Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Yesterday I noticed that the player pictured on Fred Brown’s 1969 Glendale Stamp is actually Timmy Brown. Timmy Brown played for the Eagles until 1967, then played one season for the Baltimore Colts, then went on to a long acting career. Unfortunately, this is the only Fred Brown card or stamp I know of, so I don’t think his picture ever made it onto a card.

For many other cards and stamps that picture the wrong player, see the Mistaken Identities page of the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery have just turned 70: Ron Smith’s 70th birthday was yesterday, and Jim Butler’s is today.

Ron Smith was a defensive back and kick returner in the NFL from 1965 to 1974. He started his career with the Chicago Bears, then went to the Atlanta Falcons, the Los Angeles Rams, the Bears again, the San Diego Chargers, and the Oakland Raiders. In 1966 and 1967, with Atlanta, he led the league in kick return yards. In 1972, with Chicago, he led the league in kick return average. He also made the Pro Bowl in 1972.

Smith is pictured here on his 1972 Topps football card. He appeared on at least seven other cards and stamps, as well.

Jim “Cannonball” Butler was a fullback and kick returner from 1965 to 1972 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, and St. Louis Cardinals. (Coincidentally, he succeeded Smith as Atlanta’s kick returner in 1968.) Butler’s best season was 1969, when he gained 1357 all-purpose yards: 655 rushing, 297 receiving, and 405 returning kicks. He also made the Pro Bowl in 1969.

Butler is pictured here on his 1969 Glendale stamp. He also appeared on numerous other stamps and cards.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Smith and Butler!

Happy Friday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles:

• Here’s an 1894 photo of Pop Warner in his Cornell uniform. The auction title says the photo is autographed, but to me it looks like the writing says “Best wishes from the girls in the sewing circle.”
• 1968 KDKA Steelers cards are among my favorite regional sets. I like the horizontal, multi-player format, and I have often wondered why the major card companies didn’t print cards in this format to get more players in their sets. This set of KDKA cards looks like a nice one for the money.
• Here is a nice set of 1977 Touchdown Club cards. My Beckett catalog says that these cards were intended to be signed, and that they came with the players’ addresses. I wonder how many collectors were able to assemble autographed sets? I found just two signed cards on eBay: a Buford “Baby” Ray and a Sammy Baugh.
• There are three 1952 Bowman Large cards graded PSA 10 available this week.
• Here is another notable PSA 10: a shiny 1961 Fleer John Unitas card.
• The price seems right on this complete set of 1969 Drenks Green Bay Packers pins. I have been seeing a lot of red ones recently, too.
• Any stamp collectors out there? The image on these unused Jim Thorpe postage stamps is the same one that appeared on his 1955 Topps All-American card. I found some old Knute Rockne postage stamps this week, as well.
• If you like proofs, you might like this group of Roy Jefferson 1970 Super Glossy test cards.
• The #10 set of 1962 Topps football cards in the PSA Set Registry is for sale. Nice!
• I believe this is what is known as paper loss.
• Finally, the current most-watched vintage football card auction is a PSA 8 Jim Brown rookie card, closely followed by a PSA 8 John Unitas rookie card. There are a few more vintage cards among this week’s most-watched football card auctions, as well.

Like these? See my Interesting eBay Auction articles from past weeks. And if you’re a Facebook user, be sure to hit the “Like” button below!

A lot of you liked the interactive 1956 Topps Packers team card I told you about yesterday, so I thought I would knock out another interactive card. This time I did the 1956 Topps 49ers team card. Clicking on the card pictured here will take you to the interactive version.

This card went faster, since most of the players also appear on 1955 49ers team issue photos, and I didn’t have to enter the data for them. Only two players, Frank Mincevich and Lowell Wagner, were not already in my database. Also, there are no coaches or staff in the picture, so I didn’t have to find their information.

I will work on the remaining 1956 Topps team cards as I have time.

I recently added another interactive team card to the Vintage Football Card Gallery, the 1956 Topps Green Bay Packers card. Clicking on the card pictured here will take you to the interactive version.

I enjoy working on these team cards because it gives me an opportunity to acknowledge the players who never appeared on cards of their own. On this card, for instance, there are two members of the Packers Hall of Fame who never had their own cards. One is Deral Teteak, who starred at linebacker and guard for the Packers from 1952 to 1956. The other is Bud Jorgensen, who, after a brief playing career, served as an equipment manager and trainer for the Packers for 47 years.

Over time, I hope to make all of the team cards in the Gallery interactive. For those of you who haven’t seen them, here are the others I have done so far: 1958 Topps Baltimore Colts, 1959 Topps New York Giants, 1961 Topps Green Bay Packers, 1963 Topps Dallas Cowboys, 1964 Topps Oakland Raiders, and 1967 Philadelphia Cleveland Browns.

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: Elbert Drungo and Brian Schweda are both 70.

Elbert Drungo was an offensive lineman from 1969 to 1978 for the Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills. He is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1974 Topps. He also appeared on a 1975 Topps card and a 1972 Sunoco stamp.

Brian Schweda played defensive end from 1966 to 1968 for the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints. He was one of the original Saints, obtained from the Bears in the 1967 NFL Expansion draft. As far as I know, Schweda never appeared on a card, but he did appear on a 1969 Saints Doubloon, pictured here.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Drungo and Schweda!

Last week I picked up few of the short prints from the 1967 Royal Castle Dolphins football card set. One of them, Abner Haynes, is pictured below. You can see all of the new cards and a description of the set in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

The lot I purchased included a “Jr. Dolphin” card, also pictured below. This card is not listed in the price guides, but it looks like the rest of the Royal Castle cards, so I would consider it part of the set. I called it card #28 and added it to the Gallery, as well.

