Tag Archives: San Diego Chargers

CFL, NFL

Tolliver, Billy Joe

Cards: ProSet 1989,Action Packed Rookies 1990,Action Packed 1991,Upper Deck 1991,Topps 1990,GameDay 1992,Score 1990
Acquired: In Person 1993, CGA Youth Golf Tournament

A real tender moment in my autograph collecting- Billy Joe Tolliver, Browning Nagle and Steve Bartkowski were palling around really early in the morning, -I’d guess around 7:45AM and I was basically the only fan on the course. They actually saw me and started talking to me. Maybe it was because I just walked up onto the green and didn’t know my golf etiquette, but they absolutely loved the drawings I did of each one of them. Billy Joe and I started talking and he offered let me ride along with them to the next hole. How could I say no (especially comparing this in retrospect to my experiences with John Elway)? Tolliver the previous season had a hail mary pass against the 49ers, and we discussed how exciting and amazing the play was. Billy Joe just told me he tried to put it up to his favorite game maker (Michael Haynes) and he just got lucky. He also shared that it was his favorite moment (up to that point of his young career).

In the waning days of the Southwestern Conference, Texas Tech started really establishing itself with a dominating offense. Billy Joe Tolliver was the renaissance man that would be the genesis in the long line of record setting quarterbacks at Lubbock. Gifted with a cannon for an arm Tolliver would be drafted in the 3rd round of the 1989 draft by the San Diego Chargers, who traded a lion’s share to the Giants to get him. Expected to be the quarterback of the team’s future, he was thrust right into a quarterback competition between David Archer and Mark Malone. In the end the team traded the Bears for Jim McMahon and he and Tolliver would battle the rest of the season for the starting gig. San Diego was a tough place to play after the departure of Dan Fouts, with an eternal revolving door at quarterback (13 starting quarterbacks from 1987-1991).  By 1990 Tolliver was firmly entrenched as the number one quarterback in San Diego- but was inexplicably benched in favor of Mark Vlasic. He’d quickly be renamed starter but was benched again at the end of the season for another ‘quarterback of the future’ –John Friesz. Friesz would be named the starter for the 1991 season and Tolliver would find himself traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a 5th round pick. Overall the Tolliver legacy in San Diego would surely be considered a ‘wash’.

It was an interesting situation in Atlanta to say the least for Tolliver playing under the Red Gun offense with injury prone starter Chris Miller and 3rd stringer distraction Brett Favre behind him. It was during the 1991 season Billy Joe would get some playing time in and make the Hail Mary pass against the 49ers and have a respectable finish to the season. In 1992, Farve would be sent packing to Green Bay for as coach Jerry Glanville stated, “To save him (Farve) from himself.” Tolliver would be in the starting role in 1992 after Chris Miller was injured and out for the season but would finish with literally average results (5Tds, 5ints, 55% completions and a 70.5 qb rating). The next season, he’d once again be backup to Chris Miller and Bobby Herbert. With Miller injured again, Tolliver would be the main backup again and would see some playing time in 7 games. After the 1993 season he would not be resigned.  Playing in Atlanta was met with mixed results. Extreme highs (the Hail Mary) punctuated by big lows (arguments on the sidelines with Jerry Glanville and blowout losses).

When the 1994 season began, Tolliver was still looking for a job but was signed to be a 3rd string quarterback on the struggling Houston Oilers. By mid-season Billy would be the starter and would finish with another 7 starts under his belt splitting time with Bucky Richardson. He would be a free agent again and this time pursue a job in the fledgling CFL USA signed by the Shreveport Pirates for their final season in 1995. Returning again to the NFL Tolliver would go back to the Falcons, this time backing up Herbert and Browning Nagle at quarterback. He’d play sparingly through 1996 and be released mid-season in 1997, but would then be signed by the Kansas City Chiefs who needed an injury replacement. Tolliver would be cut in mid 1998. Billy Joe would return to the NFC South, going to the New Orleans Saints under Mike Ditka in 1999. He’d remain on and off the team roster through 2000. In 2001 Tolliver would be signed by Green Bay- remarkably with former friend and quarterback Brett Favre, where Billy Joe would retire shortly after losing the backup quarterback job to Doug Pederson.

