Tag Archives: tampa bay storm

Arena, CFL, NFL, NFLE, WLAF

Ervin, Corris

Cards: ProSet WLAF Helmet Card 1991, ProSet 1991, ProSet WLAF 1991
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o work.
Sent: 10/15  Received: 10/26 (11 days)

Corris Ervin would be an outstanding defensive back for the Central Florida Knights- being so good as to be drafted by the Denver Broncos with their 5th round pick in the 1988 draft. Ervin would spend time on the San Fransisco 49ers developmental squad in 1989 and would walk by me a few times in Dallas Cowboys Training camp in 1990. In 1991, the London Monarchs would draft Corris first in the WLAF positional draft for the defensive secondary. He’d form a cornerstone of the Monarchs #1 defense and secondary, helping the team win the World Bowl in 1991. After winning All-World League honors, he’d return to the states after the 1991 season, but in 1995 decided to take another shot- this time with the NFLE playing for the Scottish Claymores. Corris would make another 2 interceptions playing for the team and return back to the United States to play in the CFL for the Baltimore Stallions and in Canada with the Blue Bombers. In 1996 Ervin would go to the Arena Football league playing for both the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators that year. He’d hang onto the roster of the Predators through 1999 where he was then traded to the Florida Bobcats, retiring after the season. Corris would also make an appearance as a defensive back in the movie “The Waterboy”. I started trying to track down players through social network sites and quickly found Corris after I was able to acquire teammate Howard Feggins. He kindly signed 3 cards for me and currently runs his own cabinetry business out of the Orlando area. Below are his statistics from the London Monarchs in 1991.

G/Gs  10/10   Tac  37  Sac 0  Fum n/a    Int 2   Yds 13  Avg 6.5  Td 0  lg 13

Arena, NFL

Lyles, Robert

Cards: Proset 1989, Score 1990
Acquired: TTM 2010, C/o (Army Black Knights [Westpoint])
Sent:   4/3     Received: 5/7  (34 days)

In 1984 the long suffering Houston Oilers franchise drafted linebacker Robert Lyles out of TCU in the 5th round of the common draft. Over 20 linebackers were taken before undersized Lyles came off the board, including fellow linebackers Johnny Meads and John Grimsley. The Oilers aggressively were trying to address their defensive issues, and spent a whopping 10 choices on defense in the draft on that side of the ball. Lyles would be tutored at OLB by new defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville, and by 1985, the speedy linebacker secured the starting job despite being considered undersized for the job (6″-1′, 226). Over that time Lyles would display soft hands and strong coverage ability recording an interception or fumble in 6 straight seasons and in 1989 he’d record a career high 4 picks. A tough nosed player, the media could always count on Robert to fire the team up or have a quotable line. It was during the Oilers’ rise back to the playoffs, where Robert Lyles playing on special teams laid out an opposing player on the turf in furious fashion. The player laid on the turf motionless and Lyles was quoted as saying, “Welcome to the House of Pain!”  The name stuck and the Oilers kept it as part of their way of intimidating opponents and playing mind games with them.  Jerry Glanville over this period would climb into the head coaching seat of the Houston Oilers franchise, but at the end of the 1989 season resigned under fire after losing early in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With a new head coach in place, and a new defensive system being used (4-3), Lyles would be released by the team, but would quickly be retained by the Jerry Glanville and the Atlanta Falcons, where Robert would finish his career after the 1991 season.

After Robert’s departure from the NFL, he took up coaching and by 1994 was in the Arena Football League coaching with both the Tampa Bay Storm and the Memphis Pharaohs for a year a piece as a positional coach. In 1996, he became the Portland Forest Dragons’ defensive coordinator- a job Lyles would hold for two seasons until he’d take up the same job with the Los Angeles Avengers in 1999. He’d serve as interim head coach for 11 games in 2001, guiding the team to a 5-6 record. The team would respond by leading the AFL in variety of defensive categories. He’d then be named head coach of the Georgia Force, and then later defensive coordinator of the Grand Rapids Rampage for 2004 and 2005. Lyles would join the Black Knights staff in 2007 and has moved up to linebackers coach, where he has brought an intense and aggressive style to the double eagle flex style defense.

G/Gs 109/100    Tac  N/a    Sac 10      Fum 8     Int 10   Yds 111   Avg 11.1   Td 0    lg  48

Arena, NFL, WLAF

Walker, Wayne

Card: Topps 1990
Acquired: In Person 1992, San Antonio Riders v Ohio Glory
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

Fleet wide receiver Wayne Walker was a free agent pick up from Texas Tech by the San Diego Chargers in 1989. At only 5-8, 162, Walker was nicknamed “bug” by his teammates. He hauled in 24 receptions for 395 yards and a touchdown his rookie season. Wayne’s yards per catch were a strong 16.5 average and he’d put in some time returning punts as well.

In 1992 Wayne would resurface with the San Antonio Riders of the WLAF. He would finish #3 on the team in receptions (26) and yards (294), which was pretty decent considering the team was a ground based offense. In 1997 Wayne would sign with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena League where he’d play for 3 seasons grabbing 84 receptions for 1307 yards and 19 touchdowns. He’d double as a backup return man as well for them during this period and then retire outside of Waco.

I’d get Wayne’s autograph after the infamous game between the Riders and Glory where a hailstorm came up and we all hid underneath the bleachers for half an hour. I recently came across a Wild Card WLAF card of him for the Riders and sent it to him in Waco hoping to get his autograph in 2010 but have not heard back from him. Following are his stats from his WLAF year with the Riders:

Games 10   Rec 26    Yds  294     Avg 11.4         Td 1      Lg 26