Lot 10. 6 Different 1935 Wheaties All-Americans of 1934 – One-Half of the Set with Don Hutson. These fancy-frame cards were cut from the backs of Wheaties cereal boxes. The Hutson card is the key to this set. After starring as an end at the University of Alabama, he had an 11-season Hall of Fame career with Green Bay, helping the Packers to win three NFL championships and leading the league in receptions eight times, in receiving yards seven times and in receiving touchdowns nine times. And playing both offense and defense, he led the NFL in interceptions in 1940. Of course, he made “The Sporting News” list of Football’s 100 Greatest Players – coming in at No. 6. With the fancy frame, these cards measure about 6” x 6.5”. The Hutson card retains the inner frame and is 5 5/8” x 6”. As neatly cut from the box, it is free of creases and grades vg+ to ex. Two of the five other players were Hutson’s teammates at Alabama. The list follows; all grades represent the card as cut from the box: Millard “Dixie” Howell, the second most important card in the set, 5.5” x 6.25”, tiny pin hole at the top, otherwise vg. Howell was an All-American halfback at Alabama. He played one season for the Washington Redskins, spent eight seasons in minor league baseball and coached both. He is mentioned in popular culture, including the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” and in Randy Newman’s song “My Daddy Knew Dixie Howell.” He is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Also representing Alabama – tackle Bill Lee, 6” x 6.5”, vg with the full fancy frame that has a chip in the upper right corner and small tears in both upper corners; within the inner frame, the card is free of defects. In the NFL, Lee played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was Hutson’s teammate on the Packers’ 1939 championship team. He was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1930s. George Maddox, 5.5” x 6.25” with the inside frame present. A tackle, Maddox was the captain of Kansas State’s 1934 team, and he played for the Green Bay Packers in 1935. He is in the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame. The card has a barely noticeable pin hole at the top and two tiny pin holes at the bottom; otherwise, vg+. J. Regis Monahan, 5 3/8” x 5 7/8” with the inside frame, vg-ex. A guard at Ohio State, he played for the Detroit Lions for four years, including the 1935 NFL championship season, and also appeared in two games for the Chicago Cardinals. And John Robinson, no frame, trimmed to 5” x 5 3/8”, two pin holes, p-f. Robinson was the center for the 1934 Notre Dame team, which was coached by Elmer Layden.
Winning Bid $433
Lot 405. Scarce 1905 Postcard, “The Brown Eleven,” for a Nov. 25 Game with Dartmouth. The Brown football team lost this game, 6-24, to conclude a 7-4 season. The team’s 11 starting players are shown on the front of the card, which was produced by the Boston Post-Card Co. The card has a 1905 postmark. It grades g+ with a small piece of tape, which has an unclear purpose, on the upper left corner in the back.
Winning Bid $55
Lot 406. 1905 Raphael Tuck & Sons Humorous Football Valentine Greeting. In 1866 in London, Raphael Tuck and his wife Ernestine created a business that sold pictures and greeting cards. Eventually postcards became their most successful product, and in the late 1800s and early 1900s, their business made a significant contribution to the “postcard boom.” This 6.75” x 8.75” card on thin paper features a football player – complete with a nose guard, shin guards – and an angel. It has been folded horizontally and has various creases. It also is the only example we have auctioned in 19 years.
Winning Bid $10
Lot 407. Early 1900s Real-Photo Postcard of the University of Syracuse’s Archbold Stadium. This 11” x 3 ½” photo shows the stadium with some lines for football on the field. Buildings and stands show clearly. With clipped corners and various light creases, the unmailed postcard has a person’s return address in vintage ink on the back. Ground was broken for the stadium on May 1, 1905. It opened on Sept. 25, 1907 and closed on Nov. 11, 1978. When it was completed, it was one of only three concrete stadiums. These early, elongated, panoramic stadium postcards are very tough to find.
