Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Last week I added interactive 1956 Topps Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears team cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. You can see them by clicking on the non-interactive images shown here.

Like the other team cards in the 1956 Topps set, these two cards picture the 1955 teams. I believe that all of the players on the Rams card also appear in the 1955 Rams Team Issue set. About six of the players on the Bears card never appeared on cards of their own, so it was nice to give them a little recognition. One of the Bears players, Harry Hugasian, played part of the 1955 season for Baltimore, and he also appears on the Colts team card.

I have now finished making all of the 1956 Topps team cards intereractive; you can see the whole array here. Next up are the team cards in the 1958 Topps set.

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!

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery have just turned 70: Ron Smith’s 70th birthday was yesterday, and Jim Butler’s is today.

Ron Smith was a defensive back and kick returner in the NFL from 1965 to 1974. He started his career with the Chicago Bears, then went to the Atlanta Falcons, the Los Angeles Rams, the Bears again, the San Diego Chargers, and the Oakland Raiders. In 1966 and 1967, with Atlanta, he led the league in kick return yards. In 1972, with Chicago, he led the league in kick return average. He also made the Pro Bowl in 1972.

Smith is pictured here on his 1972 Topps football card. He appeared on at least seven other cards and stamps, as well.

Jim “Cannonball” Butler was a fullback and kick returner from 1965 to 1972 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, and St. Louis Cardinals. (Coincidentally, he succeeded Smith as Atlanta’s kick returner in 1968.) Butler’s best season was 1969, when he gained 1357 all-purpose yards: 655 rushing, 297 receiving, and 405 returning kicks. He also made the Pro Bowl in 1969.

Butler is pictured here on his 1969 Glendale stamp. He also appeared on numerous other stamps and cards.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Smith and Butler!

Harlon Hill, a receiver from 1954 to 1962 for the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers, passed away on March 21. Hill won the Newspaper Enterprise Association NFL MVP Award in 1955, and he is still the Bears’ second-leading all-time receiver. (Johnny Morris is first.) See whnt.com for a nice video tribute to Hill.

Hill played college football at Florence State Teachers College, now named the University of North Alabama. His quarterback for two seasons was George Lindsey, who became famous as Goober Pyle on the Andy Griffith Show. In 1986, the trophy for the Division II College Football Player of the Year was named after Hill.

The cards pictured here are Hill’s rookie card, a 1955 Bowman, and his 1956 Topps card. (The 1956 card is an uncorrected error card: Topps misspelled his first name “Harlan.”) He appeared on at least seven more football cards, as well.

Former NFL defensive back Doug Plank is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Plank played from 1975 to 1982 for the Chicago Bears. Since 2001, Plank has coached in the Arena Football League, and in late 2012 he was named the head coach of the Orlando Predators. There is a video of the announcement and a summary of his career on the Predators web site.

Plank is pictured here on the green-bordered variation of his 1976 Coke Bears disc. He also appears on several other cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Happy birthday, Coach Plank!

Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: Tom Vaughn is 70, and Roland Harper is 60.

Tom Vaughn, a defensive back and kick returner, played from 1965 to 1971 for the Detroit Lions. Before joining the Lions, he starred at Iowa State. He was elected to the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. Vaughn appeared on one football card, the 1969 Topps card pictured here.

Roland Harper played fullback from 1975 to 1982 for the Chicago Bears. His best season was 1978, when he rushed for 992 yards and had 340 receiving yards. If Harper had gained just 8 more yards rushing, he and his running mate, Walter Payton, would have been the third pair of teammates to rush for 1000 yards in the same season. Harper is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1976 Topps.

Happy birthday, Messrs. Vaughn and Harper!

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!

Ron Drzewiecki turned 80 years old yesterday; he was a running back and kick returner for the Chicago Bears in 1955 and 1957. As far as I know, Drzewiecki did not appear on a football card with the Bears, but he later appeared on a 1960 Fleer card with the Oakland Raiders. Drzewiecki signed to play with the Raiders in April, 1960, but I could not find any 1960 stats for him, so apparently he did not play in the regular season.

Drzewiecki played college football at Marquette University, and he was inducted into the Marquette M Club Hall of Fame in 1985. The Marquette library has several photos of Drzewiecki in action. (Marquette ended its football program in 1960.)

Drzewiecki is the 491st oldest living pro football player, according to oldestlivingprofootball.com.

Happy birthday, Mr. Drzewiecki!

J.C. Caroline, who played defensive back for ten seasons with the Chicago Bears, is 80 years old today. Caroline made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season, 1956, and he collected 24 interceptions in his career with the Bears. He also played running back and returned kicks his first three seasons. He was a member of Chicago’s 1963 NFL Championship team.

In 1953, his sophomore year at Illinois, Caroline led the nation in rushing, and he finished seventh in voting for the Heisman Trophy. (See my page of football cards of Heisman candidates.) He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

The card shown here is Caroline’s 1961 Topps football card. He also appeared on several other cards, which you can see on his page in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

According to the Oldest Living Pro Football Players web site, Caroline is the 491st oldest living pro football player.

Happy birthday, Mr. Caroline!