todays mail:
 

Kin: I enjoyed looking at your blog! Keep having fun with your cards!
Todays mail brought two hits 1952 Bowman SMALL:
<a href="http://s176.photobucket.com/user/larrytipton/media/Scan%20158.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w185/larrytipton/Scan%20158.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Scan 158.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s176.photobucket.com/user/larrytipton/media/Scan%20162.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w185/larrytipton/Scan%20162.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Scan 162.jpg"/></a>
Herman Clark played for the Bears in 1952 and also 1954-57 and couldn't find out much about him except he died in 1989.
Ollie Matson "books" for $200 in NM. 1952 co-rookie of the year also won Bronze (400 M run) and Silver (400 M relay team) Medals in the Olympics that year:). Pro football HOF 1972. In his later years Matson suffered from dementia and died in 2011. According to his nephew, Matson hadn't spoken in the four years prior to his passing.
Larry

A BIG day at my mailbox Part 1 of 3:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...can%20164.jpeg
1952 Bowman "SMALL"

Arnold Weinmeister: Played only six pro seasons in the AAFC and NFL, yet was elected into the Pro Football HOF class of 1984 died 2000. (I need to read up on the AAFC which was a competing pro league)

Howard Hartley: played five years in the NFL for the Steelers and Redskins died in 2006 not much info about him.

Tex Coulter: played 7 years with the Giants died in 2003 not much info about him.

Pete Pihos: #92 most "expensive" in this group NM $75. Played 9 years Eagles. College HOF '66. Pro Football HOF '70. WWII D-Day vet Bronze and Silver Star. His daughter made a couple of documentaries about his struggle with Alzheimer’s I checked Netflix not there. Appears to be a football stud and hero! Died 2011.

Jack Blount: no info.

Steve Romanik: QB Bears and Cardinals 1950-54. died in 2009

Henry Minarik: Played with the Steelers just one year with 35 receptions and one TD. Still living age 88 I wonder what he went on to do, his stats weren't awful?

Larry

A BIG day at my mailbox Part 2 of 3:
1951 Bowman
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...can%20165.jpeg

Louis Creekmur: Player with the Lions ten years and never missed a game! Had his nose broken 13 times since players often didn't wear a face mask. His nose looks a little messed up on his card? Pro Football HOF 1996. died in 2009.

Tom Fears: discussed in previous entry. LOL

James Finks: Played six years with the Steelers. In 1964 became GM of the Vikings and put together "The Purple People Eaters" and also hired coach Bud Grant. Served in front offices Bears Saints and Chicago Cubs. When NFL Commissioner Pete Rozell retired, James was a leading candidate to replace him. But it seems there was some "hijinks" going on with some of the newer owners, and Paul Tagliabue was eventually hired. Pro football HOF 1995. died lung cancer 1994.

Dante Lavelli: #73 most "expensive" in this group at $75 in NM. Nicknames "glue fingers" and "Mr Clutch" NFL HOF 1975 player 10 years with the Browns. In 1942 Dante was drafted into the US Army D-day he landed on Omaha Beach also saw action at the Battle of the Bulge and the fight for Bastogne. 1 in 5 members of his Division was killed in action. died in 2009. New "book" price for this card is $1,000 this guy is a HERO!

Big Day at the mailbox part 3 of 3:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...can%20166.jpeg

1948 Bowman (wearing #35) John Badaczewski the most "expensive" in this group $100 in NM. Played 8 years in the NFL to me his name looks like "bad-ass" LOL. Went on to a career with the Chrysler Corp and died in 1999.

1948 Bowman Bob Skoglund (wearing #52) Played with the Packers for just one year 1947 then died of a kidney infection in 1949 at the age of 23.

1954 Bowman "Large" John Karras played just one year with the Cardinals 5 receptions 1 TD. died in 2008

Absolutely love the posts, Larry! Please keep going. I check the board daily and enjoy it!

