Tag Archives: Washington Redskins

AAF, CFL, NFL, XFL

Williams, Trey

Cards: Panini Contenders 2015, Crown Royale 2015, Panini Prestige 2015, Topps AAF 2019, Topps AAF 2019 NOW, Topps XFL 2020, Topps XFL 2020 Certified
Acquired: COMC, 2020. EBay, 2020. TTM C/o Home 2020
Sent: 11/12 Received: 11/21 (9 days)

Trey Williams hails from Texas A&M- a school full of rich history in producing runningbacks. While playing for the Aggies, he ran 204 time for 1343 yards and 18 TDs in 3 years (2012-2014). What was most impressive was his gaudy 6.6 yards per carry. He also caught 38 passes for 330 yards and a TD as well. Although he had a solid combine, Williams ultimately was not selected in the 2015 draft.

He’d sign with his hometown Houston Texans after the draft, then quickly join the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, the Patriots, the Dolphins, and finally the Colts- all before 2015 came to a close. After being cut by the Colts in mid-2016, Trey kept hustling. He signed with the Steelers early in 2017, then briefly joined the Argos in the CFL. In November of 2017, Williams signed with the Dallas Cowboys again where he’d be waived in final cuts during 2018.

I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to have highlight film that made preseason sportscenter.. such as scoring a TD on his first ever preseason carry from 20+ yards out, or returning a punt for a 64 yard TD with the Steelers- but somehow miss out on making the squad.

Trey opted to head to the new frontier of the Alliance of American Football in 2019. He’d be assigned to the San Antonio Commanders. After missing the first two weeks of the season for personal reasons, Trey played in the next 6 finishing with 40 carries for 205 yards and a TD. He’d also catch 9 passes for 71 yards and a TD as well.

An exciting sparkplug, Williams provided a change of pace to lead back Kenneth Farrow II in the Commanders backfield. An outside the tackles kind of guy, Williams is very good at dodging people in space. This makes him quite effective at screen passes and out in the flat. He quickly became my favorite player just behind Greg Ward Jr.

His finest moment in the AAF came in Week 7 against the formidable Salt Lake City Stallions. The Stallions had a very stubborn defense. After trading field position for most of the game and keeping it close, QB Marquise Williams dropped a screen pass out to Trey. He bobbed and weaved through the SLC defense 36 yards and then dove into the endzone for a TD. It was really incredible to watch!

After the AAF folded, Trey joined the XFL 2020, where he was the first player selected in the open portion of the draft by the Seattle Dragons. He’d be reunited with his coach from the Commanders, Mike Riley, and a bevvy of former teammates including Kenneth Farrow. He ran 34 times for 122 yards and a TD for the Dragons, and catch 8 passes for 44 yards and a TD- before the league folded after week 5.

I first missed out on an in person signing in Houston during 2019. I would’ve driven there just to get his autograph on a bunch of cards and meet him, but I had been to in person events frequently that year, and I did not wish to antagonize my wife. I also had the Topps AAF Now card I was worried about risking, so these just sat, and then I added a few more to the stack including the XFL card.

After a while I just decided to buy a few certified cards of Trey, thinking I’d call it a day, but a few months later my partner in crime, Mark, acted on an address I had long suspected of being Trey’s- and hit pay dirt. It took me a bit to get back to Trey. I miss the Commanders and the AAF a lot, but frankly, we all know it wouldn’t have made it probably through 2020 – because of the pandemic. (See the XFL 2020.) Still after being stuck in the mud the last few months on AAF/XFL send outs, I went back to it taking the risk that Trey would ink these cards. I would have preferred a different color than silver- but I can’t look this gift horse in the mouth.

NFL, Pro Football HoF

Jones, Deacon ‘Secretary of Defense’ (1938-2013)

Card: Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: EBay, 2020

Deacon Jones was the player who coined the term ‘sacks’ and brought more glamour to the defensive end position than ever before. With limited college experience playing for South Carolina State in 58 and then Mississippi Vocational College in 60, Jones was an afterthought in most team’s minds during the 1961 draft. Purely found by accident, Deacon was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 14th round.

