Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Russ Francis, who played tight end for thirteen seasons with the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers, is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Francis was a three-time Pro Bowler, and he played on the 1984 49ers team that finished 18-1 and won Super Bowl XIX.

Francis excelled in other sports, as well. In 1971, at Pleasant Hill High School in Oregon, he set the national high school record for the javelin. In the 1974 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft, the Kansas City Royals drafted him as a pitcher. He also wrestled professionally, and he placed second in the 1980 U.S. Superstars competition.

Francis is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1976 Topps.

Happy birthday, Mr. Francis!

I have been busy scanning 1978 Topps cards for the Vintage Football Card Gallery, and I have been amused by some of the images on the cards. The set contains a lot of sideline shots, so it’s no surprise that the players aren’t looking their best. Here are just a couple of beauties: Tom Banks going for the oxygen mask, and Bill Lenkaitis sporting an Ed Grimley ‘do.

Both players cleaned up well. Here are Banks and Lenkaitis on their 1976 Topps cards.

I am only about half done with the images, but you can scroll through the rest of the 1978 Topps cards here.

Yesterday I added 1976 Popsicle football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. I included a short description of the set with the images, so I won’t describe them here. Check out the card for your favorite team–do you recognize the players in the action photo?

I filed the Popsicle cards under Food and Regional Issues.

Houston Antwine, a defensive lineman from 1961 to 1972 for the Boston/New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, passed away last night, according to the Boston Globe web site. His wife passed away today. Antwine was an American Football League All-Star six straight seasons, from 1963 to 1968.

Antwine appeared on numerous football cards and stamps during his career. The cards pictured here are his rookie card, a 1964 Topps, and his last card, a 1970 Topps. You can see all of Antwine’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

I read today on boston.com that Jon Morris will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame this year. Morris was a center in the AFL and NFL for fifteen seasons: eleven with the Patriots, then three with the Lions and one with the Bears. He was an Pro Bowler in each of his first seven seasons, according to his page at pro-football-reference.com.

The card pictured here is Morris’s rookie card, a 1965 Topps. Topps apparently liked the image, because it also appears on his 1966 Topps and 1967 Topps cards.

You can see all of Jon Morris’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. You can also search the Gallery for cards of other members of the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Yesterday I identified the members of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. Pictured here is the first inductee, John Hannah, on his rookie card, a 1974 Topps. In 1981, Paul Zimmerman, in Sports Illustrated, called Hannah “the greatest offensive lineman in history.”

The team’s web site has a list of the all of the Patriots Hall of Famers, along with photos and summaries of their careers.

If you’re not a Patriots 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 am almost finished with the teams that do.