Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992 Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home Sent: 7/29 Received: 8/20 (22 days) Failure: 2010, 2011 C/o Work See Also: Ray Savage
The photo of this card of Ray was taken during the San Antonio Riders victory over the Machine in the opening game of the 1992 season. As such- these cards were not in production until near the end or after the season concluded- when there was still a belief that there’d be a season 3 in 1993. I had struggled over the years to get Ray’s autograph on his remaining cards, so I just decided to put it on the back burner for many years.
As I have begun to really go after the AAF, it renewed my appetite for the WLAF set, so I decided to check out some dead ends again, with the help of new technology. A few weeks after I sent this out I was genuinely surprised to get this autograph back from Ray with a sticky note attached to it.
He thanked me for truly putting a smile on his face that week, as he has fond memories of the WLAF and thinks about that time and those games often.
Ray loves coaching and was the head coach at Menchville High School, where he had a rich history of discovering and developing college football talent. He stepped down recently in 2018.
Card: Pro Set 1991 WLAF Insert Acquired: In Person 1992, San Antonio Riders v. Montreal Machine
Ray Savage was originally an 8th round draft choice of the then Los Angeles Rams in 1990 after playing some standout ball for the University of Virginia, where he’d be beloved by fans and coaches alike for his tenacious play and – well- barking. He liked to bark like a dog before snaps.
Ray found himself on the short end of the stick after training camp with the Rams, but quickly was snapped up the next year by the Montreal Machine in the WLAF inaugural positional draft. Savage went on to put up good numbers in the Machine’s 3-4 front with 6.5 sacks in 1991, and finishing as the team’s career leader with 11.
After the folding of the WLAF in 1992, Ray was picked up by the Eagles, before he caught on with the Shreveport Pirates of the CFL.
Upon his return to the NFL, Savage actually negotiated his own contract with the Indianapolis Colts. He liked it so much he began to handle the job for other players as well. He retired at the age of 26.
Savage found his calling in contract negotiations for football players and had a small mortgage business at one point. In his spare time he also dabbled in coaching and has 2 great kids.
A hard fought game that included a punt return for a touchdown at Bobcat Stadium still resulted in victory for the San Antonio Riders, a staunch defensive WLAF team with a scrappy offense. The Machine were a fairly solid average team their first year, but slid in 1992 losing a few games by only a handful of points.
Games N/a Tac N/a Sac 11.0 Fum N/a Int 0 Yds 0 Avg -.- Td 0
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
