Tag Archives: players who should be in the HoF

NFL

Dunn, Warrick

ud09 wdunn

Card: Upper Deck 2009
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home*
Sent:  1/3/15      Received: 12/7/15   (339 days)
Signing Fee: $10.00

Florida State Seminole Warrick Dunn had an impressive career, rushing for 1,000+ yards in 3 seasons for the school. He also set school records for yards rushing with 3,959, and in a single year with 1,242. Dunn was the first runningback taken off the board in 1997, going with the 12th pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  A very deep draft, that was punctuated by notable free agents, other big name backs that came off the board in the first round were Tiki Barber and Corey Dillon.  (This is also notable as it was the first draft that I didn’t watch in 10 years as the Oilers had departed for Tennessee.)

Dunn was a stud in the backfield for the notoriously anemic Buccaneer ground game as outside of a few blips on the radar in the mid-90s from Errict Rhett, the team had failed to field a 1,000 yard rusher or a consistent ground game. At 5-9 there was some concern that Dunn could sustain the number of hits needed for a feature back in the NFL for a 16 game slate.   He combined with fullback Mike Alstott to become a potent 1-2 back combo. Starting 10 games in 1997, Warrick finished with 974 yards rushing, 4 touchdowns, and 462 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns. He’d be named to the Pro Bowl and the Offensive Rookie of the Year at the conclusion of the season. While Warrick churned up the yards from scrimmage over the next two years for the Bucs, he wouldn’t be named back to the Pro Bowl until 2000. In that year he had 1,555 yards from scrimmage and 9 total touchdowns.  After a down season in 2001, Dunn was viewed as a ‘situational player’ by Bucs brass, and was allowed to sign with the Atlanta Falcons.

Opening the 3rd chapter of his football life, Warrick played for the Falcons for 6 seasons. Atlanta promised Dunn at least 20 carries a game, and they delivered on that promise.  Warrick ended up starting 83 games, and  rushing for 5,981 yards and 30 TDs. In addition he caught 204 targets for 1,635 yards, and set a career marks with a 90 yard TD run, and an 86 yard TD reception.  He remained with the franchise through 2008 and was released at his request after the franchise signed free agent Michael Turner. Dunn returned to the Buccaneers that week, and started 6 games that season before calling it a career. Another member of the vaunted 10,000 yard club, his 15,306 yards at the time of his retirement were the most for a player not inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Warrick is extremely active in charitable activities. He has been heavily accoladed for his work from the league earning the Walter Peyton Award (2004), the Home Depot Good Neighbor Award (2006), the Whizzer White Award (2007), and the Bart Starr Award (2008). I donated $10.00 to his foundation for his autograph on this card.

Warrick was who I thought would be my first success of 2015. Instead he returns to me as the 46th. Not that I am complaining. Such is the nature of the hobby. One of my friends later recalled receiving an autograph from Dunn for free, and lamented that he could’ve at least signed his autograph better on mine.  While the check was cashed a clear 2 months before the cards were back in my hands, I nonetheless was happy to get this back.

G/GS  181/154    RUSH 2669    YDS 10,967    AVG 4.1    TD 49   LG 90
REC  510     YDS 4,339      AVG 8.5     TD 15     LG 86

NFL

Watters, Ricky ‘Running’

aprks91 rwatters stpi91 rwatters

Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1991, Star Pics 1991
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent:  2/14/11              Received: 12/10/15       (1760 days)

Ricky Watters really distinguished himself at Notre Dame not only as just a runningback but as a flanker for the Irish (after Tim Brown departed for the NFL) in 1988.  He’d help the team secure the National Championship at the conclusion of the year. Ricky returned to his native position in 1989 and finished second in team rushing yards behind Tony Rice.  He ended his college career at ND with 1,814 yards rushing and 2,424 yards receiving. A surprisingly nimble return man, Watters also had 502 yards and 3 TDs on punts. Ricky had an extremely unique rushing style that allowed him to absorb hits while staying upright, and dodge would be ankle tackles by high-stepping.  Big and fast, with exceptional and fluid quickness to the hole, Ricky was considered a very good athlete by scouts, but they were unsure of his ability to run north-south.  San Fransisco selected Ricky in the second round with the fourth pick in the 1991 draft. Watters had his work cut out for him, being in the unenviable position of replacing longtime stalwart back Roger Craig.

