Tag Archives: Wild Card WLAF 1992

NFL, WLAF

McKenzie, Reggie

Card: Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM C/o The Green Bay Packers
Sent: 7/26  Received: 8/6   (11 days)

Reggie McKenzie played collegiality for the Tennessee Volunteers and was taken in the 10th round of the 1985 draft by the then Los Angeles Raiders. A long shot to make the team, he’d make the roster and in fact start at right inside linebacker for the Super Bowl squad, making a sack and a fumble recovery in a respectable rookie season.  Reggie would again start all 16 games in 1986, and 5 in the strike shortened 1987 season. After only starting 3 games in 1988, McKenzie would sign with the Phoenix Cardinals in 1989. He would remain with the franchise through the 1990 season.

After sitting out a season where he coached high school football in the interim, Reggie signed with the Montreal Machine of the WLAF in 1992 and started alongside Ray Savage at linebacker. He would have a strong season, making a sack and an interception, which he returned 29 yards for a touchdown, but despite the team’s strong defensive efforts, the Machine finished a distant 2-8 at the end of the season. The WLAF reorganized after the season, but Reggie was not without a home for long, signing with the San Fransisco 49ers.  He retired after that season.

It didn’t take long for McKenzie to find himself working again in football serving as an assistant at Tennessee in 1993. In 1994, Ron Wolf, (architect of the Packers’ rebirth during the 90’s), hired Reggie to work in the front office, where he has climbed to the rank of Director of Football Operations in 2008. His Raiders Superbowl ring was unfortunately stolen a few years ago, but the Packers replaced that with their 2010 championship.

One of the strategies I use is poaching the coaching and staff lists of professional franchises for players that are on my lists, as typically they receive less autograph requests than their current player counterparts. Reggie definitely fell under this category and was also a member of the WLAF to boot which always makes it extra special to me as I received his autograph in a short 11 days care of the Packers organization. Below are his WLAF statistics:

G 10    Tac  N/a     Sac  1.0    Fum 0    Int 1     Yds  29       Avg  29.o       Td   1    lg 29t

UPDATE- 1/6/12  The Oakland Raiders, (under a recommendation from Packers Architect Ron Wolf,) hired Reggie McKenzie to become general manager of the franchise. Reggie becomes only the second General Manager in the history of the Raiders franchise, replacing deceased owner/GM Al Davis.

NFL, WLAF

Rasul, Amir

Cards: Ultimate WLAF 1992, Wild Card WLAF 1992
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 7/27   Received: 8/29  (34 days)

An excellent rusher and receiver out of the backfield during college, Amir Rasul finished with 2072 yards rushing, 600 yards receiving and a total of 23 touchdowns during his career at Florida A&M.  The Buffalo Bills would draft him in the 7th round of the 1991 draft to fit the mold of a Thurman Thomas back in their offense. He would not make the roster of the team.

The WLAF would come calling and the expansion Ohio Glory would select Amir in the 6th round of the 1992 draft. Although playing for the abhorrent Glory, (which finished at an abysmal 1-9,) Rasul was always a threat out of the backfield, racking up 572 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns for the team. In the season opener against Orlando, not only did he score the franchise’s first TD, Rasul also set league records rushing 24 times for 152 yards and a TD.  He also earned Offensive Player of the Week Honors. His rushing yards would be good enough to rank 2nd in the league behind Ivory Lee Brown (SA) in the end. He would not earn All-World honors however for his efforts. That would be it for the WLAF though, as it would reorganize after the 1992 season.

Since that time Amir has lived in relative anonymity and went into construction where he is the owner of Diamond Construction Group, out of the Fort Lauderdale area. I was able to track him down utilizing Spokeo, as his unique name made him an easy find. I didn’t expect to get a reply, so to get his response on these 2 cards was quite nice in a bit over 30 days.

