Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Dave Robinson and Curley Culp were named yesterday as the 2013 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 web site. This is the first time that either player has been chosen as a Hall of Fame finalist.

Robinson, a linebacker, played for the Packers from 1963 to 1972, and for the Washington Redskins in 1973 and 1974. He made the Pro Bowl three times, and he was a member of the Packers’ NFL Championship teams of 1965-1967. Robinson’s rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia, is pictured here. He appeared on a number of other cards and stamps, as well.

Culp, a defensive tackle, played from 1968 to 1981 for the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Oilers, and Detroit Lions. He made the Pro Bowl 6 times in his 14 seasons, and he played on the Chiefs team that won Super Bowl IV. Culp’s rookie card, a 1973 Topps, is pictured here. Prior to his rookie card, Culp appeared on a 1971 Kellogg’s card and a 1972 Sunoco stamp, and he appeared on numerous Topps cards later in his career.

Chances are good that at least one of the two 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 Dave Robinson football cards on eBay
• Find Curley Culp football cards on eBay

This week I added 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. One thing I enjoyed about adding the cards was finding a few players who had also played in the NFL or AFL, but who did not appear on NFL or AFL cards. One of them, Dave Raimey, is pictured here. Raimey played for the Cleveland Browns in 1964, then he played ten seasons in the CFL and made the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

In the notes for the 1971 O-Pee-Chee cards, I identified all of the players who also played in the NFL or AFL. I also marked the players who are members of the Canadian Hall of Fame. Check ’em out!

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/.)

Alex Webster, a running back for the New York Giants from 1955 to 1964 and the team’s head coach from 1969 to 1973, passed away today. The nj.com web site has a report and a recent photo. Webster was a member of the Giants’ NFL Championship team in 1956, he made the Pro Bowl in 1958 and 1961, and he was elected to the Giants Ring of Honor in 2011.

The cards pictured here are Webster’s rookie card, a 1956 Topps, and his last card, a 1964 Kahn’s Wieners card. You can see all of Webster’s NFL cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Before playing for New York, Webster spent two seasons with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes. He appeared on at least one CFL card, a scarce 1954 Blue Ribbon Tea card. You can see it at cflapedia.com.

Yesterday I identified the members of the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The 49ers Hall of Fame was created recently, in 2009, so most of the inductees thus far have been members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I presume that over the next few years, the 49ers will add team stars that have not been inducted into the Pro Hall.

Pictured here is one of the 2011 inductees, R.C. Owens, on his 1959 Topps card. (Ordinarily I feature players’ rookie cards, but Owens’s rookie card pictures Don Owens, not R.C.) Owens played his first five seasons for the 49ers, then moved on to other teams. After retiring as a player, he returned to work for the 49ers for over 20 years.

The 49ers web site has a list of the all of the team’s hall of famers, along with photos and short summaries of their careers. I especially like the photo of John Henry Johnson, who is wearing a funky clear facemask.

If you’re not a 49ers fan, you can probably find your team’s Hall of Famers via the Gallery’s Advanced Search page. Not all teams have a hall of fame, but I have finished most of the teams that do.

Last week I added 1974 Fleer Immortal Roll cards–also called 1974 Fleer Hall of Fame cards– to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The page for the set includes a short description, so I won’t describe again them here. I added a fun fact or two for each card in the set, as well. Take a look!

I hope you like this feature, because it took me awhile: I identified all of the players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery who are members of the College Football Hall of Fame. You can do a search for all of the College Hall of Famers, all of the College Hall of Famers from a certain college (say Ohio State), or all of the College Hall of Famers from a certain pro team (say the Los Angeles Rams). Use the Gallery’s Advanced Search page to specify whatever combinations you like.

What I like most about this feature is that it highlights some cards that you typically find in the commons bin. Some players with stellar college careers had short or not-as-stellar pro careers, and you wouldn’t know from their cards how good they were in college. The player pictured here is one example: Jim Swink was runner-up to Howard Cassady for the Heisman Trophy in 1955, and he was elected to the College Hall of Fame in 1980. Swink played pro football for just one season–1960 for the AFL’s Dallas Texans–and this 1960 Fleer card is his only football card.

Happy New Year, everyone! Time to start those diets, budgets, and exercise programs! But it’s okay to wait until tomorrow–it’s a holiday, right?

I was thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2012 in the Vintage Football Card Gallery, and I decided that my goals follow two themes. The first theme is to finish some of the things I have already started. For example, last year I started identifying players who are in the College Football Hall of Fame, but I haven’t finished because there are way more of them than I thought. On the other hand, in the process of identifying the College Hall of Famers, I have learned some interesting things about them. Did you know, for instance, that Cosmo Iacavazzi, who played in only two games professionally, led the nation in scoring at Princeton in 1963? I love uncovering nuggets like that.

Which brings me to my second theme: doing more with the cards I already have. The Gallery now contains pictures of most of the vintage football cards out there, so now I can work more on depth than breadth. One thing I have started doing in this area is adding trivia for each card. Going back to Mr. Iacavazzi: did you ever notice that his 1965 Topps card pictures him in his college uniform, recolored Jets green? Until yesterday, I didn’t, either, but as I learn such things, I will make note of them. (For more examples, see the 1953 Rams Team Issue cards I recently added to the Gallery.)

Of course, as well as looking ahead to the new year, we should look back and remind ourselves of what we accomplished in 2011. This morning I took a quick look through my “New in the Gallery” blog articles, and it was gratifying to see all of the new cards and virtual uncut sheets I was able to add over the year. Most gratifying, I think, is that I had so much fun doing it.

Enjoy your collections, keep in touch, and have a terrific 2012!

Every wonder how many players in the 1961 Nu-Card college football card set went on to play in the NFL or AFL? I wondered, so I looked them up. I also marked them in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. Before you look, what is your guess? There are a total of 80 cards in the set.

Here’s a hint: it’s at least two. John Hadl played sixteen seasons for the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, and Houston Oilers. He is a member of the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame. Curtis McClinton played eight seasons for the Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs. (The Texans moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs in 1963.) McClinton is a member of the Chiefs Hall of Fame.

Have your guess? See my 1961 Nu-Card page for the answer.

Gale Gillingham, an offensive lineman for ten seasons with the Green Bay Packers, passed away on October 20. Today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a report. Gillingham made the Pro Bowl five times, and he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1982.

The cards pictured here are Gillingham’s rookie card, a 1970 Topps, and his last card, a 1975 Topps. He appeared on a number of cards and stamps in the intervening years, as well. You can see all of Gale Gillingham’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.