Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Happy Valentine’s Day! Three players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery have milestone birthdays today: Ron Waller is 80, and Mike Raines and Morris Owens are 60.

Ron Waller was a running back and kick returner for the Los Angeles Rams from 1955 to 1958. He also played for the AFL’s Los Angeles Chargers in their first season, 1960. In 1955, his rookie year, Waller led the NFL in all-purpose yards, and he made the Pro Bowl that season. Much later, in 1973, Waller was the head coach of the San Diego Chargers for the last six games of the season. In 1974 he coached the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League. According to oldestlivingprofootball.com, Waller is the 493rd oldest living pro football player.

Waller is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1956 Topps. He appeared on three other cards, as well.

Mike Raines, a defensive lineman, played two games for the San Francisco 49ers in 1974. (One game less, and he would have made my Cups of Coffee page.) He then moved to the CFL, where he played from 1975 to 1982 and was a member of two Grey Cup championship teams. He finished his career with three seasons in the USFL. Raines is pictured here on his 1972 Alabama Playing Card. He also appeared on a 1973 Alabama Playing Card, identical except for the year on the back.

Morris Owens was a wide receiver from 1976 to 1979 for the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Owens caught the first touchdown pass in Tampa Bay franchise history–from Louis Carter, who also turned 60 this month–and he was the Buccaneers’ leading receiver for three straight seasons, 1976 to 1978. He is shown here on his 1978 Topps card.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Waller, Raines, and Owens!

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery, Art Kuehn and Abdul Salaam, turned 60 today. Kuehn, a center on the original Seattle Seahawks team, played from 1976 to 1983 for the Seahawks and New England Patriots. Kuehn played in two other professional football leagues, as well: he started his career with the World Football League’s California Sun in 1975, and he finished it with the USFL’s Memphis Showboats in 1984 and 1985. Kuehn is shown here on his rookie card, a 1977 Topps.

Abdul Salaam (who changed his name from Larry Faulk in 1977) played defensive tackle for the New York Jets from 1976 to 1983. Salaam, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, and Mark Gastineau comprised the “New York Sack Exchange,” the renowned defensive line of the early-80s Jets. Salaam’s 1978 Topps card is pictured below.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Kuehn and Salaam!

We have two milestone birthdays today: Rudy Kuechenberg is 70, and Robert Brazile is 60. Kuechenberg played linebacker from 1967 to 1971 for the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons. He also played for the Chicago Fire of the World Football League, in 1974. Kuechenberg’s younger brother, Bob, was a guard for fourteen seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Rudy Kuechenberg appeared on one football card, the 1969 Topps card pictured below.

Robert Brazile played linebacker from 1975 to 1984 for the Houston Oilers. He was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1975, and he made the Pro Bowl seven consecutive seasons after that. (The Corpus Christi Caller-Times web site has a nice summary of his career.) Brazile is pictured below on his 1978 Topps football card, and there are a couple more of his cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Kuechenberg and Brazile!

Chris Bahr, a longtime kicker in the NFL, is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Bahr played from 1976 to 1989 for the Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, and San Diego Chargers. He played on two Super Bowl Championship teams with the Raiders, in 1980 and 1983. Before his NFL career, Bahr played one season for the Philadelphia Atoms of the North American Soccer League, and he played on the U.S. National soccer team in the qualifying rounds for the 1976 Olympics. Bahr’s younger brother, Matt Bahr, also played in the NASL and NFL.

Bahr is pictured here on his 1978 Topps football card. He also appeared on a 1977 Topps card, and on many cards after 1978. I don’t have his newer cards yet, but you can find them on eBay.

Happy birthday, Mr. Bahr!