Below are his WLAF statistcs:

G 10   Rush 136     Yds  572    Avg  4.2   Td  4    Lg  36  |
Rec 20    Yds 117    Avg  5.8      Td 0   Lg 22

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Pringle, Mike

Cards: Wild Card WLAF 1992, Pacific CFL 2003.
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home.
Sent: 6/19/2010  Received: 7/25/2011 (409 days)

Super happy about this return today that I never thought I’d ever get back. It tied the record for my longest current wait -at 409 days! He was kind enough to also include a CFL card to go along with his WLAF card as an added bonus and inscribed them with his HOF year.  Hall of Fame you say? You’ve never heard of Mike Pringle? Mike Pringle may not ring any bells to any NFL fan, but to a CFL fan, he’s the greatest runningback in gridiron history.  

Mike Pringle was a dominant runningback in college playing in the shadow of USC and UCLA while at Cal State Fullerton. During his career there, the prolific back would tie the NCAA record for most yards rushing in a game at 357 (with Reuben Mayes), following that up with a 269 yard rushing effort the next week. The two game total of 626 yards, was an NCAA record. The do it all runningback would lead the NCAA with a titanic 2659 yards from scrimmage that season.

In 1990, Mike would be drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the 6th round of the NFL draft. At 5’8″, 186, the team hoped to utilize him as both a receiver and runningback in their Red Gun offense under Jerry Glanville, but Pringle would be remanded to the practice squad his rookie season. He’d return to the team in 1991, but not make the final squad cut at training camp becoming along with Brett Favre, another record breaking offensive player let go by Jerry Glanville.

Pringle would be signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, but after 3 respectable games, he’d be inexplicably cut. Mike then suited up for the Sacramento Surge in 1992, winning World Bowl II with the franchise. He’d lead the team on the ground posting a respectable 507 yards and 6 touchdowns, ranking 4th in the league in yards, and second in attempts (152). In addition Pringle would chock in 6 receptions. The WLAF would reorganize after the season with the Sacramento Surge being the only survivor from the league that took to the field in 1993.  They would join the CFL ironically and Sacramento would be rebranded as the Goldminers. After a subpar season where he subbed in for Mike Oliphant and acted as a third down back, Pringle would be traded to the Baltimore Stallions in 1994. Pringle would take the reins of the starting runningback job after week 2, and never looked back. The rest later became history.  Pringle set CFL marks with 1972 yards rushing in a season. He’d also return kicks for the team as well, finishing with exhaustively over 2700 yards from scrimmage on the ground.  Pringle in 1995 followed his massive 1994 season up with a 1791 yards rushing- an incredible 2 year run. Mike also averaged a gaudy 6.4 yards a carry in 1994, and a 5.8 yard average in 1995. At the conclusion of the 1995 season, the Stallions would win the Grey Cup.  He’d do a short stint with the Broncos after the season, but be cut in training camp.

In 1996 he’d rejoin Baltimore, which had relocated to Montreal to become the Alouettes. Playing only part time in 1996, he’d return to form in 1997 rushing for 1775 yards for Montreal. Pringle’s 1998 stands among the upper echelon of gridiron football, as he shattered the 2k barrier running for 2065 yards and left his mark on the record book. He’d continue to run for incredible numbers over the next few seasons in Montreal, leaving the team in 2003. Mike did not disappoint playing for the Eskimos. He’d continue to bang out 1000 yard seasons, and in 2004 took the CFL rushing record by storm. At the end of the season, Mike retired and then signed an honorary one day contract with Montreal to retire with them. By the end of his career, Pringle finished his career with a record 16425 yards rushing, 20254 TYAC, and tied for the CFL record of 137 career touchdowns.

Since retirement Mike has been inducted into the CFL HoF in 2008 and had his number retired by the Alouettes. A 7 time Canadian All star and 2 time CFL MVP,  Mike to me is probably considered probably the greatest WLAF success story. Below are his CFL statistics:

Rush 2962    Yds  16425   Avg  5.6     Td  125    |      Rec 396   Yds 3793   Avg 9.5    Td 11
Kr 138   Yds 2954   Avg  21.4  Td 0