Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

This week I picked up another piece for my virtual uncut 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia uncut sheets: the miscut 1966 Philadelphia Steelers team card pictured here. There’s barely enough to tell, but the right side of the shows a little of John David Crow’s card. Here are the two cards together:

I have determined that 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia uncut sheets all had the same numbering pattern, so the miscut Steelers team card tells me that cards #144 and #175 were together on all three sheets. Those of you who are following my geeky project can see my progress on my Uncut Sheets in Progress page.

I also spotted another card this week that would help me, but it’s part of a large eBay lot, and I’m not quite crazy enough to spend $95 to get it. If you look carefully, you can see a miscut 1967 Brig Owens card in this group of miscellaneous vintage cards. I think the card to its left is John Brodie, but I’m not quite certain. Maybe I can get it if the auction ends without bids.

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?

Yesterday the National Football Foundation announced the 2012 Football Bowl Subdivision College Football Hall of Fame Class. (That’s a mouthful, isn’t it?) You can see the full list of 12 players and 3 coaches on the NFF web site.

Four of the new College Hall of Famers appear on cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. Their rookie cards are pictured here: Hal Bedsole on a 1965 Philadelphia, John Wooten on a 1967 Philadelphia, Otis Armstrong on a 1975 Topps, and Steve Bartkowski on a 1976 Topps.


I have identified all of the past College Football Hall of Fame inductees in the Gallery, as well. To see the College Hall of Famers from your favorite school, use a web address of the form http://www.footballcardgallery.com/honor1/College+Hall+of+Fame/college/Your+College/. (Example: http://www.footballcardgallery.com/honor1/College+Hall+of+Fame/college/Ohio+State/.)

Last year, after looking at a number of badly miscut cards, I concluded that uncut sheets of 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia football cards all had the same numbering scheme. So, from a picture of a half-sheet of 1966 Philadelphia cards, I was able to construct virtual half-sheets of 1965 and 1967 Philadelphia cards, as well. Unfortunately, I have not seen an example of the other half-sheet from any of the three sets, but I have been slowly piecing one together by looking at more miscut cards. Last weekend I added a few more pieces, and the second half-sheet took more shape. One of the new pieces is shown here: it’s a miscut 1966 Atlanta Falcons card that has a tiny piece of a Don Perkins card in the lower left corner.

To see my progress on the second half-sheet, go to the Uncut Sheets in Progress page and scroll down to the bottom. For a full list of my virtual uncut sheets, see a previous blog article, U is for Uncut Sheets.

Roland Lakes, a defensive lineman from 1961 to 1971 for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants, passed away on March 5. There is a story about Lakes on the San Francisco Chronicle web site. According to that article, until 2010, Lakes was the youngest lineman ever to start a game for the 49ers.

Lakes appeared on two regular issue football cards, both shown here. The first is his rookie card, a 1965 Philadelphia; the second is a 1970 Topps. He also appeared, as a Giant, on a 1972 Sunoco Stamp, but he did not play in 1972.

Tom Watkins, running back and kick returner from 1961 to 1968 for the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers, passed away on October 29. Watkins led the NFL in yards per punt return in 1964, and in yards per kickoff return in 1965. Watkins is a member of the Iowa State University Athletics Hall of Fame, and there is a summary of his football career on the Iowa State web site.

Watkins is pictured here on his first two football cards: a scarce 1961 National City Bank Browns card and a 1965 Philadelphia card. The 1965 Philadelphia card, though it came four years later, is considered his rookie card because it was produced by a major card company. Watkins also appeared on a 1966 Philadelphia card and a 1968 Topps card. His 1968 Topps card has him with the Rams, but he actually played for the Steelers that year.

As I have said in previous posts, I have concluded that uncut 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia football card sheets all had the same card numbering scheme. Thus, from a picture of a 1966 Philadelphia half-sheet, I was able to assemble virtual half-sheets of 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia cards. Of course, I would also like to assemble the second half-sheet for each set, but I haven’t yet seen an example of a real one. So I started collecting badly miscut cards from the three sets, in hopes of piecing together the second half-sheet. For example, by looking at the miscut Ernie Green card shown here, I can tell that the card to its left was Ben McGee, and I can conclude that cards 154 and 41 were adjacent on the sheets for all three Philadelphia sets.

The cards I have so far are toward the bottom of my Uncut Sheets in Progress page. If you have any badly miscut cards that could help the cause, please send me some scans!

Yesterday I added a virtual uncut sheet of 1965 Philadelphia football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. I have not seen an actual 1965 Philadelphia uncut sheet, but by looking at badly miscut cards, I have concluded that 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia sheets all had the same numbering scheme. I have seen a picture of a 1966 sheet, and I used it to construct the 1965 virtual sheet.

Each of the 1964-1967 Philadelphia sets contains 66 double prints, though I have not seen the double prints documented in any of the price guides. The 1965 Philadelphia virtual sheet shows which cards are double prints.

(Click on the image to see the full virtual sheet.)

The holiday made me think of the movie, and thinking of the movie made me wonder what NFL players were born on the Fourth of July. I found the full list at pro-football-reference.com; the eight who appear in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are shown below. Wish them a happy birthday!

Six-time Pro Bowler Erich Barnes was born on July 4, 1935. Barnes’s rookie card, shown here, is a 1960 Topps. Two-time Pro-Bowler Emerson Boozer was born on July 4, 1943; he is shown here on his 1971 Topps card. (Boozer also appeared on my all-party team.)

Two-time Pro Bowler Rosey Taylor was born on July 4, 1937; he is pictured here on his 1965 Philadelphia card. 1963 Pro-Bowler Lee Folkins was born on July 4, 1939; his rookie card, a 1964 Philadelphia, is shown here. (I heard from Mr. Folkins once. He told me that the signature on his 1964 Wheaties Stamp is not in his handwriting.)

Five-time Pro-Bowler Rick Casares was born on July 4, 1931. His rookie card, shown here, is a 1955 Bowman. Hall of Famer Floyd Little was born on July 4, 1942; he is shown here on his 1968 Topps Stand Up insert card.

1981 Pro Bowler Frank Lewis was born on July 4, 1947; his rookie card, a 1973 Topps, is shown here. And, finally, Fred Forsberg was born on July 4, 1944. I don’t believe Forsberg appeared on a card, but I do have his 1972 Sunoco Stamp.

Enjoy your picnics!

Here is one last group of players in my favorite pose, about to put on their helmets. (For more of these, see My Favorite Pose and More of My Favorite Pose.)

This time we have a 1969 Topps Joe Scarpati and a 1967 Topps Johnny Robinson:

A 1968 Topps Andy Russell rookie and a 1966 Philadelphia Roger LeClerc:

A 1965 Philadelphia Dick Schafrath and a 1967 Philadelphia Willie Davis:

Unfortunately, the photographers from many teams–notably the AFL teams–never used this pose, so in this series I could feature cards from only about half the teams. That’s a pity: I love Pat Patriot and Denver’s drunk Bronco, and it would have been nice to include them.