Tag Archives: San Diego Chargers

NFL

Dyson, Kevin

Upper Deck MVP 2002, #240
Atomic 2001, #140

CARDS: Upper Deck MVP 2002, Atomic 2001, SP Authentic 2001
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 7/8 RECEIVED: 12/5 (150 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Played WR for the University of Utah from 1993-’97.
  • Caught 192 passes for 2,726 yards and 18 touchdowns.
  • First round pick of the Tennessee Titans in 1998.
  • Caught 21 passes for 263 yards and 2 TDs his rookie season.
  • Had a career high 54 catches in 1999.
  • Caught the lateral from Frank Wycheck in the Music City Miracle.
  • Then was stopped one yard short of the goal line in the closing moments of Super Bowl XXIV.
  • After an injury in 2000 limited him to two games, returned to form in 2001 and tied his career high with 54 receptions, along with 825 yards and 7 TDs.
  • Joined the Panthers in 2003, but spent most of the season on IR.
  • Spent the off season with the Chargers (’04) and Redskins (’05).
  • Went back to school, obtaining his doctorate, spending time in coaching, and education.
SP 2001, #85

NOTES:

Every once in a while I’m just surprised by an older card set I’ve discovered. Case in point- SP 2001. Simple, elegant, lots of space to work with.. it’s just great design, and the landscape format helps make autographs pop and look more cinematic.

AAF, NFL, usfl, WLAF, XFL

Riley, Mike (2)

CARD: Topps AAF 2019 Certified
ACQUIRED: Private Acquisition, 2022
FAILURE: TTM C/o Home 2019, 2020

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

Picking up where we left off, Mike ended up back at Oregon State, where he became the school’s most winning coach. In 2014, he’d be pried off the Beavers by Nebraska. After a difficult tenure at Nebraska, Mike was welcomed back to Corvallis with open arms as an assistant coach.

When the Alliance of American Football was announced, I knew he’d be at the top of their list. I was excited to see Mike return to SA (from his days with the Riders of the WLAF) to coach the team. He was excited to take a walk down memory lane with me when I showed up with my Riders hat on at the Commanders unveiling. The team very much resembled the Riders, and finished 5-3 during the AAF’s season.

I had narrowly missed getting Mike’s autograph on his Topps AAF card during pregame warmups against the Salt Lake City Stallions. I had sideline passes and thought that he’d be a shoe-in to get later TTM. Oddly though, he’s dodged my TTM requests since then.

After the AAF folded, much to everyone’s dismay, Mike was hired on to be the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Dragons of the XFL in 2020- just because it wasn’t more local to Texas.

Recently it was brought to my attention that Mike and head coach Jim Zorn had a disagreement about who should be starting quarterback. The row was so bad between the two that Mike left the team for the first 3 games of the season.

He joined the new USFL as head coach of the New Jersey Generals, and led the team to a 9-1 record in 2022. The team zoomed out to a 2-1 record in 2023, before dropping their next 5, en route to a 3-7 record.

When the XFL and the USFL combined to form the new UFL, the Generals were not retained for 2024.

CFL, NFL, usfl

Anderson, Gary (RB) (2)

Gameday 1992, #51
Action Packed 1991, #261
Skybox Premium 1993, #206

CARDS: Pro Set 1989, Skybox Premium 1993, Gameday 1992, Action Packed 1991
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home
SENT: 5/31 RECEIVED: 6/14 (14 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

Gary had some great cards from back in the day. The Razorback stuck around just long enough to get into Pro Set, Action Packed, and Gameday sets, as well as Skybox. He had some really great action shots too. -It had been roughly 5 or 6 years since I had gotten him last so I had to come back and grab him on a few more.

Pro Set 1989, #356