Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Cookie Gilchrist, who played fullback from 1962 to 1967 for the Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins, passed away this morning. He was a member of the Bills team that won the American Football League Championship in 1964. Before playing in the AFL, Gilchrist spent six seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. There is a comprehensive article about Gilchrist’s career on the Pro Football Researchers web site.

The card pictured here is Gilchrist’s 1963 Fleer football card. He also appeared on Topps AFL football cards each year from 1964 to 1967. His 1963 Fleer card is considered his rookie card, though he appeared on several CFL cards prior to 1963.

• Cookie Gilchrist’s CFL statistics at cflapedia.com
• Cookie Gilchrist CFL cards on eBay
• Cookie Gilchrist’s AFL statistics at pro-football-reference.com

Bill “Tiger” Johnson, a center for the San Francisco 49ers from 1948 to 1956, passed away on January 7. Johnson was a Pro Bowler for the 49ers in 1952 and 1953. After his playing days, Johnson went on to a long coaching career, including three seasons as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. An article on the San Francisco Chronicle web site provides a nice summary of Johnson’s career.

Pictured here is Johnson’s rookie card, a 1950 Bowman. He also had a 1955 Bowman football card, and he appeared on numerous 49ers team issue photos, both as a player and a coach. You can see several of Johnson’s cards and team issue photos in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

• Bill Johnson‘s playing record
• Bill Johnson‘s record as head coach

Dick Hoerner, fullback for the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Texans from 1947 to 1952, passed away on December 11. Hoerner made the Pro Bowl in 1950, and he was a member of the Rams team that won the 1951 NFL Championship. Hoerner’s obituary on the Los Angeles Times web site includes a nice photo of him in action.

The card pictured here is Hoerner’s 1950 Bowman football card, which, to my knowledge, was his only card in a major issue. He also appeared on a 1950 Admiral Rams card. I don’t have that card yet, but I did find a couple of them on eBay.

Don Meredith, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1968, passed away on December 5, according to the Dallas Morning News. Meredith led the Cowboys to two NFL Championship games, in 1966 and 1967, both of which they lost to the Green Bay Packers. (The 1967 NFL Championship game is better known as the Ice Bowl.) After retiring as a player, Meredith was an NFL broadcaster for fifteen seasons, twelve of them with Monday Night Football. He was inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1976.

The card pictured here is Meredith’s rookie card, a 1961 Fleer. He appeared on cards every year from 1961 to 1969, the year after he retired. You can see all of Don Meredith’s football cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Buzz Guy, a lineman from 1958 to 1961 for the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and Houston Oilers, passed away on November 25. While with the Giants, Guy played in the 1958 NFL Championship game, “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” The Giants lost that game to the Baltimore Colts, 23-17, in overtime.

To my knowledge, Guy had only one football card, the 1961 Topps card pictured here. He also appeared on five New York Giants team cards and three Dallas Cowboys team cards. This happened because Topps used a photo of the 1958 Giants team on all of the Giants team cards from 1959 to 1963, and they used a photo of the 1960 Cowboys team on all of the Cowboys team cards from 1961 to 1963. (See my interactive 1959 Topps Giants team card and 1963 Topps Cowboys team card. Guy is number 60 on both of them.)

Guy also appeared on a Cowboys team issue photo in 1960, the team’s first year in the NFL. You can see that photo at thecowboysguide.com.

Ken Iman, who played center for the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams from 1960 to 1974, passed away on November 13. Iman played on two of the Packers’ championship teams, in 1961 and 1962. Later, with the Rams, he started 140 straight games, and he was the team’s MVP in 1972, according to his obituary on the ESPN web site. After retiring as a player, Iman was the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line coach for eleven years, from 1976 to 1986.

I featured Iman’s football cards in an earlier blog article. His rookie card, a 1971 Topps, wasn’t issued until his twelfth season in the league. He appeared on a card much earlier in his career, a 1961 Lake to Lake Packers card, but since the Lake to Lakes are a regional set, cards from that set are not considered rookie cards. Iman’s 1961 Lake to Lake card is pictured here.

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.

John Elliott, a defensive tackle for the New York Jets from 1967 to 1973, passed away on November 11. Elliott made the Pro Bowl three times in his seven seasons, and he was a member of the Jets team that beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. There is a recent interview with Elliott, and a picture of him with his Super Bowl ring, on the Beamont (Texas) Enterprise web site.

After football, Elliott was elected sheriff of Real County, Texas. I found an old People magazine article that describes his efforts, while he was sheriff, to protect golden eagles.

The card pictured here is Elliott’s rookie card, a 1970 Topps. He also appeared on a 1971 Topps card.

John Greene, who played for the Detroit Lions from 1944 to 1950, passed away yesterday. Greene was a lineman at the University of Michigan, and he spent his first season with the Lions at guard. In his second season, the Lions moved Greene to end, where he had great success. According to his obituary on the Detroit Free Press web site, he led the Lions in receiving from 1945 to 1947, and he was the Lions’ all-time leading receiver when he retired.

I believe that the card pictured here, a 1950 Bowman, is Greene’s only football card. The major sports card companies did not print football cards during his first four seasons, 1944-1947.

Vince Banonis, an offensive lineman and linebacker for the Chicago Cardinals and Detroit Lions in the 1940s and 1950s, passed away on October 23. Banonis was a member of the Cardinals’ NFL championship team in 1947–the last time the Cardinals won the championship–and of the Lions’ championship teams in 1952 and 1953. A New York Times article about the 1947 Cardinals includes a great photo of a muddy Banonis with Charley Trippi.

Banonis appeared on three cards that I know of: the 1948 Bowman card pictured here, a 1948 Leaf card, and a 1949 Leaf card. I have not yet added the Leaf cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery, but you can usually find them on eBay. The fronts of the 1948 and 1949 Leaf cards are identical, but the backs are different–see L is for Leaf for examples.