Card: 1973 Topps Card #77

Team/Position: Oakland Raiders / Tackle

Cost: 1 Buck

Once again, we’ve got an offensive lineman that doesn’t get a card until his 5th season.  As a player, Shell was as good as they came in Oakland.  Art Shell grinded it out as a Special Teamer for two seasons with the Raiders before stepping into the left tackle spot.

Art Shell’s left-side partner in crime was another Hall of Famer and former head of the NFLPA, Gene Upshaw.  Shell and Upshaw formed one of the best left-sides that the game has seen and were responsible for giving Ken Stabler and Jim Plunkett the time they needed.

Shell was your prototypical left tackle with the added bonus of being a ferocious run-blocker.  By the end of Art Shell’s career, he’d amassed eight Pro-Bowls, three first team and two second team All American Awards.  Shell was a member of three of the Oakland / LA Raiders Championship teams and his mild-mannered, humble, personality will forever remain a favorite of Raider fans.

As A Coach

When Shell was brought back to coach the Oakland Raiders in 2006, it essentially ruined his legacy for fans under 25 years old.  The entire year was a mess, and little-diva Jerry Porter and Shell had a year-long disagreement.  Shell lead the Raiders to 2 wins and 14 losses in what was probably the worst Raiders offense of all time.

Shell finished up with a 56-50 coaching record though, so prior to the 2006/7 massacre; Shell was 54-and-36.  For me, I can’t seem to get the goofy image of Art Shell wearing that Ice-Cube style Raiders cap during his first coaching stint.

In 1990, Art Shell was named coach of the year after leading the Raiders to a 12-and-4 record.  Crazy lizard-man, Al Davis, fired Shell in 1994, which Davis later admitted to regretting.

Art Shell’s definitely proof that you can be unassuming and completely badass.

The Back of this Card is absolutely AMAZING, though:

If you ever wondered what Art Shell’s Yards Per Return was on punts after his first five seasons, you’ve got your answer.  While I understand that Shell played some Special Teams, this has to be the most useless statistic imprinted on the rear of a card ever.