Thanks Larry - love seeing the early color Bowman cards. 50-52 in particular, there was so much attention paid to detail - the backgrounds etc. - they’re like little works of art

Thanks for the feedback. Tomorrow will be the last post (if I get any cards in the mail).
Another BIG mail day 1 of 3
1952 Bowman:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...Scan%20167.jpg

Jerome Smith: played in 29 NFL games, then became an NFL position coach for 11 years. died in 2011.

John Kastan: NY Giants 9th round pick looks like he never played for them, and no other information.

Steve Owen: Pro football HOF 1966 played in the NFL 10 years, and coached the NY Giants from 1930-1953. WWI vet, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1966.

George Conner #19 (short print) is the most "valuable" card in this lot NM $300. College and Pro HOFer played eight years in the NFL. WWII vet weighed only three pounds at birth. died in 2003.

2 of 3
1952 Bowman:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...Scan%20168.jpg

Buddy Young: One of the shortest men to play the game at only 5"4" played 10 years in the NFL. First Colt to have his number retired. First African-American exec hired by the NFL. died in a car wreck in 1983.

John Rapacz: Played 7 years in the NFL then became a Hall of Fame High School coach. died in 1991.

Fred Benners: Played one year in the NFL then became a lawyer in Dallas. Considered one of the best players to play college at SMU. Looks like there is a collection of some sort of Fred at SMU. He is 85 years old.

Jack Christiansen #129 RC is the most "expensive" card in this group at $300 in NM condition. Raised in an orphanage. Pro football HOF played with the Lions for 8 seasons, then coached college and pro teams for 30 years. died from cancer in 1986.

3 of 3
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...Scan%20169.jpg

1950 Bowman Leo Nomellini (upper left): played 14 years with the 49ers and never missed a game. College and Pro football HOF. Pro wrestler Leo "The Lion" died in 2000.

1951 Bowman Charley Trippi (upper right): College (Georgia) and Pro HOFer player with the Chicago Cardinals for 9 years. Charley was a big part of the NFL and AAFC battle. Lives in Athens 92 years old.

1948 Bowman Joe Scott (lower left): Played 6 years with the NY Giants he was born in Athens, Texas. 89 years old.

1948 Bowman Joe Tereshinski (lower right) #1 card in the set and the most "expensive" card in this group NM $165. Played with the Redskins 8 years. College Georgia Bulldogs father of former Georgia Bulldogs Joe and Wally (mid 1970s), and grandfather of former Bulldog QB Joe (2005). Joe Sr died in 2013.

Millner is in the Wheaties set and a few Redskins matchbooks from the 30s / early 40s.

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...erWheaties.jpg

If you seen one of these out there, snag it as its one of the most difficult Wheaties box cuts to find.

I have the Millner matchbooks too but don't have them scanned yet.

jeff

This one certainly isn't as old as most on this board, but I had to share. This one was in my mailbox Friday. It turned out to be a random act of kindness. I had no idea that it was coming! It's in fantastic shape too. I might drop it off on Saturday to get graded.

If you're interested in more of the story about receiving the card, you can read it here.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5641/...378c9a28_z.jpg1972 Topps #291 Steve Spurrier by kekinsley, on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/622/2...374b2665_z.jpg1972 Topps #291 Steve Spurrier by kekinsley, on Flickr

-Kin

Went to the WSSCA show yesterday and picked up a handful football cards, including a Tarkenton rookie. Wasn't Mitchell with the Redskins in 1962?

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/...pskleezyf3.jpg

wtg on the Tarkenton.. Are you still working on your '58 set?

Nice Spurrier card. I'm putting together a '72 set.. although im having my doubts on wether i'll be able to afford all the cards after #263.

Thank you and yes, but very slowly. It may take years, haha. Saw two Jim Brown Rookies at the show, one was very nicely centered but passed on the price. Picked up the Unitas, Tarkenton, Mitchell, Donovan, and Mackey for a song, thanks Mark! Needed the Lary as I noticed mine had writing on the back. Grabbed (6) 1951 Bowman's as well in a $2 per card box. Great show, lots of fun and good people.

