Tag Archives: San Antonio Riders

NFL, WLAF

Brown, Ivory Lee

Card: StarPics 1991
Acquired: In Person 1992, San Antonio Riders v. Orlando Thunder
Failure:    TTM 2010, c/o home.

So there was no security at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos where the Riders played. This allowed me to meander down to the  front of the stands and onto the field at half time. As Ivory Lee was galloping off to the locker room during half time, I crossed paths with him and asked him for his autograph. He smiled and kept jogging saying, “I got another half of work to do.” After the game he penned this Star Pics card for me.

Ivory Lee Brown graduated from tiny Arkansas-Pine Bluff where in his first season he rushed for an incredible 8.3 yards a carry and 1465 yards. An imposing powerback who could easily be mistaken for a fullback at 6’2″, 245, Brown was selected by the Phoenix Cardinals in the 7th round of the 1991 draft, where he’d be placed on the team’s developmental squad.

As the 1992 season opened up in the WLAF, the NFL made available many of its developmental squad members and future stars for the fledgling World League.  The San Antonio Riders were looking for a replacement for their previous runningback Ricky Blake– and found the upgrade in the form of Ivory Lee Brown.  The Riders were a classic offensive team built around a strong running game and tenacious defense. Ivory Lee would initially share the depth chart in the preseason with Tony Boles- but with Boles MIA by week 3, Brown would shoulder an increased workload for the team. By the end of the season Ivory Lee Brown would lead the WLAF in virtually all rushing categories with 767 yards, 166 carries, a 4.6 average, and 7 touchdowns.  His 767 yards would be a league record and he’d be named first team All World League. A big, shifty runner, Coach John Robinson during a broadcast remarked how Ivory Lee was more of a deceptive finesse runner in the open field.

As the season came to close against the Sacramento Surge, optimism was riding high for the 7-3 Riders that 1993 would be their season- but that would never be as the league folded North American operations and did not reemerge until it was retooled to a strictly European format in 1995.

Brown would return to the Cardinals where he’d emerge from the practice squad and be moved into the starting lineup for Phoenix while incumbent runningback  Johnny Johnson held out.  He’d start 5 games and run for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns in relief of Johnson, but would not be resigned after the season. Brown’s history from there is sort of… a mystery as he drops off the face of the Earth, but from time to time his name comes up in conversation as he’s the uncle to current Minnesota runningback Adrian Peterson.

I wrote Ivory in June of 2010 hoping to get the former All WLAF back’s signature on his Wild Card 92 WLAF card at his home address through the Meiselman list, but have been unable to reach him up to this point.

WLAF G/Gs 10/10    Att 166   Yds   767   Avg 4.6   Lg 54     Td 7   |
Rec 9     Yds  54     Avg   6.0      Lg 12    Td  0

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Garrett, Jason

Cards: Pro Set 1991, Pro Set WLAF 1991
Acquired: In Person 1993, 1994, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp
Failure:  TTM 2010, C/o Dallas Cowboys
See Also: Jason Garrett (2)

A free agent signee of the New Orleans Saints back in 1989, Jason Garrett would hang on with the team through the 1990 season.

The WLAF San Antonio Riders would draft Garrett to be their starting quarterback but he’d separate his shoulder in the season opener against the Orlando Thunder and within a few weeks Mike Johnson would be firmly entrenched as the starter. (While Garrett would return to start games 7 and 8, Johnson would end the season as the San Antonio Riders encumbent, winning all their games as a starter going 4-2 for the team.)  Jason would not return to the WLAF after the season, and finish his career there with a 71 quarterback rating.

After a brief stint in the CFL for the Ottawa Roughriders, Garrett would be signed by the Dallas Cowboys where he would back up Troy Aikman. Initially a 3rd stringer, I was not high on the move by the team, however he performed well for the Cowboys over the next 8 seasons. During his time on the Cowboys, I’d get his autograph on these two ProSet WLAF cards. He’d be a premium backup policy through the rest of his career, seeing stints with the Giants (2000-03), Buccaneers and Dolphins (2004) before retiring.

