I hadn’t noticed before (it’s on the back) that Nagurski was from International Falls, Minnesota, the “Icebox of the Nation.” I went to the City of International Falls web site to see if there was any mention of him, and I was surprised not to find anything. Searching further, though, I found that there is a Bronko Nagurski Museum in town (scroll down to Smokey Bear Park), and that the Falls High School Broncos were named after Nagurski. I wonder why the city doesn’t make more of these things?

In my search, I also found a nice tribute to Nagurski, with lots of stories, pictures, and links to other sites, on the Windy City Gridiron web site. Check out the story about Bronko’s service station.

Nagurski’s son, Bronko Nagurski Jr., also played pro football, but in the CFL, with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. (According to Wikipedia, Bronko Jr. was drafted by the 49ers in 1959, but he elected to play in Canada.)

For more on the 1935 National Chicle cards, see N is for National Chicle.

• Search eBay for: 1935 National Chicle, Bronko Nagurski Jr.

A little Googling turned up these facts about Ameche:

• He played on the 1952 Wisconsin team that won the Big Ten Championship and played in the Rose Bowl. The Badgers lost 7-0 to USC. There is a nice photo of the 1952 team on the University of Wisconsin web site. (Ameche is number 35, second from the left in the second row.)
• He won the Heisman Trophy in 1954. (I knew this.)
• He made the Pro Bowl his first four years with the Colts.
• He scored the winning touchdown in the 1958 Championship Game against the Giants, “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” The SI Vault has a photo of him scoring the touchdown.
• Academy award winner Don Ameche was his cousin.

The card pictured above is Ameche’s rookie card, a 1955 Bowman. Though the card shows him in Colts blue, I’m pretty sure his jersey was red when the photo was taken. The image matches a 1954 photo in the University of Wisconsin Archives. It appears he was running right out of his socks! (There’s also a less flattering photo that appears to be from the same session.)

Ameche played only six years with the Colts, retiring after the 1960 season because of an Achilles tendon injury. The card companies apparently didn’t get the word, because he appeared on two cards the year after his retirement: the 1961 Topps and 1961 Fleer cards below.

You can see all of Ameche’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. There is also a nice article about him in the University of Wisconsin Archives.

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.

Numerous Hall of Fame defensive players were in the league for years before appearing on a card. The most egregious example I can think of is Dick Lane. In 1952, his rookie year with the Rams, Lane had 14 interceptions, an NFL record that still stands–and he did it in 12 games! In 1954 he again led the league in interceptions, with 10, this time with the Cardinals. Despite his performance–and though the Cardinals were hardly flush with stars–Lane first appeared on a 1957 Topps card, and his next appearance was on a 1961 Fleer. (Lane’s biography on Wikipedia–assuming it is accurate–is fascinating. It says his mother found him in a Dumpster!)

Another Hall of Fame defensive player, Len Ford, played for 11 years but appeared on only two cards: his 1955 Bowman rookie card and a 1957 Topps card. He began his career in 1948 with the Los Angeles Dons of the AAFC, and he joined the Browns in 1950 when the AAFC folded and the Browns joined the NFL. No major company printed cards of AAFC players, but Bowman printed cards of NFL players every year from 1950 to 1955, and they finally included Ford in their last year.

At least four Lombardi-era Packers defensive players also made late rookie card appearances: Ray Nitschke began his career in 1958, and his rookie card is a 1963 Topps. Willie Davis also joined the team in 1958, and his rookie card is a 1964 Philadelphia. Herb Adderley joined the team in 1961, and his rookie card is also a 1964 Philadelphia–with his name misspelled, to boot. Willie Wood started in 1960, and his rookie card is a 1963 Topps.

Two Chiefs Hall of Fame defensive backs provide a final example: Willie Lanier joined the Chiefs in 1967, and his rookie card is a 1971 Topps. Emmitt Thomas joined in 1966, and his rookie card is a 1972 Topps.

