Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

The newest interactive team card in the Vintage Football Card Gallery is the 1956 Topps Philadelphia Eagles team card. Clicking on the image pictured here will take you to the interactive version.

At least one of the players on the card will be familiar to CFL fans. After three seasons with the Eagles, Ralph Goldston played nine seasons for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and in those nine seasons, he played in seven Grey Cups. Goldston appeared on several cards with the Tiger-Cats.

I will continue to work on the remaining 1956 Topps team cards as I have time. Next up: the Cleveland Browns.

Yesterday I noticed that the player pictured on Fred Brown’s 1969 Glendale Stamp is actually Timmy Brown. Timmy Brown played for the Eagles until 1967, then played one season for the Baltimore Colts, then went on to a long acting career. Unfortunately, this is the only Fred Brown card or stamp I know of, so I don’t think his picture ever made it onto a card.

For many other cards and stamps that picture the wrong player, see the Mistaken Identities page of the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

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!

Allie Sherman, former NFL player and head coach, is celebrating his 90th birthday today. Sherman played from 1943 to 1947 for the Philadelphia Eagles, and he was the head coach of the New York Giants from 1961 to 1968. Sherman led the Giants to the league championship game in each of this first three seasons, and he was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1961 and 1962. He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. According to oldestlivingprofootball.com, Sherman is the 68th oldest living pro football player.

As far as I know, Sherman never appeared on a football card of his own. There is a small photo of him, however, on the 1964 Philadelphia and 1965 Philadelphia Giants Play of the Year cards. The 1965 card is pictured here.

Happy birthday, Mr. Sherman!

Chuck Cherundolo, who played center from 1937 to 1948 for the Cleveland Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers, passed away on December 22. Cherundolo was a Pro Bowler for the Steelers in 1941 and 1942. After retiring, Cherundolo coached for 22 years in the NFL, according to the Scranton Times Tribune. At 96, he had been the fourth oldest living pro football player, behind Clarence “Ace” Parker, Johnny Kovatch, and Bill Glassford. (See oldestlivingprofootball.com for a list of the oldest 500 living pro football players.)

Cherundolo appeared on one football card, the 1948 Bowman card pictured here. Cherundolo’s last season, 1948, happened to be the first year since 1935 that a major card company issued football cards. Leaf also released a set of football cards in 1948.

Jim Whalen, a tight end from 1965 to 1971 for the Boston Patriots, Denver Broncos, and Philadelphia Eagles, passed away on December 18. There is an article about Whalen on the Patriots web site. According to the article, Whalen led the Patriots in receptions and receiving yards during his five seasons with the team.

Whalen is shown here on his 1968 Topps and 1969 Topps football cards. His first three cards, from 1965 to 1967, picture him in his Boston College uniform, with his face obscured. You can see all of Whalen’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

George Savitsky, who played tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1948 and 1949, passed away on September 4. The Eagles won two of their three NFL titles in the seasons that Savitsky played. (Their third championship was in 1960.) Savitsky played college football at University of Pennsylvania, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991. He and Chuck Bednarik were teammates both at Penn and with the Eagles. The csnphilly.com web site has a story about Savitsky and a nice photo of him as a player.

The card pictured here is Savitsky’s rookie card, a 1948 Leaf. It is one of the scarce high-numbered cards in the set. He also appeared on a 1949 Leaf card (identical to the 1948 Leaf card, except for the back), and on a 1955 Topps All-American card.

Jimmy Carr, who played nine seasons for the NFL’s Chicago Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins, passed away on August 13. Carr also played one season for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. Carr was a starting defensive back on the Eagles team that beat Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers for the 1960 NFL championship. After retiring as a player, Carr was an assistant coach in the NFL, USFL, and NFL Europe for almost thirty years.

Carr is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1958 Topps. Though the card shows him with the Cardinals, 1958 was the season that he played in the CFL. Carr also appeared on a 1962 Post Cereal card, a 1963 Topps card, and a 1960 Eagles team issue photo.

King Hill, a quarterback and punter who played in the NFL from 1958 to 1969, passed away on July 14. The riceowls.com web site has a story about Hill and a photo of him from his college days. Hill spent most of his playing career with the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles, and he punted for part of one season for the Minnesota Vikings. After retiring as a player, he served as a coach and scout in the NFL for 23 more years.

Hill appeared on several football cards as a player. His 1960 Mayrose Cardinals card is pictured here. The Mayrose cards, which were distributed in packages of Mayrose meat products, are a small regional set that commemorated the Cardinals’ move from Chicago to St. Louis.

You can see all of King Hill’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Awhile back, on the Pro Football Hall of Fame web site, I found a list of brothers who played pro football. I thought it was interesting, so I marked all of the players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery whose brothers had also played professionally. In many cases, only one brother appeared on a card, and it was fun to give the cardless brothers a nod. Did you know, for instance, that Terry Bradshaw’s brother Craig played a season for the Houston Oilers?

In the Hall of Fame’s list, the brothers who were teammates during their pro careers are marked with a diamond. Seeing these made me wonder how many brothers appeared on the same team in the same set of football cards. I did a quick check, and these are the ones I found in the Gallery:

Brothers Knox and Garrard (“Buster”) Ramsey were teammates with the Chicago Cardinals in 1950 and 1951. They both appeared with the Cardinals on 1951 Bowman cards.

Ebert and Steve Van Buren were teammates with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1951, and they both appeared on 1951 Bowman football cards.

Phil and Merlin Olsen were teammates with the Los Angeles Rams from 1971 to 1974. They appeared together on 1972 Sunoco Stamps and 1973 Topps football cards.


Tody and Bubba Smith were teammates with the Houston Oilers in 1975 and 1976, and they both appeared with the Oilers in the 1976 Topps set.

Finally, just missing the cut are brothers Mel and Miller Farr, who were teammates for the Detroit Lions in 1973. Both of them appeared on 1973 Topps cards, but Miller was not traded to the Lions until September, so Topps still had him with the St. Louis Cardinals.