So in case you missed it, and it looks like odds are mighty good that you did, I held a free card contest on the blog for over a week. All you had to do to enter was follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or pimp the contest on your own blog/social media page, and leave a comment telling me you did so. There were also bonus entries for anyone who purchased stuff from our eBay or Pre-Sales stores.
Not only did no one follow what I thought were pretty straight-forward instructions, only one person left a comment at all. So Brian, you are the default winner. Facebook and Twitter may not be your bag, but you just won a free grab bag of goodies anyway. Fortunately, I already know your collecting interests and address. I’ll shoot to get some stuff mailed out to you sometime in the next week.
And for everyone else, pay closer attention next time…
Name: Joe Perry Position: Fullback Pro Career: 1948 – 1963 Team Affiliation(s): San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Colts College: Compton Junior Induction Class: 1969 HOF Profile: Click Here
Brief Bio: With a rare combination of elusive speed and bruising power, Joe “The Jet” Perry was a formidable rushing threat coming out of San Francisco’s early backfield. The 49ers signed Perry as a free agent when his military service was complete in 1948 when the team was still in the AAFC. Perry quickly established himself as one of the league’s premier rushers and was named All-AAFC in 1949. When the AAFC closed shop and San Francisco merged into the NFL in 1950, Perry didn’t miss a beat. In 1953-54, he became the first player in league history to rush for back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, earning All-NFL honors in both. By the time Perry finished his career in San Francisco (after having spent two years in Baltimore), he had played in 3 Pro Bowls and had rushed for nearly 10,000 yards – a mark that still ranks him 27th of all time.
Career Stats: 156 games played; 8,378 rushing yards; 53 rushing TDs; 4.9 yards per rushing attempt average; 1,796 receiving yards; 8 receiving TDs; 1 passing TD; 1 field goal; 6 PATs (NFL stats only)
Featured Card: 1950 Bowman #35. Despite being in his first NFL season, Joe Perry had already established himself as a rushing threat in the AAFC when his rookie card was released in 1950. At the time of my research (mid-April) there were quite a few copies listed on eBay with prices ranging from $9.95 to $669 with an obvious grading premium. I should note however that the $10 card had half of the front worn off.
NOTE: You can find all of my Hall Of Fame Spotlight Features by clicking the HOF Spotlight banner above.
Name: John Cappelletti Position: Running Back College: Penn State Nittany Lions Class: Senior Winning Year: 1973 – 39th Award Official Heisman Profile: Click Here
Interesting Notes: Cappelletti had the second and third best rushing years in Penn State history in 1972 and 1973, after spending the 1971 season at defensive back…ran for a total of 2,639 yards and 29 touchdowns, averaging 120 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry…was named to nearly every All-American team in 1973 and had more than twice as many points in the Heisman race as second place finisher John Hicks of Ohio State…delivered what is still considered by many to be the most moving acceptance speech of all time, honoring his younger brother Joey who was suffering from leukemia…was a first-round draft choice for the Rams, but was never really able to get his professional career rolling…is currently partner in a Biotech and Pharmaceuticals components producer and lives in California with his family…remains the only Heisman winner from Penn State, an institution with a long standing tradition of excellent linebackers and running backs…won the only Heisman trophy I’ve ever seen in person.
Featured Card: 1977 Topps #108. Despite being a Heisman Trophy winner and first-round draft choice, John Cappelletti was not included in a major football card set until after he was promoted to the starting running back position during the 1976 season. His overall forgetful NFL career has obviously affected his value in collectors’ eyes. There are only a few copies of Cappelletti’s rookie card listed on eBay and one can by yours for just a couple of dollars shipped. Even an autographed version goes for about $10. Interestingly enough, the most valuable Cappelletti rookies appear to be from the 1977 Topps Mexican set, most likely due to its more scarce status.
NOTE: You can find all of my Heisman Highlight Features by clicking the post banner above.
Well over a year ago, I got the bright idea to take a retrospective look at some of the legendary sets in the history of football cards, particularly those that have been revisited over the years by modern card manufacturers. That first “Look Back” article explored the world of 1894 Mayo, the first all-football card set ever produced. Today, we’ll take a look at another first for the industry: 1935 National Chicle.
