Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Lew Carpenter, who played ten seasons with the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers, passed away today. According to his obituary at PackersNews.com, Carpenter spent time at halfback, fullback, tight end, and wide receiver, and he also returned punts and kickoffs. He was with the Lions when they won the NFL championship in 1953, and he was a member of Green Bay’s 1961 and 1962 championship teams. He also played in three championship games on the losing team: with the Lions in 1954 against the Browns, with the Browns in 1957 against the Lions, and with the Packers in 1960 against the Eagles. After retiring as player, Carpenter was an assistant coach in the NFL for thirty years, on seven different teams.

All of Carpenter’s football cards were with the Packers. The card shown here is Carpenter’s rookie card, a 1959 Topps, issued in his sixth season in the league. He also appeared on a 1960 Topps card and a 1961 Lake to Lake Packers card. His Lake to Lake card is one of the short prints in the set, and it is much scarcer and pricier than his other two cards.