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Merlin Olsen: 1964 Philadelphia Football

kristopher — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:42:12 +0000

Player: Merlin Olsen

Card: 1964 Philadelphia Football #91

Team/Position: Los Angeles Rams / Defensive Tackle

Cost: $4.00

Depending on when you discovered the wonderful game of football, you’ll definitely have a different opinion of Merlin Olsen.

Olsen played 15 years of Pro Football all with the same team: The Los Angeles Rams. If you were watching the game anywhere from 1962 to 1976, you know Merlin Olsen as a hard-working, smart, defensive beast that couldn’t help but work his way to the Pro-Bowl in 14 of his 15 seasons.

Arguably more impressive than the 14 Pro Bowls, a record that he shares with Bruce Matthews, is Olsen’s participation in every single game. Olsen didn’t miss a game in his entire 15-year career, as a defensive end!Along with Olsen, the Rams’ defensive line consisted of Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Roosevelt Grier — The Fearsome Foursome. Without a doubt, this was one of the greatest defensive lines ever assembled.

After Olsen’s playing career came to an end, he quickly teamed-up with Dick Enberg to form one of the better broadcasting teams of the 1980′s.

Around the same period, Olsen enjoyed moderate success as an actor. Olsen stared on Little House on the Prairie as Jonathan Garvey for 49 episodes alongside Michael Landon.

Finally, in one of the better lines of Anchor Man, Will Farrell claims to know Merlin Olsen to impress a woman.

Olsen’s Alma-Mater, Utah State, recently re-named the field to honour their greatest player, none other than Merlin Olsen!

I really love these Philadelphia cards, especially the backs. As you can see Olsen was a great student, and eventually went on to earn a masters degree in Economics during the off-season.

John Mackey: 1964 Philadelphia Gum

kristopher — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:12:48 +0000

Player: John Mackey

Card: 1964 Philadelphia Gum, Card #3

Team/Position: Baltimore Colts / Tight End

Cost: $5.00

I ended up ordering this Mackey card with the Butkus rookie card, so it was pretty cheap. When it comes to getting lower grade rookie cards, Kruk Cards out of Michigan has really been a solid source.

Mackey essentially revolutionized the tight-end position and was only the second true tight-end to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In 10 NFL seasons, Mackey caught over 300 balls for over 5000 yards and 38 touchdowns. In addition to break away speed, especially for the tight-end position, Mackey was a powerful all-around blocker.

In his 10 years, Mackey was selected to 5 Pro Bowls and 3 All Pro teams. However, Mackey’s almost certainly best known for his catch in Superbowl V off a tip.

Mackey served as NFLPA President for four years, from 1969 to 1974. Thus, making Mackey the first President of the Players’ Union after the AFL/NFL merger.

John Mackey currently suffers from frontotemperal dementia, and his original claims were denied by the NFLPA. Thankfully, the people in charge of the NFL’s pension plan were able to connect the dots between Football and Brain Injury and “MACKEY 88” was established.

Unfortunately, dementia cannot be fully diagnosed until after an autopsy is performed, which makes it difficult to link brain injury directly to football. Many current NFL players have gone about donating their brains (after death, duh) to science to help further research.

If you haven’t read Malcolm Gladwell’s insightful take on head injuries in football, please do (author of The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers)