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: 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