Ricky’s rookie season was a complete loss for the 49ers as he spent the whole year shelved on injured reserve. He’d return for 1992 to pick up the slack and run for over 1,000 yards and a Pro Bowl appearance. While his next two seasons were middling near 1,000 yards rushing, it was really his ability to catch out of the backfield that made Watters an adaptable and dangerous runningback. In Super Bowl XXIX, Watters scored 3 touchdowns, but was beaten out for MVP honors by Steve Young.

In 1995, Ricky signed a lucrative free agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles helping to turn around the franchise’s bad fortunes. Running Waters had 1,707 yards from scrimmage that year, and led the league the next year in both carries (353) and yards from scrimmage (1,855). Despite having a pretty good season in 1997, Ricky was allowed to leave for greener pastures in 1998- signing with the Seattle Seahawks. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the next 3 seasons, and another 1,855 yards from scrimmage in 2000, but he did not earn Pro Bowl honors again. Overshadowed by young Shaun Alexander in Seattle, Watters entered a period of semi-retirement after the 2001 season.  He was contacted by many teams including the Eagles, Bucs, and Colts, but eventually opted to retire.

Watters’ body has suffered from the punishment of the hits he took over the years- A byproduct of 2,622 carries and 467 receptions. He like many players suffers from concussions, and is a member of the concussion litigation group that took the league to court. Many of his injuries were misdiagnosed and healed incorrectly, such as his cracked sternum. He also suffers from arthritis. Despite all this Ricky gives back to the community by through the Ricky Watters Foundation, coaching, and around the Orlando area, where he hopes to instill grounded values into his boys. He loves to paint and recently went back to school to receive his degree in Graphic Design from Notre Dame.

Watters is a member of the vaunted 10,000 yard club and finished with 5 Pro Bowl appearances. His 3 TDs from scrimmage during Super Bowl XXIX ties a mark held by Jerry Rice, Terrell Davis, and Roger Craig. Running Waters also holds two other interesting distinctions: He along with Willis McGahee are the only two runningbacks to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season with 3 different teams. His career long carry of 57 yards is also the lowest among runningback with over 10,000 yards- meaning he really ground out the yards.

While he has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he has not made it to the final cut.

Many years ago, I mailed the 49ers for Ricky’s autograph on the Action Packed Rookies card, but when I received the card back, it was stamped on the back. When I returned to the hobby in 2010, I decided to get this card signed again. I did not realize how long I’d wait as this response is now the longest wait/response in my collection.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a total stranger on Facebook, asking me if I had lived in California. Well after a long conversation it was revealed that the new tenant at my old address (from which the forwarding had expired some- 3 years ago or so) had received a few pieces of mail of mine, so I kindly gave her my forwarding address.

About a week or two later, I received a really nice Christmas card from her. Inside was a handwritten note, that warmed my heart. I had always wondered what it was like to receive a TTM request, and this really almost felt like it, especially when they told me that they had been looking for me for such a long time and how much it mattered to them to get these autographs in the right hands.

Lo and behold were autographs from Ricky Watters and Bruce Lasane (both circa 2011).  The people who mailed them to me asked nothing in return except that I have a Merry Christmas. (I am still going to send them a gift card or something.)

It’s so hard in this world now, to genuinely take people at face value when they just want to do something good for you. It’s so easy to not trust, or believe that there’s a hidden motivation behind everyone’s actions. I could have just said, “No way, I’m not giving you my address!”, but instead I just went with my gut and the sincerity that was contained in the original message. Anyway, if there is a moral to be learned from this, I guess it’s that there are good strangers in this world.  Merry Christmas everybody!

G/Gs 144/142     Rush 2622    Yds   10643      Avg 4.1     Td 78      Lg 57
Rec  467          Yds 4248          Avg9.1         Td 13            Lg 65

 

 

 

AFL, CFL, NFL, wfl

Stabler, Ken “The Snake” (1945-2015)

to81 stabler to82 stabler

Cards: Topps 1981, Topps 1982
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o XoXo Foundation*
Sent:  2/25    Received:  5/11    (75 days)
*Donation suggested of $10 per flat.