Hard to find full matchbook - 1934 Diamond set

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.websi...m/1237/2503883

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.websi...m/1237/2503884

Nice find Mike! A Hewitt item is definitely on my want list. Interesting look with the shirt and tie - never saw one like that before!

That matchbook is IMPOSSIBLE to find! Great pickup, Mike. Simply awesome.

jeff

Very nice item. Never seen one before. Is that rarer than the Hubbard & Herber from 1933?

Any of the Bears or Packers from the 1934 set show up less frequently than any player from the 1933 set - I learned this the hard way the first and only time I saw the Red Grange from 1934 at auction. The 1933 Grange was going for about $125 at the time and the 1934 ended at $750.

I agree, I slowly built a PSA 8 set. It was a lot of fun a good time commitment. The players are timeless and the cards are some of the best looking out there. I've since moved on to other areas, but always love this set.

Len Dawson
 

Was able to add Len's signature to a few wire/press photos I have had of him for awhile. One as an upstart Purdue QB, one from the College All-Star game and one from his days as a short-lived back-up Steeler QB.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...psdiyvcyby.jpg http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...psh2inemwg.jpg http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...pstnlha66o.jpg

One closer to completion on my 55AA set and another pickup for my HOF QB auto collection.

Nice pickups on Dawson and Graham - and you can read them!

Great auto's, guys! Love the Dawson and Graham.

jeff

Thanks guys. And yes, it is very nice to be able to read a signature. Makes it much more appealing. Do you think either of these guys ever had the thought to try something stupid like charging more money for signing their full name?

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...Scan%20174.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...Scan%20175.jpg
Still "chipping away" at my 1952 Bowman sets and added these:) The most "expensive" in this group is the #85 Large Andy Robustelli RC. Pro football HOF 1971, and a WWII vet. This card "books" for $225 in NM condition. The Ray Mathews card was purchased cheap, with tape on the front. I just picked the tape right off leaving just a bit of residue:D
Larry

Wow Larry, you're really burning up the 1952 Bowman Large & small sets! Congratulations! Nice cards!;)

Also, Nice autos of Dawson & Graham above (HRBAKER & laxcat). I've always felt that Dawson was/is one of the most underrated QB's in NFL/AFL history!

Always loved the artwork on that Doak card.

Not truly "pickups" unless you count sitting in a forgotten box for 25 years a pick up. Happy with all except the Brown. Sent in two of them. Both received a grade of 4. The cards are night and day. This is the better looking one.

The Brown may be the one you're supposed to send in for review :) Nice find, I wish some of those would sneak into my old 80s boxes - maybe I'll check again.

NICE!

Larry

Great cards! If the Brown doesn't have any hairline creases and the back isn't rubbed I'd crack it out & re-submit it. "Nice finds".

I am on page 14 of this thread, and I must say how impressed and amazed I am! You guys are doing a great job! Thanks for posting and sharing. I have never really considered vintage football before (I am a post war baseball card collector), but this thread is motivating me to investigate vintage football. Just from what I have seen, the Philadelphia sets (especially '64) really catch my eye as do many Fleer and Topps sets. I am going to finish looking at this thread later, but I am going to buy a Football Beckett to give me an idea of what sets I could handle. The only one I know that I will probably avoid is the '65 Topps with the Namath. It is amazing how affordable most of it is in the middle 1950s to the 1960s.

Finished off my 1959 Topps Football set with this Art Donovan, alright, all night!

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/...psagb9yvrz.jpg

Congrats, that is quite an accomplishment! That is a nice looking set.

Now I just need to figure out where I might get started in vintage football...there's a lot to like.

Great snag, Ty! Have always liked the "ransom note" set :p

Congrats on finishing it!

jeff

Love the card of "Fatso" Ty! Is the rest of your set in similar condition? Congrats.

1967 Royal Castle Maxie Williams

The Royal Castle is a great oddball card. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks guys.

