Lawrence Dawsey played WR for Florida State from 1987-90.
Saw marked improvement every year in catches and yards playing for the Seminoles.
In his Senior year Dawsey posted 65 receptions for 999 yards and 7 TDs.
A 3rd round selection of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1991, Dawsey didn’t even start until Week 7 of the season.
He’d post 44 receptions after that point, including an 8 catch 100 yard (TD) effort against the Dolphins in week 13.
Finished rookie season with a career high 818 yards, 14.9 yards per reception, and 3 TDs (55 catches).
In ’92 Dawsey posted a career high 60 receptions (776 yards and a TD).
He’d play the next 3 seasons for the Bucs, finishing his career in Tampa with 2842 yards and 206 receptions (5 TD).
Joined the Giants for a season in 1996 starting 4 contests catching 18 passes for 233 yards.
Signed with the Dolphins in ’97 but saw no playing time with Miami.
After a year away from the sport in ’98, Lawrence played one final season in ’99 for the Saints, catching 16 passes for 196 yards and a TD.
In 2004 entered the college coaching ranks where he’s been a positional coach.
As of 2022, works as a WR coach at Appalachian St.
ACCOLADES:
1991 Offensive Rookie of the Year
Skybox Premium 1993, #179
NOTES:
Lawrence had been a white whale I’d been after for a while and I’d previously failed on two other occasions. I kept reloading in the hopes I could get his autograph on some cards and finally lucked out. Dawsey had an odd career trajectory in the pros. Over his 8 year career he caught 6 TDs on 240 receptions- with 3 of them coming in his rookie season.
Ernie Mills played WR for the Florida Gators from 1987-90.
Posted 81 receptions for 1585 yards, a whopping 19.6 yards per reception, and 15 TDs over 4 years in Gainesville.
Best year for the Gators came in his Senior year, when he had 41 receptions for 770 yards and 10 TDs.
Originally started as a DB but quickly transitioned to WR, hauling in his first career reception of 49 yards from Florida QB legend Kerwin Bell.
Selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 3rd round of the 1991 NFL Draft.
Mills spent his time on special teams and started two games at WR his rookie year.
He’d finish first in special teams tackles, and scored his first TD on a punt that hit the opposing team’s blocking back. (See Eugene Lockhart)
But things never really materialized for Ernie in Pittsburgh, who had a nascent passing attack, and he was battling for a roster spot with other fresh WRs, Chris Calloway and Jeff Graham.
He had his best season in Pittsburgh in 1995, catching 39 passes for 679 yards and 8 TDs.
It was a titanic year actually for Ernie as he quietly put up 2,024 all-purpose yards, including 1,304 on kick returns.
He’d be injured during Super Bowl XXX, tearing his ACL and being lost for most of the following 1996 campaign.
In 1997, Ernie signed with the Carolina Panthers and played one season for them.
The final two years of his career were spent in Dallas, as a key roleplayer for the Dallas Cowboys under head coach Chan Gailey, whom he’d played for previously in Pittsbugh.
Mills was oft injured, but still managed to post solid numbers as a reliable #3 option behind Michael Irvin and Rocket Ismail.
After a brief hiatus from the sport, Mills was spotted at Jacksonville University coaching WRs with his former college QB Kerwin Bell, holding the position from 2007-2012.
Then he coached WRs at Florida A&M from 2013-2015.
Star Pics 1991, #66Action Packed Rookies 1991, #58
NOTES:
Well, there’s Ernie Mills, with an incredibly long orbital trajectory. I had given up on Ernie basically on two separate occasions, but after noticing a few successes, I figured the one for 2021 was in the works to return to me. After some patient waiting, it indeed finally came through, and I added the Action Packed Rookies 1991 card finally to my collection.
Ernie frustrated me as he tended to sign in spurts, sometimes responding to people immediately, while on other occasions-such as mine, languished in wait. I was pretty happy to get the entry sent out in 2021 back early in 2022, but lo and behold, some 8 months after that, the original entry I sent from 2017, also arrived, rocketing up the longest wait charts officially to #5, at a cool 1806 days.
I don’t talk about Pacific 1991 enough right? To me the set was a bold design choice, but quite laughable. For some reason, it just stood out as being… simplistic, with the gradient and the 1970s style typeface. The back was again bold, but a bit wild, as the entire canvas of information was set at a 45 degree angle! I thought that the photo on this Pacific card really nailed it, so I thought it’d make a nice card to get autographed.
With these cards, I can firmly close the door on Ernie. I love his autograph. Well worth the wait and very original. A strong ‘E’, ‘M’, and ‘S’ punctuate his unique signature with great stroke, pen pressure, and placement.
CARDS: Pro Set 1991, Action Packed Rookies 1991, Star Pics 1991 ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, C/o Home* SENT: 7/13 RECEIVED: 7/28 (15 days) * Fee enclosed
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Played FB for Michigan, rushing for 1346 yards on 311 carries, scoring 8 TDs, while catching 30 passes.
At 6’2″, 250, 4.5 40- was considered one of the strongest, biggest, and fastest fullbacks to enter the NFL Draft in 1991.
Selected at #27 overall by the New York Giants, who were looking to go younger in a rapidly aging backfield, and wanting to add a compliment to RB Rodney Hampton.
Saw extremely limited action rookie season, contributing 6 tackles and a blocked punt on special teams.
Had best season as a pro rushing for over 500 yards in 1992, while blocking for Hampton who had over 1,000.
Yards per carry was 3rd among runners (4.8) with 500 yards or more that season.
Injuries and a focus more on an H-back offense, resulted in decreased playing time in 1993.
Missed most of camp in 1994, and pulled a hamstring shortly thereafter, prompting release.
Signed by Raiders as an injury replacement for Napoleon McCallum playing in 3 games.
Retired in 1995 and has continued to stay active in coaching, martial arts, and acting.
Pro Set 1991, #756Star Pics 1991, #59
NOTES:
With a few cards that I wanted to get signed, I found Jarrod through Facebook who signs for a nominal fee.
RUSH
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
138
629
4.6
5
37
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
26
156
6.0
2
15
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