Winning Bid $20
Lot 408. 1933 Sport Kings #6 Jim Thorpe. This card of one of the greatest athletes in sports history has some pencil markings on the front, a crease near its center, and another near the upper left corner. Neither the creases nor pencil marks affect Thorpe’s face, which is well detailed and retains excellent coloration. On the Internet, a card with similar corner wear – and with paper loss on the front (which this card does not have) but without pencil marks – sold for $750.
Winning Bid $350
Lot 409. 1935 National Chicle R311-2 Football Premium – Stan Kostka – “Touchdown Next Stop.” Vg-ex premium with small, light corner creases and light corner wear. A powerful fullback, Kostka helped the 1934 Minnesota Golden Gophers to win a national championship, and in 1935, he played for the NFL Brooklyn Dodgers. He also contributed to the establishment of the NFL draft. When the 6’ 220-pound runner became available after the 1934 college season, a bidding war erupted for his services. Kostka successfully negotiated a $5,000 contract with the Dodgers, plus a $500 signing bonus. The deal made him the highest-paid player in the league – well above what most stars in the league received. To avoid future such competition for rookies – and largely at the urging of the Philadelphia Eagles – the NFL instituted the draft for 1936. Interestingly, as the worst team in the league in 1935, the Eagles had the first selection in the 1936 draft. Kostka died in 1997.
Winning Bid $92
Lot 410. 3 1948 Chicago Cardinals Real-Photo Postcards – World Champions, “Dream Backfield,” Trippi. The 1947 Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Championship Game, 28-21. In 1948, both teams repeated as NFL Division champions. This time, in the “Philly Blizzard” title game, the Eagles won, 7-0. These Cardinals teams were powered by the “Dream Backfield,” which was also known, because of player salaries, as the “Million Dollar Backfield.” One postcard pictures the “Dream Backfield” – Elmer Angsman as one halfback, Paul Christman as the quarterback, Mel Harder as the fullback and Charlie Trippi as the other halfback. Marshall Goldberg was also part of the backfield. Charlie Trippi is the subject of another postcard. An All-American at Georgia and winner of the 1946 Maxwell Award, Trippi joined the Cardinals in 1947 for what then was a record salary of $100,000. When he retired after the 1955 season, he held the NFL record for most yards of total offense. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959, and the Pro Hall of Fame, in 1968. The third postcard presents a team photo representing 1947 NFL champions and the 1948 Western Division champs. On the back, each postcard says “Genuine Photograph ‘Groganized’ Danville, Ill.” They are scarce, unused and grade ex. The Cardinals relocated to St. Louis in 1960 and to Phoenix in 1988. They became the Arizona Cardinals in 1993. Trippi is the oldest living member of the Pro Hall of Fame.
Winning Bid $68
Lot 411. 17 Different 1950 Bowman Football Cards. The cards include #25, 40, 42, 47, 58, 67, 82, 88, 91, 94, 106, 107 Nomellini vg-ex, 108, 113, 114, 117 and 130. Nine cards are vg-ex, 7 vg and 1 f.
Winning Bid $55
Lot 412. 90 Cards from a Football Board Game Featuring Willard Mullin Artwork. Mullin, of course, was an important cartoonist most widely remembered for his “Bum” representing the Brooklyn Dodgers. His artwork portraying a football player carrying a ball is on 90 cards from an apparent 1950s unidentified game. Each 2.5” x 3.5” card, made with rounded corners, has the same drawing printed in reddish-brown on light green. The opposite side contains numbers and information used to determine the outcome of a gridiron game. The cards, which show some variation in the intensity of the green background, average vg-ex to ex.
Minimum Bid $15
Lot 413. 7 Vintage Valentine Cards with a Football Theme Plus 1 Croquet and 2 Baseball. Valentine cards with a football theme are much scarcer than baseball Valentines. Primarily from the 1950s and 1960s, these cards range in size from approximately 2” x 4” to 5” x 7.5”. All are pictured. Some have writing on their backs, which typically are blank. Some have moveable parts. These Valentines are ex to ex-m. We have not considered the back writing in grading them.