He joined Merlin Olsen, Rosey Grier, and Lamar Lundy to form the ‘Fearsome Foursome’ which terrorized opposing offenses. He’d go on to play the next 11 seasons for the Rams, earning 7 Pro Bowl appearances, 7 1st or 2nd team All-Pro nominations, and 2 NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors while with the Rams. Sacks at that time were not an officially recorded statistic however using archival film, Jones was credited with 22 sacks both in 1964 and 1968, and 21.5 in 1967. Over his time with the Rams- in 8 of 12 seasons he had at least 12 sacks.

In 1972, Deacon was traded to the San Diego Chargers where he played two more seasons, and a final year with the Redskins in 1973 before retiring.

Jones went into acting and philanthropy after retirement. He was also an outspoken advocate for bringing the NFL back to LA, and referred to the LA Rams and St. Louis Rams as two separate franchises. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, and was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team in 1994. His number was retired by the Rams in 2009- ironically while it was still in St. Louis.

He passed away in 2013, and the NFL in tribute to him created the Deacon Jones award, given away annually to the league leader in sacks.

Deacon Jones was a player I never thought in my wildest dreams I’d ever get, but with the way the card market currently is with the inflated prices of boxes, I’d rather just buy a certified HOFer from one of my favorite sets than buy a 2020 hobby box of scrubs. I had some extra EBay bucks left over so it made this purchase way more palatable, but I did get this at a bargain price to begin with so I was pretty happy.

NFL

Harvey, Ken

Cards: Score 1990, Action Packed 1990, Action Packed 1991, Action Packed 1992
Acquired: TTM 2020 C/o Home
Sent: 10/13 Received: 10/26 (13 days)
Failure: TTM 2015, C/o Home

I have been angling to add Ken Harvey to my collection for a very long time. It wasn’t because of his playing career as much as the places we both came from. Heck he and I technically grew up in the same neighborhood since his high school was right down the street from me. Heck he even quit school briefly as he fell in with the wrong crowd briefly, and worked at Fuddruckers over on Anderson Rd in The Village across from Northcross Mall.

I probably even frequented it a kid about the time he worked there. I remembered not being fond of their liquid cheese, and sitting under these giant canvas military grade tents on the patio eating a giant burger with my parents. Anyway, it’s all long gone- even Northcross Mall which is now a mini-Walmart.

Ken got his act together, went back and finished high school and was snatched up by the California Golden Bears. After an impressive college career playing linebacker at Cal wrapped up in 1987, Ken was selected in the first round of the 1988 Draft by the Phoenix Cardinals. – It wasn’t hailed as such a big deal back then, even though being from Austin and being a ‘small town’ kid making it big in the NFL, especially from my neighborhood should’ve been. When I got his first couple of football cards, I was very excited. – I mean here was a player I had a personal connection to from a location basis. We walked the same streets. We had been in the same 7-11’s- maybe to buy those same cherry Slurpees, nachos, and a pack of football cards or two. – Well maybe not the nachos for him but- he immediately became relatable.

Ken played six seasons with the woeful Cards at right outside linebacker. He put up some solid numbers over that period, recording 120 tackles in 1989 and 10 sacks in 1990. I seem to remember he had a falling out in 1993 with the club, signing with the division rival Washington Redskins in 1994. From 1994-1997 Ken was considered one of the most dominant linebackers of the NFC East. He’d earn a Pro Bowl nod in each of those seasons, recording a career high 13.5 sacks in that ’94 campaign. He’d call it a career shortly before the beginning of the 1999 season.

Ken has been honored by the Redskins as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins, and was inducted into the club’s Ring of Fame. He also has received a couple of nominations for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He currently lives in the DC area and has had an interesting post-professional playing career, working for the Redskins, writing for the Washington Post, and training aspiring tourists to become astronauts. He wrote a very nice note to accompany my cards, saying it’d be an honor to sign them.

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