Card: 1972 Topps Football #240

Team/Position: Miami Dolphins / Guard

Cost: $2.00

With the Saints and the Indianapolis Colts recently losing, what better time than to feature a member of the 1972 Miami Dolphins.  The Dolphins remain the only team in the history of the NFL to complete a perfect season, although they only won fourteen regular season games as opposed to the current 16-game regular season schedule.

Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a single person that has any respect for the ’72 Dolphins squad.  Every year they celebrate by popping the cork on a fine bottle of Champagne when the final undefeated team loses and somehow, Mercury Morris finds his way onto ESPN. The Dolphins’ perfect season will always put them in the conversation for the greatest team ever, but for what it’s worth — they’re not even close.

Little arrived in Miami via trade after San Diego had signed him two years previous as an undrafted free-agent.  When the great Don Shula took over the helm, Larry Little’s life was about to change.

Don Shula replaced George Wilson as the Dolphin coach. When he first met Larry Little during the off-season, the new coach glared.

“How much do you weigh?” Shula asked.

“About 285 right now,” Little replied.

“I want you at 265,” Shula ordered.

Larry Little frowned. Growing up in downtown Miami, he recalls, “We were poor, but I never was hungry. We ate good. I ate more than anybody in the family. Any food anybody didn’t want, I was always around to get it.” He still takes many of his meals at his mother’s home. But when he trimmed himself to 265, he realized that his quickness had increased. When the Dolphins began to win, his reputation also increased. In each of his first three seasons under Shula, he was selected as the AFC’s outstanding offensive lineman in a NFL Players Association poll that determines the best player in various categories. (SPORT magazine — a great read if you get a chance)

Little became known for his quickness from the guard position and his ability to haul ass around the corner when Shula pulled him.  Little’s versatility in the ground-game allowed both Miami running-backs, Morris and Csonka, to eclipse 1,000 yards a piece in ’72 — the first teammates to accomplish such a feat.

Little’s ability as a pass-protector was also top-notch.  From 1970 to 1972, Little was named the top offensive lineman in the AFC by the NFLPA.  When Little finished his career, he had been selected All-NFL six different times and had been selected to play in the Pro Bowl on five different occasions.

As always, it’s tough to put an offensive lineman’s greatness into context without having seen him play.  Unlike many of the interior linemen of today, Little wasn’t a hulking beast that relied solely on his mass.  Little did everything well which allowed him to take on huge defensive tackles and quick defensive backs with equal effectiveness.

A week or so ago before Christmas, I grabbed a few packs of Gridiron Gear and was pleased to pull a Larry Little autograph.  While youur average collector would probably be pretty pissed off pulling Little over even the worst rookie, I was quite happy.  The cards are a bit cheesy especially if you love vintage, though.

Card: 1984 John Elway, Card #63

Team/Position: Denver Broncos / Quarterback

Cost: $8 for this terribly off-centered beauty.

1984 is one of the few years in the modern era that can compete with the big-boys of the 1950′s.  Marino and Elway alone keep the year amongst the greatest of all time.

With that said, I have no use for John Elway or any other Quarterback that refuses to abide by the rules of the NFL Draft –  I’m looking at you, Mr. Eli Manning.

Elway played his college ball at Stanford where despite never leading the Cardinal to a bowl game, Elway posted ridiculous numbers and was part of everyone’s favourite sports highlight: “The Band IS OUT ON THE FIELD!!”

What many tend to forget about John Elway was his brief stint in the New York-Penn League prior to his senior season.  Elway obviously had all of the tools that scouts dream of, but whether or not he could’ve achieved greatness we’ll never know.

The Yankees selected Elway in the second round of the 1981 MLB Draft after the Royals had spent a selection on Elway in ’79.

From an ‘83 issue of Time Magazine:

How well Elway could play was a question, but how well he would be paid was not. The baseball “rights” to Elway belonged to the New York Yankees, who belong to George Steinbrenner, a free spender capable of buying a pennant and everything else on the shelf. And he seems loath to pay less than $1 million for anything. In six weeks of minor league baseball last summer, Class A ball in Oneonta, N.Y., Outfielder Elway batted .318. However, since Class A pitchers seldom throw a curve on purpose, there was naturally some uncertainty about whether Elway could ever be a major league baseball player, much less a star. Regarding his football skills, there is less doubt.