Occasionally, when it took a while for a defensive player to appear on a card from a major company, the player would appear first on a “pre-rookie” card in a regional or oddball set. All four of the Packers mentioned above had pre-rookie cards in the 1961 Lake to Lake Packers set. Hall of Famers Bob Lilly, Jim Johnson, and Larry Wilson all had pre-rookie cards in the 1962 Post Cereal set. And as I wrote in a previous post, Rams star Ed Meador appeared on 1959 Bell Brand, 1960 Bell Brand, and 1962 Post Cereal cards before his 1963 Topps rookie card was issued. Another long-time Ram, Jack Pardee, whose rookie card is a 1964 Philadelphia, also appeared in the Bell Brand and Post Cereal sets.

Changing the subject a bit, it is worth noting that until 1959, football cards did not distinguish between offensive and defensive positions when there was ambiguity. For example, if a player’s card said “end,” he could have been either a receiver or a defensive end. If it said “back,” he could have been either a running back or a defensive back. Pictured here is an example: Jack Butler was a defensive back, but his 1957 Topps rookie card just says “back.” (This, by the way, is another late rookie card. Butler started his career with the Steelers in 1951.) Perhaps this was a vestige of the time when players played both offense and defense, and a back on offense would also have been a back on defense. Whatever the reason, because of the ambiguity, I probably still have some defensive players listed as offensive players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. Occasionally a kind person sends me a correction.

• Previous: C is for Checklists
• Next: E is for Error Cards
• All of the ABCs

Another site, Remember the AFL is dedicated to the American Football League, and it makes the case for 42 ex-AFL players. This list of candidates overlaps only a little with that of Crazy Canton Cuts, so the two sites together promote over 60 candidates.

Finally, a Google search for “pro football hall of fame petition” turns up a raft of petitions for individual players. A few not included in the sites above are L. C. Greenwood, John Brodie, Andre Tippett, Rickey Jackson, and Glenn Presnell.

So, in total, what is that, 65 or 70 candidates? Plenty of good reading, for sure. But wait a minute, then there’s Jerry Kramer, Alex Karras, Ken Stabler, Ken Anderson…

• Search eBay for: Future HOF

Meador played mostly before my time, and until I read his Awards and Statistics page, I didn’t know how good he had been. Meador’s rookie card, a 1963 Topps, is relatively easy to find, and it is inexpensive for a rookie card of a hall-of-fame candidate. Meador also had three cards issued before his rookie card: 1959 Bell Brand, 1960 Bell Brand, and 1962 Post Cereal, all of which are challenging to find. I can’t think of another other player with three “pre-rookie” cards, so if he does make the hall-of-fame, I’ll have to add a new section to my pre-rookie card page.

Altogether, Meador appeared on at least eleven cards, a large number for a defensive player in the 1960′s. The card pictured here is his 1960 Bell Brand Potato Chips card.

• Search Nearmint’s Cards for: Ed Meador cards, 1960 Bell Brand Rams
• Search eBay for: Ed Meador cards, 1960 Bell Brand Rams

A couple of collectors’ vintage football sets are worth a look: Wolfbear’s 1962 Fleer set and Frank Evanov’s retired 1964 Philadelphia set. Each collector has provided a description of the set, scans of each card, and comments for each card. (If a comment appears truncated, hold your cursor over it to see the whole thing.) Did you know that Robert Brooks was a “a mahjong enthusiast and an accomplished bassoonist”? I didn’t, either!

There is a good argument that Wilson should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He led the league in receptions three times in the 50′s. He was a Pro Bowler six straight years. When he retired, he was second only to Don Hutson in career receptions. And his career statistics are comparable to those of Tom Fears and Elroy Hirsch, who are members of the Hall of Fame.

You can see all of Billy Wilson’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Howley could be the next player elected to the Hall of Fame whose rookie card is in the 1966 Philadelphia football card set. After two years with the Bears and a year of retirement, Howley un-retired and joined the Cowboys in their second year, 1961. He played thirteen seasons for the Cowboys, and he was an All-Pro in six of them. In Super Bowl V he had two interceptions and a fumble recovery, and he was named the game’s MVP. The Cowboys lost the game to the Colts, however, and Howley remains the only Super Bowl MVP who played for the losing team.

You can see all of Chuck Howley’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

You can see all of Gene Mingo’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.