Card: 1951 Bowman Football, Card #91

Team/Position: NY Giants, GB Packers / DB, Safety.

Cost: Acquired in a Lot ($15)

As a side-project, I’ve started to put together than 1951 Bowman set.  That year really doesn’t offer a lot of value in the Rookie Card department, but it’s definitely cheaper than the ’50 or ’52 sets.  Emlen Tunnell is one of the few rookies in the set, along with Tom Landry and Stormin’ Norman Van Brocklin.

Now, my card doesn’t exactly have the best color to it, but wasn’t Emlen Tunnell supposed to be the first African American to ever suit up for the New York Giants?  If so, is there a reason as to why Emlen comes across as a son of the Mediterranean — Maybe Italian? Maybe Greek?  Thankfully by 1952, Bowman had corrected the matter and Emlen Tunnell was indeed the first African American to play for the New York Giants.

Tunnell has a fairly interesting story, especially for a man that passed away far too early. Tunnell started out at Toledo where he unfortunately broke his neck.  The injury cost him enlistment in both the Army and Navy during WWII, but Emlen was eventually accepted by the Coast Guard.  What I absolutely loved about that era of sports was the dedication to their country that these players showed.

Em eventually settled in Iowa after his tour of the Coast Guard was up.  Tunnell wasn’t drafted, as he surprisingly chose to forgo his third season at Iowa.  Tunnell eventually landed a gig with the New York Giants where he’d prove to be a cornerstone of their Umbrella Defense.

Tunnell was a 9-time Pro Bowl Selection, 8-time All Pro, a member of the All-Decade Team of the 1950′s and a two-time Champion.

Em was literally “offense on defense”  as you can see from the rear of the card: “On the defensive platoon, Em was a valuable factor in attack, returning 2 pass interceptions and 1 punt for TDs.  During season, he intercepted 10 passes and ran them back for 251 yards. Ran 26 punts back for 315 yards” (What awful grammar!)

I’d highly recommend checking out this biography of Emlen Tunnell:

Emlen Tunnell was, as he himself pointed out to Maury White of the Des Moines Register, the “first black everything” with the New York Giants of the National Football League—”player, scout, talent scout, assistant coach, and first full-time black assistant in the whole league.” Tunnell was more than a pioneer, however. Playing the position of safety, he was one of the greatest defensive backs in the history of the game, setting records that lasted for decades after his retirement in 1961. Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, he was not only the first African American to join that body but also the first defensive player. And on top of all this Tunnell was an individual with strong leadership skills that helped smooth the way for the integration of a pro game that was almost all-white when he first took the field.

Card: 1957 Topps Football Card #85

Team/Position: Chicago Cardinals, Detroit Lions / End, Defensive Back

Cost: $8.50

After a brief hiatus, I’m back with one of my favourite cards.  While the posts stopped; the cards just kept filling tiny apartment mailbox.

When it comes to defensive backs, Night Train Lane is the best of the best.  Dick was named the best defensive back of the first 50 years of professional football.His accolades are plentiful:

• Enshrined in the HOF in 1974
• Seven-time Pro Bowl Selection
• Six-time First Team All Pro and Four-Time Second Team.
• Named to the All-Decade Team for the 1950′s
• Named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team.

Dick’s name is also plastered all over the NFL Record Books.

Lane’s set the record (as a rookie) for interceptions in a year (1952) with 14.  The record continues to stand to this day and probably will never be touched.  Darren Sharper’s posting one hell of a season, but he’s only at 8 interceptions after playing eleven games.

Lane’s amongst the top-5 in almost every other major interception category.

Lane had his best years with the Detroit Lions, where he finished his career.  On the field, Lane was one of the best big-play athletes to ever play a down of football.  He took risks and almost always succeeded.

Card: 1971 Topps Football Card #113

Team/Position: Houston Oilers, Washington Redskins / Safety, DB.

Cost: $2.00

Ken Houston doesn’t get much love outside of Washington, it seems.  I actually ended up with a couple of his rookie cards; If you’d like a free one, leave a comment with your email address and I’ll get it out to you.

Houston was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986, a tough achievement for a defensive back.  With the enshrinement of Rod Woodson, there are now 20 defensive backs in the Hall of Fame.  Modern linebackers trail behind with only 18 enshrined, but only two linebackers regularly played until the mid-50′s.