Garrett is a student of the game and was immediately in demand as a quarterbacks coach. He quickly transitioned into the role for the Dolphins and served there for two seasons through 2006. Jason would return to Dallas (where clan Garrett is based now), and became offensive coordinator scaling the ranks of the organization. He was named interim head coach in 2010 after Wade Phillips was dismissed midway through the season, and at the conclusion of the season had the tag removed to become Dallas’ 8th head coach.

I sent off for all of clan Garrett (Jason, Judd, and John) last season, but did not hear back from them. As Jason only has 1 card (Ultimate WLAF 1992) that I do not have an his autograph on, I may try this again at a later date. Listed below are his WLAF statistics:

G/Gp  5/3    Att  113      Comp  66         Yds  609             Pct 58.9         Td  3      Int 3          Rat  71.0

NFL, WLAF

Goebel, Brad

Cards: WildCard WLAF 1992, Pinnacle 1991
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 3/12/10     Received: 4/25/11 (409 days)

Brad Goebel sets the new standard for the longest wait, clocking in a mere 409 days, hence why I hesitate to cross players off my list when I’ve waited a particularly long time.  (I’ve heard of collectors waiting almost 2 years for autographs in some cases.)

Brad Goebel was another great quarterback to come out of Baylor in Waco, Tx. (The other recent quarterback being Houston Oiler Cody Carlson). Brad’s strengths were that he had a quick release, a good arm, and a tremendous amount of focus. The Philadelphia Eagles, under coach Rich Kotite would note his performance at Baylor, where he’d finish first in attempts (790) and completions, (375) and second in school history in career total offense upon graduation in 1990.  The Eagles would sign Brad to a free agent contract where he’d compete in camp for a backup job. After a scintilating performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the preseason where Brad would lead the Eagles back engineering 2 game winning drives in the 4th quarter, he’d unseat Don McPherson for 3rd string on the Eagles roster. In fact, the buzz around Brad was so strong that fans were suggesting that he should start at quarterback for the Eagles over Randall Cunningham.  They wouldn’t have to wait that long as the quarterback of the future plucked from the ranks of free agency would be forced into the lineup in 1991.

A series of bizarre injuries would befall the Eagles quarterback rotation, as starter Randall Cunningham would go down for the season in week 1. Jim McMahon would step in and lead the team but he’d go down to injury too forcing the Eagles to go ahead with Pat Ryan, who forced Philadelphia’s hand with his poor play to start Brad in week 5. The team would narrowly lose against the Saints, and then the next week as well against Tampa Bay before McMahon would return to the lineup. Goebel throughout the remainder of the season would see a bit of garbage time, but would not throw a touchdown.

In 1992, the NFL agreed to allocate 4 players from each team as ‘future stars’ to the WLAF for the season. The Eagles requested to have Brad placed with San Antonio due to its proximity to his home in Cuero, Tx. With Jason Garrett no longer with the franchise,  Brad would compete against  incumbent  quarterback Mike Johnson. He would throw for a touchdown and 408 yards during the season, starting against the Machine, Fire, and Knights before Johnson would return to the starting lineup. At the conclusion of the 1992 WLAF season, Goebel returned to the Eagles.

Caught in a numbers game, the Eagles were not able to provide Brad enough reps in camp, so before the 1992 NFL season even really began, the Eagles quarterback of the future would be traded to the Cleveland Browns for a 7th round choice.  Brad would make the roster of the team playing sparingly over the next 3 seasons before retiring after the 1994 season.

Brad since retirement has become a successful real estate developer and rancher back in his hometown of Cuero. He also hosts a football camp in Horseshoe Bay, Tx.

This would be the only WLAF card printed of Brad, and the Pinnacle card was one that I found a few weeks after the 1992 season had concluded.  The Pinnacle card is quite a nice layout with copious amounts of space on it. Unfortunately the Wild Card just looks ugly. The large ‘stamp’ and numbers on the side just don’t complement this otherwise very nice looking photo of Brad that well. The back is even more repugnant. Regardless I was glad to get these two signed. Below are his statistics from the WLAF.

G/Gs  N/a     Att  66     Comp  40    Yds 404   Pct 60.6    Td 1      Int 2       Rat  64.5 |
Rush 6    Yds 18      Avg  3.0      Td  2     Lg 7