at safety as well. After the season concluded he joined the Washington Redskins but did not make the squad.
Very soon thereafter, Mike went into college coaching and as of this post in 2019, is the wide receivers coach for the Chicago Bears.
Some very interesting design between these two cards. I love the Score 2010, almost as much as Score 2009. It’s got great color, and the slightly off white helps the image stand off the canvas just a little more. I especially like the use of the designs in the top corners of the card to give it that painted effect. This set felt like a direct heir to the 2009 set that I adore.
The Topps XFL card represented everything gaudy about the Attitude Era that bled from WWE into the XFL. It’s an underused design to have both the player’s face and an action image on the front of the card, but this one pulls it off- albeit just a bit over designed.
NFL G/GS
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
94/41
221
2298
10.4
7
49
NFL TAC
SAC
FUM
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
77
0
5
4
143
35.7
1
67T
NFL PR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
23
213
9.3
0
28
ARENA
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
182
2629
14.4
73
N/A
ARENA TAC
SAC
FUM
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
78
0
0
6
16
2.7
0
N/A
XFL REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
18
242
13.4
1
41T
XFL PR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
11
94
8.5
0
21
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
