CARDS: Pro Set 1992, Skybox Premium 1993-94 ACQUIRED: TTM 2024, C/o Home SENT: 9/10/24 RECEIVED: 1/14/26 (491 days) FAILURE: TTM 2021, C/o Home
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Sanjay Beach played WR from 1985-’87 at Colorado State.
He caught 85 passes for 1074 yards and 3 TDs, and returned 68 kicks for 1557 yards and a TD.
Undrafted in ’88, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys- but was cut in the preseason due to injury.
Signed with the Jets in 89 and was elevated off the practice squad for a game.
Joined the 49ers as a free agent in ’90, again spending the season on the practice squad.
Cracked the team in 1991 at the bottom of the WR depth chart.
Caught 4 passes, and did some work on special teams that year.
In 1992, signed as a Plan B Free Agent with the Packers.
Caught his first professional TD, and the first pass (not to himself) from Brett Favre.
Finished the season with 17 receptions for 122 yards.
Returned to the ‘9ers during the 93 campaign, and again saw seldom playing time catching 5 passes.
Released in 1994, Sanjay signed with the Amsterdam Admirals of the World League in 1995.
He caught a career high 27 passes for 383 yards and a TD.
Signed with ‘9ers a 3rd time in 1995 but did not make the squad.
Had one final hurrah with the Broncos in ’96 but was released before the regular season.
Currently works in the financial sector.
NOTES:
I mean I noticed all my friends had gotten back an autograph from Sanjay so I wondered what happened to mine. I went ahead and sent a new request out almost 3 years later and waited another year or so, and here it is… in ball point pen.. Ah well.
Sanjay is the first person of Indian descent to play professional gridiron football in the NFL.
CARD: Pro Set 1993 ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home SENT: 4/11/22 RECEIVED: 7/5/22 (85 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Ben Coates played TE at Livingstone College from 1987-’90.
He had 103 receptions for 1,268 yards and 18 touchdowns over his college career.
5th round pick of the New England Patriots in 1991.
Career took off in 1993 with the arrival of rookie Drew Bledsoe.
Caught 53 passes for 659 yards and 8 TDs that season.
In 1994 had a career high 96 receptions for 1174 yards and 7 TDs.
And in 1995 had another 84 catches for 915 yards and 6 TDs.
Had a career high 9 TD receptions on 62 receptions in 1996.
Coates then had two back to back 65+ catch seasons in ’97 and ’98.
After a subpar 1999- Ben played one final season in Baltimore.
Returned to his alma mater as a coach for Livingstone College from 2000-’04.
From there he hopped over to the NFLE working with the Frankfurt Galaxy’s TEs that year.
Worked with Browns TEs from ’05-’07.
Assistant head coach and OC for Central State from 2009-’12.
And then Saint Augustine’s from 2013-’14.
ACCOLADES:
All Pro 1994, ’95, ’98
NFL All-Decade Team 1990’s
Pro Bowl 1994-’98
Black College Football Hall of Fame
Patriots Hall of Fame
Patriots 50th Anniversary Team
Patriots All-90’s team
NOTES:
Ugh! Ben was so gracious to me. I accidentally sent him I think a card of Daniel Graham too! He was kind enough to sign this one and put a note on the other letting me know that it wasn’t him. Not my finest moment.
Coates gets little traction outside of the AFC East and the Patriots for Hall of Fame consideration. He’s got a lot of great skills to do it all and was considered the freak of his day at the position. Greatly overshadowed by Shannon Sharpe out of Denver, Coates could block and catch with ease.
He really should be in the HoF. At the time of his retirement Ben was ranked 4th in receptions among tight ends trailing only Ozzie Newsome, Shannon Sharpe, and Kellen Winslow.
I had never gotten Rick through the mail over the years, but I started stacking up a pile of cards that I wanted to get his autograph on. A perennial standout TTM, Rick inked all 6 of these cards for me. I normally don’t abuse players for so many autographs- as I’m usually a 3 and done kinda guy per letter, but since I’ve seen him get tapped for 10 before, I didn’t have too much of a problem with that.
Classic 1993 was a low hanging fruit for me for a long time, but there’s been some fun gems to mine from that set. Around that time I was tapping out of trading cards and autographs so I missed out on a lot of these sets.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
