Heisman Highlight: Dick Kazmaier

Name: Richard “Dick” Kazmaier
Position: Back
College: Princeton Tigers
Class: Senior
Winning Year: 1951 – 17th Award
Official Heisman Profile: Click Here
 
 
 

Interesting Notes: Kazmaier led the nation in total offense and was the most accurate passer in 1951…led a potent Princeton offense that was ranked sixth best in the nation…gave back to society by leading a long list of charitable and sporting organizations…was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1966.

Featured Card: 1955 Topps All-American #23. Without a notable professional career, Kazmaier has obviously escaped the minds of many collectors as his lone rookie card seems to cap off at just $20. For a vintage rookie card and a Heisman Trophy winner to boot, that is quite the deal if you ask me.

NOTE: You can find all of my Heisman Highlight Features by clicking the post banner above.

Topps is Officially Back in Football!

This just came across the news release wire directly from Topps. After refusing to renew its license with Upper Deck recently, the NFL and NFL PLAYERS reconsidered its refusal to renew Topps’ license back in November. Panini no longer has an exclusive contract and football collectors will have some additional variety in 2010 than was feared just weeks ago. Here is the official press release:

NFL AND NFL PLAYERS ANNOUNCE NEW MULTI-YEAR DEAL WITH TOPPS

Multi-Year Deal Begins with the 2010 NFL Season and the Release of Topps Football

New York, April 29, 2010 – The Topps Company, a leading creator and marketer of sports cards, today announced a multi-year trading card licensing agreement with the National Football League and NFL PLAYERS (the marketing and licensing arm of the NFLPA). This deal will allow Topps to continue its strong history of offering collectors the industry’s most sought-after football cards.

“We are excited to continue our deep, long standing partnership with the NFL and the NFLPA,” said Ryan O’Hara, CEO of The Topps Company. “Topps will bring innovative, exciting and fun products to the marketplace to serve consumers and customers well.”

“For more than a half century, football fans have been able to connect with the NFL and their favorite players through Topps football cards,” said Leo Kane VP of consumer products at the NFL. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Topps, bringing our fans collectibles for many years to come.”

“Topps has been instrumental in establishing the player-fan connection for more than 50 years,” said Keith Gordon, President of NFL PLAYERS. “We’re excited about the direction Topps is headed and are eager to see new products that will further enable football collectors to connect with our players.”

Topps is set to unveil its first product of the season, Topps Football, just prior to the start of the 2010 NFL season. “This year’s Topps Football will be our best ever as it will be loaded with amazing content and truly deliver NFL rookies and stars,“ said Warren Friss, Topps’ GM of Sports and Entertainment. “It will also include a special Gridiron Giveaway promotion, which will allow collectors to unlock vintage Topps football cards and win various football prizes.”

Click image for a full-sized mock-up

Welcome back, Topps. I am looking forward to Topps and Topps Chrome. Don’t disappoint me…

Stupid Technology

I’m sure you’ve all had experiences like this in the past, so I will try not to complain too much. I just need to take a moment to piss and moan a bit.

Many of you probably noticed that I was fairly absent from blogging for a good chunk of the beginning of this calendar year. As I recently noted, that was largely due to my day job and the hours I have to put in during tax season. Since then, I have been trying to ramp up my efforts and return to form by posting regularly and hopefully providing relevant material. And then what happens on April 16^th? My computer contracts an STD and refuses to launch any applications, including my antivirus software. Sweet.

What makes this situation all the more sweet is that I really don’t have much of a stash of images I can use on a rainy day and my scanner was only set up to run on that computer. This also happened right around the time I want to review 2010 SAGE Autographed (and get the fresh cards on eBay to recoupe some of the price of the box) and 2010 Press Pass Portrait Edition (just ordered today).

*SIGH* ¡Está es la vida!

So while my computer is being wiped and repopulated with all of my files and software (thank God for computer-whiz friends!) and I try to figure out what to do about scanning new cards, you are stuck with my reoccuring HOF Spotlight and Heisman Highlight features and my stockpile of Emmitt Smith scans like the one below.

