Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog

Freddie Solomon, a wide receiver from 1975 to 1985 for the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers, passed away yesterday. Solomon was a member of the 49ers’ NFL Championship teams of 1981 and 1984. His best season was 1981, when he gained 1012 combined yards rushing and receiving. Playing quarterback at the University of Tampa, Solomon gained 3299 yards rushing, then an NCAA record for a quarterback. There is a picture of him in action on the University of Tampa web site.

I have just one Freddie Solomon card, his 1976 Topps rookie card, pictured here. He also appeared on many newer cards that I don’t yet have in the Gallery. You can find most of them on eBay.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Last year I gave you Flowers, this year it’s Harts. Here we go:

First is Leon Hart, a Heisman Trophy winner and College Hall of Famer. Hart played eight seasons for the Detroit Lions, and he appeared on at least twelve football cards. His rookie card, the 1948 Leaf pictured here, was issued while he was still at Notre Dame. It is a high number and one of the key cards in the set.

Next is Pete Hart, who played for the New York Titans in the AFL’s inaugural season, 1960. (The Titans were renamed the Jets in 1963.) Hart appeared on a 1961 Fleer card and the 1961 Fleer Wallet Picture shown here.

Jim Hart was a quarterback for nineteen seasons in the NFL, all but one of them for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a Pro Bowler for four straight seasons, 1974 to 1977. Hart appeared on a lot of football cards; the one pictured here is a 1968 Topps Stand-Up insert card.

Doug Hart played from 1964 to 1971 for the Green Bay Packers. He had the NFL’s longest interception return in 1969, an 85-yarder. The Packers had a lot of great players in the 1960s, of course, so Hart didn’t appear on a card until 1970. His 1970 Topps card is pictured here. He also made it onto a 1972 Sunoco Stamp, but he did not play in 1972.

Tommy Hart played thirteen seasons for the 49ers, Bears, and Saints. He appeared on several cards during his career; you can see most of them in the Vintage Football Card Gallery. His rookie card, a 1973 Topps, is pictured here.

Finally, Harold Hart played four seasons, 1974-1975 and 1977-1978, with the Raiders and Giants. Ironically, his only card is a 1976 Topps that shows him with Tampa Bay, but he didn’t play in 1976, and he never played a regular season game for Tampa Bay. According to his page at bucpower.com, the expansion Buccaneers acquired Hart in the 1976 Veteran Allocation Draft, but he hurt his knee in the pre-season and spent the year on injured reserve.

That’s all the Harts! Next year, Roseys?

Clyde Conner, an end for the San Francisco 49ers from 1956 to 1963, passed away on December 12. There is an article about Conner on the San Francisco Chronicle web site. Connor’s best season was 1958, when he caught 49 passes for 512 yards and 5 touchdowns.

The card shown here is Conner’s rookie card, a 1957 Topps, issued in his second season. He would appear on several more cards in his career, and on at least one team issue photo. You can see all of Clyde Conner’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Bill Stits, who played in the NFL from 1954 to 1961 for the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins, and New York Giants, passed away on December 5. At various times in his career, Stits was a defensive back, running back, punt returner, and kick returner. He intercepted six passes and recovered a fumble in his rookie season in Detroit, and he made the Pro Bowl that year.

The cards pictured here are Stit’s rookie card, a 1954 Bowman, and his 1956 Topps card. He also appeared on two 49ers team issue photos, in 1957 and 1958. I don’t yet have his 1957 photo, but can see his 1958 photo in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

Yesterday I added 1969 Topps Mini-Card Albums to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. There is one album for each of the 16 NFL and 10 AFL teams of 1969. (The leagues merged in 1970.) The albums, along with panels of mini-cards (now known as 1969 Topps 4-in-1’s), were inserts in packs of 1969 Topps football cards. Each album held ten mini-cards, plus a few stats for each player. The mini-cards had adhesive on the back, like stamps, so kids could separate the cards from the panels, lick the backs, and stick them in the albums. The adhesive was poor, so it wasn’t long before it let go and the cards fell out.

Pictured here are the front, back, and middle of the Green Bay Packers mini-card album.


The Packers mini-card album, with Bart Starr on the cover, is an exception. Most of the albums, strangely, have pictures of players from other teams on their covers. The San Francisco 49ers album, for instance, has a New York Giant on the cover. Commenting on an earlier blog article, a sharp-eyed reader pointed out that the player is Joe Walton, and that the image also appeared on Walton’s 1962 Topps card. Walton joined the Giants in 1961, so the photo must have been taken during the 1961 season.

Lenny Lyles, a back and kick returner from 1958 to 1969 for the Baltimore Colts and San Francisco 49ers, passed away on November 20. The Louisville Courier-Journal web site has a report of his death and a recent photo. Lyles was a Pro Bowler in 1966, and he played in Super Bowl III, which the Colts lost to the New York Jets.

The card pictured here is Lyles’s rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia, issued in his tenth season in the NFL. He also appeared on a 1968 Topps card, a 1969 Topps card, and a 1969 Glendale stamp.

This week I added 1959 Bazooka football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. These cards were hand-cut from the bottoms of boxes of Bazooka bubble gum. Y.A. Tittle, of course, is pictured in his helmet. (As I wrote in an earlier article, Tittle is wearing his helmet on nearly all of his cards.)

See the Gallery for more information on the 1959 Bazooka set.

Forrest Blue, who played center from 1968 to 1978 for the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts, passed away on July 16. Blue was a four-time Pro Bowler for the 49ers, twice on the first team. There is a report of Blue’s death on the San Francisco Chronicle web site–and a photo of him scoring his only NFL touchdown.

The card pictured here is Blue’s rookie card, a 1972 Topps. Another card of note is his 1974 Parker Brothers card. As I showed in a previous blog article, it is one of the few Parker Brothers cards that has a different image than its counterpart in the 1974 Topps set.

You can see all of Forrest Blue’s cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

John Henry Johnson, who played fullback from 1954 to 1966 for the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Houston Oilers, passed away on June 3. Johnson also played one season, 1953, with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.

Johnson was a four-time Pro Bowler, once with the 49ers and three times with the Steelers. He was also a member of the Lions NFL Championship team in 1957. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

The card pictured here is Johnson’s rookie card, a 1955 Bowman. Topps used the same image, recolored, on his 1957 Topps card. (See them side-by-side in an earlier blog article.) Johnson appeared on many other cards during his long career, as well.

Also see:

• A summary of Johnson’s career on the Pro Football Hall of Fame web site.
• Johnson’s career NFL and AFL statistics at pro-football-reference.com.

Joe “The Jet” Perry, who played from 1948 to 1963 for the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts, has passed away. Perry led the NFL in rushing twice, in 1953 and 1954, and he made the Pro Bowl three times. He also held the NFL record for career rushing yards from 1958 to 1963, when Jim Brown surpassed him. Perry’s record did not include the yards he gained in 1948 and 1949, when the 49ers were still part of the AAFC. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

The card pictured here is Perry’s rookie card, a 1950 Bowman. He appeared on many more cards and team issue photos over the next thirteen years. You can see all of Joe Perry’s football cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery.

• See Joe Perry’s career stats at pro-football-reference.com.