A Chicle a day through the end of May

[jefferyepayne]

I guess the bull rush wasn't big back then ...

Originally Posted by smotan_02

I never knew that about his knee. What a rough way to go out. Great looking card, even with his weird squat pose.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

What a story about his knee! Well at least it wasn't a concussion!

[vintagetopps]

Now I'm wanting to collect this set & the 55's. Keep em coming!

[jefferyepayne]

Card #12 in the Chicle set is Tom Hupke. Tom played for the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Rams during his NFL career. He was on the Lions team that won the 1935 NFL Championship. More info on his playing career is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hupke

Tom was a 2x All-American guard at Alabama but was critically injured in a car crash that claimed the life of one of his passengers, while he and others were heading home from school for Christmas in Dec '32. For a while they thought he might lose his left arm due to crash injuries but he recovered. He subsequently had surgery on his arm to correct nerve damage but it is unclear how much this impacted the rest of his playing career. I noticed in his picture that he has one hand open and one closed. Not sure if this is just a pose or if he had on-going arm issues that impacted his ability to use one of his arms.

Tom died young at 48 in 1959 after an extended illness.

hupke35front.jpg
hupke35back.jpg

jeff

[smotan_02]

I wonder if the artist used press photos as the guide for the card or if they had a headshot and "imagined" the rest (stance, body, etc). If they used press photos then I could see how his hand might show up like that due to his injury. Funny, I would have never paid attention to that otherwise.

[jefferyepayne]

Me neither! It wasn't until I learned about his injury that I went back and looked at the picture and it struck me as a bit odd how different his hand were positioned. Maybe nothing but an interesting theory.

jeff

[jefferyepayne]

Card #12 in the Chicle set is Tom Hupke. Tom played for the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Rams during his NFL career. He was on the Lions team that won the 1935 NFL Championship. More info on his playing career is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hupke

Tom was a 2x All-American guard at Alabama but was critically injured in a car crash that claimed the life of one of his passengers, while he and others were heading home from school for Christmas in Dec '32. For a while they thought he might lose his left arm due to crash injuries but he recovered. He subsequently had surgery on his arm to correct nerve damage but it is unclear how much this impacted the rest of his playing career. I noticed in his picture that he has one hand open and one closed. Not sure if this is just a pose or if he had on-going arm issues that impacted his ability to use one of his arms.

Tom died young at 48 in 1959 after an extended illness.

[jefferyepayne]

Card #13 in the Chicle set is Homer Griffith. Homer's card is the first error card in the Chicle set as his name is spelled "Griffiths" on the front. There are more of these to come later.

Homer was a three year letterman and All-American at USC, leading them to two consecutive Rose Bowl victories. He was selected as the Player of the Game in the 1933 Rose Bowl in which USC beat Pitt 35-0. Griffith threw for a TD and ran for a TD as USC completed an undefeated season.

Homer Griffith only played one year in the NFL for the Chicago Cardinals. He completed 29% of his passes and averaged 1.2 yards per rush during his only season.

Griffith was inducted into the USC Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

griffith35front.jpg
griffith35back.jpg

Homer Griffith being tackled against Oregon State.

homer.jpg

jeff