Elway eventually found himself a member of the Denver Broncos and would go on to lead DRIVES and DIVES.

Elway was the king of the comeback, and will be remembered more than any statistic, as such.  He holds the record for most game-winning or game-tying drives in the fourth-quarter with 47.

If you’re an Elway fan, you certainly have his Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League Jersey.  As the owner of the Crush, Elway’s pimpin’ out his jersey for the low-low-low price of 46.99.   Medium, Large and 2XL are sold out, so you’re out of luck unless you’re a size XL.

You can get pretty decent deals on Elway’s RC if you’re not picky — To me, it seems as though your best bet is an ungraded card in the PSA 7 range.

Card: 1979 Topps Football Card #390

Team/Position: Houston Oilers / Runningback

Cost: $2.80

I knew this deal was too good to be true, I knew it.  I purchased this Earl Campbell with a Dan Fouts Rookie Card because the seller agreed to ship it via standard airmail.

Rant Ensues, Feel Free To Skip

I didn’t feel like spending 11 dollars on shipping for 5 dollars worth of cards and she agreed, yet every time that I requested an invoice she sent it back with shipping of 11 dollars.  In her messages, she said she was going to ship it via the two dollar option, but her invoices said differently.

I eventually just paid the 11 dollar option and politely asked for a refund of the difference if she decided to ship it via the $2.00 option.  Of course that was the wrong decision as she shipped it via the two dollar option before ignoring my refund requests for 3 weeks.

I eventually won the dispute because she didn’t bother responding to eBay either.  I like to reward people that ship to Canada, even if they don’t get it postmarked until 10 days after payment, but this is just a piss-off.

Rant Ends, Earl Campbell Worship Begins

Some folks enjoy watching highlights of Barry Sanders or Gale Sayers, but in my opinion, neither could hold a candle to Earl Campbell.

In ’77 Campbell won the Heisman with the Texas Longhorns after leading the nation in rushing.

Sanders and Sayers would make your jaw drop, but Earl Campbell would make you grimace.

The Houston Oilers selected Campbell with the first overall selection in the 1978 Draft.  Campbell won the Offensive Rookie Of The Year Award in 1978 and followed it up with an MVP award in ’79.

As you see on the front of the card, Campbell was awarded the first of his three-consecutive All-Pro selections in his rookie year.  Campbell also has a “RECORD BREAKER” rookie card in the ’79 set, but it’s far less valuable.

Time For Another Video

Campebll went onto five Pro Bowls over the course of his eight year career.  Unfortunately, Campbell’s career was cut far too short by his bruising running style.

After his epic 1980 season (373 Attempts, 1934 Yards, 13 TD, 5.2YPC,) it was essentially down-hill for Campbell.  While he received a full workload in 1981, Campbell failed to average four yards per carry.

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.

Card: 1985 Topps Football Card #251

Team/Position: Houston Oilers / Quarterback

Cost: $4.00

Topps 1985 football endeavor was a masterpiece, at least in my books. I love the dark black borders and horizontal layout: the cards are quite sharp.  It’s not in the same league as the Godfather of black bordered cards, 1962 Topps, but it’s still a damn good card.

Unfortunately, 1985 was one of the absolute worst years for Football Rookie Cards.  Baseball was fine; it had Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Kirby Puckett and Brett Saberhagen.  Football, on the other hand, got the shaft.  Contrast the  ’83 Draft spitting out 6 Hall of Famers (Dickerson, Elway, Kelly, Marino, Green, and Matthews,) with the ’84 Draft and you’ve got a 6-to-0 shutout.

Other than Moon, 1985 gives us three men that knew Dan Marino intimately:  Irving Fryar, Mark Clayton and Bills’ LB, Darryl Talley.  Jim Jeffcoat also came out of the ’85 set, but I’m just mentioning him to plug the 8-and-1 Houston Cougars, for whom he’s a defensive line coach.  Houston snuck by Tulsa 46-45 yesterday and I doubt they’ll improve on their #13 Ranking — We’ll see though.