Considering that defensive backs were generally the best athletes on the field, it’s blasphemy that more aren’t recognized for their efforts.

Houston was born in Lufkin, Texas: A city of 32,000 people as of 2000.  Lufkin’s a city that knows how to churn out pro-football players, though.  A kid by the name of Dez Bryant called Lufkin home and was widely considered the best receiver in NCAA football (before the Dieon Sanders incident).  A total of thirteen other NFL players once played their high-school football in the city of Lufkin.

The Oilers drafted Houston in the ninth round of the 1967 AFL Draft out of Prarie State College — Guh? — where Houston was a football and track and field star.

After winning the starting gig just games into his rookie season, Houston’s skills were put on full display.  In 1971, Ken Houston set a then-record with 5 return touchdowns (4 INT, 1 FUM).

Houston’s athletic ability could probably still stand up to this day:  At 6’3″ and 197lbs, Houston was fast and rangy but could deliver punishing hits.

After six years with the Oilers, Houston was shipped off to the Washington Redskins for five veteran players.  Houston kept up his All-World play and was eventually named one of the 70 greatest Redskins of all time.

When all was said and done, Houston  intercepted 49 passes and scored 9 touchdowns which lead to 12 CONSECUTIVE PROBOWLS.

If you’re unfamiliar with Houston, just think of a player in the mold of Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu or Adrian Wilson.

Card: 1989 Score Football, Card #246

Team/Position: Falcons, Cowboys, 49ers / Cornerback

Cost: $0.50

I absolutely, positively, despise Deion Sanders.  As a 49ers fan, it was Deion’s mentoring of Michael Crabtree that finally pushed me over the edge.  Sanders is brash and seems to wipe his ass with the mantra, “no man is bigger than the sport“.

Watching Deion play was one thing, but I’d rather listen to the transvestite lovin’ Marv Albert over Deion “Prime Time” Sanders.  Deion Sanders provides analysis on how any given football moment will positively or negatively effect a player’s salary.

Without a doubt, Deion Sanders was the best man-coverage cornerback to ever play.  Deion changed games with his blazing speed in coverage and in the return game, but he didn’t understand the concept of tackling until very late in his career.  Sanders’ take on football was simple:  I’m blessed with God-given talent, so pay me a shit-load of money and pay attention to me…Daddy, please pay attention to me!  look daddy, I did good.  I did real good.

If you were unaware, Deion also played baseball from 1989 to 1997, with a brief return in 1999.

During an at-bat, Sanders drew a dollar sign with his bat knob prior to refusing to run out a routine grounder.  Thankfully, Carlton Fisk was catching and had this to say to Sanders,

“I just told him [Deion Sanders] I thought that there was a right way and a wrong way to play the game, and he was playing it wrong, because it offended guys like me. And if he didn’t care to play it right, let’s go at it, right here at home plate.” Carlton Fisk on ESPN Classic’s SportsCentury series.

Sanders was great and could easily shutdown half of the field, but his persona will forever taint his legacy.

Did I mention that I hate Deion Sanders?

Whenever Deion starts stroking his ego too much, I can’t help but think about how well Sanders would fair against the physical offenses of yesteryear.  Sanders could cover, but I’d like to see him step up and take on a pulling Jerry Kramer on a Packer-Sweep.

…and oh yah, Kelly Gruber, weighed down by a mullet and gold-chains, tagged your ass biiiatch.

Card: 1952 Bowman Football, Card #129

Team/Position: Detroit Lions / Defensive Halfback

Cost: $4.00

The early Bowman Football cards are probably the best looking football cards ever produced.  After the black and white cards of the late 40′s, Bowman really stepped it up and produced football cards with incredibly bright, contrasting, colours and terrific team logos.

Another benefit of the ’52 Bowman set was the insertion of both large and small cards.  The ’52 set is the stuff dreams are made of, and PSA has documented the costly hobby of nailin’ down these sets, here (small) and here (large).

When it comes to purchasing these cards, I’ll definitely need to scale back my guidelines and stress that condition isn’t all that important.  The Jack Christiansen that I acquired almost spoils the mythology behind this set.  The colors aren’t as sharp, the corners are shot, and it’s filled with creases; BUT, it was under five dollars — Score!

