Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery, John Lee and Scott Laidlaw, are celebrating their 60th birthday today. Lee was a defensive end from 1976 to 1981 for the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots, and Laidlaw was a running back from 1975 to 1980 for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. Laidlaw played on three Super Bowl teams in his first four seasons, all with the Cowboys. The Cowboys won one of them, Super Bowl XII, against the Broncos.

As far as I know, Lee did not appear on a football card during his NFL career, but he did appear on a 1974 Nebraska playing card while still in college. That card is shown below. He was one of at least fourteen players in the 1974 Nebraska football deck who later played in the NFL.

Laidlaw appeared on the 1977 Topps card pictured here, as well as a Mexican version of the same card. You can read about the 1977 Topps Mexican cards at toppsmexican.com.

Happy birthday, Mr. Lee and Mr. Laidlaw!

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: Elbert Dubenion is 80, and Brig Owens is 70.

Elbert “Golden Wheels” Dubenion, a flanker, played his entire career with the Buffalo Bills in the AFL. He was one of the original Bills in 1960, and he stayed with the team until 1968. Dubenion was AFL All-Star in 1964, and he was elected to the Bills Wall of Fame in 1993. Before his pro career, Dubenion starred at Bluffton University, and there is a nice article about him on the school’s web site. According to oldestlivingprofootball.com, Dubenion is the 494st oldest living pro football player.

Dubenion is pictured here on his 1963 Fleer football card. He appeared on many other Fleer and Topps cards, as well.

Brig Owens, a defensive back, played from 1966 to 1977 for the Washington Redskins. He is second on the Redskins all-time leaders list for interceptions, behind Darrell Green. The team has named Owens one of the 80 Greatest Redskins, and he is member of the Redskins Ring of Fame.

Owens is pictured here on his 1970 Topps football card. He also appeared on several other cards and stamps during his career.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Dubenion and Owens!

Pat Tilley, a wide receiver who played his entire 11-year NFL career with the St. Louis Cardinals, is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Tilley led the Cardinals in receiving six times–1978 to 1982, and 1985–and he made the Pro Bowl once, in 1980. He is pictured here on his 1977 Topps and 1978 Topps football cards.

Happy birthday, Mr. Tilley!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Three players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery have milestone birthdays today: Ron Waller is 80, and Mike Raines and Morris Owens are 60.

Ron Waller was a running back and kick returner for the Los Angeles Rams from 1955 to 1958. He also played for the AFL’s Los Angeles Chargers in their first season, 1960. In 1955, his rookie year, Waller led the NFL in all-purpose yards, and he made the Pro Bowl that season. Much later, in 1973, Waller was the head coach of the San Diego Chargers for the last six games of the season. In 1974 he coached the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League. According to oldestlivingprofootball.com, Waller is the 493rd oldest living pro football player.

Waller is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1956 Topps. He appeared on three other cards, as well.

Mike Raines, a defensive lineman, played two games for the San Francisco 49ers in 1974. (One game less, and he would have made my Cups of Coffee page.) He then moved to the CFL, where he played from 1975 to 1982 and was a member of two Grey Cup championship teams. He finished his career with three seasons in the USFL. Raines is pictured here on his 1972 Alabama Playing Card. He also appeared on a 1973 Alabama Playing Card, identical except for the year on the back.

Morris Owens was a wide receiver from 1976 to 1979 for the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Owens caught the first touchdown pass in Tampa Bay franchise history–from Louis Carter, who also turned 60 this month–and he was the Buccaneers’ leading receiver for three straight seasons, 1976 to 1978. He is shown here on his 1978 Topps card.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Waller, Raines, and Owens!

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery, Art Kuehn and Abdul Salaam, turned 60 today. Kuehn, a center on the original Seattle Seahawks team, played from 1976 to 1983 for the Seahawks and New England Patriots. Kuehn played in two other professional football leagues, as well: he started his career with the World Football League’s California Sun in 1975, and he finished it with the USFL’s Memphis Showboats in 1984 and 1985. Kuehn is shown here on his rookie card, a 1977 Topps.

