Tag Archives: los angeles rams

NFL

Wattelet, Frank

Card: Top Notch School of the Legends 2011-12
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 12/14  Received: 12/24 (10 days)

Frank is a really cool player that I met through School of the Legends. After talking with him for a bit, it hit me to send him a card of his. I thought,  “Maybe he had a Topps card floating around somehwere,” but surprisingly Frank did not,(-outside of a McDonald’s oversize Happy Meal card from 1985,) so I set out to make one for him.

Embracing the SotL brand look, I gave the card a nice background featuring the city and added a vignette of a shield for his action shot to be composed in. After receiving multiple photos from him to work with, I had Frank’s helmet pop from the top of the shield to give the card more depth. I also used various color adjustment layers and other Photoshop and Illustrator techniques to bring it all together and complete out the card.  Frank got his card from me and was stoked, since he had never had a card before. He asked me for my address and popped a few in the mail for me. They came in right before the new year which made it all the more nice.

A headhunting Safety out of Kansas who played alongside speedster Leroy Irvin, Frank Wattelet was not drafted coming out of the 1981 draft, signing with the New Orleans Saints, who had just hired former Houston Oiler Bum Phillips as head coach.  Wattelet stepped into the lineup in 1981 and started 3 games, but played primarily on special teams. Still he’d manage to rake in 3 picks. In 1982 his true home would be found at Free Safety starting beside Dave Waymer in 9 games and making a fumble recovery.  In 1984 he’d return a pick and a fumble in consecutive weeks for touchdowns- A team mark for the Saints. As the upback in the Saints special teams set, he’d also occasionally see a few fakes come his way completing 1 pass for 14 yards against the Colts in 1986, and 42 yards in 1985 on 2 scampers.  Considered one of the Saints best free agent finds, Wattelet would play for the Saints from 1981-1987 starting 78 contests.  Frank was reunited with Leroy Irvin (from his days on the Jayhawks) on the Rams in 1987, and retired following the 1988 season.  Still an avid football fan, Frank lives with his family in Joplin, Mo where he cheers on the Jayhawks- win or lose each week, beside the Saints.

G/Gs 98/78      Tac  N/a      Sac  1.0     Fum 10   Int 12   Yds 135     Avg 11.3    Td  1     Lg 35

 

AFL, College Football HoF, NFL, usfl, WLAF

Gabriel, Roman (1940-2024)

Cards: ProSet WLAF 1991, ProSet WLAF Helmet 1991, ProSet 1991, UD Legends 2005
Acquired:  TTM 2011, C/o RG Enterprises
Sent: 11/9     Received:  11/23  (14  days)

Embarrassingly I am a fan who grew up after the Roman Gabriel era, and my memories of him is neither as quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams or Philadelphia Eagles, but rather as head coach of the woeful Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks from the WLAF circa 1991.

These were the only cards I had in my collection of him, and after being informed of his stiff signing fee of $10 per signature, I waited sometime before contacting him a second time for an autograph. He kindly enclosed an Upper Deck legends card from 2005 as well, and thanked me for writing.

An all-around athlete for NC State, Roman Gabriel was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1962 as the second overall pick. (He was also chosen in the AFL draft by the Oakland Raiders.) Choosing to sign with the Rams, Gabriel went on to become one of the most successful Asian-Americans in American Football (Philipino). Once he was made the starting quarterback in 1966 he went on to rewrite many of the passing records for the Rams franchise.  

After flirting with the AFL and signing with the Raiders,  Roman decided to stay put with the signing of head coach George Allen. His patience was rewarded, as Gabriel went on to be named the NFL’s MVP in 1969.

As knee and shoulder injuries began to take their toll on Gabriel, he’d be traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1973 and help right the ship of the woeful Eagles franchise and earn Comeback Player of the Year Honors.

Over the last few seasons he’d play sparingly as a backup quarterback until his retirement after the 1977 season. Gabriel’s strongest attributes as a QB were his powerful arm and his excellent decision making abilities. He’d finish his career with an 84-67-7 record.

Roman (post playing days) remained active in sports and dabbled in acting. Besides owning some car dealerships, he worked as a color commentator and served as a head coach.

In this capacity among his notable stops were that Gabriel was head coach at Cal Poly Ponoma, offensive coordinator of the USFL Boston Breakers in 1983,  quarterbacks coach of the Arizona Wranglers in 1984, and finally at his gruesome stop as first- general manager and then finally as head coach of the WLAF Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks.

Unfortunately things didn’t work out for Gabriel the way he had hoped as the Skyhawks finished 0-10 in their only season in the league.  From then he diversified his interests and was deeply committed to charitable causes.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Hall of Very Good in 2015.

Roman was a voracious signing up until his final days, and I had just finished putting a letter together for another request.

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35813043.63039

EPITAPH:

4/20/2024- Roman Gabriel passed away peacefully at the age of 83, of natural causes.

NFL

Hill, Kent

Cards: Topps 1983, Topps 1988
Acquired:  TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 11/8  Received: 11/17  (9 days)

Kent Hill was a member of some solid offensive lines during his career. Perhaps best remembered as blocking for HoFer Eric Dickerson and seeing the Rams to their lone Super Bowl Appearance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1980, Hill spent his final two season blocking for the Houston Oilers alongside Bruce Matthews and Mike Munchak for HoFer Warren Moon. Over his career he was named to the ProBowl 5 times (1980, & 1982-1985).

Originally drafted by the Rams with their first round selection out of Georgia Tech in 1979, Hill would earn the first LA Rams team honor for rookie of the year.  He’d go on over his career to start 114 games over a 132 game slate before being traded by the Rams to Houston as part of the mega trade that ushered in the Jim Everett era in Los Angeles.  During his tenure on the Rams Kent was honored to play with Jackie Slater, Doug Smith, and Tom Newberry among others.

I was very surprised to locate Kent through SotL, – little less that there were any cards of him, but I was extremely happy to add him to my collection.  A really nice guy. He wrote on the letter, “Thanks for writing!” A solid through and through lineman that really never got his due, he’s the perfect addition to my Hall of Fame.  Of odd note is the fact that Kent Hill played along side Drew Hill (no relation) at Georgia Tech, were both drafted in the same year by the Rams, and then played together on the Oilers.