Cards: Pro Set 1991, GameDay 1993
Acquired: TTM 2021, C/o Home
Sent: 4/1 Received: 6/7 (67 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
NOTES:
Hadn’t gotten Henry Jones since… oh 1991 through the Bills so I thought I’d give him another shout out some 30 years later. He signed 2 of 3 cards- but omitted the one I really wanted him to sign- his Star Pics 1991 Fightin’ Illini card.
Card: ProSet WLAF 1991 Helmet Insert, ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2021, C/o Home
Sent: 1/9 Received: 3/27 (81 days)
Failure: TTM 2020, C/o Home
As a local from Spain, Xisco Marcos became the Barcelona Dragons unofficial mascot and was undeniably fans’ favorite player. He also provided tour guide services to other players and educated them about the area and the culture as well.
An Operation Discovery product, Xisco played football in Spain’s American Football League reaching the league’s equivalent of their Super Bowl, and was known in that league for making tough grabs and having sticky fingers. With a pretty deep roster at WR, Xisco didn’t see much action on the field for the Dragons, playing for the franchise in 1991, 1992, and 1995. He’d catch one pass over his career in the World League for 5 yards.
Xisco had become a white whale for me, and after much research I found him in Mallorca- a city on the Balearic Islands of Spain. (You can barely see it creeping up off the top of the bottom of the interior of the facemask.) Eventually I dropped these two cards to him in the mail where I quickly got an RTS because the local PO didn’t know where the Balearic Islands were… So after waiting a few months I was sure to go into the PO and discuss with them that the Balearic Islands of Spain were a real place.
Xisco responded to me in about 3 months time writing me an incredibly nice note.
“I remember very fondly the trip to San Antonio, as I could see, Texas charmed me, and I’m sure Austin must be a beautiful place to live.”
With Xisco’s autograph, I now only have remaining the two deceased players from the franchise card set, Demetrius Davis and Barry Voorhess. While Xisco’s response isn’t the furthest I’ve corresponded with a player, it certainly wins the prize for the most exotic return.
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.
Lockett was then selected in the second round of the 1991 World League of American Football positional draft by the London Monarchs. where he’d go on to have a banner year for the team, as they won World Bowl I over the Barcelona Dragons.
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.
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 |
| 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 |