Abdul Salaam (who changed his name from Larry Faulk in 1977) played defensive tackle for the New York Jets from 1976 to 1983. Salaam, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, and Mark Gastineau comprised the “New York Sack Exchange,” the renowned defensive line of the early-80s Jets. Salaam’s 1978 Topps card is pictured below.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Kuehn and Salaam!

Allie Sherman, former NFL player and head coach, is celebrating his 90th birthday today. Sherman played from 1943 to 1947 for the Philadelphia Eagles, and he was the head coach of the New York Giants from 1961 to 1968. Sherman led the Giants to the league championship game in each of this first three seasons, and he was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1961 and 1962. He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. According to oldestlivingprofootball.com, Sherman is the 68th oldest living pro football player.

As far as I know, Sherman never appeared on a football card of his own. There is a small photo of him, however, on the 1964 Philadelphia and 1965 Philadelphia Giants Play of the Year cards. The 1965 card is pictured here.

Happy birthday, Mr. Sherman!

We have two milestone birthdays today: Rudy Kuechenberg is 70, and Robert Brazile is 60. Kuechenberg played linebacker from 1967 to 1971 for the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons. He also played for the Chicago Fire of the World Football League, in 1974. Kuechenberg’s younger brother, Bob, was a guard for fourteen seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Rudy Kuechenberg appeared on one football card, the 1969 Topps card pictured below.

Robert Brazile played linebacker from 1975 to 1984 for the Houston Oilers. He was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1975, and he made the Pro Bowl seven consecutive seasons after that. (The Corpus Christi Caller-Times web site has a nice summary of his career.) Brazile is pictured below on his 1978 Topps football card, and there are a couple more of his cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Kuechenberg and Brazile!

Former NFL running back Louis Carter is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Carter played from 1975 to 1978 for the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Carter was one of the original Buccaneers: Tampa Bay acquired him from Oakland in the 1976 NFL Expansion Draft. I learned today, from his profile at bucpower.com, that Carter threw the first touchdown pass in Buccaneer history–in the sixth game of the 1976 season!

Carter appeared on one card in the U.S., the 1977 Topps card pictured here. He also appeared on a 1977 Topps Mexican card. The front of the Mexican card looks like this one, except that it says “Bucaneros” rather than “Buccaneers.”

Happy birthday, Mr. Carter!

Craig Morton, who played from 1965 to 1982 for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos, is 70 today. Morton was the starting quarterback for two Super Bowl teams, the 1970 Cowboys and 1977 Broncos, and he played on the 1971 Cowboys team that won Super Bowl VI. He was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1988.

Prior to his pro career, Morton starred at the University of California. In 1964, though Cal had just a 3-7 record, he finished seventh in voting for the Heisman Trophy. (See my Football Cards of Heisman Trophy Candidates page.) Morton was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

The card pictured here is Morton’s rookie card, a 1968 Topps. The back of the card is a piece of a puzzle picturing Bart Starr. Morton also appeared on many other cards and stamps during his long career. You can see all of his cards up to 1978 in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. (It’s odd to see someone other than John Elway wearing #7 for the Broncos, isn’t it?)

Happy birthday, Mr. Morton!

Chris Bahr, a longtime kicker in the NFL, is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Bahr played from 1976 to 1989 for the Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, and San Diego Chargers. He played on two Super Bowl Championship teams with the Raiders, in 1980 and 1983. Before his NFL career, Bahr played one season for the Philadelphia Atoms of the North American Soccer League, and he played on the U.S. National soccer team in the qualifying rounds for the 1976 Olympics. Bahr’s younger brother, Matt Bahr, also played in the NASL and NFL.

Bahr is pictured here on his 1978 Topps football card. He also appeared on a 1977 Topps card, and on many cards after 1978. I don’t have his newer cards yet, but you can find them on eBay.

Happy birthday, Mr. Bahr!