We Interrupt This Charles Bender Blog....

...to bring you a few football cards that arrived from north of the border. Angus (Dawg Day Cards) sent me these sweet cards and they fit right into my modern Baltimore Colts collection. It was one of those totally unexpected deliveries. And aren't those the best kind?

First up is a signed Mike Curtis. This comes from a 2004 Upper Deck set and is my first Curtis signed card.

I'll admit to some prejudice but I've always felt that Mike Curtis has never gotten his due as a player. He was famously hard charging player who also had a nose for the football. He had 25 interceptions in what amounted to eight full seasons. A lot of folks remember his for one moment on the field when he slammed a fan who attempted to make off with the game ball.

But he was much more than that and I think he's Hall of Fame worthy. But the good old boy network that runs the Hall has never seen it that way. Of course they are the same guys who denied John Mackey entrance for over a decade because of his Players Association work.

But it's a great card and much appreciated.

The other two are both of Raymond Berry, one of my football PCs.

Shiny Chrome Prizm above...

..and a real beauty from the Donruss Americana set. (I think...the fine print on the back is really, really fine!

Here is a fun little video about Mike Curtis.

Thanks so much Angus.

And this is as good a place as any to post my Colts World Champions sticker sheet. I was directed to some of these on eBay but I had a package of sheets from back in the day. Amazingly they came from a Hallmark store in Catonsville, Maryland long, long ago.

Hoyle Makes it Rain

I recently received a nice fat envelope from the blogosphere's resident philanthropist and general bon vivant, Mark Hoyle. Mark had filled it with vintage Baltimore Colts cards that filled a nice chunk of my want list. I thought I'd post some of the more interesting ones. 

1974 Topps George Hunt.  

I couldn't figure out why I had no memory of this guy's tenure as the Colt placekicker. So I looked him up. Now I know. He was terrible. In 1973, his one season with the Colts he was 16 of 28 in field goal attempts. He missed every kick he attempted from 40 years or longer. Wow. I used to be a fair kicker. I bet I could have made one of eight from the 40 or beyond. I've done it before.

1975 Topps Dan Dickel

Speaking of me in high school. There I am. Take away the David Letterman-like tooth gap and make the 'stache droop a bit more and you have me.

1972 Topps Bubba Smith Pro Action.

Pro Action cards were Topps' equivalent of the 'In Action' baseball cards. The no-logo helmets suck.

1969 Topps John Mackey

How many way can I love this card? Mackey is a huge favorite of mine. Always was. I had the chance to talk to him a bit when I made my one trip to the Colts' training camp in Westminster, Maryland about the same period of this card. Life was different then. Just a little rope fence around the field. Players standing around with the fans almost next to them watching drills. Sheesh. Good times.

Here's something I learned in tracking down these vintage Colts. 1969 Topps Football cards came in two series and the second series had borders around the photos. Series 1 had 'full bleed' color backgrounds.

1968 Tony Lorick

Look at the '68 Lorick and then back at the '69 Mackey. Topps took a step backwards in design with the '69 set I think.

1967 Philly Gum Lenny Lyles

I was really surprised to find out I had no Colts from the '67 Philly Gum set. I'm sure I had them all in 1967.

1970 Topps Mike Curtis

I like the '70 Topps Football design a lot. And Mike Curtis was a bad, bad dude. 

Finally a couple of Marty Domres cards. The '76 Topps is on the left, the '75 on the right.

I'm having a hard time deciding if Domres reminds me more of a Formula One driver, a second rate British character actor or the keyboardist from the Dave Clark Five. Thoughts?

Anyway, thanks a bunch Mark. As always, you've made a nice contribution to my cause. 

Another Mike Curtis Appearance

Mike Curtis once broke his thumb in a game so badly that he was scheduled for surgery but played the next week instead. He was a bad dude. But now he is fighting the same sort of issue that many players of his era face. A slowly encroaching loss of mental function. His chances of making the Hall of Fame grow shorter every year as deserving players are added to the backlog of guys who must wait their turn.

That's one great picture. BALTIMORE Colt football. It'll close out the football season around here on 5 Tool.

Mike Curtis Mug Shot ('71 Topps)

I'm not sure what Mike Curtis was arrested for but I think it's pretty fortunate that the Topps photographer was on hand to snap his picture for his '71 card at the same time the cops were doing their thing.

I can't decide if I think this is a great football card or a terrible one. What I AM sure of is that Mike Curtis was one bad ass football player!

I have an autographed Mike Curtis pic that I'll post here soon.

Three Tough Dudes

I received my 1997 Upper Deck Legends set in the mail and it's just as cool as I thought it would be. Lots of great pictures, some of them I've never seen before. I'll throw a handful up here between now and the Super Bowl. 

One of the things I like about the set is how so many of the the pictures capture the players exactly as I remember them. That's especially the case with the defensive guys. Here are three examples. Three of the great middle linebackers in NFL history. Two Hall of Fame players and another who, at least in my opinion, belongs there.

The Packers' Ray Nitschke was a hitting machine. You might remember him from the original Longest Yard film. Look at this guy. Would run up the middle on him?

I heard some talking head on the tube the other day that Ray Lewis is the best defensive NFL player of all time. He must not remember Mike Singletary. 

Of all the intense guys I've seen at the middle linebacker position, including Nitschke, Singletary and Dick Butkus among others, there may never have been a more single minded and tenacious player than the Colts' Mike "Mad Dog" Curtis. He could play. Really.

This four minute video is a good look at how he played. If nothing else stick with it to the point where Curtis introduces himself the Dolphin fan. LOL It's worth it.