Hey, at least it’s shiny…

Mid-90s shiny insert goodness

HOF Spotlight: Steve Owen

Name: Steve Owen
Position: Coach, Tackle
Pro Career: 1924-1953
Team Affiliation(s): Kansas City Cowboys, Cleveland Bulldogs, New York Giants
College: Phillips University
Induction Class: 1966, posthumously

Brief Bio: A great innovator, especially on defense, Steve Owen was one of the most successful player/coaches in the early history of the NFL. Under Owen’s leadership, the New York Giants played in 8 of the first 14 NFL championships, winning it all in 1934 and 1938. In all, Owens coached the Giants for 24 years from 1930-1953, the first 3 as a player/coach, and amassed a 155-108-17 record. As a player, Owens was known as a defensive specialist with a knack for shutting down opposing offenses. In 1927, he was captain for a Giants team that allowed just 20 points all season en route to the NFL title.

Career Stats: 97 games played; 155-108-17 coaching record

Featured Card: 1952 Bowman #4. Owens was nearly at the end of his coaching career by the time he had a rookie card, and by then he was already well established as a defensive mastermind. Trivial Beckett value is $60. A quick search on eBay shows prices that range from $16.99 shipped to a ridiculous $1,799.99 (free shipping!), with no glaring difference between the small and large variants (although there may be a slight edge for the large cards commanding a slightly higher price. That $1,799.99 card is a PSA 9 Mint, but in my opinion, that is still way overpriced. But I cannot tell you what is a right price (and no one else should either), only you can decide how much you are willing to pay for any given card. Just choose wisely…

NOTE: You can find all of my Hall Of Fame Spotlight Features by clicking the HOF Spotlight banner above.

Putting Out an APB

All units please respond…

While looking over my Emmitt Smith collection recently, I was reminded of my mini Topps Collection, which consists of the Topps base card from each of the 15 years of Emmitt’s Hall of Fame career. I previously posted an article about that mini collection here. As I was writing that post, I realized I could also obtain a similar “Score Collection”, though for one reason or another I never set it as a goal.

After several large acquisitions from Catch22, I wondered if I had obtained the complete Score Collection without realizing it. I searched through the records and found that I am still missing two years, 1997 and 2004. I was just about to find these online and buy them when I thought better of it. I never like spending money on shipping, ESPECIALLY if the shipping charges exceed the cardboard purchased and ESPECIALLY if that cardboard is two base cards from a low-end company. I thought to myself, “You know Self, I bet there is a blogger or two that has those cards just sitting around and would be willing to trade for them. You should issue an All-Points Bulletin to see if you can track them down!” So now here I am, pleading with you, the great and wonderful blogosphere, to check your stacks and boxes and binders of unwanted football cards. If you see either of these two “gems”:

1997 Score #4 and 2004 Score #1

I would be happy to take them off your hands. Just let me know what you collect and I will do my best to ensure you will be handsomly compensated for your efforts.

And also, let me know if you have any unwanted base Topps cards of Pittsburgh Pirates players laying around. The Buccos page above has been updated after a nice package from Night Owl (future official thank you post coming soon). I would be happy to take anything not marked “OWN” on that list as well.

…Over and out.

Heisman Highlight: Vic Janowicz

Name: Vic Janowicz
Position: Back
College: Ohio State Buckeyes
Class: Junior
Winning Year: 1950 – 16th Award
Official Heisman Profile: Click Here
 
 
 

Interesting Notes: Janowicz was the epitome of the “triple threat” as a dangerous runner, shut-down defensive back, and exceptional kicker…is one of only two Heisman winners to play professional baseball (Pittsburgh Pirates 1953-54) and football (Washington Redskins 1955-56)…had professional career cut short by near fatal accident…was one of the last players to forgo wearing a facemask…was voted greatest OSU player of the past 50 years in 1991…was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1976.

Featured Card: 1951 Topps Magic #10. As a dominant college player on all sides of the ball, it is no wonder Topps included Janowicz in their very first football set, the college-themed Magic in 1951. This card ranges in price from $40 to $150 with no apparent preference for grade, although the highly priced raw cards may be in stellar shape and simply not graded.

NOTE: You can find all of my Heisman Highlight Features by clicking the post banner above.