Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Harlon Hill, a receiver from 1954 to 1962 for the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers, passed away on March 21. Hill won the Newspaper Enterprise Association NFL MVP Award in 1955, and he is still the Bears’ second-leading all-time receiver. (Johnny Morris is first.) See whnt.com for a nice video tribute to Hill.

Hill played college football at Florence State Teachers College, now named the University of North Alabama. His quarterback for two seasons was George Lindsey, who became famous as Goober Pyle on the Andy Griffith Show. In 1986, the trophy for the Division II College Football Player of the Year was named after Hill.

The cards pictured here are Hill’s rookie card, a 1955 Bowman, and his 1956 Topps card. (The 1956 card is an uncorrected error card: Topps misspelled his first name “Harlan.”) He appeared on at least seven more football cards, as well.

George Saimes, who played defensive back from 1963 to 1972 for the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos, passed away on March 8. There is a tribute to Saimes on the Buffalo Bills web site. Saimes was an AFL All-Star five times, and he played on Buffalo’s 1964 and 1965 AFL championship teams. He was elected to the Bills Wall of Fame in 2000.

Before his pro career, Saimes starred at both fullback and defensive back at Michigan State. In 1962 he finished seventh in voting for the Heisman Trophy. He was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000.

Saimes is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1964 Topps. He appeared on numerous other cards and stamps, as well.

Tony Lorick, a running back from 1964 to 1969 for the Baltimore Colts and New Orleans Saints, passed away on February 17. His obituary and a recent photo appear at grimesfuneralchapels.com. Lorick was a steady contributor with the Colts and Saints: he gained over 600 yards from scrimmage in four of his first five seasons. Before his pro career, Lorick starred at Arizona State University. He was inducted into the ASU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983.

Lorick is shown here on his 1969 Glendale Stamp. He also appeared on several football cards and a 1969 Saints Doubloon.

Dick Yelvington, who played tackle from 1952 to 1957 for the New York Giants, passed away on February 24. Yelvington was a member of the Giants team that won the NFL Championship in 1956. There is a nice summary of his career at bigblueinteractive.com.

Yelvington appeared on one football card, the 1954 Bowman card pictured here.

Glynn Gregory, who played for the Dallas Cowboys in 1961 and 1962, passed away on February 14. Gregory’s obituary, including a recent photo, appears at dignitymemorial.com. Before his professional career, Gregory starred at Southern Methodist University, where he was a teammate of Don Meredith. He was elected to the SMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984.

Gregory appeared on one football card, the 1962 Post Cereal card pictured here.

Walt Sweeney, a guard from 1963 to 1975 for the San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins, passed away on February 2. Sweeney was an AFL All-Star or NFL Pro Bowler for nine straight seasons, and he was elected to the Chargers Hall of Fame in 1981. There is a tribute to Sweeney on the Syracuse Post-Standard web site. Also see the Tales From the American League blog for an article comparing Sweeney’s career to the careers of two members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Sweeney is pictured here on his 1969 Glendale Stamp. He appeared on numerous other cards and stamps, as well. You can see all of them in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Angelo Coia, a receiver from 1960 to 1966 for the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Falcons, passed away on January 2. Coia was a member of the Bears team that won the NFL Championship in 1963. He also was a member of the first Falcons team, in 1966. According to Coia’s obituary at philly.com, he and Herb Adderley were teammates on the football and track teams at Northeast High School in Philadelphia. He played college football at The Citadel and USC.

Coia is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1962 Topps. He also appeared on a 1962 Post Cereal card and a 1965 Philadelphia football card.

Larry Bowie, a guard for the Minnesota Vikings from 1962 to 1968, passed away on December 31. His obituary appeared in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune. Bowie played college football at Purdue.

Bowie appeared on two regular issue football cards, the 1964 Philadelphia and 1969 Topps cards pictured here. He also appeared on a 1969 Topps mini-card.

Chuck Cherundolo, who played center from 1937 to 1948 for the Cleveland Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers, passed away on December 22. Cherundolo was a Pro Bowler for the Steelers in 1941 and 1942. After retiring, Cherundolo coached for 22 years in the NFL, according to the Scranton Times Tribune. At 96, he had been the fourth oldest living pro football player, behind Clarence “Ace” Parker, Johnny Kovatch, and Bill Glassford. (See oldestlivingprofootball.com for a list of the oldest 500 living pro football players.)

Cherundolo appeared on one football card, the 1948 Bowman card pictured here. Cherundolo’s last season, 1948, happened to be the first year since 1935 that a major card company issued football cards. Leaf also released a set of football cards in 1948.

Larry Morris, a linebacker from 1955 to 1966 for the Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, and Atlanta Falcons, passed away on December 19. Morris was a member of the Bears team that won the NFL championship in 1963. At Georgia Tech, Morris starred in both football and baseball, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992. There is an obituary for Morris, including a recent photo, on the legacy.com web site.

The cards pictured here are Morris’s 1958 Topps and 1959 Topps cards. Though the 1959 card shows him with the Redskins, he played with the Bears that season. He also appeared in several food and regional issues with the Rams and Bears. You can see all of Morris’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.