Tag Archives: oakland raiders

College Football HoF, NFL, usfl, XFL

Millard, Keith

sco89 millardCards: ProSet 1990, ProSet 1990 Defensive Player of the Year, Score 1989.
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent: 7/7   Received: 7/18   (11 days)
Failure: TTM 2011, C/o The Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Considered one of the top defensive talents from the Pac-10 when he arrived on the pro scene in 1984 from Washington State, Keith Millard was drafted by the Vikings in the first round, but opted to sign with the USFL Jacksonville Bulls instead for the 1985 season. There in his only season he recorded 12 sacks to lead the team and its improved defense.  Later that year, Keith joined the Vikings.

pset90 millard dpotyHe was listed as a nose tackle, but kicked out to defensive tackle frequently, starting 5 games, and nabbing 11 sacks alongside equally formidable defensive end Chris Doleman. In 1986, he recorded his first interception, and again hit double digits with 10.5 sacks. After the strike shortened 1987 season, Keith returned to form for Minnesota with his first All-Pro season in 1988. 1989 was a year for the ages, as he recorded a record 18 sacks from the defensive tackle position. In addition, he had a 48 yard interception, and a fumble recovery that he rumbled, bumbled, and stumbled 31 yards with for a TD. The gargantuan year netted him NFL Defensive Player of the Year Honors for 1989. During the 4th game of the year in 1990, Keith jumped over a cut block, but tore his ACL- ending his season. The injury wore on Millard. He would not return to the field until 1992 for the Packers and Seahawks. After a brief rennaissance in 1993, playing for the Eagles, Keith decided to hang up his cleats for good.

Keith is quite the accomplished veteran positional coach.  He got his start with the Los Angeles Dragons of the shortlived SFL, then joined the San Fransisco Demons of the XFL in 2001. This was followed by  three year stints on the Denver Broncos (2001-2004) and  Oakland Raiders (2005-2008).  After a brief return to the college level, Millard coached with Tampa Bay in 2011 and Tennessee in 2012.

pset90 millardWell decorated, Millard is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame,  the NFL All-1980s team, a member of the All-Time USFL Second Team, and in 2010 was named one of the Top 50 Minnesota Vikings of all time.

I had been after Keith Millard for quite sometime, and it finally paid off. Millard is a solid signer actually. I just didn’t have the right luck with him. I though that I had already failed with him on two previous occasions but the records only showed one. He was kind enough to write me back on Titans stationery, thanking me for the letter, apologizing for the previous trip-ups, and enclosing an additional card. I really appreciate players who take TTM very seriously, and those who take it seriously enough that they need to ensure that their reputation remains solid with their fans. Class act!

USFL   Tac N/a   Sac 12.0   Fum N/a
Int N/a   Yds N/a    Avg   N/a    Td N/a   Lg -.-

NFL  93/69    Tac  N/a     Sac 58       Fum  10
Int 2     Yds 65     Avg 32.5      Td  0      Lg 48

NFL

Carr, Derek

leaf14 dercarrCard: Leaf Draft 2014
Acquired: 2014, C/o the Oakland Raiders
Sent: 10/6           Received: 10/22     (16 days)

Derek Carr had an impressive career at Fresno State playing for the Bulldogs. He shattered many of the records previously held by his brother David at his Alma Mater. In his Senior season, Derek led the nation in pass attempts (454), yards (5,083) , and touchdowns (50), and finished 8th in Heisman voting.  He posted decent numbers at the combine, and was drafted near the top of the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL draft.

Considered one of the top quarterbacks of the NFL draft, Derek was rumored to be on many team’s shortlists, and with the Houston Texans dealing with their sudden implosion at quarterback with Matt Schaub and a new coach, that the Texans would possibly take a flyer on him. I didn’t believe that for a second. Everybody knew in the Texans’ organization that if they took Derek Carr, there’d be riots in the streets with loinclothed savages turning over vehicles. You see Derek’s older brother David, was the Texans’ first quarterback ever, and he got a bad wrap as a starter in Houston taking all those sacks and dealing with that wonky delivery.

The Raiders thankfully took Carr near the top of round 2. He had a pretty solid season for the franchise going 348/599 for 3,270 yards, 21 TDs to 12 picks. Derek won 3 games his rookie year. His best game came against the Chargers in week 6 when he threw for 282 yards and 4 TDs.  Frankly based on the lack of talent that was around him he did pretty well and all signs point to up for Derek as the Raiders continue to build an offensive nucleus around him.

CFL, College Football HoF, NFL, NFLE

Ware, Andre ‘Air Ware’ (2)

pset90 wareCards: Pro Set 1990, Upper Deck College Legends 2011
Acquired: 4/30/15, Houston Texans Draft Party
See Also: Andre Ware ‘Air Ware’

Lance and I arrived at the 2015 Houston Texans Draft Party with high hopes, but were ultimately disappointed when we didn’t have cards of the Ambassadors who showed up, and the players I did have a card of were only taking photo ops. Queue the Astrodome air raid siren, because Andre Ware came to the rescue.

As Lance and I made our way towards the photo op booth, I heard a familiar voice on TV. Andre Ware was being interviewed on Fox Spots Southwest. Recognizing that the broadcast was taking place in the stadium, I walked over to one of the people working at the stadium and asked them where Andre was. The stadium employees identified it as being at radio row where only the VIP fans were allowed. We got as close as the elevator, and after borrowing a pen and waiting for about 15 minutes, Lance and I decided to locate the ground floor exit of the VIP area to get a better vantage point.  We walked for about 5 minutes, and emerging out of the crowd from the other direction, wasudlgd11 ware Andre Ware. Kudos to Andre for cheerfully signing 2 cards for me and Lance, even though he had his hands full with two kids by his side and all their stuff.

I can’t encourage collectors enough to build out a compact and expanded box of cards that covers the full gamut of players, former players, and sports personalities. With Andre covering the Texans on the radio as a color commentator and also being  a local legend, it made sense to have a few extras on the off chance he did make an appearance.  Otherwise  these are great cards of Ware, and leaves me with only a handful of extras that I would love to have autographed for my collection.