Okay, so I’m fine with paying a small signers fee for an autograph or two. I’ve gotten to that point in TTM collecting that I’ll indulge myself from time to time on that, but there are two things that get on my nerves. First and foremost, I expect it to be an authentic signature from the player- not an autopen or ghost signer. (I heard OJ Simpson had done this during one of his many legal battles. He will take your money, however much or little it is, and then hand it off to a ghost signer.) It’s got to be legit and consistent from piece to piece (see Ottis Anderson).  Second and finally, when you cash my check, it tells me: “I acknowledge I have received your item and I have completed my end of the transaction,” – namely signing my cards. Having me wait an additional 2 months after that? That’s a bit egregious. I understand if a player has personal problems they are dealing with; That is no problem, but really, the whole turnaround should be more like 2 weeks tops. Anyway, case in point, on the second peeve is right here in Kenny Stabler.  Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to have the autograph, but out of fear of the ‘mail gods’ voracious appetite, I had to consider cancelling the check and getting new cards to send. Much more hassle than what it was worth, especially if I just wanted to take a chance that he’d sign it without a donation.

Kenny Stabler followed in the footsteps of Broadway Joe Namath at Alabama during the mid-60s, where Stabler carved his own legacy into the Crimson Tide leader books, posting a 28-3-2 record as a starter. He finished 180/303 for 2196 yards, 18  TDs to 18 int, 838 yards on the ground, and 9 touchdowns, all in a little over 2 years as a starter.  The gruff quarterback was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1968 NFL draft (- the second such common pooling of players between the rival NFL and AFL that has now become the norm,) by the Oakland Raiders. Unable to crack the lineup, he found himself playing in the Continental Football League for the Spokane Shockers to pass the time. Things started off slowly for the West Coast rock star QB, as he had to unseat incumbent Darryle Lamonica first. By 1973 however, The Snake was in charge full time for the Raiders, and in 1977, the Silver and Black won its first Super Bowl. During this period the renegade qb flirted with the idea of joining the fledgling WFL and the Birmingham Americans (but the league suffered serious financial setbacks and was unable to last past the 1975 season).  Stabler reached a point in his career where he was basically the West Coast version of Joe Namath- except The Snake was considered a rock star. Things were at their zenith for the Raiders after their Super Bowl win, as Stabler became the fastest quarterback to 100 wins with his penchant for miracle plays and comebacks that were legendary. A prolonged holdout and subpar play doomed his tenure in Oakland, so in 1980, he was traded straight up for Dan Pastorini to the Oilers.

From the Raiders to the Oilers wasn’t such a bad leap for Stabler. Working with Earl Campbell and coach Bum Philips wasn’t such a bad thing either, but the Oilers failed to advance in the playoffs that year, so owner Bud Adams, (who couldn’t keep a good party going if it hit him in the mouth,) fired Philips after the season. The Oilers stumbled into mediocrity under embattled head coach Ed Biles so the Snake took his game after the 1981 season to the New Orleans Saints, where he was reunited with Philips, for the final 3 injury plagued seasons of his career before he retired in 1984.

Stabler has remained popular in football circles, both as a Raider and as a member of the Crimson Tide. He’s spent time in the broadcasting booth and done a lot of charity work through the XOXO Stabler Foundation. He’s had some legal run-ins with the law over back taxes, and besides having his own drink briefly (called Snake Venom,) Stabler has also dabbled in wine making.

One can make an argument for Kenny Stabler needing to be in the HoF, based on his accolades as the 1974 NFL MVP, a Super Bowl champ, 4 time Pro Bowler,  2 time AP, part of the NFL All 1970s team, and for basically owning all the Raiders record book after he left the team, but at this time, injustice remains done, and the honor has escaped the renegade Snake.

Ken Stabler passed away quietly at the age of 69, surrounded by friends and family on July 9th, 2015.

G/Gs  184       Att 3793       Comp 2270      Yds  27938      Pct  59.8     Td   194     Int 222    Rat 75.3   |
Rush 118   Yds 93    Avg  .8    Td 4     Lg 18