Jamie Morris is one of the smallest players to play runningback in the NFL. At a mere 5’7″, 188 he towered over opponents toting the rock for the Michigan Wolverines. He had 3 straight 1,000 yard seasons for Ann Arbor, culminating in his Senior campaign in 1987 when he had 282 carries for 1703 yards and 14 TDs. He finished his college career as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 806 carries for 4392 yards, 25 TDs and 99 receptions (also a school record) for 756 yards and 3 TDs. Jamie was selected in the 4th round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.
Jamie made it onto the regular season roster of the Redskins, where he was designated primarily as a kick returner. Still over the course of the 16 game schedule, Morris managed to put together 126 carries for 437 yards and 2 TDs. He also returned 21 kicks for 413 yards. Jamie is perhaps best remembered by Redskins faithful as the back who set the NFL record with 45 carries (152 yards) in a 20-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in 1988. It should be noted that over his short but notable NFL career, Jamie posted a 38 carry game and a 26 carry game in 1989 as well.
Morris signed with the New England Patriots in 1990 where he served primarily as a kick returner. He finished with 11 returns for 202 yards and 2 carries for 4 yards. Afterwards Jamie joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL in 1991. He had a career high 591 yards rushing, 263 yards receiving, and 435 kick return yards.
Jamie lives in Michigan and is involved deeply with his Alma Mater. I tried writing him a few years ago care of Michigan when he was working for the Athletic Department as a development manager but had no luck. Recently some successes popped up of him through the radio station where he hosts a show talking all things Wolverines- so I decided to give him another shot on these two awesome cards. Although I was happy to finally knock this retry reply off my list, I was pained to see he knew enough about Action Packed that he should sign the card in the autograph slot on the back of the card. It is truly a beautiful card however.
Action Packed did sort of a test run in 1989 with the big two titans (ProSet and Score), but got lost in the mix. The only difference between the lesser known 89 and 90 releases is that the marquee was colored on the front of the card. The 1990 set even reused some of the photos from the previous year.
Dontez Ford started his college football career at Syracuse where he was initially classified as a free safety. After a year there, he transferred to Pitt in 2014. Injuries limited his experience at wide receiver, but in 2015 he had a solid year playing in all 12 games posting 26 receptions for 505 yards and 2 TDs. Over his college career he recorded 46 receptions for 843 yards and 5 TDs.
Dontez did not get drafted in 2016, but later signed a futures contract on January 1st, 2018 with the Detroit Lions. After being cut in September he joined the AAFSan Diego Fleet. He immediately asserted himself in the offense during the Fleet’s preseason contest against Orlando when Dontez caught 11 of 11 targets for 114 yards and a TD.
Dontez provided to be the big play weapon that the offense needed to stretch defenses at the X position. Paired alongside Nelson Spruce, Dontez and Nelson both ranked inside the top 10 in receiving. – The only pair in the league to do so. Ford set league marks in his final game (WK 6- BIR) – catching 3 passes for 182 yards, and being immortalized in his own Topps NOW AAF card. His destruction of the Iron would have only been more complete if he hadn’t injured his ankle during the 3rd quarter of the game.
“Dontez is that guy, like Torry Holt, that guy at the X position that we could choreograph plays just for him. That normal play can turn into a huge play and he demonstrated that. He made so many really big plays for us tonight. It was just unfortunate that he couldn’t stay in. But that’s who he is. He’s going to have a heck of a career in the NFL. He’s top notch, no question.”
– Mike Martz San Diego Fleet Head Coach
Unfortunately the ankle injury sidelined Dontez the remainder of the AAF season- and without him in the lineup, the Fleet lost to Birmingham and sunk their last 2 games. Dontez caught 15 of 28 targets for 435 yards and a TD in 6 games.
Ford’s numbers are very interesting to study. In his week 5 contest against Salt Lake City– he did all his damage catching long bomb passes. In his complete evisceration of the Birmingham defense, Dontez zigged and zagged 122 of 182 yards after the catch- on 3 catches.
