Tag Archives: ultimate wlaf 1992

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Taylor, Eugene “Gene”

psetwlaf91 gtaylorult92 gtaylor

Cards: ProSet WLAF 1991, Ultimate 1992, Ultimate WLAF Dragons card, Photo memorabilia
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o work
Sent:  8/1    Received: 8/19  (18 days)

Gene Taylor is a member of the ‘Fresno State connection’. Among the colleges that contributed players to the WLAF, the Bulldogs sent more than any other college to the young World League back in 1991. Head coach Jack Bicknell was looking for a long bomb specialist for the Barcelona Dragons. He’d select Gene near the top of  round 1 in the league’s positional draft. Gene didn’t disappoint, opening up the season with an electrifying 43 yard TD, en route to the team’s 19-7 thrashing of the New York-New Jersey Knights. Taylor saved his best game though for a contest against the Orlando Thunder however, when he caught 5 passes for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns, -including barn burners from 56 and 81 yards.  To put things in perspective: By season’s end, Taylor’s yards alone consisted of 35% of Scott Erney and Tony Rice‘s combined passing yardage totals. Gene finished the 1991 season 2nd in the league in YPR, and 4th in both receiving yards and touchdowns, helping the Dragons make an appearance in World Bowl I.  He’d be awarded with First Team 1991 All World Honors from the league, and was among the first WLAF players to sign a contract, after the season with the NFL.

ult92 dragonsGene was originally a 6th round draft choice of the New England Patriots in 1987, but not make the final roster. Instead he’d be signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he’d stay through the 1988 season, recording 7 receptions for 74 yards in 12 contests. He’d sign with the 49ers in 1989, but head up to the CFL to play for the Saskatchewan Roughriders later that year. Gene returned to the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams in 1990, before being drafted by the Dragons in the WLAF. After his stop in the World League, Gene signed again with the team that originally drafted him, the New England Patriots in 1991. He’d suit up for 1 game that season but not see any significant game time.

mem gtaylorI was really happy to finally find Gene, thanks to a podcast by (a Raider faithful fan) RaiderGreg who did an interview with him about Taylor’s time in the leagues and also the player’s strike. RaiderGreg was more than happy to refer me to him, and after receiving my cards at the fire station where Taylor is a chief at, Gene was accommodating enough to sign the cards and also enclosing the additional piece of signed memorabilia. We chatted through email where amazingly, Taylor revealed that he had never seen his Ultimate WLAF card, probably since it was printed after his departure back to New England in 1991.  That’s 20+ years. I’ll probably buy and send out a few more to Gene to keep since he probably had given out the fair majority to his coworkers. I must admit, he was incredibly patient with me through our correspondence, considering I tend to ramble on about things I am excited to talk about, but it seems that after responses from guys like Gene and other players, 2013 is shaping up to be a great year TTM.

WLAF    Rec 35     Yds 745    Avg 21.3    Td 6   Lg 81t

NFL, WLAF

Banes, Joey

ultwlaf92 banesCards: Ultimate WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Work
Sent: 7/11  Received: 7/18  (7 days)

Every once in a while I pull out the stack of WLAF cards and go through them to find players to see if I can register a hit through Google. Joey Banes was one of these lucky finds. I later emailed him where he agreed to sign this card for me. A few days later I got the card back signed, plus a really nice letter, thanking me for updating him with many of the players and reaching out as a fan of the league.

Joey Banes was an 11th round choice of the Houston Oilers in 1990 out of the University of Houston. I would assume that because Jack Pardee was Joey’s college coach there at UH and they ran the Run ‘N Shoot, it was his call to draft Joey. 1990 was a banner year for the University of Houston as Lamar Lathon, Alton Montgomery, Andre Ware, Alfred Oglesby, Craig Veasey, Chris Ellison, and Joey all heard their name on draft day. The thought was Banes could be slipped in as a project player on the practice squad for the team. The injury ridden Colts though signed Joey in November and he was elevated to the regular roster where he played in 3 games for the Colts. After the season, he’d resign as a free agent with the Houston Oilers in 1991.  The Oilers were very deep on the offensive line, and despite Joey getting a little seasoning, he could not crack the roster.

Joey was drafted in the 1st round of the 1992 WLAF draft. He’d be immediately reunited with fellow Oilers 3rd string quarterback Reggie Slack on the New York/ New Jersey Knights. He’d be a perfect fit for the Run N Shoot Knights, as he’d block up front for a ground game that boasted not only Slack, but Eric Wilkerson, and Chris Clairmore. The team saw dividends as the Knights’ sacks allowed were cut almost in half from the previous season (68 to 35), and the total team yards increased from 3728 to 4133.

After the season, the league folded, and Banes hung up his cleats. He currently lives in Houston and works for a communications company where he raises 3 sons, who are all young, aspiring football players as well.

 

Arena, CFL, NFL, WLAF

Parker, Carl


Cards:  ProSet WLAF 1991, Wild Card WLAF 1992, Ultimate WLAF 1992.
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o home.
Sent: 6/11   Received: 6/26   (15 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home RTS

Carl Parker was a standout receiver for Vanderbilt. The problem is Vandy is a doormat for many of the major football programs. Still over his three years with the Commodores, Parker totaled 118 catches and 1712 yards, including 42 passes for a 19.2 YPC and 12 touchdowns as a Senior. Carl signed with the Bengals in 1988 and was with them through 1989, before briefly catching on with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL in 1990. The Sacramento Surge of the WLAF drafted him in the 4th round of the 1991 positional draft in the 6th slot.

Quarterback Mike Elkins bonded with Carl quickly, and of the 13 touchdowns Elkins threw, Carl caught eight of them- good for second in the league. In fact, Carl caught touchdown passes in the last 7 contests, highlighted by his 2TD performance in the team’s upset of Frankfurt during the season finale. Parker received All-WLAF Second team honors, as the league’s 3rd leading receiver in both catches (52) and in yards receiving (801).  He also had 3 100+ yard receiving games, including 136 in a loss to London, and caught at least 1 ball in every game of the season.  Parker also did double duty on punt returns, ranking 4th in the league with an 8.5 yard average on 15 returns.

Carl returned for the 1992 season to Sacramento. It was a new team and a new attitude on offense, infused by journeyman David Archer at quarterback and future CFL All Stars, Eddie Brown and Mike Pringle on offense.  Carl had another good season with numbers worthy of being a number one on many teams, finishing 1992 with 42 receptions, for 657 yards, and 6 touchdowns. While the numbers weren’t as good as ’91, Parker helped the Surge raise the World Bowl trophy over their heads at the end of the season with their victory over the Orlando Thunder. The league though sought to restructure after the season, and the CFL admitted in the rival Surge and Riders. The Surge were rechristened the Gold Miners and Carl picked up a final season with them in the CFL. Carl played last for the first incarnation of the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League before finally hanging up his cleats.

WLAF Rec 94    Yds 1458   Avg  15.5   Td 14   Lg 48
Pr  15    Yds 127   Avg 8.5   Td 0   Lg 15