I am in the market for the cards I don’t yet have from this set: Frank Emanuel, Tom Erlandson, Norm Evans, Bob Griese, Jerry Hopkins, and Jim Warren. If you happen to have any of them for sale, please send me an email.

Tony Peters, who played defensive back for ten seasons with the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins, is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Peters played on the 1982 Redskins team that beat Miami in Super Bowl XVII, and he also made the Pro Bowl that season.

After retiring as a player, Peters went into coaching. He recently became the head coach at Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Peters is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1978 Topps.

Happy birthday, Mr. Peters!

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: John Morrow is 80, and J.R. Wilburn is 70.

John Morrow played center from 1956 to 1966 for the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns. He made the Pro Bowl in 1961 and 1963, and he was the starting center on the Browns team that won the 1964 NFL Championship. According to oldestlivingprofootball.com, Morrow is the 493rd oldest living American pro football player.

For a center, Morrow appeared on a remarkable number of football cards. He is pictured here on his 1964 Wheaties stamp.

J.R. Wilburn was a receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1966 to 1970. His best season was 1967, when he caught 51 passes for 767 yards. Wilburn, who grew up in Virginia, was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Wilburn is pictured here on his 1968 Topps card, wearing a Steelers “Batman” jersey. He appeared on several other cards and stamps, as well. (For more on the “Batman” jerseys, see one of my previous articles.)

Happy birthday, Messrs. Morrow and Wilburn!

Happy Thursday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles:

• There are two 1894 Mayo Cut Plug John Dunlop (a.k.a. “anonymous”) cards for sale this week: an SGC 10 and an SGC 20. I think the SGC 10 looks nicer than the SGC 20, don’t you? A PSA 1.5 MC sold for $12,500 last week.
• These are roughly cut, but they’re hard to find: a near set of 1961 National City Bank Cleveland Browns cards. The lot includes a pre-rookie card of Len Dawson.
• I’m guessing that the gum was stuck to this 1952 Bowman Large Chuck Bednarik card?
• I like these colorful 1971 Mattel Instant Replay discs. Mattel made them for other sports and non-sports, as well. I also found a working player. Think the battery is included?
• Not really vintage, but a cool item: an uncut sheet of 1981 CFL Edmonton Eskimos cards, including one of Warren Moon.
• Printing problem of the week: a way out of register 1948 Leaf Bucky O’Connell card.
• Last week there were none, but this week there are several vintage cards among the most-watched football card auctions. Topping the list is a PSA 5 1935 National Chicle Bronko Nagurski!

Like these? See my Interesting eBay Auction articles from past weeks. And if you’re a Facebook user, be sure to hit the “Like” button below.

Former NFL quarterback Jim Hardy is celebrating his 90th birthday today. Hardy played from 1946 to 1952 for the Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Cardinals, and Detroit Lions. He played in the first Pro Bowl, after the 1950 season, and he was a member of the Lions team that won the NFL Championship in 1952.

Hardy played college football at USC, leading the Trojans to Rose Bowl wins in 1944 and 1945. He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.

According to oldestprofootball.com, Hardy is the 66th oldest living American pro football player. He is pictured here on his 1948 Bowman football card.

Happy birthday, Mr. Hardy!

Danny Buggs, who had a nine-year career in the NFL, CFL, and USFL, is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Buggs played wide receiver for the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Edmonton Eskimos, Tampa Bay Bandits, and San Antonio Gunslingers. His best NFL season was 1979, when he caught 46 passes for 631 yards for the Redskins. He also played on the Edmonton Eskimos team that won the 1980 Grey Cup.

Before his professional career, Buggs was an All-American at West Virginia University. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

Buggs is pictured here on his 1974 West Virginia playing card and his rookie card, a 1978 Topps.

Happy birthday, Mr. Buggs!

Yesterday I added 1974 USC Discs to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The set includes discs of 25 USC players and one of coach John McKay. Remarkably, 17 of the 25 players in the set went on to play in the NFL. One of them, Pat Haden, is pictured here. Haden was a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981.

I filed the discs in the Oddball section of the Gallery.

Happy Friday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles:

• Here’s a full, PSA-graded, 33-card set of 1967 Milton Bradley cards. These are 1967 Topps cards that were reprinted in 1969 for use in a Milton Bradley game. You can read about them in a previous blog article.
• The image on this 1959 Cleveland Browns Christmas card later appeared by mistake on several Saskatchewan Roughriders team cards. In case you missed it, see my recent blog article about the error.
• 1963 Stancraft Playing Cards are common, but I don’t see many unopened decks. Here are two decks, one unopened and one used.
• A rare 1894 Mayo John Dunlop (a.k.a. “anonymous”) card sold this week.
• Uncut sheet of the week: a 132-card half-sheet of 1976 Wonder Bread cards.
• The #1 1977 Topps football card set in the PSA set registry is for sale. That’s about 60 pounds of plastic!
• The #5 1959 Topps set is for sale, too.
• I am sad to say that there are no vintage cards among the most-watched football card auctions this week. The oldest card on the list is a 1981 Topps Joe Montana rookie card.

Like these? See my Interesting eBay Auction articles from past weeks. And if you’re a Facebook user, be sure to hit the “Like” button below!

Ed McQuarters, who was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1988, is celebrating his 70th birthday today. McQuarters played defensive tackle for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1966 to 1974. He played in four Grey Cups (CFL championship games), of which the Roughriders won one, in 1966. He was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Lineman in 1967.

McQuarters played college football at the University of Oklahoma, and he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1965 NFL draft. He played in one game for the Cardinals before moving to the CFL. (See my Cups of Coffee page for other players who played in exactly one NFL, AFL, or AAFC game.)

McQuarters is pictured here on his 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL football card.

Happy birthday, Mr. McQuarters!