Tag Archives: proset 1991

NFL

Gault, Willie

Card: ProSet 1991
Acquired: In person, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 1990

So Josh and I by the time the Raiders came to town were quite adept at finding ways to get autographs and Willie Gault is a great example of this. We had heard rumors while at camp that the Raiders stayed at a hotel just across the highway from St. Edwards. (Right across the highway meant a 45 minute walk.) Josh and I had a choice: Keep the primo spot in autograph alley and get some autographs from Cowboys and Raiders, or take a dice roll on the Raiders hotel and rake it in. We took a shot at the latter and started walking. Josh and I would arrive a few minutes before the bus would and stood out front salivating to get signatures. The streamliner pulled into the parking lot, but instead of pulling around front- it passed us to go to the back. In a panic, we started chasing the bus like little kids after school trying to get to the ice cream man. I managed to pull in front of the group surprisingly keeping up with the bus. Players looked out the tinted windows with amazement – pointed and laughed. When they pulled around back they dropped the players off at a shed in the parking lot to change. Willie didn’t bother. He got off the bus and walked straight up to me and proclaimed,”Wow man! We kept telling the bus driver to go faster and almost got it up to 30 before you started falling behind! You looked like a full on sprinter at the Olympics, with arms up and everything!” He signed our cards with a beaming smile and humorous zeal and truly this is one of my favorite football memories of all time.

A track and field speedster beast that  (NFL teams tried to duplicate the luck the Cowboys had with Bob Hayes-) the closest anybody got over the last 30 years was Willie Gault. In 1980 during the height of the Cold War, the United States boycotted the Olympics being hosted by the USSR. Instead the USA Olympic Committee decided to hold their own ‘Boycott Olympics’ in Philadelphia. Willie Gault would win a Gold in the 100 M and a Bronze 4×100 M relay. He would also win at the Helsinki Championships for hurdling (Bronze) and  the 4×100 again (Gold).  Drafted in the first round of the 1983 draft by the Chicago Bears, Willie would primarily be utilized to stretch defenses with his incredible speed.  In 1985, he would be a part of the “Super Bowl Shuffle” helping the team dominate the New England Patriots winning SuperBowl XX with 129 yards on 4 catches. After a successful career with the Bears, averaging a breathtaking 19.8 yards on 184 catches, Willie would be traded to the Los Angeles Raiders and Al Davis who loves that speed. Gault would have perhaps his best seasons there, averaging over 24.5 yards a catch his first two seasons in LA, and a career high 985 yards in 1990.

In 1993, Willie would retire and pursue his dream of acting. As of 2010 he’s been in 31 different productions both TV and film, and also been a producer and even a costume designer. Recently he also appeared in the 25th anniversary of the “Super Bowl Shuffle” hosted by Boost Mobile on the most recent SuperBowl half-time show. He remains incredibly in shape and has set numerous records at the Masters athletics championship.

G/Gs  170/141       Rec 333        Yds 6635        Avg  19.9      Td 44      Lg 87T

Arena, CFL, NFL, NFLE, WLAF

Ervin, Corris

Cards: ProSet WLAF Helmet Card 1991, ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o work.
Sent: 10/15  Received: 10/26 (11 days)

Corris Ervin would be an outstanding defensive back for the Central Florida Knights- being so good as to be drafted by the Denver Broncos with their 5th round pick in the 1988 draft. Ervin would spend time on the San Fransisco 49ers developmental squad in 1989 and would walk by me a few times in Dallas Cowboys Training camp in 1990. In 1991, the London Monarchs would draft Corris first in the WLAF positional draft for the defensive secondary. He’d form a cornerstone of the Monarchs #1 defense and secondary, helping the team win the World Bowl in 1991. After winning All-World League honors, he’d return to the states after the 1991 season, but in 1995 decided to take another shot- this time with the NFLE playing for the Scottish Claymores. Corris would make another 2 interceptions playing for the team and return back to the United States to play in the CFL for the Baltimore Stallions and in Canada with the Blue Bombers. In 1996 Ervin would go to the Arena Football league playing for both the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators that year. He’d hang onto the roster of the Predators through 1999 where he was then traded to the Florida Bobcats, retiring after the season. Corris would also make an appearance as a defensive back in the movie “The Waterboy”. I started trying to track down players through social network sites and quickly found Corris after I was able to acquire teammate Howard Feggins. He kindly signed 3 cards for me and currently runs his own cabinetry business out of the Orlando area. Below are his statistics from the London Monarchs in 1991.

G/Gs  10/10   Tac  37  Sac 0  Fum n/a    Int 2   Yds 13  Avg 6.5  Td 0  lg 13

NFL, WLAF

Witkowski, John

Card: ProSet 1991
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o home
Sent: 10/16    Received: 11/1  (17 days)

Drafted in 1984 draft in the 6th round by the Detroit Lions out of Columbia, John Witkowski was an offensive juggernaut for the Ivy League school setting numerous passing and Ivy league records. John would make the final roster of the Lions that year passing for 210 yards on 34 attempts but wouldn’t make the roster in 1985. He’d remain on the radar of the NFL however, signing with the Houston Oilers in 1986 as a strike player backing up Brent Pease playing for the team through 1987 before heading back to the Lions for 1988. Witkowski in the meantime began pursuing a career in financial services and continued to remain in playing shape after 1988.

In 1991, the World League of American Football invited John to workout, and the London Monarchs liked him so much they drafted him in the league’s positional draft. He’d play in one season in the league and throw two touchdowns. A little known fact about Witkowski is that he was the starting quarterback for the Monarchs on opening day of 1991, but yielded the job to Stan Gelbaugh (who was picked up later by the Monarchs in the Supplemental Draft) during the first game of the season.  John would play in a bit more garbage time, but he wouldn’t see anymore starting time for the team after that.  Witkowski since retiring has continued to be involved in financial management and climbed the ranks into being an executive vice president for the Five Star Bank Corporation and has done quite well.

ProSet made this card along with 31 other player cards in 1991 to promote the league and its upcoming WLAF set. They took a gamble that the players that they selected for cards would perhaps be marquee players as well. This would be the only card that was made of John, but it’s a nice one, and would appear on the cover of the WLAF magazine available for purchase at the games. John would write me back, “Thanking me for bringing back some great memories and for taking the time to build this site.” What a nice guy. Below are his WLAF statistics.

G/Gs 10/1    Att 40    Comp 23     Yds 232     Pct 57.5%    Td 2   Int 2    Rat 70.0