Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Feb 9, 2012, 12:32 pm
Happy Thursday! Here are the week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles: Here’s something I don’t see often: a 1935 National Chicle premium photo, this one of Eddie Casey. (Casey coached the Boston Redskins in 1935; his tips appear on the backs of 1...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Feb 7, 2012, 12:41 pm
Last week I added 1974 Fleer Immortal Roll cards–also called 1974 Fleer Hall of Fame cards– to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The page for the set includes a short description, so I won’t describe again them here. I added a fun fact or two for each card in the set, as well. Take a look!
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Feb 4, 2012, 5:57 pm
Frank Aschenbrenner, a star halfback for Northwestern University in 1948 and 1949, passed away on January 30. Aschenbrenner was named the outstanding player of the 1949 Rose Bowl after scoring on a record-setting 73-yard run and rushing for a total of 119 yards. He is a member of the Northwestern ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Feb 3, 2012, 10:03 am
John Guzik, who played linebacker from 1959 to 1961 for the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Oilers, passed away on January 22. Guzik was a first team All-American guard at the University of Pittsburgh, but his pro career was shortened by injuries. There is an interview with Guzik and a summary of his...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Feb 2, 2012, 9:08 am
Last week, looking at Frank Ryan’s football cards, I noticed that his 1962 Kahn’s Wieners card, his 1963 Topps card, and his 1969 Topps card all picture him wearing number 18 for the Browns. According to his page at pro-football-reference.com, however, Ryan never wore number 18 for any team. I...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 31, 2012, 9:15 am
Happy Tuesday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles: Joe Paterno rookie cards are coming out of the woodwork. Just after he died, there was only one listed on eBay. Now there are seven. Here’s an unusual item: a two-card panel of...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 28, 2012, 6:21 am
I hope you like this feature, because it took me awhile: I identified all of the players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery who are members of the College Football Hall of Fame. You can do a search for all of the College Hall of Famers, all of the College Hall of Famers from a certain college (sa...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 27, 2012, 2:39 pm
Greg Cook, a quarterback with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1969 to 1974, has passed away. Cook was an American Football League Co-Rookie of the Year in 1969, but he suffered an injury during the 1969 season from which he never fully recovered. He led the AFL in passer rating, completion percentage,...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 26, 2012, 12:39 pm
Happy Thursday! Here are the week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles: Here’s one for fans of the NFC Champs: a set of 1959 or 1960 Jays Publishing New York Giants photos, with envelope. (The listing says 1959, but Beckett says 1960. I don’t know...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 24, 2012, 1:32 pm
Clarence Self, a back from 1949 to 1955 for the Chicago Cardinals, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers, passed away on January 21. Self played college football at Wisconsin, and he still holds the school record for kickoff return yards in a game, with 178. Self appeared on one football card, the ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 22, 2012, 12:35 pm
Joe Paterno did not play professional football, but he was a quarterback and defensive back in college, at Brown University. He appeared on one football card, the tiny 1950 Topps Felt Back pictured here. The image on the card resembles the one in a photo on the Sports Illustrated web site; my gues...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 22, 2012, 8:50 am
I’ll bet I’ve looked at Del Shofner’s 1960 Topps football card a hundred times, and yesterday I finally noticed that his image on the card is reversed. Here it is alongside his 1961 Topps card. The images on the two cards appear to be from the same photo session, and if you compare the numbe...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 19, 2012, 1:07 pm
... PSA 4.5 “Gorgeous” George McAfee card. (The more common version of this card doesn’t have the “Gorgeous.”) A PSA 2 “green jersey” ... 1948 Topps Magic Photo of Pete Elliott vs. The Blob. Looks like The Blob is winning… Matchbook of the week: a 1940 matchbook of Hall of ......
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 17, 2012, 9:02 am
Mike Current, a tackle for 13 seasons with the Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Miami Dolphins, has passed away. According to his page at bucpower.com, Current started 105 consecutive games for the Broncos and played in a total of 169 AFL and NFL games. Current was elected to the AFL West...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 14, 2012, 9:12 am
In a previous article I featured the football cards of several players who played in exactly one NFL, AFL, or AAFC game. Today I added Larry Joe’s 1948 Leaf football card to that article. Joe, I learned, played in one game in 1949 for the AAFC’s Buffalo Bills. Check out the whole list.
