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.

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!

Earlier this week, the National Football Foundation announced the names of the 2013 Football Bowl Subdivision candidates for the College Football Hall of Fame. Eleven of the 82 players and coaches on the ballot appear on cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. (One of them appears on someone else’s card, however.) Here are the eleven in the Gallery:

Bob Berry, Quarterback, Oregon. Berry had a long NFL career with the Vikings and Falcons. He is shown here on his 1972 Topps card.

John Didion, center, Oregon State. Didion played six seasons for the New Orleans Saints. This is his 1974 Topps card.

Charlie Gogolak, kicker, Princeton. Gogolak played six seasons for the Washington Redskins and Boston/New England Patriots. In 1966, he set a record for most extra points attempted in a game, with 10. (He made 9 of them.) He is shown here on his rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia. Gogolak’s brother, Pete, also played in the NFL.

Rob Lytle, running back, Michigan. Lytle played seven seasons for the Denver Broncos. This is his rookie card, a 1978 Topps. Lytle finished third in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1976, so he also appears on my page of cards of Heisman Trophy candidates.

Paul Naumoff, linebacker, Tennessee. Naumoff had a 12-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions. He is pictured here on his 1973 Topps card.

Tom Nowatzke, linebacker, Indiana. Nowatzke played eight seasons for the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Colts. This is his 1969 Topps football card.

Phil Olsen, defensive end, Utah State. Olsen played six seasons for the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos. One of his teammates with the Rams was his brother, Merlin. (See my Teammate Brothers article.) Olsen is shown here on his 1973 Topps football card.

Jim Otis, fullback, Ohio State. Otis played nine seasons for the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, and St. Louis Cardinals. His 1976 Buckmans Disc is pictured here. Otis also appears on my page of cards of Heisman Trophy candidates.

Don Trull, quarterback, Baylor. Trull played six seasons for the AFL’s Houston Oilers and Boston Patriots, and two seasons for the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos. He is shown here on his 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL card. Trull also appears on my page of cards of Heisman Trophy candidates.

Clancy Williams, running back, Washington State. Though Williams was a running back in college, as a pro he played defensive back. He played his whole eight-year NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams. Williams’s son, Clarence, also played a season in the NFL. The elder Williams is shown here on his only card, a 1967 Philadelphia.

Darryl Rogers, coach, several schools. Rogers never played in a regular season game as a pro, but he did coach the Detroit Lions from 1985 to 1988. Apparently, he also tried out with the Denver Broncos in the early 1960s, because his picture ended up on Goose Gonsoulin’s 1961 Fleer card. For more cards that picture the wrong player, see the Mistaken Identities page of the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

You can see all 82 of the 2013 Football Bowl Subdivision candidates on the National Football Foundation web site.

Three players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: Tom Louderback is 80, Joe Scarpati is 70, and Horace King is 60.

Tom Louderback played linebacker from 1958 to 1962 for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, and Buffalo Bills. Prior to that, he played one season in Canada for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. There is a nice article about Louderback’s career, in his own words, on the Tales from the American Football League web site.

According to oldestlivingprofootball.com, Louderback is the 494th oldest living professional football player. He appeared on one football card, the 1962 Fleer card pictured here.

Joe Scarpati was a defensive back from 1964 to 1970 for the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints. In 1966, Scarpati led the NFL with 182 interception return yards, on eight interceptions. I learned today that he was also the holder for Tom Dempsey’s record 63-yard field goal in 1970. Scarpati appeared on at least six football cards and stamps. His rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia, is pictured here.

Horace King was a running back from 1975 to 1983 for the Detroit Lions. King’s best season was 1978, when he gained 1056 total yards rushing and receiving. Prior to his pro career, King was one of the University of Georgia’s first African-American football players. He is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1978 Topps.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Louderback, Scarpati, and King!

Yesterday I found two more clues as to how uncut sheets of 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia football cards were configured. From looking at miscut cards, I have determined that uncut sheets from those three sets all had the same numbering scheme, so finding a piece of one helps me with all three. See the last section of my sheets in progress page for details.

Here are the new clues: a Saints team card with a sliver of Sonny Jurgensen’s card showing on the left, and a Bears insignia card with a sliver of a St. Louis Cardinals insignia card showing on the left.

Dave Robinson and Curley Culp were named yesterday as the 2013 senior finalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can read the announcement and see the players’ biographies on the Hall of Fame web site. This is the first time that either player has been chosen as a Hall of Fame finalist.

Robinson, a linebacker, played for the Packers from 1963 to 1972, and for the Washington Redskins in 1973 and 1974. He made the Pro Bowl three times, and he was a member of the Packers’ NFL Championship teams of 1965-1967. Robinson’s rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia, is pictured here. He appeared on a number of other cards and stamps, as well.

Culp, a defensive tackle, played from 1968 to 1981 for the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Oilers, and Detroit Lions. He made the Pro Bowl 6 times in his 14 seasons, and he played on the Chiefs team that won Super Bowl IV. Culp’s rookie card, a 1973 Topps, is pictured here. Prior to his rookie card, Culp appeared on a 1971 Kellogg’s card and a 1972 Sunoco stamp, and he appeared on numerous Topps cards later in his career.

Chances are good that at least one of the two nominees will be elected to the Hall. The Senior Nominees page of the Hall of Fame web site shows that at least one senior candidate has been elected each year since 1998.

• Find Dave Robinson football cards on eBay
• Find Curley Culp football cards on eBay

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.

Lenny Lyles, a back and kick returner from 1958 to 1969 for the Baltimore Colts and San Francisco 49ers, passed away on November 20. The Louisville Courier-Journal web site has a report of his death and a recent photo. Lyles was a Pro Bowler in 1966, and he played in Super Bowl III, which the Colts lost to the New York Jets.

The card pictured here is Lyles’s rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia, issued in his tenth season in the NFL. He also appeared on a 1968 Topps card, a 1969 Topps card, and a 1969 Glendale stamp.

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!