some good ol' fashioned vintage in varying grades

I started off the trade with Craig last night featuring a bunch of checklists from the '77 Topps set.  Tonight, we're going through a few '71 Topps cards.  I sorted them into 3 different photos for our viewing pleasure.

A pair of NFL All-stars, both of them safeties!  They also both look like they're from opposite ends of the age scale.  The bios on the backs of the cards show that they are 7 years apart in age, but the Rick Volk photo looks like a kid during his college (or maybe even high school) days.  

It's nice that you can tell the all-star cards right away;  the NFC cards are solid blue, the AFC cards are solid red, and these are a mix of the two.  

I'm seeing the end of the golden years for the Packers in this set, and I find Zeke Bratkowski, who is the back up to Bart Starr.  Zeke started his career in 1954 with the Bears, had a 2 year gap until he started playing again in 1957.  Played a few years for the Bears and then the Rams before joining the Pack in 1963.  He played back up from 1963-1968, then again had a 2 year gap before playing his final season in 1971.  His only 2 full seasons as a starter were with the Rams in '61 & '62, where he and the team struggled, winning only 3 games over 2 years as the starter.  

I added to this page of AFC players involved in the trade a RC of Marty Schottenheimer I grabbed off of my latest purchase off of eBay.  

Some great names on this scan.  Buck Buchanan (real first name was Junious), one of the greatest linemen for the Chiefs, made All-Pro six straight years and the pro bowl 8 times.  Emerson Boozer (a great name for obvious reasons) was a draft pick in both the AFL (Jets) and NFL (Steelers).  Emerson led the AFL in total TD's in 1967 (13) and the NFL in total TD's in 1972 (14).

So far in the few posts I've done for vintage football sets, I've learned a little something each time.  There will be more to come in the future for sure.

The '71 set is just over 30% done, and the condition of the cards I've received so far has not surprised me in any way.  I'm not expecting anything earth shattering as far as mint cards, and as long as there is no writing or paper loss on them, all is good.  

Aesthetically pleasing might the best way to describe older football cards in my world

Robert