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: 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.