June 15th, 2011 |
Published in
Brothers, Fathers and Sons, Player Deaths
Lee Riley, who played defensive back from 1955 to 1962 for the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and New York Titans, passed away on June 9. Riley’s best season was 1962, when he intercepted 11 passes for the Titans, leading the AFL. Riley was the son of Leon Riley, who played briefly for baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies, and the brother of Pat Riley, longtime NBA coach and current president of the Miami Heat. He is mentioned in Pat Riley’s profile on the NBA web site.
The card pictured here is Riley’s rookie card, a 1955 Bowman. (1955 Bowmans are the only vintage football cards I can think of that indicate which players were rookies.) He also appeared on a 1963 Fleer card, issued after his last season.
You can see Lee Riley’s career stats at pro-football-reference.com.
June 4th, 2011 |
Published in
Player Deaths
John Henry Johnson, who played fullback from 1954 to 1966 for the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Houston Oilers, passed away on June 3. Johnson also played one season, 1953, with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.
Johnson was a four-time Pro Bowler, once with the 49ers and three times with the Steelers. He was also a member of the Lions NFL Championship team in 1957. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
The card pictured here is Johnson’s rookie card, a 1955 Bowman. Topps used the same image, recolored, on his 1957 Topps card. (See them side-by-side in an earlier blog article.) Johnson appeared on many other cards during his long career, as well.
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June 1st, 2011 |
Published in
Player Deaths
Johnny Brewer, who played tight end and linebacker from 1961 to 1970 for the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints, passed away on May 27. Brewer was a member of the 1964 Browns NFL Championship team, and he made the Pro Bowl with the Browns in 1966. His obituary at legacy.com includes a short summary of his football career.
Pictured here is Brewer’s 1961 National City Bank Browns card, a pre-rookie card. Brewer’s rookie card is in the 1964 Philadelphia set, and he also appeared on a 1967 Philadelphia card. To my knowledge, he did not appear on any cards with the Saints.
May 31st, 2011 |
Published in
Player Deaths
Andy Robustelli, a defensive end from 1951 to 1964 for the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants, passed away this morning. The Connecticut Post’s web site has a report of his death, including numerous photos. Robustelli was a seven-time Pro Bowler, and he played on NFL Championship teams with the Rams in 1951 and the Giants in 1956. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
The card shown here is one of Robustelli’s rookie cards, a 1952 Bowman Small. His other rookie card is a 1952 Bowman Large, which is identical except for its size.
May 26th, 2011 |
Published in
Player Deaths
Duke Iversen, a back and linebacker from 1947 to 1951 for the New York Giants and New York Yanks, has passed away. He was 91. There is a recent article about Iversen’s career at petaluma360.com.
Iversen appeared on one football card, the 1948 Bowman card pictured here.
You can see Duke Iversen’s NFL career statistics at pro-football-reference.com.
April 27th, 2011 |
Published in
Player Deaths
Jim “Mad Dog” Mandich, a tight end from 1970 to 1978 for the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers, passed away on April 26. Mandich played on four Super Bowl teams: the Dolphins of 1971, 1972, and 1973, and the Steelers of 1978. Three of those teams–all but the 1971 Dolphins–won the Super Bowl, and 1972 was the year of the Dolphins perfect 17-0 season.
After his playing days, Mandich was a Dolphins radio announcer for 19 years. You can hear him in a video tribute at nbcmiami.com.
The card pictured here is Mandich’s rookie card, a 1975 Topps. He also appeared on 1976 Topps, 1977 Topps, and 1977 Topps Mexican cards.
You can see Mandich’s career NFL stats at pro-football-reference.com.
April 25th, 2011 |
Published in
Player Deaths, Record Holders
Joe “The Jet” Perry, who played from 1948 to 1963 for the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts, has passed away. Perry led the NFL in rushing twice, in 1953 and 1954, and he made the Pro Bowl three times. He also held the NFL record for career rushing yards from 1958 to 1963, when Jim Brown surpassed him. Perry’s record did not include the yards he gained in 1948 and 1949, when the 49ers were still part of the AAFC. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969.
The card pictured here is Perry’s rookie card, a 1950 Bowman. He appeared on many more cards and team issue photos over the next thirteen years. You can see all of Joe Perry’s football cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
April 22nd, 2011 |
Published in
Player Deaths
Norm Masters, who played for the CFL’s British Columbia Lions in 1956 and for the Green Bay Packers from 1957 to 1964, passed away on April 19. Masters was a member of Green Bay’s NFL Championship teams in 1961 and 1962. A tribute on the Green Bay Press-Gazette web site includes a nice summary of his NFL career. I also found, in my internet search, a great image of Masters leading the way for Paul Hornung.
To my knowledge, Masters appeared on only one card, the 1961 Lake to Lake Packers card pictured here. This is one of the short prints in the set, and it is quite scarce. The print lines you see on this card are common in the set.
You can see the career NFL stats for Norm Masters at pro-football-reference.com.
April 21st, 2011 |
Published in
Player Deaths
Lynn Chandnois, a back and kick returner for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1950 to 1956, passed away on April 19. Chandnois was a two-time Pro Bowler, and he still has the NFL’s second-best career kickoff return average, behind Gale Sayers. According to the Detroit Free Press, Chandnois also still holds the records at Michigan State for most career interceptions and interception return yards.
Chandnois appeared on a card from a major card company every year from 1951 to 1957, which is remarkable for the time. Pictured here is his rookie card, a 1951 Bowman. His 1955 Bowman card is an error card; it has his name spelled “Chadnois.” You can see all of Lynn Chandnois’s football cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
April 8th, 2011 |
Published in
Player Deaths
Joe Heap, who played halfback for the New York Giants in 1955, passed away on April 6. According to an article about him on the Allstate Sugar Bowl web site, Heap left the Giants after one season to serve in the U.S. Air Force. Prior to joining the Giants, Heap starred at Notre Dame. The Sugar Bowl article includes a nice account of his college career.
Though he spent only one season in the NFL, Heap appeared on an NFL football card, the 1955 Bowman card pictured here. (The 1955 Bowman set is the only vintage set I can think of that identified rookies on the fronts of the cards.) I believe that the image on Heap’s card was originally a black-and-white photo of him in his Notre Dame uniform, and that Bowman added the Giants colors. The uniform he is wearing on his card appears to be the same one he is wearing in the photo in the Sugar Bowl article noted above. Also, according to his page at pro-football-reference.com, Heap wore number 48 with the Giants.
