Tag Archives: St. Louis Rams

NFL, WLAF

Valerio, Joe

Cards: StarPics 1991, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o www.joe73.com
Sent: 8/27/10    Received: 8/18/11  (356 days)

Originally selected by the Chiefs in the 2nd round of the 1991 draft along with Harvey Williams (1st) and Tim Barnett (3rd) Joe Valerio was a small school product out of Pennsylvania that made waves at the combine with his 6-5, 292 frame. A two time NCAA I-AA All-American he’d be allocated by the Chiefs to the WLAF for the 1992 season.

The Chiefs -pleased with the progress of linebacker Tracy Simien, felt that Joe would be a good fit in the World League. He’d get valuable starting time with the Birmingham Fire, under head coach Chan Gailey, blocking for quarterback Mike Norseth and runningback Elroy Harris that season as the team made the playoffs with a 7-2-1 record. After the league was reorganized in 1992 he’d return to the Chiefs and start 3 games that season.  Valerio would remain on the line of the Chiefs as a valuable back up through 1995, before signing with the St. Louis Rams in 1996, and retiring after that season. Throughout his career he’d play every position on the offensive line, including tight end.  He’d also make 4 receptions for 7 yards and 4 touchdowns on tackle eligible plays for the Chiefs, (-all from Joe Montana which is the most that Montana threw to any lineman).

Since then Joe has gone into motivational speaking through Gridiron Concepts. He’s also a manager for Wells Fargo, coaches, and works avidly on his foundation. A popular member of the Kansas City Chiefs, Valerio also did radio and tv for a stint. I sent off for his autograph through his website at joe73.com last year, and gave up after about 6 months, so I was really pleased to open up an envelope and find these two cards autographed for me, in just a shade under a year.

NFL

Miller, Chris (2)

Cards: Action Packed 1990, Score 1990, ProSet 1989, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o The Arizona Cardinals
Sent: 7/5  Received: 8/2   (26 days)
See also: Chris Miller

I got Chris’ autograph way back in 1993 at the CGA Youth Golf Tournament when he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons. I noticed that he was now on the staff of the Arizona Cardinals as their quarterbacks coach, and wanted to add him to my collection on a few more cards.   After I had recent success with former Falcons runningback John Settle, I decided to give Miller another shot after all these years, where he graciously signed all 4 of these cards for me in 26 days.

Really pleased with these 4 cards. They actually represent a good sampling of my favorite cards to collect during that time period, with Fleer, ProSet, Action Packed, and Score. I loved this classic 80s look of the Falcons, and miss this rich red color that they used back then. All of these cards had excellent action shots of Chris, with the Action Packed and Score cards really standing out with their dynamic poses. Design wise as you can see, near the end of the 80s nearly all the brands were framing all of their players in around all sides with a border. Fleer would become one of the first brands to ‘break the border’ as you can see with Chris’ helmet on his Fleer 1990 card.

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Garrett, Judd

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 Cards: ProSet WLAF 1991, Ultimate WLAF 1992, ProSet WLAF 1991 LL, ProSet WLAF 1991 WB, Ultimate WLAF 1992 LL, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: In Person 1993, TTM 2011, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp, C/o The Dallas Cowboys
Sent: 8/13  Received: 8/20  (7 days)
Failure: 2010, C/o The Dallas Cowboys

The Garrett family has a long lineage of players who have made it to the professional level. Father Jim, and brothers Jason and John have all played or coached in the NFL or WLAF.

Judd Garrett was drafted in the 12th round of the 1990 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He’d be released, but quickly placed on Dallas’ IR list. The WLAF London Monarchs would draft Judd to play runningback for the team in 1991.  While Garrett would spend very little of his time rushing the ball, he’d be an exceptional receiver out of the backfield, making a league high 71 receptions in 1991. In World Bowl I, he’d set a World League record with 13 receptions during the game. He’d return to the Monarchs in 1992, and while the team sunk, Judd would still amass 55 more receptions, finishing his brief career as the WLAF’s leading receiver with 126 catches.  He’s also notable as being the first points scored in the WLAF as he was stuffed in the endzone by the Frankfurt Galaxy for a safety.

ult92 jugarrettAfter playing for the WLAF he’d sign with the Cowboys again. I’d get his autograph at camp but he’d not make the squad. Garrett would play in the CFL for two seasons after that with the Las Vegas Posse (1994) and the San Antonio Texans (1995) before his playing career ended.

Judd went into coaching where he’s served with the Saints (1997-1999), Dolphins (2000-2005), Rams (2006-2007) and is currently serving in the front office of the Cowboys along with his brothers Jason and John.  I attempted to get the autographs of all 3 earlier this year, but met with no success.  I sent again just to Judd in early August and was happy to get a seven day turn around plus a very nice thank-you letter for being a fan and for following him and the league.

G/Gs N/a     Rush  28         Yds    78         Avg  2.8     Td 0    Lg 15   |
Rec  126     Yds  1129    Avg 9.0   Td 2    Lg 47