Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery have just turned 70: Ron Smith’s 70th birthday was yesterday, and Jim Butler’s is today.

Ron Smith was a defensive back and kick returner in the NFL from 1965 to 1974. He started his career with the Chicago Bears, then went to the Atlanta Falcons, the Los Angeles Rams, the Bears again, the San Diego Chargers, and the Oakland Raiders. In 1966 and 1967, with Atlanta, he led the league in kick return yards. In 1972, with Chicago, he led the league in kick return average. He also made the Pro Bowl in 1972.

Smith is pictured here on his 1972 Topps football card. He appeared on at least seven other cards and stamps, as well.

Jim “Cannonball” Butler was a fullback and kick returner from 1965 to 1972 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, and St. Louis Cardinals. (Coincidentally, he succeeded Smith as Atlanta’s kick returner in 1968.) Butler’s best season was 1969, when he gained 1357 all-purpose yards: 655 rushing, 297 receiving, and 405 returning kicks. He also made the Pro Bowl in 1969.

Butler is pictured here on his 1969 Glendale stamp. He also appeared on numerous other stamps and cards.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Smith and Butler!

A lot of you liked the interactive 1956 Topps Packers team card I told you about yesterday, so I thought I would knock out another interactive card. This time I did the 1956 Topps 49ers team card. Clicking on the card pictured here will take you to the interactive version.

This card went faster, since most of the players also appear on 1955 49ers team issue photos, and I didn’t have to enter the data for them. Only two players, Frank Mincevich and Lowell Wagner, were not already in my database. Also, there are no coaches or staff in the picture, so I didn’t have to find their information.

I will work on the remaining 1956 Topps team cards as I have time.

I recently added another interactive team card to the Vintage Football Card Gallery, the 1956 Topps Green Bay Packers card. Clicking on the card pictured here will take you to the interactive version.

I enjoy working on these team cards because it gives me an opportunity to acknowledge the players who never appeared on cards of their own. On this card, for instance, there are two members of the Packers Hall of Fame who never had their own cards. One is Deral Teteak, who starred at linebacker and guard for the Packers from 1952 to 1956. The other is Bud Jorgensen, who, after a brief playing career, served as an equipment manager and trainer for the Packers for 47 years.

Over time, I hope to make all of the team cards in the Gallery interactive. For those of you who haven’t seen them, here are the others I have done so far: 1958 Topps Baltimore Colts, 1959 Topps New York Giants, 1961 Topps Green Bay Packers, 1963 Topps Dallas Cowboys, 1964 Topps Oakland Raiders, and 1967 Philadelphia Cleveland Browns.

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: Elbert Drungo and Brian Schweda are both 70.

Elbert Drungo was an offensive lineman from 1969 to 1978 for the Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills. He is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1974 Topps. He also appeared on a 1975 Topps card and a 1972 Sunoco stamp.

Brian Schweda played defensive end from 1966 to 1968 for the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints. He was one of the original Saints, obtained from the Bears in the 1967 NFL Expansion draft. As far as I know, Schweda never appeared on a card, but he did appear on a 1969 Saints Doubloon, pictured here.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Drungo and Schweda!

Last week I picked up few of the short prints from the 1967 Royal Castle Dolphins football card set. One of them, Abner Haynes, is pictured below. You can see all of the new cards and a description of the set in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

The lot I purchased included a “Jr. Dolphin” card, also pictured below. This card is not listed in the price guides, but it looks like the rest of the Royal Castle cards, so I would consider it part of the set. I called it card #28 and added it to the Gallery, as well.

I am in the market for the cards I don’t yet have from this set: Frank Emanuel, Tom Erlandson, Norm Evans, Bob Griese, Jerry Hopkins, and Jim Warren. If you happen to have any of them for sale, please send me an email.

Tony Peters, who played defensive back for ten seasons with the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins, is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Peters played on the 1982 Redskins team that beat Miami in Super Bowl XVII, and he also made the Pro Bowl that season.

After retiring as a player, Peters went into coaching. He recently became the head coach at Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Peters is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1978 Topps.

Happy birthday, Mr. Peters!

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: John Morrow is 80, and J.R. Wilburn is 70.

John Morrow played center from 1956 to 1966 for the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns. He made the Pro Bowl in 1961 and 1963, and he was the starting center on the Browns team that won the 1964 NFL Championship. According to oldestlivingprofootball.com, Morrow is the 493rd oldest living American pro football player.

For a center, Morrow appeared on a remarkable number of football cards. He is pictured here on his 1964 Wheaties stamp.

J.R. Wilburn was a receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1966 to 1970. His best season was 1967, when he caught 51 passes for 767 yards. Wilburn, who grew up in Virginia, was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Wilburn is pictured here on his 1968 Topps card, wearing a Steelers “Batman” jersey. He appeared on several other cards and stamps, as well. (For more on the “Batman” jerseys, see one of my previous articles.)

Happy birthday, Messrs. Morrow and Wilburn!

Former NFL quarterback Jim Hardy is celebrating his 90th birthday today. Hardy played from 1946 to 1952 for the Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Cardinals, and Detroit Lions. He played in the first Pro Bowl, after the 1950 season, and he was a member of the Lions team that won the NFL Championship in 1952.

Hardy played college football at USC, leading the Trojans to Rose Bowl wins in 1944 and 1945. He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.

According to oldestprofootball.com, Hardy is the 66th oldest living American pro football player. He is pictured here on his 1948 Bowman football card.

Happy birthday, Mr. Hardy!

Danny Buggs, who had a nine-year career in the NFL, CFL, and USFL, is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Buggs played wide receiver for the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Edmonton Eskimos, Tampa Bay Bandits, and San Antonio Gunslingers. His best NFL season was 1979, when he caught 46 passes for 631 yards for the Redskins. He also played on the Edmonton Eskimos team that won the 1980 Grey Cup.

Before his professional career, Buggs was an All-American at West Virginia University. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

Buggs is pictured here on his 1974 West Virginia playing card and his rookie card, a 1978 Topps.

Happy birthday, Mr. Buggs!

Yesterday I added 1974 USC Discs to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The set includes discs of 25 USC players and one of coach John McKay. Remarkably, 17 of the 25 players in the set went on to play in the NFL. One of them, Pat Haden, is pictured here. Haden was a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981.

I filed the discs in the Oddball section of the Gallery.