Overall looking at Billy Joe Tolliver’s career, one could almost state that he had some of the best agents or was one of the best third string quarterbacks to play the position. The definition of a journeyman, Tolliver would play for no more than 7 teams, starting at some point during his career for at least 6 of them over a 12 season career. Since football, Billy Joe has remained extremely active. He was inducted by the Red Raiders into their Hall of Honor in 2002. An athletic competitor at heart- Billy Joe Tolliver is considered a great golfer frequently winning sports amateur golf competitions on a regular basis and in 2010 he beat Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo for the championship. Billy Joe was treated kindly by the Tecmo gods, who rewarded him with an amazing 81 in passing speed for his cannon of an arm.

G/Gs  74/42  Att  1707    Comp 891    Yds 10760     Pct 52.2%       Td 59   Int 64   Lg 82T  Rat 67.7


AFL, College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Alworth, Lance “Bambi”

Acquired: Austin Citywide Garage Sale 1996

So I was wandering around a citywide garage sale and saw that a bar was selling all of its close out merchandise at breakneck prices. For 20 bucks I got a nice lot of autographed memorabilia, so I didn’t think it’d be a bad deal to get- even if they were bad considering how much they’d cost in real life. I started a new binder where I kept photo and other types of autographs than cards.

Well, Lance Alworth is a class of 1978 Hall of Fame receiver that played his career for the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys.  Nicknamed “Bambi” by his teammates because of his almost effortless moves he was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders,  who almost immediately traded to the Chargers where he played the majority of his career from 1962 to 1970, often playing quietly through injury including fractures to both of his hands in 1966. He was named an AFL All Star 7 times, and lead the AFL in yardage 3 seasons ( 1966, 1968, and 1969). After the 1970 season he was traded to the Cowboys where he scored the first touchdown in Superbowl VI and afterwards subsequently retired with both an AFL championship ring and a Superbowl ring.

Things have been slightly rough for Alworth. Players of that day and age weren’t paid like they are now, and he had a bad patch there. Since the mid seventies Alworth has opened a series of storage units across California. He’s been also inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame (1977), San Diego Hall of Champions (1972), his number (19) was retired by the Chargers, named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team, the College Football Hall of Fame (1984), the AFL All-Time Team, the Mississipi Sports Hall of Fame, and finally was named number 31 on the 100 Greatest Football Players of all time list from “The Sporting News”.

 

G 136   Rec 542   Yds 10266    Avg 18.9    Td 85   Lg 85

AFL, NFL, ufl, wfl

Schottenheimer, Marty (1943-2021)

Card: Proset 1990
Acquired: TTM 1994, C/o The Kansas City Chiefs

Linebacker Marty Schottenheimer was selected in by both the AFL (Buffalo, 7th round) and NFL (Baltimore, 5th round) of their respective 1965 drafts out of the University of Pittsburgh. He spent 4 seasons on the Bills roster (where it was comically shown on the retrospective “Full Color Football” that Schottenheimer’s name was so long on his jersey the type ran off the name plate and onto his right shoulder). He’d earn All Star honors in 1965, and be traded in 1971 to the Pittsburgh Steelers and again to the Boston Patriots before retiring.