I'd estimate the rest of the set ranges VG - NM, with most VG/EX. I'm not really a set registry pursuer, just a casual set builder. Only five favorites are graded; Brown, Unitas, Huff, Starr, and Donovan. There were only four favorites but I wanted to put the set to bed, and tired of looking for a sharp, raw Donovan.

grats on finishing!

My oldest FB card. Hope to pick a few more up.

Great pickup Matt! A beauty much like Larry's recent Namath acquisition. The slight paper loss, or even pinhole are completely offset by the crisp images with great centering (especially on the reverse of the Namath). Awesome, guys.

Very nice pickups, guys! Manahan is one of the tougher Mayos to snag so great grab. Love the Namath, Bowman, Topps AA, etc. as well.

Not sure how many have run into the 1969 Junior Mint Fantastic Firsts multi-sport set before but they are really hard to find. Picked up a few the other day including this football one. It's generic but interesting as I've never handled one before. I do find it hard to believe that as of 1969 the longest TD pass play in college was only 67 yards. Maybe they mean that's how far the ball traveled in the air.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m...51125_0003.jpg

jeff

Congrats Ty!
Larry

got this '57 Raymond Berry today. 4.5 Becket. Gets me a little further along the set.

Sharp Berry Shawn!

More finds from storage.
 

I count these as pick ups. Didn't know they existed until yesterday. The Hutson is an upgrade to my set, so that was an unexpected surprise. The '61 LtoL Adderly takes the place of the '64 in my rookie collection. And I didn't have a Gabriel or Hadl rookie. Found a bunch more stuff but don't want to overload the thread.

Shameless plug: I recently joined Twitter. Yikes! I think I might be too old :( If you want to see all the stuff I've been pulling out of storage(and will continue to do so) follow me. @mcharlton81

Neat stuff Matt. And, looked at your Twitter. Very cool!

1948 Leaf Sammy Baugh
 

An early Xmas present from my wife; she listened...
http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=19579

Nice Baugh! Surprised we don't see more 48 Leaf here given how popular it seems.

Love the Sammy! Nice centering too!

Matt, I may be interested in the upgraded from Hutson. I do need it for my set. The new one looks fantastic!

Gentlemen, I am now the proud owner of a 1969 Topps football set. A friend of a friend was looking to unload, and I was in the right place at the right time. The beautiful, bright colors were too much to resist in person!

Overall, I would say it grades out EX+ or so with many cards in the EXMT range. Some of the commons have some pesky wrinkles (but are otherwise nice), and I have already started the upgrade process. When I am done in January or February, it will be crease/wrinkle free. The stars are all very nice and very clean in the EX or better range. I will post pics one evening this week when I have time. Thanks for all the inspiration, guys!

1949 Leaf & 1948 Bowman Sammy Baugh
 

I wasn't aware that there were 49 Leaf's until I was looking at the PSA pop report. Very similar to the 48 I just picked up but the number is different and his name is stated as Sam Baugh. Also recently picked up a 1948 Bowman.
http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=19590http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=19591

Congrats, Robert! You are hooked ... post away when you have time. That's a GREAT set.

Very nice Sammy pickups, Jason. Yes, the 1949 Leafs are skip numbered cards with the same images as the 1948s. They can be distinguished from the 48's by the updated bio information and the copyright on the back.

It's not a very popular set probably because there are no rookie cards in it and the quality of the cardboard used is poor.

jeff

Great set to start with Robert.

When I was 10 years old my future brother in-law gave me about 100 cards from that set and I eventually completed it as I got older.

My personal favorite card of the set, #171, John Hadl. I was always fascinated with the fact he wore #21 on his jersey and it also helps I was more of an AFL than NFL fan.

Congrats again Robert.

Great choice Robert! Love the solid, vivid colors in the '69 set, and the Piccolo Rookie always brings a tear to my eye. Congratulations.

I saw this on another thread and thought about this when I was making the purchase! Thanks for the inspiration.

Absolutely, Ty! I was blown away by the awesome color when seeing them in person. Here are some scans of some of the key cards. They just have some light corner wear. I am very happy with them.