I’ve included a thumbnail of a PSA 9 Christiansen, if you’re curious as to what this card should look like.  Try your best not to fall in love with high-grade vintage cards or you’ll end up going broke quick-fast.

Christiansen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970 after playing for the Lions from 1951 to 1958.

During his career with the Lions, Christiansen was elected to 6 First Team All Pro Teams, and 5 Pro Bowls.

Christiansen lead the Lions to two consecutive NFL Championships in ’52 and ’53.

As the Lions defensive leader, Christiansen finished his career with 46 interceptions.

Christiansen also gained fame for his outstanding return abilities and finished up his career with 8 touchdowns on 85 punt returns.

Personally, of the three Bowman’s (50, 51, and 52,) I think that I’m leaning towards ’52 set.  The 1950 set has the greatest “Rookie” class of all-time, but the ’52 set has a lot to offer.  Financially, the ’51 set is probably the most affordable, if that’s what you’re looking for.

Card: 1989 Score Football Card #263

Team/Position: Denver Broncos / Free Safety

Cost: 50 cents

The 1989 Score set is absolutely loaded with rookies.  In ’99, Score re-released quite a few of the ’89 cards with certified autographs.

Considering the rookie crop, it was pretty damn amazing.  Earlier this year, Score used the ’89 design on 2009′s rookie crop which made for some pretty desirable cards.

I nailed down Steve Atwater for exactly 50 cents on CheckOutMyCards. If you plan on ordering a handful of low-value cards, it’s definitely head and shoulders above eBay.

With that said, I absolutely adore Steve Atwater. 

Atwater’s yet to be elected into the Hall of Fame, which is pretty much bullshit.  Atwater came out of Arkansas and brought some toughness to the Free Safety position.  Atwater was used in the box like a linebacker and recorded insane unofficial tackle numbers (1989: 129, 1990: 173, 1991: 150, 1992: 151, 1993: 141)

Atwater’s best known for his devastating hits.  My favourite, by far, is Atwater’s hit on the Nigerian Nightmare, Christian Okoye.

A 216lb free safety taking on a 260lb running back, boo-yah.

Atwater was a key part of the late-90′s Broncos Superbowl teams, and his performance against the Green Bay Favre’s was as clutch as it gets.  Atwater hit everything in sight and while his coverage skills were declining quickly, he just seemed to be in the right spot to deliver the hit on every play.   With 36 seconds left, you get to see Atwater knock himself unconscious on the field of play.

By the time Atwater was done, he’d been selected to 8 Pro Bowls and 2 First Team All Pro teams.  For his work with the Broncos, Atwater was named to the All-Decade team of the 1990′s.

On the reverse of Atwater’s rookie card, it proudly displays his 4.65 40-yard dash time.  It’s almost a miracle that Atwater was able to play with such a lack of speed at the safety position well into the 90′s.  Without Atwater’s leadership or football IQ, he’d be nothing more than the 90′s version of Roy Williams.

The bone-heads at the Pro Football Hall of Fame will undoubtedly see Atwater’s 24 Interceptions and 5 sacks and just scoff. Yet, there was so much more to Steve Atwater than just statistics.  When you think of guys like Steve Atwater and John Lynch, it’s hard to believe they’re not Hall of Famers, yet Atwater continues to get overlooked.  Lynch and Atwater both possessed superior leadership ability, but for whatever reason (skin-color, maybe?) much more was made of John Lynch’s ability to lead.

Only time will tell, I suppose.

I’m sure we’ll see 20 more mediocre receivers and quarterbacks elected before Atwater, and it’s a shame.

Card: 1956 Topps Football Card #44

Team/Position: Detroit Lions / Middle Linebacker . Halfback.

Cost: $13

I got a little bit excited bidding on this card, so I probably overpaid a little bit.  If condition isn’t a priority, you can have this card for under five dollars.  When I purchased the card, the scan didn’t show snow but hey, what can yah do?

When it comes to the Lions, you’ve basically got defensive stars and Barry Sanders; Joe Schdmit obviously isn’t Barry Sanders.

Schdmit dominated the back end of the Lions defense for almost his entire career.  Schdmit was named to the Pro Bowl 10 of his 13 years, failing to receive the invitation in only his first and his final two years.

Joe Schmidt was also named to the All Pro first-team in eight of his thirteen years.  In addition to the personal accolades, Joe Schmidt’s Lions also won two Championships during his tenure.

