CARDS: Topps 1986, Pro Set 1989 ACQUIRED: TTM 2024, C/o Home SENT: 5/6 RECEIVED: 6/3 (28 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Mike played QB for the Arizona State Sun Devils from 1978-’81.
During his Senior season he led the Pac-10 with 29 TD passes on 171 of 321 passes throwing for 2,489 yards.
Was a 4th round selection of the Baltimore Colts in 1982.
After a rough start as a rookie, finishing 0-8-1… he saw improvement in 1983, throwing for 12 TDs and 2353 yards.
Played for the Colts through their transition to Indianapolis in 1984.
Threw for a career high 2,414 yards 14 TDs in 1985- but also 15 picks.
Traded to the Browns in 1986 and seldom saw action, serving primarily as Bernie Kosar‘s backup.
In 1988 hopped into the lineup in relief of Don Strock and nearly guided the Browns to a comeback win over the Houston Oilers in the Wildcard round of the playoffs, narrowly losing 24-23.
Signed with the Rams in 1991, serving as Jim Everett‘s backup through the 1993 season, rarely seeing action on the field.
Played one final year in the Arena Football League with the Massachusetts Marauders in 1994.
Does pregame work for the Browns organization and dabbles in coaching at the high school level.
NOTES:
Pretty sure that this Mike Pagel Topps card came out of that box of football cards that spilled out into my room the first time that Josh spent the night. Some of them ended up under a shelf, only to be found years later amazingly in great shape- despite the shag carpet and Horde slime that had become engrained into it.
CARD: Wild Card World League 1992 ACQUIRED: EBay, 2023
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
As a Junior for Western Kentucky, David Smith rushed for 625 yards and 5 TDs.
Selected in the 8th round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
In 1990, played for the Pittsburgh Gladiators of the Arena Football League.
Joined the Monarchs of the WLAF in 1991 and played with team through 1992.
Scored the league’s first TD in a win against the Frankfurt Galaxy.
Finished season as the team’s second leading rusher with 302 yards on 84 carries, while adding 6 rushing TDs.
Returned to the Arena league after the World League reorganized, playing for the Cincinnati Rockers in 1992.
Continued one year stints playing forthe Tampa Bay Storm in ’93, the Massachusetts Marauders in ’94, and the Charlotte Rage in 1995.
NOTES:
I had been desperately looking for David for the last 13 years or so. The challenge lied in his name, which is one of the most common ones in the United States. I was able to locate this on Ebay and after negotiating with the seller, went ahead and pulled the trigger on this card, leaving me with just needing his Ultimate card. I doubt seriously anyone would fake this autograph since David is so obscure.
Cards: ProSet 1991 Defensive MVP, ProSet WLAF 1991 Defensive MVP, ProSet WLAF 1991, Ultimate World League 1992, Ultimate World League 1992 League Leader, Wild Card World League 1992 Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home* Failure: TTM 2020, C/o Home Sent: 7/28 Received: 8/11 (14 days) * Fee Enclosed
Danny Lockett represents the defensive crown jewel of the big 3 World League sets. He appeared no less than 6 times across ProSet, Ultimate, and Wild Card. Even with his personal information and unique name, he was still difficult to track down, but after much sleuthing, talking to a few connected people, and thanks to the power of social media, I finally was able to find and connect with Danny. I offered him a signing fee of 10.00 per card to ensure that these cards would get signed, and he kindly did so, whipping them around in two weeks time. (It is unknown whether the spelling of his name was an error- or a nickname- or if over the years he’s moved towards Dannie, but for purposes of this post, we will call him Danny.)
Danny played college ball at Arizona where he saw his time at outside linebacker in 1985 and 1986. He earned PAC-10 honors in 1986 when he led the way with 12 sacks, and 15 tackles for loss.
A 5th round pick of the Detroit Lions in 1987, Danny played for the Lions through 1988- a year in which he posted 17 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.
He’d attend training camp with the New York Jets in 1991 but did not make the squad.
Danny finished in a 3 way tie for Defensive MVP Honors. He’d set multiple league marks along the way, most notably for Most Sacks in a season (13.5), and most consecutive games with at least 2 sacks (10 in first 5 games).
Among his most impactful performances were in the first game against the Knights (3 sacks), and 4 tackles and a fumble recovery in the Monarchs World Bowl I victory.
On the season, Dannie had 74 total tackles, 13.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries.
It should be noted that Lockett helped the Monarchs lead the league with an astounding 53 sacks- or 5.3 sacks a game.
This card used the same photo as the ProSet 1991 Series II Defensive MVP subset card.
He returned to the Monarchs for the 1992 season, however the team stumbled out of the gate finishing with a dismal 2-7-1 record. Although Lockett’s numbers were also down, he still had some memorable moments, including scoring 2 touchdowns (interception and fumble) in a Week 9 thumping of the Montreal Machine.
With the World League reorganizing after the 1992 season, Danny like many players was immediately absorbed into the stateside Arena football league system that was taking off.
Danny played the next 5 seasons in Arena Football for 5 different franchises. He saw the most success in 1993 with the Detroit Drive, finishing with 50 total tackles, 8 sacks, 9 pass breakups and 2 fumble recoveries, and an interception. Over the next 4 seasons, Lockett played for the Massachusetts Marauders, Orlando Predators, Connecticut Coyotes, the ill-fated Texas Terror, and finally the Milwaukee Mustangs.
NFL– G/GS
TAC
SAC
FUM
29/1
N/a
2.0
2.0
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
0
0
-.-
0
-.-
WLAF
TAC
SAC
FUM
N/a
N/a
N/a
* websites incorrectly show that Danny had back to back 14 sack seasons playing in the WL
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
1
14
14.0
1
14T
ARENA– G/GS
TAC
SAC
FUM
102
17.5
3
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
2
7
3.5
1
N/a
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