In 1935, the National Chicle Gum Company produced the first ever nationally distributed football card set. The entire set consisted of just 36 cards, but it appears that National Chicle intended the set to extend to 240 cards, as noted at the bottom of the card backs (see below). As the first all-football set since the 1894 Mayo set (Goudey’s 1933 Sport Kings set was multi-sport and only contained 3 football cards), nearly the entire set is made up of rookie cards, including 6 Hall of Fame RCs. The lone non-rookie is #9 Knute Rockne, who was one of those three football Sport Kings. The legendary Notre Dame coach is also the only non-NFL player to be included by National Chicle, which leads many to believe the company intended to reach into the college ranks to fill out its 240-card checklist. Each card in the set measures 2 3/8″ x 2 7/8″ and features full-color, painted imagery. The card backs, in stark contrast, contain only plain text and actually give football playing tips, rather than focusing on player statistics like modern cards. Another note of interest for the 1935 National Chicle set is that it contains 2 of, if not the 2 most coveted and valuable football cards in existence: Rockne and HOF Bronko Nagurski’s rookie card.
Two legendary cards and a rather unique card back
Interestingly enough, even with the sudden retro-happy trends of the card industry, there are only two real National Chicle throwback sets of which to speak. The first was produced in 2009 by Upper Deck and was actually an insert set within another retro-themed product, 2009 Philadelphia. The set was heralded as an authentic tribute to the original NC set. The card size and the painted look (including the generic football-themed backgrounds) were a very good representation of the legendary set. However, the checklist was anything but similar. The 100-card set consisted of 19 historical figures, 10 cars, 10 airplanes, 10 trains, and 51 football players. Other vintage card sets did include such an odd assortment of subjects, but National Chicle did not. The 2009 Philadelphia insert set also included 50 autographed parallels — all of football players.
Upper Deck’s 2009 rendition had a similar style but drastically different checklist
Topps also tried its hand at a National Chicle tribute in 2009, making it the focus of a seperate product. The base cards featured all original painted artwork…but unfortunately the similarities to the original National Chicle set seem to end there. The Topps cards were standard modern sized and the product had a very modern feel overall. Topps decided to include typical inserts such as sticker label autographs, game-used relics, various insert sets, and a slew of base card parallels. Somewhere between the dual autographs and the printing plates, the original magic of the 1935 National Chicle set seems to be completely lost. Topps did pay proper homage in one way, although I assume unintentionally so. Similar to the 1935 set, 2009 Topps National Chicle was originally intended to be a larger set than it ended up being. The base cards are numbered from 1 to 200, but the set only consists of 197 cards (including 49 RCs), with numbers 59, 99, and 191 never being printed. Obviously 98.5% of the intended checklist is a far cry from the 15% completion of the original set, but it is an interesting link between the two.
Topps’ 2009 rendition took a legendary theme and plugged it into a modern template
There has been one additional National Chicle tribute in recent memory, but from a different sport. While most companies borrow baseball designs to produce “fresh” football products, Topps actually did the opposite in 2010 when it essentially took the 2009 football product and just swapped out footballs for baseballs. The baseball card community greeted the faux throwback with mixed reactions.
Name: Leo Nomellini Position: Defensive Tackle Pro Career: 1950 – 1963 Team Affiliation(s): San Francisco 49ers College: Minnesota Induction Class: 1969 HOF Profile: Click Here
Brief Bio: If you look up “longevity” in the dictionary, you should see a picture of Leo Nomellini. With humble origins from Italy in 1924, Nomellini knew what it meant to work hard, and did he ever once he hit the gridiron. A four-year starter and two-time All-American at Minnesota, Nomellini was the very first draft choice in San Francisco 49er history. Not only did he play in the franchise’s first game in 1950, he played in every single franchise game for 14 years, often being on the field for the entire game. Nomellini was a two-time All-NFL selection for his brilliant work on the offensive line. He then became one of a very few players in history to be named All-NFL on offense and defense when he received defensive All-NFL honors in 1953…an honor he would win three more times. Nomellini played in 10 Pro Bowls which brought his career game total to a staggering 266. There is little wonder that Nomellini was named the NFL’s all-time defensive tackle.
Career Stats: 174 games played; 2 safeties; 1 punt return TD
Featured Card: 1948 Leaf #52. How good was Nomellini in his college days at Minnesota? His rookie card from the 1948 Leaf set was released two years before he was drafted into the NFL. Oddly enough, there was only one copy of this card listed on eBay at the time of my research (mid-April) with a BIN price of $199.99. As one of the greats of all time, let alone his own generation, Nomellini does have several other vintage cards that cover a fairly large price range. The most expensive example I found was a 1952 Bowman Small #125 graded SGC 96 asking $5,000. The cheapest was a $1.75 1962 Topps #159 listed in “poor” condition.
