1975 Topps Divisional Playoffs

 These were requested by someone who contacted me through eBay.  He wanted more complete NFL playoff cards from Topps.  I needed to add a few custom football cards to my binder cover anyway (more on that later).  Anyway, here are the divisional playoff from 1974 using a similar format of the 1974 AFC and NFC championship cards in the 1975 set.

Trailing Buffalo 7-3 to start the 2nd quarter, the Steelers scored 26 unanswered points.  Rocky Bleier caught a 27 yard TD pass from Bradshaw. Franco Harris rushed for 3 more TDs to make it 29-7 at the half. Pittsburgh went on to beat the Bills 32-14.

With the game tied 7-7 at the half, the Vikings scored 16 points in 7 minutes. 10 of which were off Cardinals turnovers. In the game Chuck Foreman had 1968 all purpose yards. He rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown and caught 5 passes for 54 yards.

Trailing 26-21 in a back and forth battle. and just 2 minutes left in the game, Ken Stabler mounted another comeback.  Drive the Raiders downfield culminating in a 8 yard TD pass to running back Clarence Davis. Down 28-26 with just 24 seconds left, the Dolphins' Bob Griese threw an interception on the second play of the drive. Phil Villapiano's pick iced Oakland's victory

In the final game of Sonny Jurgensen's Hall of Fame career, it was all about the defense.  There were only 2 offensive TDs and one of those was set up by a forced fumble. In all there were 9 turnovers between the Rams and Washington. The nail in the Redskins coffin was a 4th quarter pick-six by Isiah Robertson to put L.A. up 19-10.

1974 NFL Rookies of the Year

 In 1974 there were nine different Rookie of the Year awards. The Associated Press (AP) and Pro Football Weekly (PFW) awarded the top Rookie on Offense and defense. The Sporting News (TSN) and United Press International (UPI) awarded the top rookie from the AFC and the NFC. The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) awarded just one overall Rookie of the Year.

The unanimous ROY winner from all five organizations was Chargers running back Don Woods. Woods was a quarterback from the University of New Mexico.  The Packers drafted him in the 6th round but dropped him before the start of the season.  San Diego picked him up and used him as a running back.  He set the  rookie record for rushing yards despite not playing in the first 2 games of the season.  A knee injury limited him to 5 games in the 1975 season.  With the addition of Rickey young to the Chargers backfield in 1975, then Lydell Mitchell in 1977, Woods' touches were greatly reduced. His numbers never matched those of his rookie season. 

The Steelers linebacker jack Lambert was the Defensive Rookie of the Year according to both AP and PFW.  The second round pick from Kent State was selected to the Pro Bowl in nine of his eleven NFL seasons. He has four Super Bowl rings and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990.

The Sporting News and UPI disagreed on the NFC Rookie of the Year.  TSN chose 49ers running back Wilbur Jackson who was the first black football player to receive a scholarship at the University of Alabama.  Jackson was San Francisco's first round pick in the 1974 draft.  He ran for 705 yards his rookie season.  In all he played 8 seasons for the 49ers and Redskins.

UPI's pick for NFC Rookie of the Year went to Giants' guard John Hicks.  Hicks was the #3 pick of the 1974 draft. In 1973 he was runner up for the Heisman Trophy, All-American, All Big Ten and the winner of  both the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy for best college lineman. After his Rookie season, injuries took their toll. His entire career was just 4 years with the Giants. In 2001 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

 

1972 NFL Rookies of the Year

We're well into October and I haven't made a football post (other than the Gale Sayers tribute.)  Although these haven't been my most popular posts, I enjoy them.  It fascinates me that there were so many different "Rookies of the Year".  There were so many overlapping awards.  It's so unlike baseball or hockey where there is one clear award winner.  Some turned out to be true Hall of Famers.  Others. not so much.  But the common thread is that Football cards have historically been behind the curve as far as young stars are concerned.  So there are many opportunities for "Cards That Never Were".

In 1972 there were, once again, 5 Rookie of the Year presenters and a total of 10 ROY awards. These 10 awards were divided amongst 4 different players, none of whom had a card in the 1972 Topps set. Chester Marcol and Franco Harris would have rookie cards in 1973. Willie Buchanon and Sherman White would have rookie cards in the 1974 Topps set.

Franco Harris was the unanimous pick of all the presenters, He was the AFC Rookie of the Year for The Sporting News (TSN), United Press International (UPI) and the Newpaper Enterprise Association (NEA).  He was the Offensive ROY for  Pro Football Weekly (PFW) and the Associated Press (AP).

With the Steelers' 1st round pick in 1972 they chose Penn State RB Harris. With this piece of the puzzle, the Steelers won their first playoff game ever and appeared in their 1st since 1947. Although they lost the conference championship to the Dolphins, this was the beginning of the Steelers dynasty.

Willie Buchanon took home 2 awards the AP Defensive ROY and the NEA's Rookie of the Year in the NFC.  A San Diego area native, Buchanon was the Packers' 1st round pick from San Diego State. He would eventually return to San Diego in 1979 and finish his career with the Chargers.

Buchanon's teammate Chester Marcol took home 2 awards as well he was NFC's top rookie according to TSN and UPI.  Marcol was the Packers' 2nd round pick out of Hillside College, a Division II college. He made news there kicking a 62 yard field goal and converting 104 consecutive PATs. In his rookie season he led the NFC in points. Unfortunately his career was cut short due to drug abuse. 

Sherman White was awarded Defensive ROY by Pro Football Weekly (PFW). With the 2nd overall pick in the 1972 draft the Bengals took White.  He was an All American from Cal Berkley. He played 4 seasons in Cincinnati before being traded to Buffalo, where he played 8 more seasons.

