Tag Archives: Washington Redskins

Arena, CFL, NFL, NFLE

Johnson, Lee

tntafl14 lee johnsonCard: TNT AFL 2014
Acquired: IP 5/17/14, San Antonio Talons vs. New Orleans Voodoo

Coach Johnson is a veteran of many leagues as both a player and a coach. He’s spent time in the NFL, CFL, NFLE, and AFL. Among his highlights, Johnson coached the defensive line of the Berlin Thunder to two consecutive World Bowl Championships in both 2001 and 2002. He then coached the Denver Crush to the Arena Football Championship in 2004. After taking the reins of the Talons, he coached them to a 14-4 record and a division title, in 2012.

After the San Antonio Talons game against the Iowa Barnstormers I gave out my custom cards to many players on the field. It created such a stir that Coach Johnson came over and asked me where his was. After I joked with him a few seconds about sharing the same first name, he quickly extracted a promise from me to make a custom for him as well.

I arrived at the Talons game versus the Voodoo early as usual. After talking to the COO of the Talons and giving him a copy of the set, he went over to Lee to show him what I had done. Coach immediately came over and talked to me with a broad smile, signed the card and thanked me for the extras. He asked me what I wanted for the cards I made and gave to him, but as usual the most important thing for me is the autograph gracing the card for my own collection, and their enduring happiness and willingness to chase their dreams. You know, on that note, I have always subscribed to the ultimate belief that a true gift is one that is not expected, and for purposes of what I had given to each of these players I know it meant a lot to them.

 

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Smith, Irvin ‘Irv’

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Cards: Ultimate WLAF 1992, Wild Card WLAF 1992, JOGO 1994, JOGO 1995, JOGO 1997, JOGO 1999, JOGO 2000, JOGO 2001.
Acquired:  TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent:    2/9       Received: 3/13   (31 days)

Irvin Smith played collegiality for Maryland from 1985 to 1988. Unable to make it on the roster of the Jets, Irvin joined the London Monarchs of the WLAF in 1991. There he made 2 picks for 8 yards as the team finished with a 9-1 record as a talented defense shut down the Dragons in jogo94 ismithWorld Bowl jogo95 ismithI 21-7.

After a short stint on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL, Smith returned to the Monarchs in 1992.  Although the team did not meet the same success from the previous season, Irv stepped up and recorded another 2 interceptions that season.
The league restructured after the season, so Irvin took his talents back to the CFL settling on the Saskatchewan Roughriders.  In 1993 he returned to the NFL and was on the roster of both the Redskins and Vikings.

jogo97 ismithjogo99 ismithThe CFL had been eyeing the US market for a long time, so in 1994 they decided to expand
southward, selecting locations such as Las Vegas, Sacramento, Baltimore, and Shreveport. Irv signed with the Baltimore Colts (later CFLers/Stallions). He made an immediate impact in Don Matthews defense, pulling down 6 interceptions for 97 yards where the Stallions made their first appearance in the Grey Cup. Although the team lost to the BC Lions, Irvin and the Stallions won the Grey Cup the following season and Smith had established quite a reputation as a dangerous defender to pass against. As the CFL contracted due to jogo01 ismithjogo00 ismithfinancial issues and the NFL gave Baltimore the Ravens, the Stallions moved up to Montreal and became the Alouettes in 1996.

Irvin at first didn’t feel like making the move, but went ahead and joined the franchise in Montreal. It’d be a new chapter in Smith’s career, and a very productive one at that with 6 interceptions for 105 yards and a TD in ’96. He’d follow it up with two back to back 3 interception season in 1997 and 1998.  Smith had his finest season in 1999, hawking 7 interceptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. Irvin played for 2 additional years in Montreal, retiring after the 2001 season.

Smith returned to the Baltimore area where he lives today and is a firefighter. I had been trying to track Smith down for sometime finally locating his address through the White pages. After sending to the address I found in Maryland, I got an RTS with a forwarding address in Florida. I turned it around and sent it to the other address the next day. About a month later I got this stuffed envelope full of cards and a nice letter from Irvin. I had only sent Smith his 2 WLAF cards, but he stuffed it with all his JOGO cards and a nice letter.

 

WLAF    Tac N/a   Sac N/a   Fum N/a
Int 4     Yds 23     Avg 5.8     TD 0    Lg 15

CFL   Tac 329     Sac 1.0      Fum 10
Int 31    Yds 352     Avg 11.4      Td 2      Lg 54

CFL, NFL, WLAF

White, Robb

wcwlaf92 whiteCard: Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o Home
Sent: 8/7     Received:  8/16   (9 days)
Failure: 2011, C/o Work

Originally hailing from Amberdeen, South Dakota, homegrown Robb White went collegiality to South Dakota University. By the time he left the Coyotes, Robb would become one of the best defensive tackles to play at the college. Starting the final 25 games over his career with the team, Robb was a two-time All-North Central Conference selection both in 1986 and 1987. He finished his career at the college with 206 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries, 15 sacks, and 18 tackles for loss.

Robb went undrafted but was signed by the Washington Redskins in 1988,  finishing the season on the roster of the New York Giants. He’d remain with the Giants through the 1989 season, and be signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1991. As part of the NFL Enhancement Program allocating players to the WLAF, Robb joined the San Antonio Riders for the 1992 season. A member of quite a formidable front, he teamed up with Willie Fears, Chris Thienamen, and Dick Chapura to control the trenches in the Riders 3-4 defense.  He’d make  4 sacks for the team that season. With the CFL inheriting most of the talent from the WLAF after the World League’s suspension, Robb went on to play for the Sacramento Gold Miners from 1993 to 1994.

Robb has worked in the fluid lubrication industry for some time, and I had been chasing him as members of the Riders franchise take precedence in my WLAF searches.  The first time I found him, there was no response so I assumed he had moved on, and it was back to the drawing board. After a few years I picked up a new Meiselman and shot him out a letter at his home address. Robb kindly responded in under a month, thanking me for bringing back those wonderful memories, and enclosed a business card. Robb was inducted into the University of South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2005.

NFL 25/1   Tac n/a    Sac 2.5   Fum 0
Int 0     Yds 0     Avg -.-      Td 0      Lg -.-

WLAF         Tac  n/a    Sac 4.0  Fum 0
Int 0     Yds 0     Avg -.-      Td 0      Lg -.-

CFL  18       Tac 33    Sac 2   Fum  n/a
Int 0    Yds 0     Avg -.-      Td 0      Lg -.-