June 6th, 2013 | Published in New in the Gallery
This week I added 1979 Cowboys Police cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The Roger Staubach card is pictured here.
This is the third police set I have added in the past few weeks. You can see the others on the Police Sets page. Next up is the fourth and final 1979 police set, the Los Angeles Rams.
March 1st, 2013 | Published in Milestone Birthdays
Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Henderson played linebacker from 1975 to 1979 for the Dallas Cowboys, and in 1980 for the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Oilers. He made the Pro Bowl in 1978, and he played in three Super Bowls with the Cowboys. The Cowboys won one of them, Super Bowl XII, against the Denver Broncos.
Henderson now sponsors charitable work for youth in East Austin, Texas, and he has produced books and films to help prevent drug and alcohol abuse. You can read about his work on his official website.
Henderson is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1978 Topps.
Happy birthday, Mr. Henderson!
February 19th, 2013 | Published in Player Deaths
Glynn Gregory, who played for the Dallas Cowboys in 1961 and 1962, passed away on February 14. Gregory’s obituary, including a recent photo, appears at dignitymemorial.com. Before his professional career, Gregory starred at Southern Methodist University, where he was a teammate of Don Meredith. He was elected to the SMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984.
Gregory appeared on one football card, the 1962 Post Cereal card pictured here.
February 17th, 2013 | Published in Milestone Birthdays
Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery, John Lee and Scott Laidlaw, are celebrating their 60th birthday today. Lee was a defensive end from 1976 to 1981 for the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots, and Laidlaw was a running back from 1975 to 1980 for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. Laidlaw played on three Super Bowl teams in his first four seasons, all with the Cowboys. The Cowboys won one of them, Super Bowl XII, against the Broncos.
As far as I know, Lee did not appear on a football card during his NFL career, but he did appear on a 1974 Nebraska playing card while still in college. That card is shown below. He was one of at least fourteen players in the 1974 Nebraska football deck who later played in the NFL.
Laidlaw appeared on the 1977 Topps card pictured here, as well as a Mexican version of the same card. You can read about the 1977 Topps Mexican cards at toppsmexican.com.
Happy birthday, Mr. Lee and Mr. Laidlaw!
February 5th, 2013 | Published in Milestone Birthdays
Craig Morton, who played from 1965 to 1982 for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos, is 70 today. Morton was the starting quarterback for two Super Bowl teams, the 1970 Cowboys and 1977 Broncos, and he played on the 1971 Cowboys team that won Super Bowl VI. He was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1988.
Prior to his pro career, Morton starred at the University of California. In 1964, though Cal had just a 3-7 record, he finished seventh in voting for the Heisman Trophy. (See my Football Cards of Heisman Trophy Candidates page.) Morton was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
The card pictured here is Morton’s rookie card, a 1968 Topps. The back of the card is a piece of a puzzle picturing Bart Starr. Morton also appeared on many other cards and stamps during his long career. You can see all of his cards up to 1978 in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. (It’s odd to see someone other than John Elway wearing #7 for the Broncos, isn’t it?)
Happy birthday, Mr. Morton!
January 15th, 2013 | Published in Milestone Birthdays
Randy White, the great Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle, turned 60 today. White played for the Cowboys from 1975 to 1988, and he was first team all-NFL seven times in that span. He played in three Super Bowls, and he was a co-MVP in Super Bowl VII, in which the Cowboys beat the Denver Broncos. (He shared the honor with teammate Harvey Martin.) White was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
In 1974, at the University of Maryland, White won the Outland Trophy, awarded to “the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman.” He also placed ninth in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1974.
The card pictured here is White’s rookie card, a 1976 Topps. You can see more cards of Outland Trophy winners and Heisman Trophy candidates in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
September 19th, 2012 | Published in New in the Gallery
This week I added 1962 Topps Bucks (most of them, anyway) to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. These were inserts in wax packs of 1962 Topps football cards. See my gallery page for a short description of the set.
June 16th, 2012 | Published in Player Deaths
Jerry Tubbs, who played ten seasons for the Chicago Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys, passed away on June 15. There is a story and a nice picture of Tubbs on the Tulsa World web site. Tubbs played on two National Championship teams at the University of Oklahoma, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He was an All-Pro with the Dallas Cowboys in 1962. After retiring as a player, he remained with the Cowboys as an assistant coach for over two decades.
Tubbs appeared on a lot of football cards during his NFL career. His rookie card, a 1957 Topps, is pictured here. You can see the rest of Tubbs’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
August 10th, 2011 | Published in Player Deaths
Jimmy Harris, a defensive back in the NFL and AFL from 1957 to 1961, passed away on August 8. Harris played one season each for the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Texans, and Dallas Cowboys. He did not play the 1959 season.
Before his pro career, Harris was a star quarterback at Oklahoma. He went 25-0 over three seasons, contributing over half of the wins in the Sooners’ 47-game winning streak. NewsOK.com has an account of Harris’s college career, along with lots of photos.
The card pictured here is Harris’s rookie card, a 1957 Topps. Topps apparently colored a college photo of Harris to put him in Eagles green, because the image closely resembles the photo in the NewsOK.com article, and Harris wore number 20 for the Eagles, not number 15. The image on Harris’s 1960 Fleer card appears to have come from the same photo session, as well.
Harris appeared in a Dallas Texans uniform on a 1961 Fleer card and a 1961 Fleer Wallet Photo, but he played for the Cowboys that season.
December 6th, 2010 | Published in Player Deaths, Players Who Became Actors
Don Meredith, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1968, passed away on December 5, according to the Dallas Morning News. Meredith led the Cowboys to two NFL Championship games, in 1966 and 1967, both of which they lost to the Green Bay Packers. (The 1967 NFL Championship game is better known as the Ice Bowl.) After retiring as a player, Meredith was an NFL broadcaster for fifteen seasons, twelve of them with Monday Night Football. He was inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1976.
The card pictured here is Meredith’s rookie card, a 1961 Fleer. He appeared on cards every year from 1961 to 1969, the year after he retired. You can see all of Don Meredith’s football cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