Schmidt’s career was defined by injuries and his perseverance to fight through them. Coming out of Pitt, Schmidt was already suffering his fair share of injuries which dropped his draft stock.  The Lions eventually pounced on Schmidt in the 7th round, which proved to be the right call.

Schmidt fought through separated shoulders, bruised ribs and every other injury that a man could play through.

Unfortunately, Schmidt pulled a bit of a Pete Rose.  Schmidt along with four other teammates admitted to betting on the NFL Championship between Green Bay and the New York Giants.  The Lions were fined $2,000 each, which roughly equated to about a fifth of Schmidt’s salary.

Schmidt eventually went on to coach the Detroit Lions.  After a few bad seasons, Schmidt’s disciplined style had transformed the Lions into a legitimate contender.

If you ever wondered who Tom Dempsey’s record-setting 63-yard field goal beat in the final seconds; It was Schmidt’s Lions.

Joe Schmidt was inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 1973, along with Jim Parker.

It’s hard to describe Schmidt’s skills, but he played smart and dedicated football. As football’s evolved, the importance of sheer desire has declined.  Many of the qualities that early Pro Football Players exhibited are still praised in modern players, but more often than not they’re secondary to God-given ability.

The NFL Hall Of Fame sums it up well,

Schmidt didn’t exactly create the middle linebacker position but it was a job that was developed in the 1950s with the change of the ordinary defensive structure to the 4-3 frontal alignment. Without question, he was the first to play the position with such finesse that even the masses in the stands could see the growing value of the “defensive quarterback.” He anticipated plays with uncanny accuracy. He was a deadly tackler. He was fast enough to evade a 250-pound guard, to follow a play along the line or to drop back to cover a pass. He was strong enough to power past a potential blocker to crumble a play. But his greatest talent may well have been his uncanny knack of knowing what the opposition was going to do. HOF PROFILE

Card: 1973 Topps Card #288

Team/Position: Oakland Raiders / Safety

Cost: $4.00

Continuing with the Ohio State trend, here we have Jack Tatum’s ’73 Rookie Card.  The Oakland Raiders selected Tatum in the first round of the 1971 Draft with the 19th overall pick.  Tatum quickly took over the starting free safety job and as they say, the rest is history.

Tatum was nicknamed the Assassin for good reason.  The hits he laid on receivers are legendary, and the only man to come close to the force that Jack hit with was Ronnie Lott, who often names Tatum as an idol.

In 1970 for the Buckeyes, Tatum was voted an unanimous All American and the National Defensive Player of the year.  When it comes to the best safeties in the history of college football, Jack Tatum is amongst the best.  Sports Illustrated named Jack Tatum as their starting free safety on the All-Century team in 1999. I’m not a huge fan of the card itself, but the photo of Jack Tatum is absolutely frightening.  I can’t help but think that Jack Tatum would be Vegas’ favourite in a prize-fight against a series of black bears, lions, and great white sharks.

As A Raider…

I guess there’s no place to start other than the Immaculate Reception. Jack Tatum’s the reason the ball flew upwards before eventually landing in Franco Harris’ hands.  Tatum was the one that separated John Fuqua from the football before Harris’ grab.  I always enjoy watching the former Raiders players question the call, saying the ball hit the ground or the ball hit Fuqua (illegal for the ball to be touched by two offensive players in succession back in the day).

Tatum was unfortunately also known for his pre-season hit on Darryl Stingley that left Stingley paralyzed from the chest down.  Tatum denied any responsibility for the hit, claiming it was well within the rules, but failed to immediately apologize.  Tatum claims that he’s attempted to apologize, and feels genuinely bad about the outcome of the play, but the people close to Stingley at the time refused to let it happen.

The Credentials

Tatum holds the record for the longest fumble recovery in the history of the game (t. 1) after returning a fumble for 104 yards against the Packers.

Tatum was a 3-time Pro Bowler, a 2-time 2nd team All Pro.  For some reason, Tatum has yet to be entered into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

Tatum’s without a doubt one of the greatest safeties of all time and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why he’s being held out.  It’s apparent that there’s a chunk of sports-writers that aren’t all that fond of Jack “the Assassin” Tatum.

Tatum definitely looks like a Hall Of Famer and anyone who played with or against him would say he played like a Hall of Famer, so… What’s the problem?