Football Cards

A trio of players in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are celebrating milestone birthdays today: Glenn Ressler, Johnny Roland, and John Wilbur are all 70. Glenn Ressler played guard from 1965 to 1974 for the Baltimore Colts. He was a starter in Super Bowl III, which the Colts lost to the New York Jets, and in Super Bowl V, which the Colts won against the Dallas Cowboys. Before his pro career, Ressler starred at center and middle guard at Penn State. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. Ressler is pictured here on his 1974 Topps football card. Johnny Roland was a running back from 1966 to 1973 for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants. Roland was named the UPI NFL Rookie of the Year in 1966, and he made the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons. He played college football at Missouri, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998. After retiring as a player, Roland went on to a long coaching career. His rookie card, a 1967 Philadelphia, is shown here. John Wilbur played guard from 1966 to 1974 for the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, and Washington Redskins. He started at right guard in Super Bowl VII, which the Redskins lost to the undefeated Miami Dolphins. Wilbur is pictured here on his 1973 Topps football card. Happy birthday, Messrs. Ressler, Roland, and Wilbur!

Last week I added 1969 Drenk’s Green Bay Packers pins to the Vintage Football Card Gallery. The Bart Starr and Ray Nitschke pins are pictured here. See the Gallery for the rest of the pins and a description of the set. I filed the pins under Oddball.

The newest interactive team cards in the Vintage Football Card Gallery are the 1956 Topps Baltimore Colts and New York Giants team cards. Click on the images pictured here to see the interactive versions. Both cards show the 1955 teams. Three future Hall of Fame coaches appear on the cards: Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry are pictured on the Giants card, and Don Shula is a player on the Colts card. Leroy Vaughn, the father of major league baseball’s Mo Vaughn, also appears with the Colts. These are my sixth and seventh interactive 1956 Topps team cards; I have five more to go. Next up: the Washington Redskins.

Carroll Hardy, who played halfback for one season with the San Francisco 49ers, is celebrating his 80th birthday today. Hardy made the most of his opportunities to handle the football: on 12 pass receptions, he gained 338 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. He is pictured here, in a great pose, on his 1955 49ers team issue photo. Hardy is better known as a baseball player. After his stint with the 49ers, he played major league baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Houston Colt .45s, and Minnesota Twins. I don’t have his baseball cards, but you can see lots of them on eBay. According to oldestlivingproplayers.com, Hardy is the 494th oldest living professional American football player. Happy birthday, Mr. Hardy!

Happy Friday! Here are this week’s interesting eBay auctions for vintage football cards and related collectibles: Collect 1959 Topps football cards? Here’s a nice box to keep them in. This complete PSA-graded 1959 Topps set was previously for sale in a $4995 fixed-price listing. It’s now up for auction, starting at 99 cents. Here’s a nice photo of Amos Alonzo Stagg. He’s a bit younger in the photo than on his 1955 Topps All-American card. This Joe Namath rookie card looks like it was cut from a doughnut box. The Dayton Daily News apparently printed its own “cards” in the newspaper in 1970. Here’s one of them, Dale Lindsey. The seller has lots more, too. A nice item for an Irish fan: a first day cover of a 22-cent Knute Rockne stamp, postmarked at Notre Dame. Weird item of the week: Bart Starr’s face on a $2 bill. The seller has bills featuring lots of other subjects, also. I’m amazed, but it appears that he sells a lot of them. These make an interesting display: two 1956 Parkhurst Canadian Norman Kwong cards, one developed and one not. Another one for the Canadian fan: a full display box of 1964 Topps CFL cards. Alas, there is only one vintage card in this week’s list of most-watched football card auctions. It’s a beauty, though: a PSA 8 Fran Tarkenton rookie card. Like these? See my Interesting eBay Auction articles from past weeks. And if you’re a Facebook user, be sure to hit the “Like” button below!

Former NFL running back and punter Donny Anderson is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Anderson played from 1966 to 1974 for the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Cardinals. He gained over 1000 yards from scrimmage four times, and he made the Pro Bowl with the Packers in 1968. He played on the Packers teams that won the first two Super Bowls. Before his pro career, Anderson starred at Texas Tech. He is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Anderson is pictured here on his rookie card, a 1968 Topps. He also appeared on at least a dozen more cards, stamps, and stickers. Happy birthday, Mr. Anderson!

Former NFL and WFL player Rickie Harris is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Harris was a defensive back and return specialist from 1965 to 1972 for the Washington Redskins and New England Patriots. He had the NFL’s longest punt return in 1969, 86 yards for a touchdown. He finished his career in the World Football League, playing for the Florida Blazers in 1974 and the Memphis Southmen in 1975. Harris is shown here on his 1969 Topps football card. He appeared on several other cards, as well. Happy birthday, Mr. Harris!

The newest interactive team card in the Vintage Football Card Gallery is the 1956 Topps Cleveland Browns team card. Clicking on the image pictured here will take you to the interactive version. The card pictures the 1955 Cleveland Browns, who won the NFL championship. Remarkably, at least six of the players on the team later became head coaches in the NFL: Otto Graham, Abe Gibron, Mike McCormack, Walt Michaels, Chuck Noll, and John Sandusky. This is my fifth interactive 1956 Topps team card; I have seven more to go. Next up: the Baltimore Colts.

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.

Former NFL end Fred Dugan is celebrating his 80th birthday today. Dugan played from 1958 to 1963 for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins. His best season was 1961, when he gained 817 yards on 53 receptions for the Redskins. Dugan is shown here on his 1963 Topps football card, one of the short prints in the set. He appeared on several other cards, as well. Dugan is the 493rd oldest living pro American football player, according to oldestlivingprofootball.com. Happy birthday, Mr. Dugan!