Briefly was on the off-season roster of the Browns that year.
Joined the Arena Football League in 1993, playing for the Thunderbolts through ’94, when the team folded.
Played for the Tampa Bay Storm from 95-98′.
Traded to the Iowa Barnstormers in ’98.
Played one final season in the Arena leagues for the Orlando Predators in 1999.
ACCOLADES:
1996 Arena Defensive Lineman of the Year
Arena Football League All-Star 1993
All-Arena 1995-’96
NOTES:
After I saw Kent’s autograph pop up on EBay, I started researching his address and was pretty confident I found a circumstantial fit near Omaha. I shot this request out shortly after and waited, and albeit a bit later than I figured, I got a hit. For only having one card, Kent Wells’ Wild Card World League card is an absolute winner.
Earl Morrall is considered probably the best clutch backup QB of his generation -if not of all time. He played an undeniably long career in the league lasting some.. what 22 years? Although not considered for the HoF conversation, Morrall has been inducted into the ‘Hall of Very Good’. An excellent athlete, Morrall had also caught the eye of MLB playing SS in the College World Series for the Spartans, but opted to play football instead.
I had been eyeballing his autograph during the pandemic but thought it was too pricey. Once it hit about 10 bucks I pounced. It later got lost in the shuffle of incoming autographs and I had forgotten to scan it in.
ATT
CPD
YDS
PCT
TD
INT
RAT
LG
2689
1379
20809
51.3
161
148
74.1
98t
EPITAPH:
April 14th, 2014- Earl Morrall passed away at the age of 79 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. It was later discovered he suffered from Grade 4 CTE.
Malcolm played OL at Miami, eventually transferring to UCLA for graduate studies.
After not being selected in the 2015 NFL Draft, he embarked on a series of stops with the Eagles (2015), Tiger-Cats (2017), Jaguars (2017), and Giants (2018).
Bunche got seasoning playing for an exceptionally good OL with the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF in 2019.
He had two more short stops with the Giants and Redskins immediately after that before closing out the year.
Bunche then played for the Washington Defenders of the XFL in 2020.
After a brief hiatus he played with the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL 2023.
NOTES:
Malcolm was a nice grab that I picked up during the Purple Heart Event that the team was at in Boerne in April. I was wearing my AJ Tarpley jersey and my guy Kameron Kelly stopped me to admire it and take a photo with me. Malcolm came up to compliment me as he too was an AAF vet from his days with the Hotshots. When I produced his XFL card from my pile of stuff, he was duly impressed and gleefully signed it.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.