Bear Down On Cardboard

Many moons ago, almost 7 months ago, Angus from Dawg Day Cards sent me an email asking if I was interested in a box of 1990 Collegiate Arizona Wildcats that he picked up. I am always happy to add any University of Arizona cards to my collection and having an entire box of Wildcats is even better. The box got put in a drawer with cards to be sorted and supplies and ended up getting covered before I unearthed it Tuesday night. 

The set was released in 1990 so busting this box brought back some wonderful memories for me when I was growing up in Tucson from 1979 through 1988. Adding to the fun was that some of the players, like my mini-PC Steve Kerr, had multiple cards in the set. 

Chuck Cecil was one of the hardest hitting DBs in the NFL playing for the Packers, Cardinals and Oilers. After his playing days he went on to coach for the Titans from 2001-2010 and then spent 4 years with the Rams. He is currently the Director of Player Development for the U of A. He is my second favorite Wildcat after Steve Kerr.

Kenny Lofton, best known for his 16 year MLB career, initially came to Arizona on a basketball scholarship and didn’t even try out for the baseball team until his junior year. He made a Final Four appearance backing up Steve Kerr in 1988.

Coach Jerry Kindall had a very unmemorable 8-year MLB career but while coaching the Wildcats he won 3 College World Series titles and the baseball field is now named after him. 

The final card I am highlighting is not someone I would expect most people outside of Arizona would know, Mo Udall. Following his freshman year at Arizona he went in to the Air Force during WWII (1942-1946), returning to the University after his enlistment was up. He was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1948, becoming the first basketball player from the school to play professionally. He eventually went on to Congress, spending 30 years in the House of Representatives.

Thank you for the box Angus, that was very kind of you to think of me when you came across it. I was able to put together the entire 125-card set with three packs left and plenty of dupes. 

Desert Ink

Last night the Arizona Wildcats went up to Eugene, Oregon to play the #2 Oregon Ducks in a game that was expected to be an easy win by the Ducks. After Oregon’s domination of 3 of their first 4 games, including a trouncing of then #7 Michigan State, it looked like only UCLA and Stanford were their only speed bump at a shot at a National Championship.

 

In honor of the very surprising Arizona 31-24 win I decided to go with some of my favorite Wildcat autographs.

I begin with my favorite Wildcat football player Chuck Cecil. His 109-yard interception return against ASU in 1986 was voted as the Greatest Football Play in Wildcat history. He went on to be drafted by the Packers in 1988, he also played for the Cardinals and Oilers and is currently the Titans Defensive Secondary Coach.

 

Next up is Trung Canidate. He was part of the successful Dick Tomey era, also known as the Desert Swarm years. After a solid college career he was drafted in the First Round by the Rams where he backed up Marshall Faulk. He was later traded to the Redskins where he backed up Clinton Portis. Sadly his best season was a 600-yd season in 2003 (1,095 career yards) and has made it on to the Rams list of Top 10 Draft Busts.

 

From a draft bust in Canidate to a draft bargain in Nick Foles. He came to Arizona in 2008 redshirting behind Willie Tuitama, in 2009 he split time with Matt Scott but the next two seasons he got better each year. He was drafted by the Eagles in the 3^rd Round of the 2012 NFL Draft. In his time in Philly he has thrown for 5,568 yards with 39 TDs and 9 INTs and looks to be the team’s QB of the future.

 

Matt Scott replaced Foles in 2012 and proved to be a decent quarterback taking the team to an 8-5 record and a win over Nevada in the New Mexico Bowl earning MVP honors. He went undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft but was signed by the Jaguars to their practice squad. This year he was released by the Jags but was signed by the Bengals a day later. He was cut by the Bengals prior to this season and is currently unsigned.

 

My final autograph is Ka’Deem Carey. His 366-yard game against Colorado in 2012 is a Pac-12 record and his 1,929 rushing yards that same year led the nation. He was drafted by the Bears in the 4^th Round this year and is currently backing up Matt Forte.

 

I am looking to add a couple of Wildcat autographs in Willie Tuitama, Rob Gronkowski and Tedy Bruschi still.

Memories Of Chuck

In 1979, at the age of 7 I moved to Tucson. My dad used to bring us to Wildcat games every season and I looked forward to the time because I got to see a live football game and spend time with my father. Over the years I saw plenty of talent come through the desert from Alfred Jenkins (I know, he made some bad choices in life after football) and David Adams to Chris and Kevin Singleton and the Desert Swarm years up through todays’ young players like Nick Foles, who may still prove to be an NFL caliber QB.

This season started out so well but went bad ending with 4 straight regular season losses. The Alamo Bowl game turned out to be a tough loss but as a true fan I take it in stride. There is one things that the Wildcats have proven is that there are good years and there are bad years but no matter what we always Bear Down… not to mention that the basketball team opens up Pac-10 play Thursday night at Oregon.

Watching the end of the Wildcat’s football season tonight brought me down memory lane and it got me thinking about the most memorable highlights from all of the games that I have seen over the past 30 years and one sticks out above the rest. It was 1986, the Sun Devils were already Rose Bowl bound, the Wildcats were heading to the Aloha Bowl, and the game was all about The Streak (U of A went 8-0-1 vs. ASU between 1982 through 1990). The game had some exciting moments like the goal line stand by the Cats but the most memorable moment from the 34-17 Wildcats win was Chuck Cecil’s 106-yard interception return for a TD. I was 14 and living in Tucson at the time and 24 years later I still remember the game as if it happened yesterday.

When Topps released the 2005 Topps All-American set and I saw Chuck Cecil was on the autograph checklist I knew I had to have the card. Cecil and Steve Kerr are my two favorite athletes to come out of the University of Arizona and both have a prominent place in my personal collection.