Tag Archives: st louis battlehawks

NFL, XFL

Heinicke, Taylor (2)

Panini Prestige 2015, #288
Topps XFL 2020, #1
Sage 2015, #34

CARDS: Topps XFL 2020, Sage 2015, Panini Prestige 2015
ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o The Washington Commanders
SENT: 8/22/22 RECEIVED: 4/1/23 (222 days)
FAILURE: TTM 2020, C/o The Washington Football Club

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

NOTES:

No clue as to why I didn’t get the cards I sent out in 2020 back from Taylor. He was signing at a really good click and I guess that’s the luck of the draw right? I reloaded and waited until a better time- which appeared in 2022. He became sort of a folk hero for the Commanders over the last few years, but the team opted not to resign him after the ’22 season, so he packed his bags and headed out for Atlanta. I figured these cards were lost as well but eventually they made their way back to me.

Taylor has seen stops with the Texans, Panthers and Washington since his time as a rookie in Minnesota. In 2020 he joined the XFL and was widely expected to be a star in the young league, but got beat to the punch by Jordan Ta’Amu. Despite not seeing almost any playing time in the XFL 20, Taylor is considered one of the more ‘famous’ success stories of that league.

AAF, XFL

Davis, Connor

Card: Topps AAF 2019
Acquired: 2019, EBay

Connor Davis hails from Stony Brook. At 6’7″, 275, the tight end towers over other defenders, but he played all over the place during his time with the Seawolves, playing defensive line, offensive tackle… and tight end. He bulked up and turned some heads at mini camps with the Giants, but did not make the squad. The Alliance of American Football liked his athletic skill set in tryouts and thought he’d make a great fit for the league, so Davis was signed by the Birmingham Iron. Connor played in two games, starting one, and had 3 catches for 9 yards on 5 targets- before he was injured and his season ended on IR.

Connor’s football journey continued as he was selected by the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL.

AAF, NFL, XFL

James II, Charles (2) ‘Socks’

Acquired: IP 2020, Houston Roughnecks Season Ticket Holders Kickoff Party
See Also: Charles James

Charles James has continued to stay busy as a defensive back playing football and keeping the dream alive since his last stop in Houston going back to 2016. He joined the Colts for a game in 2016 and then spent the 2017 off-season with the Bills and the Jaguars.

After a year out of football, Charles found a home in the Spring league of the Alliance of American Football (2019). Charles was the old vet in a very young secondary, for the Memphis Express, posting 18 tackles and 5 pass deflections. In the final contest against the Orlando Apollos, Charles had his best game with 6 tackles and 4 pass deflections- as the Express almost upset Orlando, but lost in the closing seconds.

Charles next joined the XFL for the 2020 season originally with the St. Louis Battlehawks. He’d be traded to the Houston Roughnecks before the season, and added to an already capable secondary. In 4 contests Socks had 7 combined tackles and a pass deflection, before the league was ended by COVID.

James as a defensive back by nature is skilled in the art of smack talk, and with the XFL being very upfront and personal with sideline interviews you know they were bound to catch some quality audio from James, and indeed they did.

During the league’s week 4 contest against the Dallas Renegades- Renegades QB Landry Jones had a particularly poor game, throwing 3 interceptions in the first half. As the camera rolled on the sidelines, Socks blurted out to the camera crew, “Get that quarterback the f*** outta here!”

I met James at the Roughneck’s Season Ticket Holder Party. He was very grateful to sign autographs and meet fans, and he very much enjoyed his short time in the AAF.

I lobbied hard to get Charles an official football card from Topps, but surprisingly he was neither included in the AAF or the XFL card sets. About a year after the AAF folded I went ahead and designed Charles his card out based on the above shot he signed. Looking back I wish I had thought of doing this sooner, as I am sure he would have appreciated this card.