The Canadian Football League’s regular season wraps up today, so there’s no better time to discuss Warren Moon.  Moon had all of the tools to be a HOF NFL Quarterback, but the colour of his skin made his journey harder than it ever should’ve been.

After posting great numbers in High School, Moon’s desire to remain a quarterback initially cost him a scholarship from a big-time program.  After playing a season in Junior College, only the Washington Huskies believed enough in Moon as a quarterback to offer him.  The Huskies were eventually rewarded with one of the biggest wins in school history, a Rose Bowl victory over the Michigan Wolverines.

After College, the cycle once again repeated itself:  Moon conveyed a strong desire to play QB, but NFL Scouts saw him as a Tight End.  Moon refused to budge which set the stage for one of the greatest professional football careers ever.  Warren Moon was off to the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos, where he proceeded to win five consecutive Grey Cups from 1978 to 1982.  In just six years, Moon threw for over twenty-one thousand yards and 144 TDs with the Eskimos.

When Moon announced he heading South for greener, less snow-covered pastures, a bidding war ensued.  Houston ended up with Warren Moon, who eventually found his way with the Run-and-Shoot Offense. Rather than talk about the passing records that Moon set, or the big-fat juicy contract extension that made him the highest paid player, I’ll talk about something much more important:

TECMO BOWL!

There’s a great thread over at VirtualSportsNetwork, which I’ll borrow some images from.

Houston Oilers Run And Shoot Playbook

There’s all sorts of great screen captures from Tecmo Bowl, and I’d recommend giving them a look-see (I can only assume that you cannot copyright a screen-capture).

History

Warren Moon was the first and to this day, the only, black Quarterback inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.  It was a pleasure to watch Moon prove the entire NFL wrong after dominating the CFL as a quarterback.  I’m not going to say that Moon opened the door for black quarterbacks, but he definitely reinforced that skin color has very little to do with the ability to play quarterback.

Card: 1970 Topps Football Card #59

Team/Position: Minnesota Vikings / Defensive Tackle

Cost: $9.00

Alan Page might be the most interesting man to ever play the game of football.  As a member of the Vikings, Page was a key part of the Purple People Eaters that lead the Vikes to 4 Superbowl Appearances.

Page’s rookie card was released shortly after the Minnesota Vikings met the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.  Topps put forth a solid effort in 1970, while the card wasn’t anything special, it was catchy and featured very beautiful close up photos.  Along with Alan Page, O.J. Simpson (haven’t bought it yet) and Lem Barney (on it’s way) were featured as rookies in this set.

If you’re hungry for an Alan Page RC, you can probably grab one off of ebay for 3 bucks or there are a couple over at CheckOutMyCards.com for under 6 bucks.

Page, my friends, is a very smart man.  In addition to playing football at Notre Dame, Page also went to class and if you’re observant you’ll realize Topps told us that Page was an outstanding student at Notre Dame.

“I’m Out…Standing!”

While playing for the Vikings, Page attended classes at the University of Minnesota where he eventually went on to get his J.D.

In 1992, Page was elected as an Associate Justice on the Minnesota State Supreme Court.  Page continues to sit, after being re-elected on two occasions (1998 & 2004)

As a member of the Vikings, Page was a dominant interior lineman.  In 1970, Page was named the NFL defensive player of the year, a feat he repeated in 1971 along with garnering the NFL MVP (the first time the award was given to a defensive player).

Other notable accomplishments include six first-team and three second-team All Pros, nine Pro Bowls, and induction into both the Pro and College Football Hall of Fames.

On his career, Page had 148.5 sacks split between the Vikings on the Bears. In 1976, Page notched 18 sacks and has been credited with 5 other seasons of at least 10 sacks.  Page also had 22 fumbles recovered and three safeties.

By the end of Page’s career, his weight had dropped from 260lbs in 1970 to 220lbs in 1979.  Page’s weight loss was attributed to his running routine of over 30 miles per week during the playing season.  Alan Page became the first professional football player to complete a marathon during his playing career.

Page did dabble in the typical career path for a retired player, working for TBS’ College Football broadcast, but for the most part, Alan Page has taken the road less traveled.

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