A Chicle a day through the end of May

[jefferyepayne]

Thanks Rich. It's been fun so far. Just glad there are a few people reading these posts other than me!

jeff

[jefferyepayne]

Card #16 in the Chicle set is Ben Smith. Ben played college ball at Alabama where we was a member of the 1930 national championship team. Alabama was so good that year that they often started their second team to psych out their opponents. Alabama only gave up 13 points the entire season and beat undefeated Washington State 24-0 in the Rose Bowl.

Ben Smith played pro football from 1933 - 1937 where he played End on both offense and defense. He played one season with the Green Bay Packers ('33), two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates ('34-35), and one season with the Washington Redskins ('37) in the NFL. He was a member of the 1937 Washington Redskins team that won the NFL championship. Ben left the Pirates after the 1935 season to play with the Pittsburgh Americans in the newly formed American Football League (AFL). The team existed for only a little more than a season and this version of the AFL folded after just two seasons of play. Ben jumped back to the NFL after one season of play with the Americans.

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jeff

[jefferyepayne]

Card #17 in the Chicle set is Tom Jones. Tom played college ball at Bucknell University and went by the nickname "Potsy". Not much is know about his college years except he was a guard on the football team. He is not a member of the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame.

Tom Jones played pro football from 1930-1936, 1938. He played for the Minneapolis Red Jackets, Frankford Yellow Jackets, New York Giants, and Green Bay Packers. Jones started his career with the Minneapolis Red Jackets, a team that lasted only a couple of seasons in the NFL. In what turned out to be a very shrewd move, Ole Haugsrud, one of the founding fathers of the NFL, passed on his first right to start a new team in Minnesota during the depression and instead waited until 1960 to exercise his right and become part owner of the Minnesota Vikings.

Jones was an all-pro honorable mention guard on the 1934 New York Giants team that won the NFL Championship. Jones played semi-pro football for the New York Football Yankees in 1937 before returning for one last NFL season in 1938 with the Green Bay Packers.

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jeff

[jefferyepayne]

Card #18 in the Chicle set is Mike Mikulak. Mike played college ball at U of Oregon where he was originally a defensive player before becoming a star fullback. He led the Ducks to a share of the 1933 Pacific Coast Conference championship and was a consensus All-American that year. Mike's nickname was "Iron Mike" because he had to wear an aluminum chest protector under his uniform due to a protruding sternum.

Mikulak played fullback in the NFL from 1934-36 with the Chicago Cardinals, earning All-Pro status in 1935. In his best year, he gained 308 years rushing with a 4.2 yds/run average and scored four TDs. He retired from football after the '36 season and returned to U of Oregon to complete his degree and be an assistant coach. He was called to active duty by the Army in 1941 and was placed on a 1 year administrative leave by U of Oregon. Instead of returning to Oregon, Mikulak served in the Army for 27 years before returning to the college ranks as an administrator.

Mike is a member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame.

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jeff

[jefferyepayne]

Card #19 in the Chicle set is Ralph Kercheval. Ralph grew up in Kentucky and was a lifelong participant in the Thoroughbred racing industry. He played football, basketball, and track at the University of Kentucky and was UK's first All-SEC player. While a strong QB and DB at Kentucky, he was best known for his kicking. His first punt as a sophomore went for 75 yards, making his coach comment at halftime: "At this point we are just going to have Kercheval punt on first downs and we'll see what happens". At the time of his death in 2010, he still held four SEC punting records. What is more impressive is that during the '30s, punt yardage only included the yards the ball was *in the air* and didn't include bounces and rolls. His degree at Kentucky was in Animal Husbandry.

Kercheval played seven season in the NFL for the Brooklyn Dodgers, playing RB, DB, Punter, and Kicker. As in college, he was best known for his kicking abilities. Against the Giants, Kercheval scored the only touchdown, made the extra point, and kicked a field goal in a 10-0 Dodger victory. The headline in the paper the next day said: "Kercheval 10, Giants 0". Kercheval was All-Pro in 1935 and 1936 and finished in the top five in field goals made six of the seven years he was in the league. His longest punt in the pros was 86 yards against the Bears in 1935.

After retiring from the NFL in 1940, Kercheval became a calvary officer in WWII and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After four years of service, he spent the rest of his life managing thoroughbred horse farms in Kentucky. When he died in 2010, he was the oldest living person who had played in the NFL.

Ralph Kercheval is in the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame.

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Kercheval punting style. Prototype form for any of today's punters.

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jeff

[vintagetopps]

Jeff,

Your half way. Keep up the great work.

[jefferyepayne]

Huff, puff, pant, pant. I feel like I'm hitting the wall in a marathon. Got ... to ... keep ... scanning ...

jeff