Tag Archives: San Diego Chargers

NFL

Orlando, Bo

tosc92 orlandoCards: Topps 1992, Topps Stadium Club 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 12/16   Received: 12/31   (15 days)

Bo Orlando was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 6th round of the 1990 NFL draft. A co-captain of the West Virginia Mountaineer team that went undefeated and played for the National Championship in 1988, He made the squad primarily as a special teams guy and filled in a bit at safety for aging Terry Kinard. The team in 1991 made a concerted effort to draft defensive backs. Exposed in the playoffs and burned with regularity, the Oilers drafted Darryll Lewis, Mike Dumas, Steve Jackson, and Marcus Robertson that year, but it was Orlando surprisingly who made the biggest noise for the team in the secondary. After winning the starting free safety job in camp, he’d rack up 56 tackles and 4 interceptions in 1991. An injury shortened ’92, the emergence of Marcus Robertson at the position, and new defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan in 1993 meant Orlando wasn’t seeing much playing time, but still off the bench starting in 3 contests Bo still managed to make 3 interceptions.

to92 orlandoIn 1995, Bo was left unprotected and signed with the San Diego Chargers.  He’d step in and record 69 tackles and a forced fumble, in his first full season of action since 1991. Again left exposed, Orlando signed with Cincinnati in 1996 and recorded a career high 72 tackles playing for the Bengals. He’d finish his career in 1998 with his homestate Pittsburgh Steelers, retiring after the season.

Injury ravaged during his career, Orlando is a great example of one of the lesser unsung players who really layed their bodies on the line week in and week out for our entertainment. While he has enjoyed a career as a high school football coach in Bethlehem, Pa, and been inducted into the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame, his body has certainly taken a toll from the abuse inflicted on it from his 9 seasons in the league.

G/Gs 129/55   Tac 267   Sac 2.0  Fum 4   Int  10  Yds 126  Avg 12.6  Td 1  Lg 38t

NFL

Gibson, Dennis

Card: Topps 1988
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

Dennis Gibson is best remembered by Charger fans as being the savior of the team in the 1994 AFC Championship Game, when he blocked a TD pass from Steelers’ QB Neil O’Donnell in the endzone to win the game. The play propelled the Cinderella Chargers of 1994 into the SuperBowl- their only SuperBowl appearance to date.

A home grown Iowa product who went to school at none other than Iowa, Gibson went to the bright lights of the city of cars and industry, as Detroit took him in the 8th round of the 1987 draft. Considered a budget find, Gibson stepped right in and contributed almost immediately, and later went on to play beside both Michael Cofer and Chris Spielman at right inside linebacker for the Lions 3-4 alignment. Gibson also appears alongside his teammates in the classic football game Tecmo Super Bowl. He saw some of the better glory days of the reborn Lions under Wayne Fontes and started 7 seasons for the Lions defense. In 1988 Gibson had a career high 116 tackles, and in an injury shortened 6 games in 1989 he recovered 3 fumbles. He’d sign with the Chargers in 1994 and play there through the 1995 season before retiring. At last glance in 2013, Gibson runs Encore Pizza in near obscurity outside of Des Moines, Iowa.

G/Gs 121/120    Tac 582    Sac 2.5   Fum 6     Int 3     Yds  15   Avg 5.0   Td 0    Lg 10

NFL, WLAF

Moorer, Patrick “Hitman”

ult92 moorerCard: Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Louisville
Sent: 7/15    Received: 8/15   (30 days)

A four year starter who walked onto the Florida Gators, Pat Moorer led the squad in tackles in both his junior and senior seasons at inside linebacker, earning the apt nickname ‘Hitman’, and finishing with an even 300 career tackles.  Signed by the San Diego Chargers as a free agent in 1990, Pat did not make the squad, but instead went on to greater glory playing in the WLAF. During the WLAF positional draft in 1991, the Hitman was taken in the second round by the Frankfurt Galaxy which employed a 3-4 defense. His rookie season with the squad, Pat recorded 29 total tackles and 2.5 sacks. He’d play with the league another year before returning back to college to pursue his degree in Health and Human Performance from Florida in 1992. He then moved into the assistant role at the college until he was hired at Illinois in 1997, and then South Carolina in 1999 as the director of strength and conditioning. There he began to garner a great reputation as the personal trainer to RB Emmitt Smith. Patrick later was proudly awarded what amounts to a Masters in the field of Strength and Conditioning in 2006. In 2010, he joined the staff at Louisville, where as of 2013 he continues in this capacity.

WLAF    Tac  N/a    Sac 2.5    Fum 0    Int 0     Yds 0    Avg -.-   Td 0    Lg -.-