Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Jim Hudson, who played defensive back for the New York Jets from 1965 to 1970, is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Hudson was a starter in Super Bowl III against the Baltimore Colts, and he intercepted an Earl Morrall pass in that game. The Jets won, 16-7.

Hudson played college football at the University of Texas, and in 1963 he helped the Longhorns win their first National Championship. He was elected to the Longhorn Hall of Honor last year.

As far as I know, Hudson did not have a football card, but he did appear on a 1969 Glendale stamp. His stamp is pictured here.

Happy birthday, Mr. Hudson!

As I wrote in a previous article, I am converting some of my more popular blog articles into standard web pages and moving them to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. I am finding that blog articles work best for news, and standard pages work better for information that is not time-sensitive.

This weekend I converted my Fathers and Sons and Teammate Brothers blog articles into gallery pages. In the process, I added a few fathers, sons, and brothers who are new to the Gallery since I wrote the original articles. The new pages are in the Fun Pages section of the Gallery home page. While you’re over there, check out the other pages to see if you’ve missed any new ones.

What is your favorite father/son or brother/brother football card pair? Here’s mine: George Sauer Sr. on his 1955 Topps All-American card, and George Sauer Jr. on his 1969 Glendale Stamp. There’s quite a resemblance, don’t you think?

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!

While putting some 1967 Topps cards up for sale today, I noticed that on George Sauer’s card, the name on the back of his jersey was covered. That’s interesting, I thought, the jersey must have had someone else’s name on it. So I did some digging to figure out whose.

First I looked at Sauer’s other cards, and I found that his 1966 Topps card showed the same covering over the name. Sauer was a rookie in 1965, so I guessed that the pictures on his 1966 and 1967 cards came from a photo session early in 1965, before he had a jersey with his name on it. I then looked at pro-football-reference.com to see who wore number 83 the prior season, 1964. I found that it was Bill Rademacher. Rademacher switched to number 23 in 1965, so I’ll bet the jersey Sauer is wearing says “Rademacher” under the tape.

Sauer did pretty well wearing number 83. He played six seasons for the Jets, and he had over 1000 yards receiving in three of those seasons, 1966 through 1968. He lead the AFL with 75 receptions in 1967, and he had eight catches for 133 yards in Super Bowl III, the Jets’ famous upset of the Baltimore Colts.

As I have mentioned in other articles, I have been gradually adding fun facts for the cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. In May I identified the players whose brothers also played pro football (see my blog article Teammate Brothers), and this month I marked the players whose fathers or sons also played professionally. I used the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s list as a reference.

Many of the players on the Hall of Fame’s list never appeared on cards, and some of them appeared on newer cards that I don’t yet have in the Gallery. I did find five pairs of fathers and sons who both appear in the Gallery, though. In honor of Father’s Day, here they are:

Tony Adamle played six seasons for the Cleveland Browns in the AAFC and NFL; his son Mike played six seasons for the Chiefs, Jets, and Bears. Tony is pictured here on his 1951 Bowman card, and Mike on his 1975 Topps card.

Ted Fritsch Sr., a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, played from 1942 to 1950 for the Packers. Ted Fritsch Jr. played from 1972 to 1979 for the Falcons and Redskins. Ted Sr. appears here on his 1950 Bowman card; Ted Jr. is shown on his 1974 Topps card.

Dub Jones played for the Miami Seahawks, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Cleveland Browns in the AAFC, and he remained with the Browns when they joined the NFL in 1950. He is shown here on his 1953 Bowman card. Bert Jones, Dub’s son, was a quarterback for ten seasons with the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams. His 1976 Topps card is shown here.

George Sauer Sr. played from 1933 to 1935 for the Green Bay Packers; he is shown here on his 1955 Topps All-American card. George Jr. played from 1966 to 1970 for the New York Jets; he is shown on a 1969 Glendale stamp.

Finally, George Wilson Sr. played for the Chicago Bears for ten seasons, and he was head coach of the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins for thirteen. Wilson never appeared on a card of his own, but there is a small image of him on the 1964 Philadelphia Lions’ Play card shown here. Wilson’s son, George Jr., played for his father for one season at Miami. His 1967 Topps card is shown here.

