September 18th, 2013 | Published in New in the Gallery
Last week I added 1977 Holsum Bread cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The set, which was produced for Holsum by Topps, contains only Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. I filed the cards under Food and Regional Issues. Check ’em out!
March 21st, 2013 | Published in Milestone Birthdays
John Henderson, a wide receiver from 1965 to 1972 for the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Henderson’s best seasons were 1969 and 1970, when he gained over 500 yards each season. He was the leading receiver in Super Bowl IV, with 7 receptions for 111 yards. It wasn’t enough: the Vikings lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 23-7.
Though he played for eight seasons, I don’t believe that Henderson appeared on any standard football cards during his NFL career. He did, however, appear on a 1972 Sunoco Stamp, pictured here.
Happy birthday, Mr. Henderson!
March 18th, 2013 | Published in Milestone Birthdays
Dave Osborn, longtime running back for the Minnesota Vikings, is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Osborn played for the Vikings from 1965 to 1975, and he finished his career with the Green Bay Packers in 1976. His best season was 1967, when he gained a total of 1244 yards rushing and receiving. Osborn was a member of the Vikings teams that played in Super Bowls IV, XIII, and IV. He scored the team’s only touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.
Osborn played college football at the University of North Dakota. He was elected to the University of North Dakota Letterwinners Association Hall of Fame in 1977.
Osborn is pictured here on his 1970 Topps Super Glossy football card. He appeared on dozen more cards and stamps, as well.
Happy birthday, Mr. Osborn!
January 3rd, 2013 | Published in Player Deaths
Larry Bowie, a guard for the Minnesota Vikings from 1962 to 1968, passed away on December 31. His obituary appeared in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune. Bowie played college football at Purdue.
Bowie appeared on two regular issue football cards, the 1964 Philadelphia and 1969 Topps cards pictured here. He also appeared on a 1969 Topps mini-card.
December 5th, 2012 | Published in Player Deaths
John Ward passed away on December 4; he was a lineman from 1970 to 1976 for the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Chicago Bears. Ward was a member of the Vikings teams who represented the NFC in Super Bowls VIII and IX. There is a story about Ward and a recent picture at newsok.com.
Ward appeared on one football card, the 1976 Topps card pictured here. The card pictures Ward with Tampa Bay, who obtained him from Minnesota in the 1976 NFL Expansion Draft. He played just four games with Tampa Bay, then finished the 1976 season with Chicago.
October 2nd, 2012 | Published in Halls of Fame, New in the Gallery
Yesterday I added 1978 Country Kitchen Vikings photos to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. Pictured here is one of them, Tommy Kramer, who happens to be one of this year’s College Football Hall of Fame inductees. (The full list of 2012 inductees is here.) I listed the Country Kitchen set under Food and Regional Issues.
July 15th, 2012 | Published in Player Deaths
King Hill, a quarterback and punter who played in the NFL from 1958 to 1969, passed away on July 14. The riceowls.com web site has a story about Hill and a photo of him from his college days. Hill spent most of his playing career with the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles, and he punted for part of one season for the Minnesota Vikings. After retiring as a player, he served as a coach and scout in the NFL for 23 more years.
Hill appeared on several football cards as a player. His 1960 Mayrose Cardinals card is pictured here. The Mayrose cards, which were distributed in packages of Mayrose meat products, are a small regional set that commemorated the Cardinals’ move from Chicago to St. Louis.
You can see all of King Hill’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
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.
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/.)
February 27th, 2012 | Published in Player Deaths
Don Joyce, a defensive lineman from 1951 to 1962 for the Chicago Cardinals, Baltimore Colts, Minnesota Vikings, and Denver Broncos, passed away on February 26, according to the twincities.com web site. Joyce made the Pro Bowl in 1958, and he was a member of the Colts’ NFL Championship teams of 1958 and 1959.
Joyce finally appeared on football cards in his 11th NFL season, after the Vikings acquired him in the 1961 NFL Expansion Draft. The cards shown here are his 1961 Fleer and 1961 Topps cards. He also appeared with the Vikings on a 1962 Post Cereal football card, but he played for the AFL’s Denver Broncos in 1962.
December 1st, 2011 | Published in error cards, Football Card Trivia
As I wrote last week, one of my readers pointed out that the player on the cover of the San Francisco 49ers 1969 Topps Mini-Card Album is Joe Walton, and that the same image appeared in the inset photo of Walton’s 1962 Topps football card. This made me curious, so I checked to see if other inset photos from 1962 Topps cards had been reused on 1969 Mini-Card Albums. Sure enough, I found a few:
First, the image of Bart Starr on the Green Bay Packers Mini-Card Album appeared in the inset of Starr’s 1962 Topps card.
Next, the image of John Unitas on the Baltimore Colts Mini-Card Album was also used in the inset photo of Zeke Bratkowski’s 1962 Topps card. Topps changed Unitas’s number 19 to Bratkowski’s number 12 on the 1962 Topps card, as I noted in an earlier article.
The image on the Minnesota Vikings Mini-Card Album also appeared in the inset photo of Don Perkins’s 1962 Topps card, but the player’s number is different. I’m guessing that the image was altered for the 1962 card, so the player probably isn’t Perkins.
The image on the Denver Broncos Mini-Card Album is the same one used in the inset photo on Ollie Matson’s 1962 Topps card, but again, the player’s number is different. Matson was number 33 with the Rams, so it appears that the image on his 1962 card was altered. Does anyone recognize the player?
Finally, the image on the Washington Redskins Mini-Card Album is the same as the inset on John Aveni’s 1962 Topps card. Again, the player’s number appears to have been changed on the 1962 Topps card. I believe that the player is Dick James, who wore number 47 for the Redskins in 1961.
Given that there are so many altered jersey numbers on the 1962 Topps cards, I wonder how many of the inset photos actually picture the right player. Not many, I’ll bet.
