Jerry Shipkey, Steelers and Bears Fullback and Linebacker

January 12th, 2010  |  Published in Player Deaths  |  4 Comments

Jerry Shipkey, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1948 to 1952 and for the Chicago Bears in 1953, died on November 28. Shipkey was an All-Pro at linebacker for his last three years with the Steelers. Before joining the Steelers, he had the distinction of playing in the Rose Bowl for both UCLA and USC.

Shipkey appeared on football cards in all five of the Bowman sets issued from 1950 to 1953. The images on his cards, however, all appear to be from the same photo session. Pictured here are his rookie card, a 1950 Bowman, and his last card, a 1953 Bowman. As you can see, Bowman used the same images on both cards, but they recolored his helmet on the 1953 card. (I don’t know why. Maybe they thought the Steelers’ helmets should look like steel.) They also apparently printed the 1953 card before Shipkey was traded to the Bears.

Tags: , , ,

Responses

Feed
  1. Jesse says:

    January 12th, 2010 at 10:32 PM (#)

    I love the postings. I’m a huge fan of anything to do with footbll players and their cards. Thanks.

  2. nearmint says:

    January 13th, 2010 at 5:25 PM (#)

    Thanks, Jesse, it’s good to get the feedback!

  3. karly shipkey says:

    February 5th, 2011 at 3:43 PM (#)

    thanks .. i am glad someone knows about my grandfather..

    miss karly shipkey

  4. Scott Carstensen says:

    May 25th, 2012 at 10:13 PM (#)

    Nice. I remember having dinner with him along with Jesse and fam down in San Diego. Nice fella. Great family.

    Scotty