Fathers and Sons

Fathers and Sons and Teammate Brothers, Revisited

March 11th, 2013  |  Published in Brothers, Fathers and Sons, New in the Gallery

As I wrote in a previous article, I am converting some of my more popular blog articles into standard web pages and moving them to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. I am finding that blog articles work best for news, and standard pages work better for information that is not time-sensitive.

This weekend I converted my Fathers and Sons and Teammate Brothers blog articles into gallery pages. In the process, I added a few fathers, sons, and brothers who are new to the Gallery since I wrote the original articles. The new pages are in the Fun Pages section of the Gallery home page. While you’re over there, check out the other pages to see if you’ve missed any new ones.

What is your favorite father/son or brother/brother football card pair? Here’s mine: George Sauer Sr. on his 1955 Topps All-American card, and George Sauer Jr. on his 1969 Glendale Stamp. There’s quite a resemblance, don’t you think?
George Sauer 1955 Topps All-American football cardGeorge Sauer Jr. 1969 Glendale Stamp

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Fathers and Sons on Vintage Football Cards

June 17th, 2012  |  Published in Fathers and Sons

As I have mentioned in other articles, I have been gradually adding fun facts for the cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. In May I identified the players whose brothers also played pro football (see my blog article Teammate Brothers), and this month I marked the players whose fathers or sons also played professionally. I used the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s list as a reference.

Many of the players on the Hall of Fame’s list never appeared on cards, and some of them appeared on newer cards that I don’t yet have in the Gallery. I did find five pairs of fathers and sons who both appear in the Gallery, though. In honor of Father’s Day, here they are:

Tony Adamle played six seasons for the Cleveland Browns in the AAFC and NFL; his son Mike played six seasons for the Chiefs, Jets, and Bears. Tony is pictured here on his 1951 Bowman card, and Mike on his 1975 Topps card.
Tony Adamle 1951 Bowman football card1975 Topps Mike Adamle football card
Ted Fritsch Sr., a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, played from 1942 to 1950 for the Packers. Ted Fritsch Jr. played from 1972 to 1979 for the Falcons and Redskins. Ted Sr. appears here on his 1950 Bowman card; Ted Jr. is shown on his 1974 Topps card.
Tony Fritsch Sr. 1950 Bowman football cardTed Fritsch Jr. 1974 Topps football card
Dub Jones played for the Miami Seahawks, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Cleveland Browns in the AAFC, and he remained with the Browns when they joined the NFL in 1950. He is shown here on his 1953 Bowman card. Bert Jones, Dub’s son, was a quarterback for ten seasons with the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams. His 1976 Topps card is shown here.
Dub Jones 1953 Bowman football cardBert Jones 1976 Topps football card
George Sauer Sr. played from 1933 to 1935 for the Green Bay Packers; he is shown here on his 1955 Topps All-American card. George Jr. played from 1966 to 1970 for the New York Jets; he is shown on a 1969 Glendale stamp.
George Sauer Sr. 1955 Topps All-American football cardGeorge Sauer Jr. 1969 Glendale Stamp
Finally, George Wilson Sr. played for the Chicago Bears for ten seasons, and he was head coach of the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins for thirteen. Wilson never appeared on a card of his own, but there is a small image of him on the 1964 Philadelphia Lions’ Play card shown here. Wilson’s son, George Jr., played for his father for one season at Miami. His 1967 Topps card is shown here.
1964 Philadelphia Lions Play of the Year football cardGeorge Wilson Jr. 1967 Topps football card

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Bobby Dodd Sr. and Bobby Dodd Jr.

December 27th, 2011  |  Published in Fathers and Sons, Football Card Trivia

Bobby Dodd 1955 Topps All-American football cardBobby Dodd Jr. 1961 Nu-Card football cardIt’s not unusual to encounter football cards of players who have the same name. Among others, I have cards of two J.D. Smiths, two Gene Washingtons, two Bob Boyds, and three Bob Browns. I also have cards of two Bobby Dodds, but it was only yesterday that I learned that they were father and son. Bobby Dodd Sr. appeared on a 1955 Topps All-American card, and Bobby Dodd Jr. appeared in the 1961 Nu-Card set. I believe these were their only cards.

Dodd Sr. was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as both a player at Tennesse and a coach at Georgia Tech. Dodd Jr. was a quarterback and defensive back at Florida. From what I can tell, they met on the field three times, when Georgia Tech played Florida in 1960, 1961, and 1962. Florida won the 1960 game on a last-minute two-point conversion, and Georgia Tech shut out the Gators in 1961 and 1962.

