Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Yesterday I added 1979 Seattle Seahawks Police cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. Along with the 1979 Rams, Cowboys, and Chiefs Police sets, this is the one of the first NFL police sets ever produced. While I was at it, I added a search to the Gallery for members of the Seahawks Ring of Honor. One of the members of the Ring of Honor, defensive back Dave Brown, is pictured here.

Last week the Chicago Bears announced that the team will retire Mike Ditka’s number in December. This prompted me to add a page to the Vintage Football Card Gallery that shows all of the NFL players whose jersey numbers have been retired. For the players who appear on cards in the Gallery, I tried to find cards that showed them wearing their numbers. Check out the new page!

Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Sayers played from 1965 to 1971 for the Chicago Bears, and he was named first team All-NFL in five of his seven seasons. He led the league in rushing in 1966 and 1969, in yards from scrimmage in 1966, and in all-purpose yards in 1965, 1966, and 1967. In 1965 he also led the NFL in scoring, with 132 points.

Sayers is pictured here on his 1971 Bazooka football card. He appeared on many more cards, stamps, and stickers, as well.

Happy birthday, Mr. Sayers!

Former NFL defensive back Andy Nelson is celebrating his 80th birthday today. Nelson played from 1957 to 1964 for the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants. He led the NFL in interception return yards in 1958, he was named first team All-NFL in 1959, and he helped the Colts win NFL championships in 1958 and 1959.

After football, Nelson started a barbeque restaurant in Maryland that his family still runs. You can see recent photos of him on the restaurant’s web site.

Nelson is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1959 Topps. He also appeared on a 1962 Topps football card.

According to oldestlivingproplayers.com, Nelson is the 496th oldest living professional American football player.

Happy birthday, Mr. Nelson!

Yesterday I added 1979 Kansas City Chiefs Police cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. This is the one of the first NFL police sets ever produced, and it is the first one in the Gallery. I anticipate adding more police sets, so I created a new category for them. You guessed it, it’s called Police Sets.

Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy’s first card is in the 1979 Chiefs Police set. Levy coached the Chiefs for five seasons before going to the Buffalo Bills.

A trio of players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: Glenn Ressler, Johnny Roland, and John Wilbur are all 70.

Glenn Ressler played guard from 1965 to 1974 for the Baltimore Colts. He was a starter in Super Bowl III, which the Colts lost to the New York Jets, and in Super Bowl V, which the Colts won against the Dallas Cowboys. Before his pro career, Ressler starred at center and middle guard at Penn State. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. Ressler is pictured here on his 1974 Topps football card.

Johnny Roland was a running back from 1966 to 1973 for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants. Roland was named the UPI NFL Rookie of the Year in 1966, and he made the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons. He played college football at Missouri, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998. After retiring as a player, Roland went on to a long coaching career. His rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia, is shown here.

John Wilbur played guard from 1966 to 1974 for the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, and Washington Redskins. He started at right guard in Super Bowl VII, which the Redskins lost to the undefeated Miami Dolphins. Wilbur is pictured here on his 1973 Topps football card.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Ressler, Roland, and Wilbur!

Last week I added 1969 Drenk’s Green Bay Packers pins to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The Bart Starr and Ray Nitschke pins are pictured here. See the Gallery for the rest of the pins and a description of the set. I filed the pins under Oddball.

The newest interactive team cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are the 1956 Topps Baltimore Colts and New York Giants team cards. Click on the images pictured here to see the interactive versions.

Both cards show the 1955 teams. Three future Hall of Fame coaches appear on the cards: Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry are pictured on the Giants card, and Don Shula is a player on the Colts card. Leroy Vaughn, the father of major league baseball’s Mo Vaughn, also appears with the Colts.

These are my sixth and seventh interactive 1956 Topps team cards; I have five more to go. Next up: the Washington Redskins.

Carroll Hardy, who played halfback for one season with the San Francisco 49ers, is celebrating his 80th birthday today. Hardy made the most of his opportunities to handle the football: on 12 pass receptions, he gained 338 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. He is pictured here, in a great pose, on his 1955 49ers team issue photo.

Hardy is better known as a baseball player. After his stint with the 49ers, he played major league baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Houston Colt .45s, and Minnesota Twins. I don’t have his baseball cards, but you can see lots of them on eBay.

According to oldestlivingproplayers.com, Hardy is the 494th oldest living professional American football player.

Happy birthday, Mr. Hardy!

Former NFL running back and punter Donny Anderson is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Anderson played from 1966 to 1974 for the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Cardinals. He gained over 1000 yards from scrimmage four times, and he made the Pro Bowl with the Packers in 1968. He played on the Packers teams that won the first two Super Bowls.

Before his pro career, Anderson starred at Texas Tech. He is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

Anderson is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1968 Topps. He also appeared on at least a dozen more cards, stamps, and stickers.

Happy birthday, Mr. Anderson!