Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Bill Stits, who played in the NFL from 1954 to 1961 for the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins, and New York Giants, passed away on December 5. At various times in his career, Stits was a defensive back, running back, punt returner, and kick returner. He intercepted six passes and recovered a fumble in his rookie season in Detroit, and he made the Pro Bowl that year.

The cards pictured here are Stit’s rookie card, a 1954 Bowman, and his 1956 Topps card. He also appeared on two 49ers team issue photos, in 1957 and 1958. I don’t yet have his 1957 photo, but can see his 1958 photo in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

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.

Dick Stanfel and Jack Butler were named yesterday as the 2012 senior finalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can read the announcement and see the players’ biographies on the Hall of Fame site. This is the second time Stanfel has been chosen as a senior finalist; the first time was in 1993.

In the 1950s, defensive players and offensive linemen often got short shift, card-wise, and that is the case with these two players. Butler, a defensive back, played for the Steelers from 1951 to 1959, but he did not appear on a football card until his seventh season, 1957. His rookie card, a 1957 Topps, is pictured here. He also appeared on 1958 Topps and 1959 Topps cards.

Stanfel, who played from 1952 to 1958 for the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins, was a five-time first team All-Pro at guard. He appeared on just two football cards, his 1955 Bowman rookie card, pictured here, and a 1958 Topps.

Chances are very good that at least one of the two senior nominees will be elected to the Hall. The Senior Nominees page of the Hall of Fame web site shows that at least one senior candidate has been elected each year since 1998.

• Find Dick Stanfel football cards on eBay
• Find Jack Butler football cards on eBay

Bill Gray, an offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins in 1947 and 1948, passed away on August 18. OregonLive.com has an account of his life.

Gray appeared on one football card, the 1948 Bowman card pictured here.

You can see Gray’s career NFL statistics at pro-football-reference.com.

Preston Carpenter, who played twelve seasons for the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, and Miami Dolphins, passed away on June 30. Carpenter played halfback for the Browns in his rookie season, 1956, then spent the rest of his career as a receiver. He made the Pro Bowl in 1962 as a tight end with the Steelers.

Carpenter’s older brother, Lew, who also had a long NFL career, passed away last fall.

The card pictured here is Carpenter’s rookie card, a 1957 Topps. He appeared on numerous other cards during his career, as well.

• See all of Preston Carpenter’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
• See Preston Carpenter’s career stats at pro-football-reference.com.

John Nisby, who played guard from 1957 to 1964 for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins, passed away on February 6. Nisby made the Pro Bowl three times: twice with the Steelers, and once with the Redskins. Nisby’s obituary at dignitymemorial.com includes a recent photo of him, plus a nice photo gallery of him and his family.

For a lineman, Nisby appeared on a surprising number of football cards. His rookie card, a 1960 Topps, is pictured here.

• See all of John Nisby’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
• See John Nisby’s pro statistics at pro-football-reference.com.

Here’s another record from the nfl.com history page: on November 27, 1966, in a game against the New York Giants, the Redskins’ Charlie Gogolak attempted ten extra points. That means, of course, that the Redskins scored ten touchdowns that day, and they beat the Giants 72-41. The Redskins’ 72 points in one game is an NFL record, and so is the 113 total points that the two teams scored. According to an account of the game at sportsthenandnow.com, the Redskins weren’t very sportsmanlike that day: with only a few seconds left in the game, instead of running out the clock, coach Otto Graham sent Gogolak out to kick a field goal. With those final three points, the Redskins surpassed the previous record for points in a game, 70, which the Los Angeles Rams had set in 1950.

If you’re quick at math, you’re thinking, hmm, Gogolak must have missed one of his attempts against the Giants. He did; the Giants blocked it. Thus Gogolak shares the record for most successful extra points in a game with Pat Harder and Bob Waterfield. Harder, of the Chicago Cardinals, went 9-for-9 twice: against the New York Giants in 1948, and against the New York Bulldogs in 1949. Waterfield, of the Los Angeles Rams, went 9-for-9 in a game against the Baltimore Colts in 1950–the game in which the Rams set the scoring record I mentioned above. According to the box score, Elroy Hirsch kicked the final extra point in that game, or Waterfield alone would hold the record for most successful extra points in a game. Waterfield threw a 63-yard touchdown pass for the final score, and maybe it was too far to walk.

The cards pictured here are the rookie cards of the record-holding kickers: Gogolak’s 1967 Philadelphia card, Harder’s 1948 Leaf card (with his name misspelled), and Waterfield’s 1948 Leaf card. Waterfield and Harder also had rookie cards in the 1948 Bowman football card set.

• See all of Charlie Gogolak, Bob Waterfield, and Pat Harder‘s football cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
• See the career stats for Charlie Gogolak, Pat Harder, and Bob Waterfield at pro-football-reference.com.

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.

Don Doll, who played safety from 1949 to 1954 for the Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, and Los Angeles Rams, passed away on September 22. Doll had 41 career interceptions, and he made the Pro Bowl in four of his six seasons. According to a tribute on the Lions web site, he is the only NFL player to have intercepted at least ten passes in three different seasons. After his playing career, he coached in college and in the NFL for 34 years.

