After Reggie was not selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, he’d be briefly on the training camp and practice squads of the Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams through mid-2017. He’d join the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL and start 3 games, notching 22 tackles before heading down to join the AAF.
Reggie played and started in all 8 games for the Orlando Apollos. He finished with 62 total tackles and a sack on the season for Orlando in 2019- placing him 7th in the league.
A well designed 1/1 card here, I was really impressed by the look of the certified autographs from the Topps 2019 AAF set. Too bad the AAF didn’t last beyond 8 games thanks to terrible investors who pulled out the rug from under the league. Reggie felt the same as well and as of this post is one of the chief plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit drawn by the players of the league against the Alliance.
Don Maynard is considered the best receiver in Jets history, one of the best receivers in AFL history, and one of the best receivers in NFL history. At the time of Maynard’s retirement he held the NFL record for career receptions and yards. He was the first player to crack the 10k barrier in receiving yards. An amazing feat considering it was still during an era where the passing game had not fully developed yet. Don epitomized consistency and longevity. (Oddly enough he never led the league in catches at any time but his sheer numbers made up for it en force.)
Maynard was originally drafted by the New York Giants in 1957, but only played one lone season for them before bolting North to play for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL. He’d return shortly thereafter to the fledgling AFL in 1960- becoming the first signee of the then New York Titans (later Jets). Over the next 10 seasons in the AFL he’d be named to the All-AFL team 4 times. In the final season before the AFL NFL merger, he’d help the Jets win Super Bowl III and notably graced the cover of the big game’s program guide as well.
Don joined the Rams in 73, but ultimately ended up on the St. Louis Cardinals for a lone season, retiring after a bout with the WFL playing for the Shreveport Steamer/ Houston Texans.
Maynard played college ball for Rice, and later Texas Western (UTEP). He was a proven runningback and defensive back, but was unpolished gold at receiver. His number has been retired by the Jets, got his gold jacket along the way, and has been a Grand Marshall for UTEP at one of their parades. He lives outside of the El Paso area, in relative anonymity.
I had been wanting Don for sometime but I thought he was out of reach. I really liked these cards of his and always wanted to get them signed so I went ahead and took a shot with a small donation. In the end I also had a Pro Set Super Bowl III card that I opted to send to Matt Snell instead (because he should’ve been MVP). Still the Topps 1970 is iconic, while the Upper Deck Legends 1997 hits all the marks for perfection.
G
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
186
633
11834
18.7
88
87t
UPDATE:
1/10/22- Don Maynard died Monday at the age of 87.
2016 was supposed to be Justin Davis’ season to be, but a high ankle sprain and being supplanted in the lineup caused his numbers to suffer. The nimble runningback ended up with 564 yards and 2 TDs in his last year at USC. He was not selected in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Undaunted, Justin signed with the Rams as a free agent. I guess it made sense with the locality of the franchise to USC. The Rams were loaded at runningback. With Todd Gurley firmly entrenched as the starter and Lance Dunbar behind him, Davis had to unseat either Malcolm Brown or Aaron Green to stand a chance of making the roster. Davis had an inspired preseason. With most of the RB corps either resting or injured, Justin came out and after dropping the rock twice in three carries, he put together a pretty solid argument for making the Rams roster. He beat out Green, and actually made the final cut- thanks in part also by the suspension of Dunbar.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