His rehab stretched into the ‘off season’, and he was not present for the XFL combines, however I would think based off of his production he will make a welcome addition to any of the new teams or back to the NFL.
I had bought Dontez’s Topps Certified card off of Ebay for 4 bucks and then a few days later Mark (Mark’s Signing Bonus) contacted me and told me that Dontez signed a card for him and threw in an extra! I went onto EBay immediately and got Ford’s Topps Now AAF card for super cheap and then sent his base card, Future Stars, and the Topps Now card out. Ford responded lightening fast to my request and threw in at first what I thought was another Certified autograph card.
However, if you look closely at the left card (Player issue) versus the right card (Topps Certified), there are some subtle differences. First, the left one on the front does not have the gradient fade that the right card has above the team logo. Second, the left card just above the marquee, has the words ‘PLAYER ISSUE’ on it. The right one says ‘TOPPS CERTIFIED AUTOGRAPH’. Finally on the back of the cards the word Autograph and the autograph witnessing blurb on the back is not present on the Player issue card.
It should be assumed then that the players were handed these cards after signing their own for whatever purposes that they wanted- and that they are initially unsigned. I’m glad that I recognized the differences between the two, as I suspect once the market bottoms out and then the certified stock disappears over the years, that more of the Player Issue cards will slip into the secondary market. At this time I am unsure as to which cards- if either- will hold any value.
Despite playing alongside future defensive hall of famer Bruce Smith at Virginia Tech, linebacker Mike Johnson ended up in the upstart USFL playing for the Philadelphia Stars (1984) and the Baltimore Stars (1985). NFL teams took notice, and after finishing a stellar career in the USFL, Mike was selected in the USFL player dispersal draft with the 19th pick. Mike joined a host of other USFL castaways (Mack, Minnefield, and McNeil) on the Browns, helping solidify the nucleus of a powerful playoff opponent.
Johnson was a rare talent. A versatile, durable inside linebacker, who could cover runningbacks and tight ends in the flat in Cleveland’s defensive alignment. Mike earned two Pro Bowl appearances in 1989 and 1990 both as a middle linebacker. During the 1990 season he’d record a 64 yard interception return against the Chargers (Billy Joe Tolliver). In 7 of his 10 years in the NFL, Mike recorded over 100 tackles, and 6 of those, he’d manage over 130. Johnson’s best season came in 1993 when he pulled down 181 ball carriers.
In 1994 Mike was allowed to depart for Detroit where he finished his career in 1995. Rejuvenated, he’d start 32 of 32 games and have 250 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, and 3 interceptions for 71 yards and a TD.
Mike Johnson is the Browns 1980s TTM version of Ernest Givins!
-Deadhorse
A sure friend to the TTM community, Mike’s responses are of legend. He takes the time to respond to letters that ask questions, signs everything and includes extras. I only dropped 4 cards in, but he included an extra two for my trouble, giving me an extra signed ProSet 1990 and including the Fleer Ultra 1991 card.
I was surprised that I couldn’t find Mike’s Pro Bowl 1990 card, but whatever- I was still happy to get this bevvy of cards signed. Both his Score cards and his ProSet base cards are very nice action images. His Fleer Ultra 1991 leaves a lot to be desired. I really hated this set from a design standpoint. It was just lazy, and his silhouette is partially obscured by a Bills player’s butt. Action Packed took what they could get sometimes, even if the action shot was from behind (as is the case with Johnny Holland and Mark Carrier’s (S) cards- respectively). I wasn’t really a fan of it, but since I had gotten this card in every other pack of Action Packed that I first bought for a while there, it made sense to send one up to see if I could get it autographed.
USFL
TAC
SAC
FUM
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
N/A
5.5
N/A
2
29
14.5
1
N/A
NFL
TAC
SAC
FUM
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
NFL
144/125
1224
14.5
26
13
217
16.6
2
64t
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