Despite his stellar play, Doll appeared on only two football cards. This was not unusual: defensive players were often under-represented in football card sets of the 1950s and 1960s. (Also see D is for Defensive Players.) The card shown here is Doll’s rookie card, a 1950 Bowman. He also appeared on a 1951 Bowman card with the Lions.

Earlier this week I enhanced the Vintage Football Card Gallery to let you find the cards of players and coaches who received various honors, such as membership in the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame. Now, for each such honor, I just have to add the honorees to my database. Over the past couple of days I added the members of the Washington Redskins Ring of Fame and the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor. The exercise has been interesting: I am familiar with most players who have made the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and now I am learning who was in the next level of great players for each team.

Pictured here are the rookie cards of two players I added to my honors database this week. The first is a 1964 Philadelphia card of Bill Brown, a member of the Vikings Ring of Honor, and the second is a 1955 Bowman card of Gene Brito, a member of the Redskins Ring of Fame. To see the other honors I’ve done so far–and to do more complex searches–see the Advanced Search page of the Gallery.

Earlier this week, Les Richter and Chris Hanburger were named the 2011 senior finalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can read the announcement and see the players’ biographies on the Hall of Fame site.

Richter’s two rookie cards are a 1952 Bowman Large and a 1952 Bowman Small, issued the year he graduated from the University of California. (The 1952 Bowman Small is pictured here.) He served in the Army for two years after graduating, and he joined the Rams in 1954. Richter played for the Rams from 1954 to 1962, and he appeared on at least one football card in each year of his career–unusual for a defensive player. He passed away earlier this year.

Hanburger’s rookie card is a 1967 Philadelphia, issued in the third year of his career. After that, he appeared on at least one card or stamp each year until he retired after the 1976 season.

Judging by recent history, it is likely that at least one of the two senior nominees will be elected to the Hall. The Hall of Fame’s senior nominees page shows that at least one senior candidate has been elected each year since 1998. Since 2004, when the senior committee began nominating two players per year, 11 of the 14 nominees have been elected. One nominee, Bob Hayes, was not elected in 2004, but he was nominated again in 2009 and elected that year.

You can see all of Les Richter’s cards and all of Chris Hanburger’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Vic Janowicz is another player who played both NFL football and major league baseball. (See last week’s article on Carroll Hardy.) Janowicz won the Heisman Trophy for Ohio State in 1950, then opted for baseball rather than football after graduating in 1951. He made the Pittsburgh Pirates team in 1953, and he played in 83 games over two seasons. In that period he batted just .214, and he returned to football in 1954, joining the Washington Redskins late in the season. He fared much better in the NFL, finishing second in the league in scoring in 1955. In 1956 he was seriously injured in a car accident, and he did not play again.

Despite an unremarkable career in the major leagues, Janowicz appeared on several baseball cards. Both Topps and Bowman were producing baseball cards at the time, and I’m guessing that they printed cards of Janowicz mostly because he was famous for winning the Heisman. I don’t have his baseball cards, but you can see all of them on eBay.

Janowicz’s football rookie card is in the 1951 Topps Magic set, which pictures college players. Rookie cards of Heisman winners are popular with collectors, and the Janowicz card is the key card in the set. He also appeared on 1955 Bowman and 1956 Topps football cards. You can see all of Janowicz’s early football cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

The cards pictured here are Janowicz’s 1955 Bowman baseball card and his 1955 Bowman football card.

Jack Cloud, who played fullback and linebacker for the Packers and Redskins from 1950 to 1953, passed away on June 19. Before his pro career, Cloud starred at William and Mary, where he scored five touchdowns in one game and a school record 102 points in one season. After leaving pro football, he coached and taught physical education for 37 years, including 32 years at the Naval Academy. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

Pictured here is Cloud’s 1951 Bowman card. He also appeared on a 1948 Leaf card while still at William and Mary. I don’t yet have that card in the Vintage Football Card Gallery, but you can see examples of it on eBay. Cloud’s obituary at hometownannapolis.com includes a relatively recent photo.

Jim Podoley, who played halfback and end for the Washington Redskins from 1957 to 1960, died on January 24. His obituary includes a nice recent photo. Podoley was a Pro Bowler in his rookie season, when he led the NFL with 20.5 yards per reception. Prior to his professional career, he starred in football and track at Central Michigan University. He was one of the inaugural inductees into the CMU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Pictured here is Podoley’s 1959 Topps card. He also has a card in the 1958 Topps set, but that card actually pictures Volney Peters.

Bill Dudley, Hall of Fame back for the Steelers, Lions, and Redskins, died this morning. Dudley was a star in all parts of the game, leading the league in rushing twice, interceptions once, and punt return yards twice. He was the Steelers’ leading passer in 1942 and 1946, and–in addition to his other duties–he was the kicker for the Lions and Redskins in his last four seasons. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.

Pictured here is one of Dudley’s rookie cards, a 1948 Bowman. His other rookie card is a 1948 Leaf. Most of Dudley’s vintage cards are pictured in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. He also appeared in several recent Hall of Fame sets.