1969 NFL / AFL Rookies of the Year

1969 was the last season in which the AFL and NFL were separate leagues. There was, however, yet another Rookie of the Year presenter. This time it was Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers of America (PFW). Like the AP, they presented the award to both offensive ROY and defensive ROY.

Fortunately, there was little difference among the ROY award recipients. Both the AP and PFW awards went to Calvin Hill on offense and "Mean" Joe Greene on defense. The NEA award went to Calvin Hill. Hill was the unanimous choice by TSN and UPI for the NFL. In the AFL they split with TSN awarding it to Carl Garrett. The UPI award went to Greg Cook.

Calvin Hill and Greg Cook would wait until 1970 to appear on a Topps card. Green and Garrett wouldn't show up in a Topps set until 1971.

Starting with the unanimous choice, Calvin Hill was the Cowboys' first round pick in the 1969 draft. The halfback from Yale was the first Ivy Leaguer ever picked in the first round. In his first 9 games, Hill led the league in rushing with 807 yards. In the ninth game he set a Cowboys record with 150 yards. He also broke his toe and totaled just 135 yards over the remaining games. 

He played for the Cowboys from 1969-1974. In 1975 he played for the Honolulu Hawaiians of the WFL. After that league went bust he returned to the NFL from 1976-1981 playing in Washington and Cleveland.

The defensive ROY was future Hall of Famer, "Mean" Joe Greene.  Greene was the 4th overall pick of the 1969 draft. He played college ball for the North Texas Mean Green. North Texas changed its nickname from the Eagles to Mean Green while Mean Joe Greene was playing there. But the cross-over nicknames are reportedly coincidental. See here. 

 Playing at the University of Cincinnati, he was chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 5th overall pick. He led them to a 3-0 record as a starter before sustaining a shoulder injury. He missed 3 games and parts of 2 others. He continued to play through the pain, starting games 8-14. But he had done permanent damage. Three surgeries later he made an unsuccessful comeback attempt in 1973 as Ken Anderson's backup. 

Cook was a one-season-wonder in 1969. He was named AFL Rookie of the Year by UPI. He threw 3 passes in 1973 completing only one for 11 yards.  I was asked to make this card for another blog quite a few years ago. "Jim From Downingtown" requested this for his 1968 Football Cards blog.

The Sporting News awarded their AFL Rookie of the Year to Carl Garrett. Garrett was an all-purpose back. He rushed, caught passes, and returned punts and kicks. He put up an impressive 1909 all purpose yards in 1969. His numbers fell dramatically in 1970 particularly in the backfield. After the 1970 season he was traded to Dallas for Duane Thomas. After Thomas refused to take a physical exam for the Patriots, the trade was voided. Garrret played from 1969-1972 in New England. He played pro ball from  1973-1977 for the Bears, Jets and Raiders.

1958 Topps Bobby Mitchell

Just like in 1956, in1958 there were two different Rookies of the Year. United Press International declared Pittsburgh's Jimmy Orr the Rookie of the Year. But The Sporting News named Cleveland Halfback Bobby Mitchell the winner. I had previously created a Card That Never Was for Jimmy Orr, here. 

The Sporting News awarded the ROY to future Hall of Famer, Bobby Mitchell. Although he is better known as an All Pro receiver for the Redskins he began his career sharing the Browns' backfield with Jim Brown. In 1958 he rushed for 500 yards, while Brown gobbled up 1527 yards on the ground.

Mitchell was a 4 sports star in high school running track, playing baseball, football and basketball. He was drafted by the Cardinals to play baseball but elected to play football at the University of Illinois. He was drafted by the Browns in 1958 and played primarily halfback and punt/kick returner. 

In 1962 the Washington Redskins were under pressure from the federal government to racially integrate their team. The Redskins were the last NFL team to integrate an in 1962 they were in danger of losing their stadium lease. They traded for Mitchell, Steelers guard John Nisby and drafted Michigan State running back Ron Hatcher. The three broke the color barrier in Washington. Hatcher played in just 3 games in 1962.  Nisby who played for the Steelers from 1957-1961, switched from right guard to left and played with Washington until 1964. 

Mitchell went onto lead the league in receiving yards in 1962 and 1963. He led in receiving TDs in 1964. He continued playing until 1968 then became a scout for the team eventually becoming Assistant GM. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983.

1978 Topps Chuck Noll

A legend of the NFL passed away on Friday, Chuck Noll died at the age of 82. The man behind the "Steel Curtain" guided the Steelers dynasty to 4 Super Bowl victories in 6 years.

I couldn't decide whether to depict Noll as a player or head coach when creating a card in honor of this legend. I eventually chose to incorporate the 1978 Topps baseball manager's format onto a 1978 Topps football card. This allowed me to showcase the man as both a player for the Cleveland Browns and as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

As a player Noll was used initially as a "messenger guard". He would alternate downs bringing in plays from the bench. After 7 years playing guard and linebacker for the Browns, Noll retired at the age of 27 to pursue a coaching job at his Alma Mater, the University of Dayton. He was passed over for that job but was given a job with the Los Angeles Chargers of the AFL. From 1960-68 Noll was a defensive coach for the Chargers then the Colts. In 1969 he was hired as head coach by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

1958 Topps Jimmy Orr

Jimmy Orr was the NFL's Rookie of the Year in 1958. He was the 291st player picked in the 1957 draft. He was picked in the 25th round by the L.A. Rams. The Rams intended to use him as a defensive back but he was traded to the Steelers before the start of the 1958 season. The Steelers put him at flanker where he scored 7 TDs on 910 receiving yards. He was drafted lower than any pro football player (AFL or NFL) who won Rookie of the Year until 1983 when kicker Paul McFadden was drafted 312th overall in the 1984 draft.