Great pickup. I can see why you are happy with them, very nice. I have developed a major 'jones' for the late '60s into early '70s Topps football as I near completion of the '74-'79 sets, and seeing yours just feeds the fire. Congrats on a classic addition.

Thanks for the comment. I am really liking them. I will post more scans later. I am working my way through the set. The guy I bought them from had the set in 9 pocket pages. I am moving them to top loaders and penny sleeves and a storage box. I am on about #109 right now.

After upgrading a few commons, I am going to tackle another '60s set...maybe '68 Topps, '64 Philadelphia, or one of the Fleer sets.

This is more of a historical item than a sports card, but some here might enjoy it - Ray Flaherty on the 1934 NFL Championship game - the Sneakers Game

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.websi...m/1237/2532287https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.websi...m/1237/2532288

Robert, congrats on a great set!

I have my 1969 set in penny sleeves and top loaders but will move them to Card Saver 1's eventually. I just like the look of cards in the Card Savers much more than top loaders.

Just seeing you post those cards reminds me why this set is my favorite of the decade.

Erik, I have used CardSaver Is and have my '53 Topps baseball set (the ungraded portion) stored in them. I actually have the '53s in penny sleeves in the CardSavers....I know that was redundant and unnecessary. I am a little OCD I guess :p. Lately, I have opted for the toploader/penny sleeve combo, like with my '65 baseball set and this '69 football set. I honestly like both.

I didn't realize how much I like that '69 set until I saw it in person. I am hooked! Looking forward to adding more sets in 2016!

Mike, great letter! Believe it or not, I actually posted something in a PFRA thread on a similar topic. Seeing it in Flaherty's writing makes more sense to me now. The specification "no ice" and a frozen field was very helpful (because I always wondered why sneakers would be better on icy patches). Someday I need to try this experiment for myself though, then I'll be 100% convinced :)

One of the things I like about the 1968 and 1969 Topps Football sets is they had both leagues before they merged featured in the set. Something about having two distinct leagues in one set is cool in my book especially since the leagues merged in '70 and inter-conference play is so prevalent.

I mentioned my future brother in-law at the time gave me about half the set when I was 10. One thing he did was write "N.L. Football" at the top of Bart Starr's card and "A.L. Football" at the top of Namath's. Needless to say I had to upgrade those two cards. :)

I've kind of lost track of the PFRA forum - too much bickering - so thanks for the idea, I posted it over there as well. Mike

I like the net54 community better too - thanks for reminding me about a 1000 yard rushing post I wanted to share over here.

Good point, Erik. I like being able to get AFL and NFL players in the same set starting out. Down the road, I would like to have some of the AFL-specific Fleer sets, too.

Even if you upgrade those cards, you will want to keep the marked ones for the memories. Cool stuff!

I never thought of keeping them Robert. I passed them on to my nephews along with some of the cards I upgraded from that set. I figured their dad gave me several cards years back and this was one way I could pass on some fun to them.

Come to think of it, I gave A LOT of cards to my nephews and the problem is I want them back. :D

That's a good way to go. They are still in the family, and they have gone full circle. Pretty neat really.

Picked up the '68 Topps poster set from Net54 member Adam (exhibitman) and here are a few of the good ones. Thanks Adam!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...51208_0002.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7...51208_0005.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J...51208_0009.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I...51208_0006.jpg

jeff

Nice stuff, Jeff. Congrats!

Sayers doesn't get enough love.

Very nice Jeff.

Cool posters!. Been checkin those out but haven't pulled the trigger yet..

Bought this picture of Grange and Senator McKinley leaving a meeting with President Calvin Coolidge just because I love the story about this meeting.

Attachment 214340

Apparently the conversation went like this:

Senator McKinley: "President, I want to introduce you to George Halas and Red Grange of the Chicago Bears."

The President smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, gentlemen,'' the President said. ''I've always enjoyed animal acts.''

--------------------------------------

Cracks me up every time.

jeff

Now that's funny :D Great pic and better story, thanks for sharing Jeff.