Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

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/.)

This week I added the twelve football cards from the 1952 Wheaties multi-sport set to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. For details on the cards, see my 1952 Wheaties page. For a survey of other football cards that were distributed with food products, see one of my previous blog articles, W is for Wonder Bread–and Other Food Issues.

Last week, looking at Frank Ryan’s football cards, I noticed that his 1962 Kahn’s Wieners card, his 1963 Topps card, and his 1969 Topps card all picture him wearing number 18 for the Browns. According to his page at pro-football-reference.com, however, Ryan never wore number 18 for any team. I thought maybe he had worn number 18 for his first season with the Browns, and that pro-football-reference had not picked it up. But no, Ryan’s first season with the Browns was 1962, and he is wearing number 13 in the Browns 1962 team photo. See him in the upper right?

So I did a little digging, and I came up with a guess. My guess is that when he was photographed in number 18, Ryan was wearing Len Dawson’s old jersey. Dawson wore number 18 for the Browns in 1960 and 1961 (see his 1961 National City Bank card), and the Browns released him around June 1, 1962. The Browns then acquired Ryan from the Rams on July 12, 1962. Until he got his own jersey, Ryan wore Dawson’s, at least for pictures.

That would explain the number 18 on Ryan’s 1962 Kahn’s card, but what about his 1963 and 1969 Topps cards? My guess is that Topps just used old images for those cards, as they often did. Another old image that jumps to mind is the one on the Len Dawson puzzle on the backs of 1969 Topps cards. Though by 1969 Dawson had quarterbacked the Chiefs for six seasons and taken them to a Super Bowl, Topps chose an image of him with the Browns–wearing number 18!

Glen Holloway, a guard from 1970 to 1974 for the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns, passed away on December 20. The Corpus Christi Caller Times web site has a report. Holloway also played one season for the World Football League’s Shreveport Steamer, according to the article.

Holloway appeared on one football card, the 1973 Topps card pictured here. He also appeared on a 1972 Sunoco stamp.

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.

Last week I added 1961 Kahn’s Wieners cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. There are 36 cards in this Kahn’s set, with 32 being Browns and Steelers. Kahn’s was (and still is) based in Cincinnati, and Cleveland and Pittsburgh were the closest pro teams at the time.

The other four players in the set–Frank Varrichione, Will Renfro, Jimmy Orr, and Joe Lewis–were with either Cleveland or Pittsburgh the previous season. It appears that Kahn’s intended to make the set all Browns and Steelers, but these players moved, so Kahn’s simply changed the teams on the backs of their cards.

Two of the cards in the set, Tom Tracy and Larry Krutko, have their images swapped. This is especially unfortunate for Krutko, because I believe that this is his only football card. (For more old football cards that picture the wrong player, see my Mistaken Identities page.)

The set includes a pre-rookie card of Gene Hickerson. Hickerson had more pre-rookie cards than any other Hall of Famer I can think of: he appeared in the 1959 through 1962 Kahn’s sets, and on a 1962 Post Cereal card.

Thanks again to Mike Ford, who provided images for several of the Kahn’s sets.

Preston Carpenter, who played twelve seasons for the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, and Miami Dolphins, passed away on June 30. Carpenter played halfback for the Browns in his rookie season, 1956, then spent the rest of his career as a receiver. He made the Pro Bowl in 1962 as a tight end with the Steelers.

Carpenter’s older brother, Lew, who also had a long NFL career, passed away last fall.

The card pictured here is Carpenter’s rookie card, a 1957 Topps. He appeared on numerous other cards during his career, as well.

• See all of Preston Carpenter’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
• See Preston Carpenter’s career stats at pro-football-reference.com.

This week I added 1962 Kahn’s Wieners football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. There are 38 cards in this set: sixteen Browns, fourteen Steelers, and a sprinkling of players from six other teams. Kahn’s Meats was (and still is) based in Cincinnati, and the early Kahn’s sets were heavily weighted toward players from nearby Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

The 1962 Kahn’s set includes a pre-rookie card of Gene Hickerson, pictured here. Hickerson’s generally recognized rookie card (because it was issued by a major card company) is in the 1966 Philadelphia set. (For a discussion about rookie cards and pre-rookie cards, see an earlier article, R is for Rookie Cards.)

According to beckett.com, Kahn’s also issued an album to hold their 1962 cards, but I have not seen one yet.

Thanks again to Mike Ford, who provided images for several of the Kahn’s sets.

Johnny Brewer, who played tight end and linebacker from 1961 to 1970 for the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints, passed away on May 27. Brewer was a member of the 1964 Browns NFL Championship team, and he made the Pro Bowl with the Browns in 1966. His obituary at legacy.com includes a short summary of his football career.

Pictured here is Brewer’s 1961 National City Bank Browns card, a pre-rookie card. Brewer’s rookie card is in the 1964 Philadelphia set, and he also appeared on a 1967 Philadelphia card. To my knowledge, he did not appear on any cards with the Saints.

• See Johnny Brewer’s career NFL stats at pro-football-reference.com.

Today I added 1964 Kahn’s Wieners cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. Kahn’s, which is still in business, included football cards in packages of wieners each fall from 1959 to 1964. Only the 1964 set is in color, and they are great looking cards.

There are 53 cards in the 1964 Kahn’s set, with all 14 NFL teams of the time represented. Because Kahn’s distributed their products in the Cincinnati region (and since the Bengals had not yet arrived), the company put a disproportionate number of Cleveland Browns in the set: 9 of the 53 cards. One of the Browns cards, Paul Warfield, is a pre-rookie card, so I will be adding it to my pre-rookie card page. Warfield’s rookie card is in the 1965 Philadelphia set.

A big thanks to Mike Ford for providing images for this set.