Astrodome Postcards

I'm not sure where these postcards came from but they bring back some fond memories of great events. The top one was taken during the first game played there in April 1965. The person who wrote the blurb on the back was either not using tier glasses or looking at a different photo. Check it out:

First of all, it seems odd to mention the time the game started at all. Clock clearly shows 7:46

This sure looks like the lineup card/ground rules meeting.

 But whatever. It's a neat card.

This one is closer to my heart. It from the October, 1970 Houston Cougar football game versus Alabama. The Coogs lost with me somewhere over in the stands on the left, the student section. But the Coogs went on to an 8-3 record and a Top Twenty finish. A couple of years later I would watch games from the press level. That was fun. But the view you see right here is the one I had for years as a young alum. This was my group's favorite spot. It gave us a perfect view of Coach Bill Yeoman's veer offense.  It was up here where I also watched the basketball Game of The Century. This one brings back some great memories.

Earl Campbell Signed Goal Line Art

When you talk about the great running backs of all time Earl Campbell must be in the conversation. I'll always maintain the Jim Brown was unsurpassed on the field but if you needed a first down to save your life I think 'The Tyler Rose' would be as safe a bet as any.

I've got football on my mind as I'm getting ready for my fantasy league's 39th season. I no longer own a team in my league...I turned that over to one of my sons and I just act as a consultant to him, but in our first year, he was a stud averaging almost 130 yards a game.

Earl had a 'Koufax'-like career. He blazed across the football world but only for a short time. He never backed off from a hit and that punishment not only shortened his career but it's obviously affected him later in life. I love football but sometimes I wonder if it serves any purpose.

I came across this signed 1991 Goal Line card a few months ago while searching for the Colts in the set. (I have those now).  The set is made up of members of the NFL Hall of Fame. I don't think it is still being produced but I haven't bothered to check. I know that all the HOF Baltimore Colts cards have been issued so there's no need for me to look any further.

Back to Earl. My lasting memory of him comes from his days at the University of Texas. My Houston Cougars were playing UT at Rice Stadium in 1977 and Earl ran in a score and zoomed right through the end zone in front of me. He collided with Bevo, the live UT longhorn mascot. That steer let out a very loud 'moo' and was actually moved sideways by the hit. It was surreal.

Football.....College, Vintage and Otherwise

On my Peach Bowl trip to Atlanta I figured a visit to the College Football Hall of Fame was warranted and it was well worth the visit. Upon entering you receive a 'Fan Pass' on a lanyard and the pass is registered with your name and favorite school. It's interactive so that when you walk up to many of the displays the video boards will immediately feature your school. It's a neat deal. Upstairs where the Inductees are featured you walk up to a kiosk-type video board and the inductees from your school are shown. You tap the board and play videos from their career, etc. Pretty ingenious. 

That's the 'fan pass' above and below is one of the touristy promo cards that you find in hotel lobby racks.

As you enter the Hall the atrium is dominated by a huge two story tall wall of helmets. Once someone registers that person's school helmet is lit up. I think it stays lit for the day.

Here is a look at one of the interactive displays. As I got close it showed my school, the University of Houston.

The Hall had a couple displays in the atrium related to the Peach Bowl teams, Houston and Florida State. This is Case Keenum's jersey, former Coog and current starter for the St. Louis Los Angeles Rams.

The Hall was fun, especially the equipment displays and the videos of great collegiate football moments. It was well worth the time we took to visit.

All that is kind of an 'end around' to some cards I picked up at the show last Saturday. All came from the bargain bins and I nabbed each for a reason. At the top of the post is a '71 Topps Emerson Boozer card. Every time i hear that name I'm reminded of my high school days and a freshman who played running back for us named Bobby Adams. He was also my locker-mate and friend. We all thought he looked like the Jets' running back so naturally we called him Boozer.

This is some sort of Gale Sayers Rookie reprint card. I forgot to scan the back and the card is not in front of me now but I think it came out in 2010. I collect Sayers but some of his cards are quite expensive. I fill in the holes with knockoffs until I get around to tracking down affordable versions of the real thing. I've said it before but I don't think I've ever seen a player as exciting or dynamic as Gale Sayers. Lenny Moore and Barry Sanders come close.

And then there is this '71 Ron Johnson card. I don't think I've ever related my Ron Johnson story. Back about '71 or '72 I came home from college to do laundry and have some good meals and waiting for me was an envelope addressed to me with a New York Giants logo and return address. Opening it I was surprised (to say the least) to find a letter from Ron Johnson. A real, hand written, letter. Two pages of stationary sized paper filled with advice and encouragement. It turns out that my Uncle Gerard, one of those 'never met a stranger-type guys, was on the dais when his Kiwanis Club's special guest speaker was non-other than Ron Johnson. My uncle told him I was hoping to go into coaching as a career and Johnson took it upon himself to get my folks address and write the letter.

I wish I could get my hands on it now. I don't recall everything Johnson wrote but I do know he spoke about how to treat young players and about not letting the long hours that coaching required get in the way of being a good family man. It was pretty remarkable.

Johnson was a pretty good running-back for the Giants back in the 70s. He had been the first ever African-American captain of the Michigan Wolverines football team and a first round pick of the Browns. He's a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and served as the Chairman of the National Football Foundation which operates the Hall. He was a successful businessman after his playing days. Sadly he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2006 and is currently in a care facility.

RIP Robert Newhouse

The 'Big Man On Campus' when I arrived at the University of Houston back in 1970 was running back Robert Newhouse. And I mean 'big man' in every sense of the word. He was the Coogs' top running back, and despite the fact that his numbers his first year or so were not spectacular, he was a fan favorite for the incredible power with which he ran. He had a waist of maybe 32 inches but his thighs were about 44 inches. He just plowed through blocks.

Known by everyone as 'House' he passed away a week ago at the age of 64. He had had heart problems for quite some time and was awaiting a transplant but was never well enough to undergo the surgery.

In his senior year he set a UH rushing yardage record that still stands. And it wasn't known by many that he was playing with a painful broken pelvis. Those were the days before 'redshirting' and if he had sat out he would not have had another year of eligibility. I was working at the Athletic building then was able to talk to House a few times. Truly a nice guy. He was inducted into the UH Athletic Hall of Honor in 1977.

And to underscore the difference that 40 years has made...when he was picked by the Cowboys in the 1972 draft he wasn't aware of it until my buddy Sam bumped into him at the University Center and told him about it. And House was a second round pick!

I had picked these cards up on eBay for a buck apiece. That's a 1977 up top, a 1981 below. He played for the Cowboys through the 1983 season. The Cowboys' website posted a nice tribute to 'House' after his death.

One of the highlights of Newhouse's career was throwing a TD pass to Golden Richards in Super Bowl XII in 1977. 

There is no card of Newhouse as a Houston Cougar that I'm aware of so I threw one together just because. I have neither the talent nor software to do a proper job so this will have to do for now.

And this is as good a time as any to post my NFL patch. It's my newest addition to my most casual of all collections.