When I realized that today was Friday the 13th, I tried to think of players on vintage football cards who wore number 13. Don Maynard is the most famous player I came up with; he is pictured here on his 1962 Fleer card. Do any others come to mind? Dan Marino wore number 13, but his rookie card is a 1984 Topps, and I wouldn’t call it a vintage card.

Don Maynard had a long career with the New York Titans/Jets, but did you know that he spent his rookie year with the New York Giants? You can see him, wearing number 13, on the 1959 Topps Giants team card. Maynard played for the Giants just one season, 1958, but Topps used the Giants’ 1958 team photo on cards from 1959 to 1963. So, from 1961 to 1963, Maynard appeared on cards from both New York teams!

Happy New Year, everyone! Time to start those diets, budgets, and exercise programs! But it’s okay to wait until tomorrow–it’s a holiday, right?

I was thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2012 in the Vintage Football Card Gallery, and I decided that my goals follow two themes. The first theme is to finish some of the things I have already started. For example, last year I started identifying players who are in the College Football Hall of Fame, but I haven’t finished because there are way more of them than I thought. On the other hand, in the process of identifying the College Hall of Famers, I have learned some interesting things about them. Did you know, for instance, that Cosmo Iacavazzi, who played in only two games professionally, led the nation in scoring at Princeton in 1963? I love uncovering nuggets like that.

Which brings me to my second theme: doing more with the cards I already have. The Gallery now contains pictures of most of the vintage football cards out there, so now I can work more on depth than breadth. One thing I have started doing in this area is adding trivia for each card. Going back to Mr. Iacavazzi: did you ever notice that his 1965 Topps card pictures him in his college uniform, recolored Jets green? Until yesterday, I didn’t, either, but as I learn such things, I will make note of them. (For more examples, see the 1953 Rams Team Issue cards I recently added to the Gallery.)

Of course, as well as looking ahead to the new year, we should look back and remind ourselves of what we accomplished in 2011. This morning I took a quick look through my “New in the Gallery” blog articles, and it was gratifying to see all of the new cards and virtual uncut sheets I was able to add over the year. Most gratifying, I think, is that I had so much fun doing it.

Enjoy your collections, keep in touch, and have a terrific 2012!

Greg Gantt, punter for the New York Jets in 1974 and 1975, passed away on October 26, according to al.com. Gantt apparently was also the Jets’ backup kicker, because he scored an extra point in 1974.

At Alabama, Gantt led the SEC in punting for three straight years. He still holds the school records for single season and career punting average. Unfortunately, he is most famous for having two punts blocked and returned for touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a 17-16 loss to Auburn. The game was nicknamed the Punt, ‘Bama, Punt game.

Gantt is pictured here on his 1976 Topps football card. It was issued the year after his last NFL season–not an unusual occurrence.

Sam DeLuca, an offensive lineman from 1960 to 1966 for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers and New York Jets, passed away on September 13. NYDailyNews.com has a report. DeLuca also spent two seasons, 1957 and 1958, with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. After his playing career, DeLuca was a radio broadcaster for New York Jets games; you can see his profile at musicradio77.com.

The card pictured here is DeLuca’s first AFL card, a 1960 Fleer. The image shows DeLuca in his University of South Carolina uniform; there is a similar image on the USC Athletic Hall of Fame web site. DeLuca also appeared on a 1959 Topps CFL card (though he did not play that year) and on several cards while in the AFL.

You can see all of DeLuca’s AFL football cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. I don’t yet have CFL cards in the Gallery, but there are usually copies of his 1959 Topps CFL card on eBay.

Ray Abruzzese, a defensive back from 1962 to 1966 for the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, passed away on August 22. He was a member of Alabama’s NCAA National Championship team in 1961 and a member of Buffalo’s AFL Championship team in 1964.

Abruzzese had two football cards with the Bills, and both are error cards. His rookie card, the 1963 Fleer card pictured here, has his last name misspelled. The error on his 1964 Topps card is worse: the card pictures Ed Rutkowski, not Abruzzese. (For more cards that picture the wrong player, see my Mistaken Identities page.)

Abruzzese also appeared on a rare–and pricey–1963 Jones Dairy milk bottle cap. His name is spelled correctly on the cap, and the picture on it is his. I do not have the cap, unfortunately.