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.
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.
