Cards: Ultimate WLAF 1991, Proset World League 1991
Acquired: In Person, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp 1992
Ricky Blake was an All-Pro WLAF Prospect when he made the jump from the San Antonio Riders to the Dallas Cowboys, after he ranked third in the WLAF with 554 yards.
A bruising fullback with deceptive speed, Blake was not drafted out of Alabama A&M. In fact, he opted to leave college and play in the CFL for Winnipeg. He then took a year off, but had already gotten the attention of head coach Mike Riley, who drafted him to play in San Antonio where he was the bell cow of the Riders offense. Surprisingly nimble for his size, clocking in at near 250- Blake was compared to big bodied Saints’ RB Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward.
After transitioning to the Cowboys, Ricky started out with a bang in ’91, then was injured after 2 games on a long run against Phoenix. He never played again for the Cowboys, sustaining a hip pointer much like the one that ended Bo Jackson’s career.
Blake however would return to play for the Fort Worth Arena league team in 1994, notching 12 yards on 4 carries and one tackle that year. Later then he was picked up by the Barcelona Dragons of the newly reconstituted NLFE in 1995, playing for one season, rushing for 398 yards on 98 carries before hanging up his cleats for good. It should be noted that it is commonly mistaken that Blake returned to the Riders in 1992, but by that point, Ivory Lee Brown had taken over for him in SA.
WLAF Games 10 Att 120 Yds 554 Avg 4.6 TD 5
Rec 16 Yds 107 Avg 6.7 Lg 24 Td 1