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