Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

King Hill, a quarterback and punter who played in the NFL from 1958 to 1969, passed away on July 14. The riceowls.com web site has a story about Hill and a photo of him from his college days. Hill spent most of his playing career with the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles, and he punted for part of one season for the Minnesota Vikings. After retiring as a player, he served as a coach and scout in the NFL for 23 more years.

Hill appeared on several football cards as a player. His 1960 Mayrose Cardinals card is pictured here. The Mayrose cards, which were distributed in packages of Mayrose meat products, are a small regional set that commemorated the Cardinals’ move from Chicago to St. Louis.

You can see all of King Hill’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

I recently added 1961 Topps Flocked Stickers to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The stickers, which represent NFL, AFL, and major college teams, were inserts in packs of 1961 Topps football cards. See my Gallery page for the stickers for a description of the set.

John Williams, an offensive lineman from 1968 to 1979 for the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams, passed away yesterday. There is a story and recent photo of Williams on the Minneapolis StarTribune web site. Williams played on three Super Bowl teams: the 1968 Colts, who lost to the Jets; the 1970 Colts, who beat the Cowboys; and the 1979 Rams, who lost to the Steelers.

Though Williams played twelve seasons in the NFL, and though he started every game at tackle for the Rams from 1973 to 1978, he never appeared on a regular issue football card. He did appear on a 1972 Sunoco stamp; it is pictured here.

J.D. Garrett, a running back and kick returner for the Boston Patriots from 1964 to 1967, passed away on July 4. There is a story and a recent photo of Garrett on the ktbs.com web site. Garrett’s best year with the Patriots was 1964, when he gained 1137 all-purpose yards. He appeared on one football card, the 1965 Topps card pictured here.

Ben Davidson, a defensive end from 1961 to 1971 for the Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins, and Oakland Raiders, passed away today. There is a story and photo gallery on the Contra Costa Times web site. Davidson was a member of the Packers’ 1961 NFL Championship team and the Raiders’ 1967 AFL Championship team. He was an AFL All-Star in 1966, 1967, and 1968.

After football, Davidson acted in over two dozen movies and television series, including Conan the Barbarian and Necessary Roughness. See his IMDB page for a full list.

Davidson appeared on numerous football cards, stamps, and team photos as a Raider. His 1966 Topps card is pictured here. You can see all of Ben Davidson’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Yesterday I added 1976 Popsicle football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. I included a short description of the set with the images, so I won’t describe them here. Check out the card for your favorite team–do you recognize the players in the action photo?

I filed the Popsicle cards under Food and Regional Issues.

R.C. Owens, 49ers, a receiver from 1957 to 1964 for the San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Colts, and New York Giants, passed away on June 17. Owens was known for his “alley oop” catches, which you can see him demonstrating on the San Francisco Chronicle web site. Owens was the first 49er receiver with 1000 yards receiving in one season; he accomplished that in 1961. He was inducted into the 49ers Hall of Fame in 2011.

Owens appeared on several football cards with the 49ers. His 1959 Topps card is pictured here. His rookie card, a 1958 Topps, pictures Don Owens, unfortunately.

As I have mentioned in other articles, I have been gradually adding fun facts for the cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. In May I identified the players whose brothers also played pro football (see my blog article Teammate Brothers), and this month I marked the players whose fathers or sons also played professionally. I used the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s list as a reference.

Many of the players on the Hall of Fame’s list never appeared on cards, and some of them appeared on newer cards that I don’t yet have in the Gallery. I did find five pairs of fathers and sons who both appear in the Gallery, though. In honor of Father’s Day, here they are:

Tony Adamle played six seasons for the Cleveland Browns in the AAFC and NFL; his son Mike played six seasons for the Chiefs, Jets, and Bears. Tony is pictured here on his 1951 Bowman card, and Mike on his 1975 Topps card.

Ted Fritsch Sr., a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, played from 1942 to 1950 for the Packers. Ted Fritsch Jr. played from 1972 to 1979 for the Falcons and Redskins. Ted Sr. appears here on his 1950 Bowman card; Ted Jr. is shown on his 1974 Topps card.

Dub Jones played for the Miami Seahawks, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Cleveland Browns in the AAFC, and he remained with the Browns when they joined the NFL in 1950. He is shown here on his 1953 Bowman card. Bert Jones, Dub’s son, was a quarterback for ten seasons with the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams. His 1976 Topps card is shown here.

George Sauer Sr. played from 1933 to 1935 for the Green Bay Packers; he is shown here on his 1955 Topps All-American card. George Jr. played from 1966 to 1970 for the New York Jets; he is shown on a 1969 Glendale stamp.

Finally, George Wilson Sr. played for the Chicago Bears for ten seasons, and he was head coach of the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins for thirteen. Wilson never appeared on a card of his own, but there is a small image of him on the 1964 Philadelphia Lions’ Play card shown here. Wilson’s son, George Jr., played for his father for one season at Miami. His 1967 Topps card is shown here.

Jerry Tubbs, who played ten seasons for the Chicago Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys, passed away on June 15. There is a story and a nice picture of Tubbs on the Tulsa World web site. Tubbs played on two National Championship teams at the University of Oklahoma, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He was an All-Pro with the Dallas Cowboys in 1962. After retiring as a player, he remained with the Cowboys as an assistant coach for over two decades.

Tubbs appeared on a lot of football cards during his NFL career. His rookie card, a 1957 Topps, is pictured here. You can see the rest of Tubbs’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Happy Flag Day! In honor of the day, I found a few football cards that have American flags waving in the background. First, three cards in the 1950 Bowman set: Tank Younger, Bill Wightkin, and Fred Naumetz. My guess is that someone drew the flags by hand on all of these while adding color to the original black and white images. The image on Tank Younger’s 1950 Bowman card, for example, is the same as the one on his 1950-1952 Exhibit card, but there is no flag on the Exhibit card.

Next are Y.A. Tittle’s 1958 Topps and 1960 Topps cards. The images on these two cards appear to have come from the same photo shoot.

Here’s the last one I found, Paul Hornung’s 1965 Philadelphia card. I was surprised that I didn’t find any newer than this. Can you think of others?