Samuel Mayorga Garza Jr. (Born July 10, 1965 in Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

) is a former professional quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 in the NFL & CFL

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

.

After being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

 in the eighth round of the 1987 NFL Draft

1987 NFL Draft

The 1987 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987...

, Garza was cut in the pre-season. He then signed with the St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 as a Replacement player

Replacement player

In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout.- National Football League – 1987 :...

. He appeared in two of the replacement games, replacing Shawn Halloran

Shawn Halloran

Shawn Michael Halloran is a former quarterback for the Boston College Eagles and St. Louis Cardinals and currently is head coach for North Forest High School in Houston, Texas.-Boston College:...

 in the first and starting the second. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 183 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. He was cut the following season and replaced by Tom Tupa

Tom Tupa

Thomas Joseph Tupa, Jr. is a former American football punter and quarterback in the National Football League.-Personal life and high school career:...

.

The brightest spot in Garza's career came in 1993

1993 CFL season

The 1993 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 40th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 36th Canadian Football League season.-CFL news in 1993:...

 when he replaced an injured Matt Dunigan

Matt Dunigan

Matt Dunigan is a former quarterback, coach, and executive in the Canadian Football League who is currently a CFL sportscaster for Canadian sports television channel TSN...

 in Week 17 of the season. He led the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...

 to a 20-19 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...

 in the Eastern Final. Garza's success was short lived, as the team lost the Grey Cup

81st Grey Cup

The 81st Grey Cup was the 1993 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta...

 33-23 to the Edmonton Eskimos

Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...

. Garza tore his ACL early in the 1994 season in Winnipeg, and spent the next 8 months recovering from that injury. He spent the next season splitting the quarterback duties of the Ottawa Rough Riders

Ottawa Rough Riders

The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...

 with Danny Barrett

Danny Barrett

Danny Barrett is a former Canadian Football League quarterback and former quarterbacks coach at the University at Buffalo. He was previously the head coach of the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders....

 and was David Archer

David Archer

David Mark Archer is a former professional American football player. A 6'2" undrafted quarterback from Snow College and Iowa State University, Archer played six seasons in the National Football League from 1984 to 1989 for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and...

's backup in 1996

1996 CFL season

The 1996 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 43rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 39th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1996:...

. He retired after the team folded and he was not picked up in the dispersal draft.

He joined the UTEP coaching staff in 2000 as a quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

s coach. He was let go with the entire UTEP staff after the 2003 season. In 2005 he was hired as a scout by the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

. He works with his brother in law Mike Murphy, son of Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Canadian Football Hall of Fame

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...

r Cal Murphy

Cal Murphy

Cal Murphy is a Scout for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Murphy gained notoriety in the Canadian Football League as a coach and/or General Manager for nine Grey Cup Championship teams, earning a spot in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.-Early life:Murphy, one of seven...

.