Tag Archives: london monarchs

WLAF

Williams, Rickey

wcwlaf92 rwilliams ultwlaf92 rwilliamsCards: Ultimate WLAF 1992, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Work
Sent: 6/14     Received: 6/19    (5 days)

Linebackers were not in short supply in the WLAF and a few teams, such as the London Monarchs drafted them quite well. The team had Danny Lockett and Marlon Brown,  but also stole former Razorback Rickey Williams in the 7th round of the 1991 WLAF linebacker draft.

A two year starter during his collegiate career for Arkansas, Rickey was a 2 year semifinalist for the Butkus award both in 1986 and 1987.  One of the leaders of a stellar defense alongside Steve Atwater and Wayne Martin, Rickey was the leader in tackles on defense, but got little recognition from the national media. The SWC you see suffered from a media bias, and the Conference was not well received on the national level. Still he earned many accolades from his Alma Mater and also from the SWC as an All-Conference Selection in 1987. Rickey went undrafted in the NFL. Perhaps it was his size that worked against him at 5’11”, 227, but Rickey didn’t let that deter him from following his dreams of playing professional football. He signed with the Pueblo Crusaders of the Minor League Football System in 1990 and played one season for the team.

During his 1991 run with the Monarchs, Rickey recorded 76 total tackles (47 unassisted), 4 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles, en route to a World Bowl victory over the Barcelona Dragons 21-7.  A speedy linebacker, Rickey was an excellent cover man and frequently blanketed opposing team’s tight ends and runningbacks. One of the league’s most underrated players, Rickey’s numbers were outstanding considering the star power on the roster, but he’d be overlooked for WLAF honors. Rickey returned to the WLAF for 1992 and again started for the team, finishing with an additional sack on the season. After the season the WLAF reorganized while Rickey returned to the states and eventually his hometown of Little Rock.  Rickey was named to the Arkansas Razorbacks All-1980s team and today is still one of the college’s career leaders in tackles despite only starting 2 seasons for them. He’s coached football and realized his fire is still burning for the sport and helping others achieve their dreams of playing at a higher level. He’s put his energy and talent to a good use, forming Life Champs, a charity dedicated to providing high quality, professionally-run youth sports leagues, camps, and tournaments to kids in Central Arkansas and providing them with guidance, purpose, and mentoring.

I used the power of the internet again to track down Rickey. Note that his Wild Card WLAF 1992 issue is misspelled ‘Ricky’- This is an uncorrected error. Anyway I shot him an email and we got to talking and he agreed to sign these two cards for me. A class act, Rickey told me he was excited to have received all the extras I had sent to him.

Tac N/a      Sac 5.0      Fum 3         Int 0       Yds  0      Avg -.-      Td 0      Lg -.-

NFL, WLAF

Jackson, Hue

ultwlaf92 monarchs tpCard: Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o the Cincinatti Bengals
Sent: 2/7     Received: 2/18   (11 days)

After a pretty decent stint at quarterback for Pacific during the mid 80s, Hue Jackson immediately stepped into the coaching ranks at his Alma Mater in 1987.  A short stint at Cal State Fullerton allowed Hue to make the jump to the professional coaching ranks in 1991 for the London Monarchs under head coach Larry Kennan. There he did triple duty as special teams, wide receiver, and runningbacks coach. The team was the most explosive offensive unit in the league with a number of offensive players being named to the All-World team that were under Jackson’s guidance. After the Monarchs won World Bowl I Kennan returned stateside to coach for the Colts, putting assistant Ray Willsey in charge. The 1992 season was not so fortuitous for the team, and London ended 1992 on a not so amazing 2-7-1 note. After the season, the WLAF reorganized- not to be seen again until 1995 as a completely European venture.

Returning to the US, Hue began to climb the coaching ranks with stops at Arizona State (1992-1995),  California (1996), and USC (1997-2000), before joining the NFL, with stops on the Redskins (2001-2003), Bengals (2004-2006), Falcons (2007), and Ravens (2008-2009). In 2010, Hue had an impressive run as offensive coordinator of the Raiders. Owner Al Davis took notice and promoted Jackson to head coach in 2011. In the midst of the season, Davis passed away, and the Raiders responded by defeating the Texans in Houston. It’d be the high point for the Raiders, as after a 7-4 start, they’d go 1-4 the rest of the way. Jackson got a raw deal, and after the single season as head coach, the Raiders terminated his contract, preferring a fresh start with new GM Reggie McKenzie. Afterwards Hue returned to the Bengals, where he has remained since, recently taking over in 2014 as offensive coordinator. I wrote the Bengals for his autograph for this set based on his WLAF pedigree. He is in the team picture somewhere- I’m guessing on the left side when he was the coordinator of many hats for the London Monarchs.

NFL   W 8    L  8     Pct .500

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Hart, Roy

psetwlaf91 hartCards: ProSet WLAF 1991, Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o work
Sent: 2/7    Received:  3/4    (24 days)

Roy Hart was a 6th round selection by the Seattle Seahawks out of South Carolina  in 1988. After injuring his hamstring in the opener, Roy didn’t see action on the field until the next year in 1989, where he played in 16 games and recorded 2 sacks and 18 tackles.

The London Monarchs drafted Roy in 1991, and he’d become an integral part of their monster defense as the starting nose tackle in the team’s 3-4 alignment.  The Monarchs were a relatively well received curiosity in London, and the defense was nicknamed “The Hart Attack Defense” after Roy. He’d finish the season with 10.5 sacks (2nd in the league behind teammate Danny Lockett) and a team leading 84 tackles.  The team finished 9-1 and cruised to a 21-0 victory over the Barcelona Dragons, powered largely by the team’s defense.Dick Vermeil during the World Bowl noted that Hart is a dangerous nose guard when he is allowed to use his quickness to jump around the center. Roy was named to the All-World League First team after the season.

ultwlaf92 tvsched 1Roy returned to the NFL as a member of the Los Angeles Raiders later that year, and then the Jets in 1992. He’d then play for the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1993, and the Las Vegas Posse in 1994.

Another difficult name to locate, I got lucky when I saw a photo from a person’s recent trip to Vegas that mentioned him, his NFL pedigree, and what he was currently up to. Cross referencing the information led me to a networking site, and gave me his job. Looking at his job’s website, revealed many emails, but not his, – however taking one last leap of faith I emailed him based on the format of his co-ultwlaf92 monarchsworkers’ emails, and amazingly got a hold of him where he was honored to sign a few cards for me. When I got the envelope back it had been meticulously taped back together. Apparently either the mailman or Roy had torn this envelope to shreds, but I have to give them props for getting it back to me.

NFL  1/0     Tac N/a     Sac 2.0   Fum 0
Int   0    Yds   0     Avg  -.-     Td  0     Lg -.-

WLAF     Tac        Sac  11.0     Fum  0
Int  0    Yds  0     Avg  -.-    Td 0     Lg -.-