Happy Birthday, Ron Smith and Jim Butler!

May 4th, 2013  |  Published in Milestone Birthdays

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 1972 Topps football cardRon 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 Butler 1969 Glendale StampJim “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!

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2013 College Football Hall of Fame Candidates, Bowl Subdivision

March 8th, 2013  |  Published in Halls of Fame

Earlier this week, the National Football Foundation announced the names of the 2013 Football Bowl Subdivision candidates for the College Football Hall of Fame. Eleven of the 82 players and coaches on the ballot appear on cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. (One of them appears on someone else’s card, however.) Here are the eleven in the Gallery:

Bob Berry, Quarterback, Oregon. Berry had a long NFL career with the Vikings and Falcons. He is shown here on his 1972 Topps card.
Bob Berry 1972 Topps football card
John Didion, center, Oregon State. Didion played six seasons for the New Orleans Saints. This is his 1974 Topps card.
John Didion 1974 Topps football card
Charlie Gogolak, kicker, Princeton. Gogolak played six seasons for the Washington Redskins and Boston/New England Patriots. In 1966, he set a record for most extra points attempted in a game, with 10. (He made 9 of them.) He is shown here on his rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia. Gogolak’s brother, Pete, also played in the NFL.
Charlie Gogolak 1967 Philadelphia rookie football card
Rob Lytle, running back, Michigan. Lytle played seven seasons for the Denver Broncos. This is his rookie card, a 1978 Topps. Lytle finished third in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1976, so he also appears on my page of cards of Heisman Trophy candidates.
Rob Lytle 1978 Topps rookie football card
Paul Naumoff, linebacker, Tennessee. Naumoff had a 12-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions. He is pictured here on his 1973 Topps card.
Paul Naumoff 1973 Topps football card
Tom Nowatzke, linebacker, Indiana. Nowatzke played eight seasons for the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Colts. This is his 1969 Topps football card.
Tom Nowatze 1969 Topps football card
Phil Olsen, defensive end, Utah State. Olsen played six seasons for the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos. One of his teammates with the Rams was his brother, Merlin. (See my Teammate Brothers article.) Olsen is shown here on his 1973 Topps football card.
Phil Olsen 1973 Topps football card
Jim Otis, fullback, Ohio State. Otis played nine seasons for the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, and St. Louis Cardinals. His 1976 Buckmans Disc is pictured here. Otis also appears on my page of cards of Heisman Trophy candidates.
Jim Otis 1976 Buckmans football disc
Don Trull, quarterback, Baylor. Trull played six seasons for the AFL’s Houston Oilers and Boston Patriots, and two seasons for the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos. He is shown here on his 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL card. Trull also appears on my page of cards of Heisman Trophy candidates.
Don Trull 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL football card
Clancy Williams, running back, Washington State. Though Williams was a running back in college, as a pro he played defensive back. He played his whole eight-year NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams. Williams’s son, Clarence, also played a season in the NFL. The elder Williams is shown here on his only card, a 1967 Philadelphia.
Clancy Williams 1967 Philadelphia football card
Darryl Rogers, coach, several schools. Rogers never played in a regular season game as a pro, but he did coach the Detroit Lions from 1985 to 1988. Apparently, he also tried out with the Denver Broncos in the early 1960s, because his picture ended up on Goose Gonsoulin’s 1961 Fleer card. For more cards that picture the wrong player, see the Mistaken Identities page of the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
Goose Gonsoulin 1961 Fleer rookie football card
You can see all 82 of the 2013 Football Bowl Subdivision candidates on the National Football Foundation web site.

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Angelo Coia, Bears, Redskins, and Falcons Receiver

January 4th, 2013  |  Published in Player Deaths

Angelo Coia 1962 Topps rookie football cardAngelo Coia, a receiver from 1960 to 1966 for the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Falcons, passed away on January 2. Coia was a member of the Bears team that won the NFL Championship in 1963. He also was a member of the first Falcons team, in 1966. According to Coia’s obituary at philly.com, he and Herb Adderley were teammates on the football and track teams at Northeast High School in Philadelphia. He played college football at The Citadel and USC.

Coia is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1962 Topps. He also appeared on a 1962 Post Cereal card and a 1965 Philadelphia football card.

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Larry Morris, Rams, Bears, and Falcons Linebacker

December 21st, 2012  |  Published in Player Deaths

Larry Morris, a linebacker from 1955 to 1966 for the Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, and Atlanta Falcons, passed away on December 19. Morris was a member of the Bears team that won the NFL championship in 1963. At Georgia Tech, Morris starred in both football and baseball, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992. There is an obituary for Morris, including a recent photo, on the legacy.com web site.

