Hair today, Gone Tomorrow

The NFL had 'playboys' players before Joe Willie Namath came along (Paul Hornung and Frank Gifford come to mind) but Namath changed the way Americans looked at it's heroes. He was, as they say, brash and irreverent. He had the audacity to spit in the eye of the established NFL and with his Super Bowl III backed up his words. As a Baltimore Colt fan I was certainly no admirer of Namath, hell I hated him after that game but in retrospect he had a fine career. He's a Hall of Famer and, while his numbers don't bowl you over, he certainly had the 'celebrity' and charisma that made it impossible to keep him out.

I own two Namath cards with this 1972 being my favorite. The 1972 set is pretty mundane to my way of thinking but this card of Namath, with his hair, sideburns and far away gaze, is pretty cool. On this day of giving thanks..... Broadway Joe, I forgive you.

To restore the cosmic balance of the universe, however, I need to post a card of the greatest football player ever, John Constantine Unitas. It's a "Monarch Corona" card that someone sent my way a long time ago. I had no idea what it was until I googled that name this morning. Turns out that is a brand of privately printed cards that are manufactured and sold by a guy named Allen Miller. I'd be astounded to learn that any entity or athlete has actually authorized these cards so if you want to find out more you can google it yourself. I check out his website and I will say he does some nice work.

Anyway here is the 'anti-Namath', my hero, the great Johnny U.