AL BLADES
March 19, 1977 – March 20, 2003
University of Miami | 1996 RS • 1997 IR • 1998 • 1999• 2000
2001 NFL Rookie Free Agent
Al Blades Football Cards
It's All About Collecting The U!
With over 525 player alumni and staff from the University of Miami Football program represented, I believe my Hurricanes card collection is the most expansive in existence. It includes players that have been inducted into Hall of Fames through practice squad members and those that merely committed and walked away before the season began. Also represented are head coaches, assistants, and other staff members of the program. Along with traditional football cards, I also count similar flat collectables like pocket schedules and ticket stubs.
The Card Album is my personal collection showcase. I originally designed my first website, CardMagnet.info, from scratch in Microsoft FrontPage and used tables to organize things. The site was updated regularly 2009 to 2021. I’m proud to say that I had regular viewers from around the world, and my content was frequently in the top results on Google’s web and image results. The time came to put some new tools and ideas to use, and so TheCardAlbum.com was born.
About Al Blades
Al Blades (c. March 1977 – March 20, 2003) was an American football safety who went to the University of Miami.[1][2][3][4][5] He was selected as a first-team All-Big East player at Miami.[6] He spent two years with the San Francisco 49ers.[7][8] In March 2003, he was the passenger of former Plantation High School teammate Martel Johnson who was driving Blades’ 1999 Mazda Millenia when it hit another car which they were racing. Both died in the crash.[9][10]
Blades attended Plantation High School. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Miami. In 1996, he sat out the season with a medical redshirt. In 1997, he suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first fall practice.
As a sophomore in 1998, he started 7 games and was fourth on the team with 82 tackles. He had a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown against Rutgers University. As a junior in 1999, he was named the starter at free safety, registering 89 tackles (third on the team). He had 13 tackles against Florida State University. He made 20 tackles against Syracuse University.
As a senior in 2000, he contributed to the team’s 11-1 record. He posted 87 tackles (second on the team). He was named the National Defensive Player of the Week for his 16 tackle performance against Virginia Tech. He had 17 tackles in the 2000 Orange Bowl. He finished his career with 258 tackles (125 solos), 2 forced fumbles, 3 interceptions, 10 passes defensed and 4 fumble recoveries.[11]