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 10, 2012, 5:47 pm
Happy Tuesday! This week’s interesting eBay auctions are especially interesting… First, here are some items I haven’t seen before: 1950 American Nut & Chocolate University Felts. West Virginia Middlebury Yale A different Yale The listings say the felts are 75 by 45 mm; that translates to abo...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 8, 2012, 5:50 pm
This weekend I added 1971 Kellogg’s football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. This missing set was the biggest gap in the Gallery, I’d say, since Kellogg’s cards are popular and not too difficult to find. Thanks to Mike Ford for providing many of the images. I found a few small s...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 5, 2012, 8:37 am
Happy Thursday! Here are the week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles: Here’s a pretty nice 1926 Shotwell Red Grange card that started at $4.99. Feeling lucky? There’s a 1962 Topps wax pack up for sale. Also a 1968 Topps Rack Pack. This 1960 Fl...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Jan 1, 2012, 10:31 am
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 f...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Dec 27, 2011, 5:49 pm
Houston Antwine, a defensive lineman from 1961 to 1972 for the Boston/New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, passed away last night, according to the Boston Globe web site. His wife passed away today. Antwine was an American Football League All-Star six straight seasons, from 1963 to 1968. ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Dec 27, 2011, 10:29 am
It’s not unusual to encounter football cards of players who have the same name. Among others, I have cards of two J.D. Smiths, two Gene Washingtons, two Bob Boyds, and three Bob Browns. I also have cards of two Bobby Dodds, but it was only yesterday that I learned that they were father and son. ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Dec 25, 2011, 8:28 am
Today is the 40th anniversary of the longest NFL game, a Christmas Day AFC semi-final playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs. The game went 7 minutes and 40 seconds into the second overtime before Garo Yepremian ended it with a field goal. The final score: Miami 27, Kansas ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Nov 1, 2011, 6:19 pm
Tom Watkins, running back and kick returner from 1961 to 1968 for the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers, passed away on October 29. Watkins led the NFL in yards per punt return in 1964, and in yards per kickoff return in 1965. Watkins is a member of the Iowa State University...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Nov 1, 2011, 9:32 am
Happy Tuesday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles: The back of this 1969 Topps Roy Jefferson card has the funkiest diamond cut I’ve ever seen! Here are some nice examples of 1965 Topps Magic Rub-Off inserts, including some still ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 30, 2011, 7:59 am
Happy Halloween! Here is this year’s scary card, a 1955 Rams Team Issue photo of Art Hauser. It’s not quite as scary as last year’s Ed Cooke card, but I would definitely have gotten out of Art’s way. (Click on the image–if you dare!–for a life-size, scarier version.) There are a lot ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 27, 2011, 5:26 pm
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 r...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 26, 2011, 4:50 pm
A while back, someone told me that Adrian Young’s 1971 Topps card pictures not Adrian Young, but Rick Duncan. Today I searched for pictures of the two players to see for myself. As far as I know, neither of the players appeared on another standard football card, but I did find pictures of them o...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 22, 2011, 12:50 pm
Yesterday I added a virtual uncut sheet of 1964 Philadelphia football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. I modeled the virtual sheet after a real one that is for sale in an upcoming auction. Thanks to Steve of the thecowboysguide.com for pointing out the auction. Whereas 1965, 1966, and ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 21, 2011, 8:32 am
Gale Gillingham, an offensive lineman for ten seasons with the Green Bay Packers, passed away on October 20. Today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a report. Gillingham made the Pro Bowl five times, and he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1982. The cards pictured here are Gillingha...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 19, 2011, 6:27 pm
The Miami Dolphins will add Jim “Mad Dog” Mandich to the Dolphins Honor Roll on December 4, according to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel web site. Mandich played tight end for the Dolphins for eight seasons, then did radio broadcasts for the team for nineteen years. He passed away earlier thi...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 18, 2011, 10:17 am
Happy Interesting Auction Tuesday! I didn’t bookmark many auctions this week, so instead I did a quick search for auctions with a lot of bids. Usually, a large number of bids indicates that an auction had a starting bid well below market value. Of course, they don’t always end well below mark...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 16, 2011, 11:24 am
As I have said in previous posts, I have concluded that uncut 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia football card sheets all had the same card numbering scheme. Thus, from a picture of a 1966 Philadelphia half-sheet, I was able to assemble virtual half-sheets of 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia cards....