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Lee Riley, Lions, Eagles, Giants, and Titans Defensive Back

June 15th, 2011  |  Published in Brothers, Fathers and Sons, Player Deaths

Lee Riley 1955 Bowman rookie football cardLee Riley, who played defensive back from 1955 to 1962 for the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and New York Titans, passed away on June 9. Riley’s best season was 1962, when he intercepted 11 passes for the Titans, leading the AFL. Riley was the son of Leon Riley, who played briefly for baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies, and the brother of Pat Riley, longtime NBA coach and current president of the Miami Heat. He is mentioned in Pat Riley’s profile on the NBA web site.

The card pictured here is Riley’s rookie card, a 1955 Bowman. (1955 Bowmans are the only vintage football cards I can think of that indicate which players were rookies.) He also appeared on a 1963 Fleer card, issued after his last season.

You can see Lee Riley’s career stats at pro-football-reference.com.

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The Wonderful Monds Family

March 6th, 2011  |  Published in Fathers and Sons

Wonder Monds 1973 Nebraska Cornhuskers playing cardIn yesterday’s article about 1974 Nebraska Cornhusker Playing Cards, I included an image of the Wonder Monds card. Von Spalding, of Von’s Card Blog, saw the article and pointed out that a player named Wonder Monds had also appeared on an Atlanta Braves baseball card. Von guessed that Wonder Monds the Brave was the son of Wonder Monds the ‘Husker, and, as it turns out, he guessed correctly. An article at bleacherreport.com says that Wonder Monds the Brave is actually the third Wonder, and his full name is Wonderful Terrific Monds III.

After Nebraska, Wonder II played three seasons for the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders and one season for the San Francisco 49ers. Wonder III played several years of minor league baseball in the Braves, Rockies, and Reds farm systems. And Wonder III’s brother, Mario, spent two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins.

The card pictured here is Wonder Monds II’s 1973 Nebraska Cornhuskers Playing Card. Son Mario appeared on a 2001 Bowman Chrome football card, which I know nothing about, but I did see a couple on eBay. Wonder III appeared on a handful of baseball cards, and you can find those on eBay, as well.

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Bruce Alford, New York Yankees and New York Yanks Receiver

May 12th, 2010  |  Published in Fathers and Sons, Player Deaths

1951 Bowman Bruce Alford Sr. football cardBruce Alford Sr. passed away on May 8. He was a receiver for the New York Yankees of the All-American Conference and New York Yanks of the NFL from 1946 to 1951. He was voted 1st Team All-AAFC by the Associated Press in 1947.

(The Yankees and Yanks were actually two different teams. When the AAFC merged with the NFL in 1950, the players from the AAFC’s New York Yankees were divided between the NFL’s New York Bulldogs and New York Giants. The Bulldogs then changed their name to the Yanks.)

After his playing days, Alford officiated in the NFL for twenty years, from 1960 to 1979. His son, Bruce Alford Jr., also played in the NFL, kicking for the Redskins and Bills from 1967 to 1969.

To my knowledge, Alford appeared on just one card, the 1951 Bowman card pictured here. I am not aware of any cards of the AAFC’s New York Yankees.

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1979 Coke Saints Archie Manning

February 7th, 2010  |  Published in Fathers and Sons

Since I deal only with vintage football cards, I don’t have cards of any of the players in today’s Super Bowl. I couldn’t even tell you what football cards were produced for the 2009 season. I didn’t want to be left out of the fun, though, so I dug up a card of Peyton Manning’s dad, Archie. Archie, of course, also has ties to the Saints: he was their quarterback from 1971 to 1982.
1979 Coke Saints Archie Manning football card1979 Coke Saints Archie Manning football card back
Archie’s rookie card is in the 1972 Topps set, and you can see more of his early cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The card pictured here is a bit less common: it’s a 1979 Coke Saints card, one of a 45-card set. I don’t know what the roster size was in 1979, but 45 cards would have included nearly every player on the team. I can’t think of another set with so many players from a single team.

The Saints were so-so in 1979, and Archie is the biggest name in the Coke set. I haven’t added the set to my gallery yet–I’m still working on 1975–but there is a full list of the cards on the PSA site. Most individual 1979 Coke cards sell for a dollar or two on eBay.

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Clay Matthews Sr.

January 8th, 2010  |  Published in Fathers and Sons, Player Bios

Clay Matthews Sr. 1955 49ers Team Issue PhotoA couple of weeks ago, when I wrote that I had added 1955 49ers Team Issue photos to the Vintage Football Card Gallery, I neglected to point out that Clay Matthews Sr. is in one of the photos. Clay Sr. is the father of Clay Matthews Jr., who played 19 years for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons, and of Bruce Matthews, the Hall of Fame lineman for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans. He is also the grandfather of Clay Matthews III, the Packers rookie linebacker. Clay III had 10 sacks in 2009, a record for a Packers rookie.

Clay Sr. played offensive tackle and defensive end for the 49ers in 1950 and from 1953 to 1955. To my knowledge, he did not appear on any regular issue cards, and this is his only appearance on a team issue photo.

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