Schottenheimer went into coaching in 1974 and worked for the Portland Storm in the World Football League as a linebackers coach, but before you knew it, less than 10 years after he got drafted by the Bills- Marty was coaching linebackers for the Giants in 1975. He’d then coach for the Lions on another 2 year stint, before catching on in 1980 with the Cleveland Browns as defensive coordinator where he established a smash mouth defense. In 1984, he’d get his chance as head coach, when Sam Rutigliano was fired midway through the season. He’d then be the face of the Browns for the next 4 seasons through 1988. The Browns would experience a consistent slate of respect and success during the Schottenheimer era. He’d also establish what is commonly referred to as ‘Marty Ball’ and the team would lose two heartbreaking games in the playoffs, known as ‘The Drive’ and ‘the Fumble’. With the reemergence of the Oilers in 1988 as playoff contenders, the Browns hosted them in the first round of the playoffs. Although favored to win, the Browns lost by a point. After the season was over Marty was fired, which angered many fans. His legacy with the team over 4 seasons was a large one, as he finished with a 44-27 record and a 2-4 mark in the playoffs. The Browns also advanced to the deepest levels of the NFL playoffs since before the AFL merger under his guidance.

Schottenheimer was not on the market for long. He’d head over to the Kansas City Chiefs to coach there for the next 10 seasons turning the team from a laughing stock into playoff contender in the span of 2 seasons. He’d win over 100 games with the franchise and the Chiefs would make the AFC Championship game in 1993. The Chiefs won the division 3 times and made 7 playoff appearances over 10 seasons. After quitting due to a disappointing 1998 season, Marty served as an analyst for ESPN for a season or two, and then was hired to be coach of the Washington Redskins in 2001.

Sights were high for the capital city after Schottenheimer came to town that year and the media circus quickly circled Marty. With Deion Sanders ducking out the back door and quickly announcing his retirement to get away from Marty, controversy erupted. Schottenheimer installed his brand of Martyball and the team was off to a slow start out of the gate losing its first 5 games. The media portrayed Marty as being outdated and out of touch with the current league, both with players and in offensive philosophy. The Redskins would respond by winning their next 5 games- (a first in NFL history) and narrowly missed the playoffs at 8-8 . In fighting between Schottenheimer and owner Daniel Snyder,  led to Marty’s dismissal after one season.

Marty was quickly named coach of the San Diego Chargers, where he’d guide the team to two playoff appearances and named coach of the year in 2004. Despite posting a 14-2 record in the latter season he was fired. -The first coach to be fired after securing the home field advantage through the playoffs. The reason for his dumping ranged from the fact that he had a 0-2 playoff record with San Diego, to charges of nepotism as he brought on more of his family on board as coaches. A public fight between the Chargers and Deion Sanders didn’t help either, when Sanders announced his ‘unretirement’ to come back to the league to play for the cross state Raiders, Schottenheimer quickly nabbed his rights before the Raiders. Sanders tore the team for its archaic practices and swore never to play for the team. In the end, the Bolts continued to hold Sanders’ rights throughout the season. Anyway regardless of it all, Schottenheimer was fired in what was considered without cause and still collected his salary for the next season, which damned the franchise even more.

Marty was rehired to be an analyst by ESPN where he did an excellent job for the network. After the Jets victory in the 2009 playoffs last season over heavily favored San Diego Chargers, coached by Marty’s replacement, he received a game ball in the mail from the team. (His son coaches for the Jets and Rex Ryan felt his firing was an injustice to the game.) I really lobbied hard and hoped the Texans would hire Schottenheimer after they released Dom Capers, but they went with Gary Kubiak instead.

Marty wanted to return to coaching and was rumored to have been in line for the Buffalo Bills job in 2010, but the team went in a different direction. In 2011, Marty Schottenheimer created quite a buzz when he signed to coach with the Virginia Destroyers of the UFL. He won the UFL championship later that year, and as the league collapsed, he opted to retire.

I got Marty’s autograph after the 1992 season through the mail in a few week’s time.

Games 327     Wins 200     Losses 126     Ties  1       Pct .613%

UPDATE 2/9/21- Marty Schottenheimer has passed away from Alzheimer’s disease.

Schottenheimer’s greatest legacy besides the sheer number of victories is the impact of his coaching tree. A Lou Saban apostle, Schottenheimer has many notable coaches that have been under his wing including: Marvin Lewis, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy. Marty Schottenheimer is the winningest coach in the NFL (retired), not to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with 14 winning seasons in a 21 year career.