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 11, 2011, 11:01 am
Happy Tuesday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions. Seller bronkossports is breaking up the #1 PSA registry set of 1950 Topps Felt Back football cards. The prize in the group is a PSA 6 Joe Paterno rookie card. It’s interesting that they’re selling them together, but here are bo...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 9, 2011, 10:29 am
Yesterday I added a virtual uncut sheet of 1965 Philadelphia football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. I have not seen an actual 1965 Philadelphia uncut sheet, but by looking at badly miscut cards, I have concluded that 1965, 1966, and 1967 Philadelphia sheets all had the same numbering s...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 8, 2011, 4:31 pm
In honor of Al Davis, who passed away today, I added an interactive 1964 Topps Oakland Raiders team card to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The card pictures the 1963 Raiders team, which Davis coached to a 10-4 record. That was the Raiders’ first winning season, and Davis was named the AFL Co...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Oct 4, 2011, 11:33 am
Happy Tuesday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles: Seller cavaliercards has a bunch of PSA-graded 1926 Shotwell Red Grange cards for sale. These cards were originally packaged with Red Grange candy bars. You can see an empty wrapp...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 30, 2011, 6:31 pm
Yesterday I added a virtual uncut sheet of 1967 Philadelphia football cards to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. I have not seen an actual uncut sheet, but by looking at badly miscut cards, I concluded that 1967 Philadelphia sheets were numbered like 1966 Philadelphia sheets. I have seen a picture...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 27, 2011, 1:17 pm
Happy Tuesday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions. I haven’t seen this card before: a 1969 NFL vending card of Bobby Joe Green. According to the listing, these were sold in little plastic capsules, I presume from machines that resembled gumball machines. I haven’t been able to ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 25, 2011, 8:26 am
Don’t ask me how I got there, but the other day I found myself thinking about players with “Mad” nicknames. Here are four I thought of: Daryle “Mad Bomber” Lamonica, on his 1968 Topps Stand Up insert; Ted “Mad Stork” Hendricks, on his 1975 Wonder Bread card; Alex “The Mad Duck” Ka...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 23, 2011, 6:26 pm
I finished moving footballcardgallery.com to a different hosting service today. It appears to be working properly, but if you see a hitch, please let me know. I think the site is faster now, too, but I could be imagining it. They say it will take 24-48 hours for everyone to see the change. If yo...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 23, 2011, 3:17 pm
Joe Krupa, a defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1956 to 1964, passed away on September 13. The Chicago Sun-Times web site has a report. Krupa was a Pro Bowler for the Steelers in 1963. The cards pictured here are Krupa’s rookie card, a 1958 Topps, and his 1964 Philadelphia card....
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 21, 2011, 6:32 pm
It’s long overdue, but I am finally moving nearmintcards.com and footballcardgallery.com to a different (and I hope more reliable) web hosting service. Chances are good that I will forget something in the moves, so if you see anything funky on the sites in the next week or two, please let me know...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 20, 2011, 1:11 pm
It’s Tuesday, time for this week’s interesting eBay auctions! Here’s a 1954 Blue Ribbon Tea CFL card of Bud Grant. I believe it is the only card that shows him as a player. The grade looks like a mistake, though, doesn’t it? I thought perhaps the brown stains were common in the issue, th...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 15, 2011, 6:05 pm
Robert “Buddy” Tinsley, a member of the CFL Hall of Fame, passed away on September 14. After spending one year, 1949, with the AAFC’s Los Angeles Dons, Tinsley played eleven seasons for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In those eleven seasons, he played in five Grey Cup (CFL championship) ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 15, 2011, 12:36 pm
It seems natural to put pictures of football players on playing cards, and I am surprised that not more teams have done it. Playing cards aren’t much different from trading cards, and there are close to 54 players on an NFL or college team. Throw in the coaches, cheerleaders, and mascot, and you...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 14, 2011, 1:05 pm
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 br...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 13, 2011, 10:37 am
It’s Tuesday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions: Here’s a near-set of 1961 Nu-Card pennant inserts. This is an odd, tough set: though there are only 80 football cards in the 1961 Nu-Card set (see them here), there are at least 315 different pennant inserts, and there was only o...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 6, 2011, 11:29 am
Happy Tuesday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles: Here’s a nice example of a John Lujack 1948 Topps Magic Photo. There are a total of 252 photos in this mishmash of a set. In addition to thirteen “All American Football” and...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Sep 4, 2011, 1:28 pm
I was scanning 1976 Topps football cards for the Gallery yesterday, and I came across this Dan Ryczek rookie card. What do you suppose he’s looking at? The scoreboard? The Blue Angels? A Ray Guy punt? Ryczek was a center, so I wondered if Topps mistakenly turned the image 90 degrees. But no, ...
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Michael T. posted an article on Nearmint's Vintage Football Card Blog - Aug 30, 2011, 12:33 pm
Happy Tuesday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles: Just for fun, I did a search for the most expensive football cards on eBay. I assumed that vintage cards would appear on top, but the first one was seventh! Some football-playing ...
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