George Gross, Chargers Defensive Tackle
May 13th, 2010 | Published in Player Deaths
George Gross, defensive tackle for the San Diego Chargers from 1963 to 1967, passed away on April 27. Gross was known for his strength, and was nicknamed “Mr. Muscles.” There is a nice tribute to him on the San Diego Union-Tribune web site.
Pictured here is Gross’s 1965 Topps card, which I believe is his only card. In 1964 and 1965, Topps printed large sets of football cards for the eight AFL teams. Whereas most football card sets at that time contained about ten cards per team, the 1964 Topps and 1965 Topps sets each contained about twenty. Hence Topps was able to include a lot of players who had not previously appeared on cards.
