April 6th, 2013 |
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Milestone Birthdays
Two players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: Nemiah Wilson is 70, and Jeff West is 60.
Nemiah Wilson played defensive back from 1965 to 1975 for the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, and Chicago Bears. He was a member of five Raiders teams that played in AFL or AFC Championship games. Wilson is pictured here on his 1972 Topps card, one of the tough third-series cards from that set. He appeared on numerous other cards and stamps, as well.
Jeff West was a punter from 1975 to 1985 for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, and Seattle Seahawks. There is a short summary of his NFL career on the Seahawks web site. West’s 1978 Topps card is pictured here.
Happy birthday, Messrs. Wilson and West!
March 5th, 2013 |
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Milestone Birthdays
Three players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: Tom Louderback is 80, Joe Scarpati is 70, and Horace King is 60.
Tom Louderback played linebacker from 1958 to 1962 for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, and Buffalo Bills. Prior to that, he played one season in Canada for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. There is a nice article about Louderback’s career, in his own words, on the Tales from the American Football League web site.
According to oldestlivingprofootball.com, Louderback is the 494th oldest living professional football player. He appeared on one football card, the 1962 Fleer card pictured here.
Joe Scarpati was a defensive back from 1964 to 1970 for the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints. In 1966, Scarpati led the NFL with 182 interception return yards, on eight interceptions. I learned today that he was also the holder for Tom Dempsey’s record 63-yard field goal in 1970. Scarpati appeared on at least six football cards and stamps. His rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia, is pictured here.
Horace King was a running back from 1975 to 1983 for the Detroit Lions. King’s best season was 1978, when he gained 1056 total yards rushing and receiving. Prior to his pro career, King was one of the University of Georgia’s first African-American football players. He is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1978 Topps.
Happy birthday, Messrs. Louderback, Scarpati, and King!
February 23rd, 2013 |
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Milestone Birthdays
Fred Biletnikoff, the great Oakland Raiders wide receiver, is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Biletnikoff played 14 seasons for the Raiders, from 1965 to 1978. He played in Super Bowl II against the Green Bay Packers, and he was the MVP of Super Bowl XI, in which the Raiders beat the Minnesota Vikings. After retiring as a player, Biletnikoff went on to a long coaching career, including 18 more seasons with the Raiders. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988, and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991.
Biletnikoff is pictured here on one of my favorite football cards, a 1970 Topps Super Glossy insert card. He appeared on over twenty more cards and stamps, as well. You can see the whole array in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
Happy birthday, Mr. Biletnikoff!
February 6th, 2013 |
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Milestone Birthdays
Former NFL running back Louis Carter is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Carter played from 1975 to 1978 for the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Carter was one of the original Buccaneers: Tampa Bay acquired him from Oakland in the 1976 NFL Expansion Draft. I learned today, from his profile at bucpower.com, that Carter threw the first touchdown pass in Buccaneer history–in the sixth game of the 1976 season!
Carter appeared on one card in the U.S., the 1977 Topps card pictured here. He also appeared on a 1977 Topps Mexican card. The front of the Mexican card looks like this one, except that it says “Bucaneros” rather than “Buccaneers.”
Happy birthday, Mr. Carter!
February 3rd, 2013 |
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Milestone Birthdays
Chris Bahr, a longtime kicker in the NFL, is celebrating his 60th birthday today. Bahr played from 1976 to 1989 for the Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, and San Diego Chargers. He played on two Super Bowl Championship teams with the Raiders, in 1980 and 1983. Before his NFL career, Bahr played one season for the Philadelphia Atoms of the North American Soccer League, and he played on the U.S. National soccer team in the qualifying rounds for the 1976 Olympics. Bahr’s younger brother, Matt Bahr, also played in the NASL and NFL.
Bahr is pictured here on his 1978 Topps football card. He also appeared on a 1977 Topps card, and on many cards after 1978. I don’t have his newer cards yet, but you can find them on eBay.
Happy birthday, Mr. Bahr!
January 30th, 2013 |
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Milestone Birthdays
Bill Budness, who played linebacker for the Oakland Raiders from 1964 to 1970, is 70 years old today. Budness was a member of the Raiders team that won the 1967 AFL Championship and played in Super Bowl II against the Packers. He played college football at Boston University, and he is a member of the BU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Budness appeared on one football card with the Raiders, the 1966 Topps card pictured here.
Happy birthday, Mr. Budness!
January 26th, 2013 |
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Milestone Birthdays
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!
October 31st, 2012 |
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Silly Stuff
For Halloween I thought I’d feature a couple of ghosts. First is a 1933 Sport Kings card of Red “The Galloping Ghost” Grange. This is Grange’s rookie card, one of three football cards in the multi-sport set. You can see the other 1933 Sport Kings football cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
Grange also appeared in cards earlier than this: in 1926, the Shotwell Candy Company distributed two sets of cards featuring just him. I added one of the sets, 1926 Shotwell Red Grange Ad Back cards, to the Gallery earlier this year. Though the Shotwell cards were the first cards of Grange, they are not considered his rookie cards because they are a minor issue.
The second card pictured here is Dave “The Ghost” Casper’s rookie card, a 1977 Topps. Seeing Casper reminded me of the Raiders’ famous “Holy Roller” play against the Chargers in 1978. I found the play on YouTube; if you haven’t seen it recently, it’s worth a look.
For some scary football cards, check out my Halloween posts from 2009, 2010, and 2011. Happy trick-or-treating!
September 5th, 2012 |
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Player Deaths
Tom Keating has passed away; he played defensive tackle from 1964 to 1975 for the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Kansas City Chiefs. There is an article about Keating on the San Francisco Chronicle web site. Keating played on the three American Football League championship teams: the 1964 and 1965 Bills, and the 1967 Raiders. The 1967 Raiders team went on to play Green Bay in Super Bowl II.
The card pictured here is Keating’s 1968 Topps football card. In 1968, Topps honored the prior season’s Super Bowl contestants, the Raiders and Packers, by giving their cards a different design than the rest of the teams. Keating also appeared on a 1965 Topps card, a 1970 Topps card, and a 1972 Sunoco Stamp.
July 3rd, 2012 |
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Player Deaths
Ben Davidson, a defensive end from 1961 to 1971 for the Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins, and Oakland Raiders, passed away today. There is a story and photo gallery on the Contra Costa Times web site. Davidson was a member of the Packers’ 1961 NFL Championship team and the Raiders’ 1967 AFL Championship team. He was an AFL All-Star in 1966, 1967, and 1968.
After football, Davidson acted in over two dozen movies and television series, including Conan the Barbarian and Necessary Roughness. See his IMDB page for a full list.
Davidson appeared on numerous football cards, stamps, and team photos as a Raider. His 1966 Topps card is pictured here. You can see all of Ben Davidson’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.
