Tag Archives: ultimate wlaf 1992

NFL, WLAF

Barnes, Lew ‘Little Lew’

Cards: Ultimate WLAF 1992, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 8/9   Received: 9/9  (30 days)

Lew Barnes was an Oregon Duck during his college days from 1983 to 1985. A consistent receiver with blazing speed, Barnes posted 117 receptions for 2048 yards, a 17.5 yards per reception average, and 18 TDs over his time in Eugene. Lew is notable, as he was the only Oregon All-American named on offense between 1971 and 2007.  At the time of his graduation Barnes was the Ducks all-time leading receiver.  He was drafted in the 5th round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.

The Bears, well, they were hard on their receivers and the Super Bowl Champions were through and through a running team. Lew faced an uphill battle making the squad, but was fortunate. As starting return man Dennis McKinnon underwent his 3rd knee operation- the Bears needed a punt return man and it just so happened that Barnes fit the bill. Lewis made the best of his single season in Chicago. He led the league with 57 punt returns (482 yards), and returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD.  Barnes broke his left leg during the preseason in 1987 and spent the entire year on IR. The following year in 1988, he got cut during the preseason- only a few days after a 97 yard kickoff return TD got called back over a questionable illegal block against the Cowboys. While the Bears really liked Barnes, he got caught in a numbers game, especially with rookie wide receiver 1st round pick Wendell Davis in camp.

Barnes quickly landed a job with the Falcons, reuniting him with former Duck QB Chris Miller. He’d play in 13 games, and post solid numbers again on punt returns, with 34 for 307 yards, including a 68 yarder, but not see any time at receiver.  He’d then play 2 games in 1989 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Lew decided to play for the WLAF in 1992.  He’d be selected by the Frankfurt Galaxy.  During his lone season with the franchise, Lew led the team in yards from scrimmage. He’d be 3rd in receptions with 24, but second in yards with 402 and a guady 16.7 YPC. Lew also was counted on for special teams duty, posting 198 yards on 10 kick returns, and 46 yards on 11 punt returns. He’d help the franchise win the division and reach the playoffs for the first time in history, before the league went on hiatus.

Lew had two spectacular action shots from Ultimate and Wild Card. Being that the Galaxy did not play ever in San Antonio, I never was even able to attempt to get any members of the franchise. With his place in Oregon and NFL history, I thought Lew would be easier to locate, but nobody had a whiff of him at all. It took me quite a few years, but after cross referencing a lot of data on Spokeo, I was able to find an address I was confident in and take a shot. He responded and wrote me a very nice note. With excellent cursive penmanship, he thanked me for writing him, and told me that he too had a great-great relative in his past that had my full name, and we could possibly be… related? Small world!

NFL 16/0     REC 4           YDS 54      AVG 13.5     TD 0    LG 14
KR   9       YDS 236        AVG 26.2      TD 1      LG 85t
PR 93      YDS 830        AVG 8.9         TD 0      LG 68

WLAF  REC 24   YDS  402  AVG 16.7    TD 3    LG 86t
KR  10     YDS   198       AVG 19.8      TD 0     LG 33
PR  11     YDS  46           AVG 4.1          TD 0    LG 12

NFL, WLAF

Williams, Ronnie

Cards: Wild Card WLAF 1992, Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 8/4   Received:  9/8   (35 days)
*donation enclosed

Ronnie Williams played college ball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys from 1984-1987.  Originally a quarterback, he’d be converted to wide receiver by his senior year.  Over his time at OSU Ronnie completed 264 of 349 passes, and as a Senior caught 26 passes for 304 yards and 2 TDs.

He’d sign with the San Diego Chargers as a free agent in 1988. After not being able to latch on with a team over the next few seasons, Ronnie decided to give the WLAF a shot.

Ronnie was selected in the first round of the WLAF positional draft in 1991 by the San Antonio Riders. The Riders loved the tools that Ronnie had to work with, and as the team’s offense matured, featured Williams frequently split out as a wide out to expose defensive mismatches. He’d lead the team in receptions with 30 catches, and 4th in 321 yards.  In 1992 Ronnie had 20 receptions for 216 yards and 4 TDs.  Although the Riders finished with a 7-3 record, they were left looking in on the playoffs. During the ‘Do or Die’ game against the Sacramento Surge, Ronnie caught a short TD during the second quarter.

Like the rest of the WLAF, the Riders were dissolved with the league after the season concluded. Ronnie is notable as he is the franchise’s career leader in receptions with 50.

Ronnie became one of the WLAF success stories. After the 1992 season, he signed with the Miami Dolphins.  He didn’t see the field in 1993 and was primarily used as a 3rd TE and blocker by the Dolphins over his career.  Perhaps his most memorable moment was catching his first professional TD pass, a 1 yard sneaky grab from Dan Marino during the 1994 playoffs in a win over the Chiefs (27-17). He played for the team through 1995, joining the Seattle Seahawks in 1996.  Ronnie caught his only regular season TD from Rick Mirer that year. After the season he’d retire.

Ronnie had two amazing WLAF cards that were not widely available until after the 1992 season, and I always wanted to get them signed. Plus he was a Rider. I had just barely missed him on two or three occasions, but finally got a hold of him.  I agreed to send a donation to his kids program and updated him on the status of many of his teammates.

WLAF      REC  50         YDS  537     AVG   10.7     TD  4
NFL  55/5         REC  10                 YDS   79             AVG  7.9        TD 1

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Kirksey, William


Cards: Wild Card WLAF 1992, Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent:  2/25      Received:  3/4  (7 days)

William Kirksey played collegiality for Southern Mississippi where he first gained recognition during the 1988 Independence Bowl.  He led the team with 12 total tackles as the Golden Eagles sliced the UTEP Miners 38-18.  The following year he was a team captain of the defense and led them with 146 total tackles.  During that season he set the school single game mark for total tackles (21) and assisted tackles (19) against Louisiana-Lafayette.  At the conclusion of the year Kirksey was named Second Team All-South Independent.

He went unnoticed in the 1990 NFL draft, but was signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Vikings, dressing for 9 contests.  Near the end of the year, he was signed to the Falcons practice squad.

William was selected in the 3rd round of the WLAF draft in 1992 by the London Monarchs. Despite the team’s woes in the standings, William had a solid campaign, recording a sack, and returning an interception 27 yards to paydirt. After the season, William signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, but was placed on IR before the season even began. In 1995, he played briefly in the CFLUSA initiative with the Birmingham Barracudas notching 2 tackles.  After playing for the Montreal Alouettes in 1996, William retired from playing and went into coaching.

He’s coached at the High School and JC level for many years, as a defensive coordinator,  positional coach, and recruiting coordinator. I had been looking for Kirksey for sometime and had some near misses. Finally I decided to pay to play with Spokeo, and with the data I had already on his football cards, I was able to track down a working address.

WLAF     TAC N/a       SAC 1.0      FUM 0
INT 1       YDS 24        AVG 24.0     TD 1       LG 24T

NFL   9/0     TAC N/A    SAC 0.0      FUM 0
INT 0            YDS 0          AVG -.-      TD 0         LG -.-

CFL         TAC 2          SAC 0.0       FUM 0
INT  0     YDS 0         AVG -.-         TD 0             LG -.-