NOTE: You can find all of my Hall Of Fame Spotlight Features by clicking the HOF Spotlight banner above.
If you answered “Friday,” “the day after yesterday,” or “a nice day for a white wedding,” you are technically correct. You also happen to be a bit of a smart ass.
If you answered “May 20,” you are also correct. Congratulations on having a calendar nearby. But do you know why May 20 is important (at least to me)?
For those of you following along at home, you may have answered “Ooo! Ooo! I know! 1st & Goal’s second anniversary!” And you, my friends, would be the most correct.
That’s right. Today marks two years since I started 1&G. And unfortunately, much like marriage, the second year is obviously a bigger accomplishment and more monumental, but for some reason the first anniversary just feels more special. That’s not to say I’m not stoked to be posting something for my third consecutive May 20th (think about what anniversary means and you’ll get the math), I just don’t feel like going bonkers by writing an absurdly long, comprehensively retrospective post like I did for Anniversary Numero Uno. I will point out that I did accomplish the one feat I missed in my first year: I successfully held two group box breaks in year #2, simultaneously at that. Woot.
Looking back over the past year, I wouldn’t say I necessarily accomplished everything I had hoped, but I’m still here, so that should say something. I also officially started my own business this year, taking First and Goal Sportscards to the masses in a whole new way. That was fun. I have no where near the time or money I’d love to dedicate to growing that business, but that’s okay. One day at a time. Rome wasn’t built in a day (unless you talk to Chuck Norris fans).
Looking forward, I’m not going to be terribly ambitious in year three. I’d just like to keep the gravy train rolling. Obviously I’m hoping to expand my business and find more interesting things about which I can blog, but I’m okay with the status quo at this point in 1&G’s life. I just hope I’m still going strong NEXT May 20.
But because I’m sucker for a good giveaway, let’s have another Birthday Bash Contest. What the hey? Again, I’m going to go with the “mystery prize” concept if only so I can tailor the prize to the winner’s collecting interests. Here’s how it will work:
Find a way to connect to 1&G other than through this blog, and then report back with a comment on this post telling me how you did so. Some examples could be:
1. Find and “Like” us on Facebook. There is a convenient little Facebook logo near the top of the side-bar. Use it. Click the “Like” button on our Facebook page and then leave a comment here to let me know you did so. Already a fan? Just tell me in a comment here and that still counts. This method is worth 1 entry.
2. Follow us on Twitter. There is also a convenient little Twitter logo to your right (you may have to scroll up by this point). Follow our Twitter feed and then leave a comment here telling me what your Twitter ID is. Again, if you’re already following along, just let me know and you’ll still be entered. This method is worth 1 entry.
3. Buy something from our eBay Store. Yep, you got it: Another site, another logo. That will take you directly into our eBay Store where you’ll find a fairly good selection of collecting supplies and various football singles and packs. And you may want to bookmark this page as we’re looking to expand our product offerings in the near future. This method is worth 1 entry per order.
4. Pre-Order some box(es) of upcoming football cards. What? I can’t pimp my own business? All of the upcoming football releases are available to pre-order in our Pre-Sales Store. Every box you pre-order is worth 10 entries.
5. Pimp this contest on your own Blog, Facebook page, or Twitter feed. Do so and then just leave a comment here with a link directly to said pimpin’. This entry is worth 1 entry.
Comments on this post for methods #1, 2, and 5 can be consolidated into one comment. All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm EST on Monday, May 30 (Memorial Day). If calendars aren’t your thing, just look at the blog logos. If they are still birthday-themed, the contest is still open. If they aren’t, the contest is closed. How’s that for simplicity?
So there you have it. Technically your entry quota is limitless because you can use any or all of the entry methods above. It might seem a bit selfish, but I’m hoping to begin exclusive Facebook and Twitter content/contests and those will only be fun if people are actually paying attention.
And now, as is tradition around these parts, we we will have the ceremonial singing of “Happy Birthday” by Binky the Clown:
Wow. That was great. I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did.
So until next year, may all of your packs be unsearched, your autos be on-card, and your relics game-used. As for me, I’m still waiting to see what else lies ahead on the Yellow Brick Road…
Posted by CPAdave 
Upper Deck’s 2009 rendition had a similar style but drastically different checklist
