Ultimate 1992, #89Ultimate 1992, #76Wild Card World League 1992, #5
CARDS: Wild Card World League 1992, Ultimate WL 1992 ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home SENT: 7/29 RECEIVED: 8/12 (14 days) FAILURE: TTM 2015, C/o Work
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Emanuel King played college football at the University of Alabama from 1981-84.
A tweener ahead of his time, Emanuel could play DE or OLB, garnering 53 tackles and 5 sacks in his senior season for the Crimson Tide.
A first round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in ’85, and also a first round pick of the Birmingham Stallions of the rival USFL.
He opted to play for the Bengals, and in ’86 led the team with 9 sacks.
In 1987, King started 12 games and had 4 sacks.
Shortly before the 1988 season, he was suspended and replaced in the lineup by Leon White.
In 1989, King signed with the Raiders, dressing for 3 contests.
After some time away from the sport, Emanuel resurfaced with the World League in 1992, playing right defensive end for the Montreal Machine.
On the season he’d rack up 4.5 sacks in the Machine’s 3-4 alignment.
With the WL going on hiatus after the 92 season, King joined the Sacramento Gold Miners of the CFLUSA invasion.
He’d finish his career with Sacramento, playing in 5 contests, posting 4 tackles and 2 sacks.
Returned to Alabama and went into high school coaching.
NOTES:
I had lucked out on Emanuel back in 2015, but I swear I had tried more than one time. I guess it was good that I waited because not only did I need him on his Wild Card and Ultimate card- he appears on the back of the Montreal Machine’s team card for the Ultimate set as well. (They used the photo from the back of his Ultimate 1992 base card for the team stats card.) I didn’t see it until right before I sent it out. I didn’t mind that he signed the back of that card, but when I also got his Wild Card back signed on the back I just… ugh. Oh well! Nice to get him though!
I had been after Eric Jones forever and a day on this card, but due to the commonality of his name, I was unable to locate him. I had done some research that led me down a rabbit hole that he was working for a medical device manufacturer, but the trail went cold- so I gave up. Thankfully Mark, of Mark’s Signing Bonus came to the rescue. He shot me a line and I was able to get Eric on this card. He also included a nice note thanking me for being a fan. Unfortunately, I do not believe that Mark ever got his autograph back from Eric… And since that point the address has grown cold.
I mean huge get for me here. The Ultimate World League 1992 Official Spokesperson Jim Kelly autographed card is one of the 2 Holy Grails in this set. (The other being the Lawrence Taylor autographed card.) These autographed cards were one of the prizes given away for spelling W-O-R-L-D via the in pack game scratch off, and only 500 exist. I had seen this card from time to time on Ebay and kicked myself for not buying one a few years ago because it was priced at a premium to my budget. Since the COVID pandemic, a lot of things changed, and also since I haven’t been buying card boxes for a while, these sorts of splurges are a bit more affordable. Furthermore with Jim Kelly’s TTM signing fee being a stiff $50.00, I bought this one immediately when I saw it comparatively at a strong discount.
The front of the card is beautiful. It’s a very simple design that has grown on me over the years. The back of the card is much like the other Ultimate World League insert promos with the WIN $1,000,000 blurb and the contest information. The only major difference on the card being an NFL shield next to Ultimate Trading Card company’s address. -Again still no clue if anybody actually ever won the million bucks.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
