Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Ralph Felton, a linebacker for the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills, passed away on January 22, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Felton played for the Redskins from 1954 to 1960, and for the Bills in 1961 and 1962.

Felton appeared on two football cards during his career. His first card, a 1960 Topps, is pictured here; it was issued in his seventh season. He also appeared on a 1961 Fleer card as a Redskin, but by then he had moved on to the Bills.

You can see Ralph Felton’s NFL and AFL statistics at pro-football-reference.com.

Cookie Gilchrist, who played fullback from 1962 to 1967 for the Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins, passed away this morning. He was a member of the Bills team that won the American Football League Championship in 1964. Before playing in the AFL, Gilchrist spent six seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. There is a comprehensive article about Gilchrist’s career on the Pro Football Researchers web site.

The card pictured here is Gilchrist’s 1963 Fleer football card. He also appeared on Topps AFL football cards each year from 1964 to 1967. His 1963 Fleer card is considered his rookie card, though he appeared on several CFL cards prior to 1963.

• Cookie Gilchrist’s CFL statistics at cflapedia.com
• Cookie Gilchrist CFL cards on eBay
• Cookie Gilchrist’s AFL statistics at pro-football-reference.com

Yesterday I identified the members of the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. Pictured here is the 2010 inductee, Booker Edgerson, on his rookie card, a 1963 Fleer. You can see the full list of inductees on the Buffalo Bills Alumni Association web site. I had to dig a little, but I also found a photo of part of the wall, from the day that Andre Reed was inducted.

Over the past few months, I have identified the members of many of the NFL teams’ halls of fame in the Gallery. To see if I have gotten to your favorite team, go to the Advanced Search page and look for it in one of the Honor menus.

Wayne Patrick, who played fullback for the Buffalo Bills from 1968 to 1972, passed away on March 23. For most of his career, Patrick was the lead blocker for O.J. Simpson. He gained over 1000 yards rushing, as well.

The sharp 1972 Topps card shown here was Patrick’s only appearance on a mainstream football card. He also appeared on a 1972 Sunoco stamp.

Al Dorow, who played quarterback for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Titans, Buffalo Bills, and three CFL teams, died on December 7. Dorow was the New York Titans’ starting quarterback when the AFL started play in 1960. (The Titans became the Jets in 1963.) There is a detailed article about Dorow’s career on the profootballresearchers.com web site.

Pictured here is Dorow’s rookie card, a 1955 Bowman. Over his career, he appeared on five NFL and AFL cards. He also appeared on one CFL card, in 1959. I don’t have Dorow’s CFL card, but there are a lot of them on eBay.

Tom Janik, who played defensive back from 1963 to 1971 for the Broncos, Bills, and Patriots, died on November 21. According to his page on pro-football-reference.com, Janik intercepted 25 passes in his career, returning 6 of them for touchdowns. He went to the Pro Bowl twice, both times with the Bills, in 1965 and 1967.

Pictured here is Janik’s rookie card, a 1964 Topps. He also appeared on a 1971 Topps card.

A page at pro-football-reference.com called “Cups of Coffee” lists all of the pro football players who appeared in only one NFL, AFL, or AAFC game. Of course, when I discovered the page, I wondered if any of the players had appeared on football cards. I perused the list and came up with these:

Ronnie Knox

Ronnie Knox played in one game for the Chicago Bears in 1957, but he did not throw a pass. It appears that he was the fourth-string quarterback, a rookie playing behind three veterans. Topps, oddly, printed cards of all four Bears quarterbacks in 1957. Knox also spent a few seasons in the CFL, and he appeared on a few CFL cards. You can usually find them on eBay.

Buddy Allen

Buddy Allen had three carries in one game for the Denver Broncos in 1961. He apparently at least tried out for the Oakland Raiders the year before, because his only card is the 1960 Fleer card shown here. It is possible that he was on the Raiders’ roster in 1960, but the rosters I have found online show only the players who actually played in regular season games.

Jim Yeats

Jim Yeats appeared in one game for the Houston Oilers in 1960, but he did not have any stats. The card pictured here is his 1960 Fleer card. Unfortunately, on his only card, Fleer misspelled his name. I heard from one of Yeats’s relatives a few years ago, and she told me that he was with the Packers in 1958 and 1959, and that he was still with the Oilers in 1961. He evidently did not see playing time those years.

1960 was the first year of the AFL, and the teams’ rosters apparently were not final when Fleer chose the players to include on their cards. Many of the players on 1960 Fleer cards did not see playing time in the AFL.

Don McKissack

Don McKissack played in one game for the NFL’s Dallas Texans in 1952, two years after he was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. If you count variations, he appeared on two cards in the 1950 Felt Backs set: a brown one and a yellow one. (The price guides assign higher prices to the yellow 1950 Topps Felt Backs, but the brown ones are actually scarcer.)

Mark Burke

Mark Burke saw playing time for the Philadelphia Eagles in the last game of the 1976 season. He returned one punt for fourteen yards, not too shabby. He appeared on the 1974 West Virginia playing card pictured here.

Steve Haggerty

Steve Haggerty played in one game for the Denver Broncos in 1975, but he did not get any stats. Here he is on a 1974 Colorado Playing Card, though he had transferred to UNLV for the 1974 season.

Larry Joe

Larry Joe played one game for the AAFC’s Buffalo Bills in 1949. He had a pretty good game, gaining 82 all-purpose yards. Joe appeared on a 1948 Leaf football card–one of the tough high numbers–with Penn State. I did a quick web search for Joe and found that he still holds the Penn State record for career kickoff return average.