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Cowboys Of '81: Danny Takes Over
The Danny White era had officially begun in 1980 after the somewhat unexpected retirement of Roger Staubach after the 1979 season. With a balanced roster of talent, seasoned veterans, and young and rising stars, the Cowboys had every reason to feel they were a Super Bowl contender. White led a potent offense, directing the Cowboys to a 12–4 record, good for second place in the Eastern Division. Although they were number one in the NFL on offense and number 13 on defense, the Cowboys could not overcome the superior defense of the Philadelphia Eagles, losing 20–7 on the road...
More Fun With Broadway Joe
In an earlier post, RetroCards featured the “lost Joe Namath cards.” From 1974-1978 there were no Joe Namath cards, presumably due to a lack of an agreement with the NFL Players Association (a similar predicament both Lynn Swann and Earl Campbell had). So RetroCards filled in those missing years by doing what we do best: making custom sports cards. But why stop there? Namath was such a popular player that RetroCards created another cache of cards that feature Namath cards in all four Philadelphia Gum card designs. Although Joe’s first season was in 1965, the NFL and AFL drafts were...
Ron Vander Kelen: Wisconsin Great
Badger legend Ron Vander Kelen passed away at age 76, on August 14, 2016. He was the Co-MVP (with Trojan QB Pete Beathard) in the 1963 Rose Bowl where the University of Wisconsin was defeated by USC 42–37. Down 42–14 in the fourth quarter, Vander Kelen orchestrate a comeback with 23 unanswered points but fell short in what is considered one of the greatest Bowl games of all-time. He had one more MVP performance as starter in the College All-Star Game where the College All-Stars defeated the Packers 20–17 which included Vander Kelen completing a pass to Badger teammate Pat Richter. This...
1962 Dallas Cowboys - A Flair For Fleer
The Cowboys made big strides in 1961 after a winless inaugural season in 1960. After starting 3–1, tied for first place in the Eastern Conference, the league caught up with the Cowboys as they settled into a 4-9-1 record. Offensively the Cowboys had plenty of fire power with budding star Frank Clarke as one of the league’s top deep threats and the running tandem of Don Perkins and Amos Marsh helped the Cowboys finish 10th in rushing yards. Rotating quarterbacks Eddie LeBaron and Don Meredith combined veteran leadership and youthful exuberance which saw the Cowboys 6th in passing. Defensively, the...
1964 Cowboys: An Alternate Design
In 1964, NFL and AFL football cards were manufactured by two separate companies: Topps got the AFL while the Philadelphia Gum Company obtained the license for the NFL. What if those were swapped? Wonder no more because RetroCards has made a 1964 Dallas Cowboys set in the Topps design. For the the Cowboys collector who has everything, this is something to add to their collection. The 18-card set includes: Harold Hays, Bob Lilly, Amos Bullocks, George Andrie, Ray Schoenke, Lee Roy Jordan, Don Meredith, Frank Clarke, Tommy McDonald, Don Perkins, Tom Landry, Roger Staubach, Pettis Norman, Jerry Tubbs, Larry Stephens,...
Cowboys On Ice In 1976
One of the fun parts of creating custom cards is you can utilize all sorts of different designs. The 1976 Hockey set was a very attractive design that works perfectly for another Cowboys set. America’s Team, love ‘em or hate ‘em, were really getting exposure by this time and their Super Bowl appearance that January did little to slow down their popularity. This set includes: Roger Staubach, Preston Pearson, Harvey Martin, Butch Johnson, John Fitzgerald, Blaine Nye, Drew Pearson, Golden Richards, Too Tall Jones, Cliff Harris, Rayfield Wright, Charlie Waters, Billy Joe Dupree, Robert Newhouse, Thomas Henderson, Efren Herrera, Tom...
Spotlight On: Nate Thurmond, A Center's Center
The passing of Nate Thurmond on July 16, 2016 made me think of some of the important NBA players I grew up watching and admiring. Nate Thurmond was the player that made me realize what the center position was all about. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on my home town team but it was watching Thurmond that help me understand what the role of a center was. Some of today’s NBA centers could learn a thing or two from watching old Nate. A Hall of Famer and one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, Nate Thurmond played 14 seasons starting...
The Waltons: No Longer Playing “Hard To Get”
Looking back on the 1970s, it amazes me how many different TV shows and TV personalities had board games, record albums, lunch boxes, and bubblegum cards. Wasn’t our economy a bit shaky then? If so, you would never know it judging on the consumption of the aforementioned pop cultures artifacts. Charlie’s Angels, The Partridge Family, Welcome Back, Kotter, The Bionic Woman, Good Times and many other shows are well-represented on bubblegum cards but other shows didn’t get that privilege. One of the decade’s bigger TV drama hits was the Waltons, a depression-era and World War II family that lived in...
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