Tag Archives: london monarchs

Arena, NFL, WLAF

Shaw, Ricky


Cards: Ultimate WLAF 1992, WildCard WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent:  10/6  Received: 10/17 (11 days)

A 4th round pick out of Oklahoma State in 1988 by the New York Giants, Ricky Shaw recovered a fumble playing primarily on special teams his rookie year. Cut midway through the 1989 season, the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles would sign Shaw where he’d spend the rest of the season and 1990. Originally meant as a replacement for Paul McGowan, the Birmingham Fire of the WLAF would draft Shaw to play in their 3-4 defense alongside John Brantley and Maurice Oliver, at linebacker in 1992, but the London Monarchs had different plans and traded to get Ricky from the Fire.

The London Monarchs, fresh off of their World Bowl I victory, had their work cut out for them – reassembling the team from coaches to players as much of their staff had been picked clean for NFL and CFL rosters. They’d make the move and Shaw would provide valuable depth to a depleted Monarchs team notching .5 sacks during the season. After the season the WLAF would reorganize and Ricky would return stateside.

He’d play in the Arena Football League for the Orlando Predators, then in 1995 sign with the San Jose Sabrecats and play alongside WLAF veteran Pat McGuirk through 1996, recording 5 receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown, to go along with 7 tackles and a sack. In 1997, Ricky played one final season for the Miluaukee Mustangs and retired.

Post retirement, I stumbled Ricky through Sotl.com, and found that he was working as a school teacher. He was more than happy to sign a few cards for me and signed these 2 cards in 11 days. I also included a few duplicates for him to keep and pass out to his students.

NFL, WLAF

Riley, Andre

Card: Ultimate 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Washington IMG Marketing
Sent: 8/6    Received: 9/1  (25 days)
Failure: TTM 2011, KSBG Radio

A legend of the Washington Huskies program during the late 80s and early 90s, Andre Riley was the first player to ever surpass 1,000 yards receiving for the college. His senior season at Washington Andre led his team with 53 receptions for 1039 yards and 4 touchdowns. Initially a runningback, Riley converted to wide receiver and helped galvanize the squad towards their 1990 Rose Bowl Championship.

Andre would be drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals during the 12th round of the 1990 draft, but with a log jam at wide receiver behind Eddie Brown and Tim McGee, Riley would not make the squad.  He wouldn’t be out of work long when the London Monarchs would dial his number up in the second round of the wide receiver portion of the WLAF positional draft in 1991.

Finding a home on the London Monarchs, Andre would be part of a dynamic wide receiver pool of Dana Brinson, Jon Horton, and Tony Sargent. With quarterback Stan Gelbaugh throwing the rock all day, Riley would finish 3rd on the squad in 1991 with 30 receptions for 506 yards, a 16.9 yard average and 4 touchdowns- a number that would be considered starter quality anywhere else in the league. His best game perhaps came against the Knights, in a contest where he had 6 catches for 78 yards and a TD. At the conclusion of the season, he’d help his team down the Barcelona Dragons and win World Bowl I 21-7 in London.

He’d return stateside after the season, briefly playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and retire. Since that time Andre has been involved in marketing, working as a General Sales Manager for KBSG radio in Seattle and currently works for Washington IMG Marketing. I sent off for his card earlier this year to KBSG but got a response back from them indicating that he was no longer with the station. After doing more research I found another address at Washington IMG Marketing and took a stab there. Riley was kind enough to reply under a month, thanking me for remembering him and the league, and the extra card that he had already given to his daughter.  -A really nice return. Below are his WLAF statistics:

G 10   Rec 30    Yds  506     Avg 16.9     Td  4      Lg 62t

 

NFL, NFLE, WLAF

Titley, Michael

Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home.
Sent: 7/26  Received: 8/8  (13 days)

After transferring from JC to Iowa in 1989, Michael Titley would provide stability at the tight end position for the Hawkeyes with his size (6’3″, 235) and hands (tied for team lead with 29 receptions) in 1990, replacing Marv Cook at the position. He’d post at least a reception in each game his senior season. Don Shula‘s Miami Dolphins would pull the trigger on Titley drafting him in the 10th round of that year’s NFL draft.

In 1992, Michael would sign with the WLAF’s Orlando Thunder. As a speedy, pass catching tight end, Titley would fit in well with the Thunder’s hybrid spread offense, under Galen Hall’s direction. He’d post a respectable 22 receptions for 215 yards catching passes from quarterback Scott Mitchell. After the Thunder lost to the Surge in World Bowl II, Michael would have to put his football playing days on hold with the reorganization of the WLAF. In the meantime, he’d return to Iowa and complete out his degree.

With the reemergence of the WLAF as NFLE in 1995, Titley would return to play in the league, this time as a member of the London Monarchs. He’d post his best season as a pro, making 45 receptions for 457 yards and 3 touchdowns. Michael would play for the Monarchs an additional two seasons hauling in almost 30 receptions and just over 300 yards in both seasons. He’d retire after the 1997 season, but not before having experienced professional experience on the rosters of the Eagles, Colts, Vikings, Bills, and Broncos over his career.

He currently lives in Houston, Texas where I tracked him down via Spokeo. For some reason I was able to get a bunch of addresses via the paid social crawl tracking service for free and Michael was on my list. He responded in a brief 13 days and thanked me for writing him and told me that he’d be more than happy to keep in touch. At some point, I’ll probably write him at a later date to get feedback on his WLAF/NFLE experience.

Below are his WLAF/NFLE statistics.

Rec 124    Yds 1281       Avg  10.3      Td 8      Lg 45