The cards pictured here are Morris’s 1958 Topps and 1959 Topps cards. Though the 1959 card shows him with the Redskins, he played with the Bears that season. He also appeared in several food and regional issues with the Rams and Bears. You can see all of Morris’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
Larry Morris 1958 Topps football cardLarry Morris 1959 Topps football card

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John Small, Falcons and Lions Defensive Tackle and Linebacker

December 12th, 2012  |  Published in Player Deaths

John Small 1972 Sunoco stampJohn Small, a defensive tackle and linebacker from 1970 to 1974 for the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions, passed away on December 10. The Charleston Post and Courier has a story about Small, along with a recent photo.

Small did not appear on a regular issue football card, but he did appear on a 1972 Sunoco stamp and a 1972 NFLPA stamp. The Sunoco stamp is pictured here.

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2012 College Football Hall of Fame Inductees

May 16th, 2012  |  Published in Halls of Fame

Yesterday the National Football Foundation announced the 2012 Football Bowl Subdivision College Football Hall of Fame Class. (That’s a mouthful, isn’t it?) You can see the full list of 12 players and 3 coaches on the NFF web site.

Four of the new College Hall of Famers appear on cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. Their rookie cards are pictured here: Hal Bedsole on a 1965 Philadelphia, John Wooten on a 1967 Philadelphia, Otis Armstrong on a 1975 Topps, and Steve Bartkowski on a 1976 Topps.
Hal Bedsole 1965 Philadelphia rookie football cardJohn Wooten 1967 Philadelphia rookie football card
Otis Armstrong 1975 Topps rookie football cardSteve Bartkowski 1976 Topps rookie football card
I have identified all of the past College Football Hall of Fame inductees in the Gallery, as well. To see the College Hall of Famers from your favorite school, use a web address of the form http://www.footballcardgallery.com/honor1/College+Hall+of+Fame/college/Your+College/. (Example: http://www.footballcardgallery.com/honor1/College+Hall+of+Fame/college/Ohio+State/.)

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A Few More Pieces to My Puzzle

April 9th, 2012  |  Published in New in the Gallery

1966 Philadelphia Atlanta Falcons Insignia football cardLast year, after looking at a number of badly miscut cards, I concluded that uncut sheets of 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia football cards all had the same numbering scheme. So, from a picture of a half-sheet of 1966 Philadelphia cards, I was able to construct virtual half-sheets of 1965 and 1967 Philadelphia cards, as well. Unfortunately, I have not seen an example of the other half-sheet from any of the three sets, but I have been slowly piecing one together by looking at more miscut cards. Last weekend I added a few more pieces, and the second half-sheet took more shape. One of the new pieces is shown here: it’s a miscut 1966 Atlanta Falcons card that has a tiny piece of a Don Perkins card in the lower left corner.

To see my progress on the second half-sheet, go to the Uncut Sheets in Progress page and scroll down to the bottom. For a full list of my virtual uncut sheets, see a previous blog article, U is for Uncut Sheets.

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The Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor

November 16th, 2010  |  Published in Halls of Fame

Yesterday I added the ability to search the Vintage Football Card Gallery for members of the Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor. The Falcons established the Ring in 2004; you can see all of the inductees on the Falcons web site.

Atlanta entered the league in 1966, and the Gallery contains cards only up to 1976, so I have cards for only three Ring of Honor members: Claude Humphrey, Tommy Nobis, and Jeff Van Note. They are pictured here on their 1972 Sunoco Stamps.
1972 Sunoco Stamp of Claude Humphrey1972 Sunoco Stamp of Tommy Nobis1972 Sunoco Stamp of Jeff Van Note
What’s remarkable about these three players is the amount of time they were with the team. Humphrey played 14 seasons in the NFL, 11 of them with the Falcons. Nobis played 11 seasons, all with the Falcons. And Van Note played 17 seasons, all with the Falcons! None of the three has yet been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, though Humphrey has been a finalist four times. I would like to see one of the old-timers get in before Deion Sanders, who was inducted into the Ring of Honor in 2010. Sanders spent just 5 of his 14 NFL seasons with the Falcons.

I am slowly identifying the members of all of the individual teams’ Halls of Fame in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. You can see the others I have finished on the Advanced Search page.

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Randy Johnson, First Falcons Quarterback

September 23rd, 2009  |  Published in Player Deaths

Randy Johnson, the first quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, died on September 16. Along with Tommy Nobis, Johnson was a first round draft choice for the Falcons in 1966. Johnson played for five years with the Falcons, then went on to play for the Giants, Hawaiians (of the World Football League), Redskins, and Packers. In his last professional game, Johnson started for the Packers and led them to a win over his first team, the Falcons.

Pictured here is Johnson’s rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia. You can see all of his cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

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