Minimum Bid $20
Lot 414. 35 Different 1957 and 1958 Topps Football Cards + 2 Duplicates. 1957 (23 cards): #6 Nomellini ex+, 7, 19, 37, 42, 50 (2), 54, 70, 77, 79, 82, 97, 100, 114, 117, 123, 125, 131, 136, 143, 144 and 153. These cards grade: ex-m 5 cards, ex+ 1, ex 3, vg-ex 8, vg 4, g-vg 1 and g 1. 1958 (14 cards): #8, 13, 24, 65, 67 (2), 80, 91, 92, 103 Ringo vg+ to ex, 105 Richter ex, 125, 128 and 131. These cards grade: nm 1 card, ex-m 2, ex 5, vg+ to ex 1, vg-ex 4 and vg 1.
Winning Bid $55
Lot 415. 43 Different 1959 Topps Football Cards. These cards have a pack-fresh appearance while being centered to the left. Ex-m overall. The group includes minor stars: #89, 90 Bratkowski, 93, 95, 97 Guglielmi, 98, 99, 101, 102, 106, 107 Parilli, 108, 110, 112, 117, 120 Casares, 122, 123, 125, 127, 129, 136, 137 Ed Brown, 138, 142, 143, 148 Wilson, 149, 154, 156 Crow, 157, 158, 160, 162-164, 167 Hill, 169, 170 Rote, 171, 172 Drazenovich, 173 and 175 Baker.
Winning Bid $92
Lot 416. 32 Different 1959 and 1960 Topps Football Cards including Bobby Mitchell’s Rookie. Twenty-two 1959 cards and 10 1960. 1959: #2, 12, 13, 15, 21, 37, 39, 47, 54, 57, 70, 84 Richter vg-ex, 73, 87, 117, 137, 140 Bobby Mitchell rookie ex-m+ 145, 152, 160, 170 and 173. These cards grade: nm 2 cards, ex-m+ 1, ex-m 7, ex 6 and vg-ex 6. 1960: #6, 8, 15, 39, 49, 61, 69, 106, 107 and 117. These cards grade: ex-m 2 cards, ex 6, vg-ex 1 and vg 1. Twenty-three of these cards are ex or better.
Winning Bid $30
Lot 417. 42 Different Topps Football Cards – 3 1959 and 39 1960. Thirty-three of these cards are ex or better. 1959 #37 ex-m, 57 ex and 145 ex. 1960 #6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 16, 28, 30, 32, 35, 39, 40, 44, 45, 47, 49, 53, 59, 61, 64, 66, 69, 70, 73, 83, 86, 90, 91, 103, 104, 106, 107, 109, 115, 117, 119, 120, 124 and 128. These cards grade: nm 1 card, ex-m 9, ex+ 11, ex 9, vg-ex 5 and vg 4.
Winning Bid $40
Lot 418. 40 Different Topps Football Cards 1959-1969 Plus Four Duplicates. Thirty-three of these cards grade ex or better. 1959 #37 vg. 1960 #6 f, 8 vg, 21 Bears Team vg-ex, 39 ex+, 71 Rams Team vg, 92 Eagles Team ex-m and 102 Steelers Team ex+. 1961 #3 Ameche, 13 (3), 16 George, 31, 49, 69, 75, 86, 87, 106, 128, 143, 148 and 172. These cards grade: nm 1 card, ex-m+ 1, ex-m 8, ex+ 4 and ex 2. 1962 #42 vg-ex. 1963 #26 ex, 40 ex and 147 ex+. 1964 #14, 52, 103 (2), 119, 123 (2), 129, 141, 143, 158 and 166. The cards grade: ex-m+ 5 cards, ex-m 4, ex 2 and vg-ex 1. 1967 #26 ex-m. 1968 #95 ex-m+. 1969 #212 nm.
Winning Bid $50
