Chicago Bears - Custom Extension Set

Over a year ago I posted my set of Oakland Raiders custom cards issued by RetroCards.net. A few months ago I made another purchase from them - their 1967 Bears and 1966 Falcons sets. 

 

All the sets I've bought from them are listed on the sidebar. 

RetroCards.net makes "cards that never were" mostly for football, but some baseball and non-sports issues too. Among their football sets, they lean toward the Cowboys, Packers, and Bears, but other teams are occasionally represented, including all teams in the 1963 and 1966 sets. The sets for most teams include about 9 cards, but sets for their 3 favorite teams usually include 20 or more cards.

 

Here are the 1967 Bears, that complement the original set issued by Philadelphia Gum. The inclusion of 3 quarterbacks in this custom set makes for 4 quarterbacks overall (including Rudy Bukich from the original set.)

 

Within each grouping, I accidentally arranged the cards in the opposite position order from what I normally do. (right-to-left, rather than left-to-right) 

 

 

(Blogger limits the labels to 200 total characters, so I couldn't include everyone.)

1967 Custom Cards

A few years ago, I asked John Hogan at the "Cards That Never Were" blog if he would make a few custom football cards for me, specifically some starting quarterbacks that were missing from the '67, '68, and '71 sets. He soon responded with some real beauties. I have already featured those 1968 and 1971 custom cards on my blogs for those years. Now it is time for the 1967s.

Jack Concannon was left out of the 1967 set because at press time, he was probably still the Eagles' #3 quarterback. Traded to the Bears in the off-season for TE Mike Ditka, Concannon became the Bears' starting QB for the next 4 seasons, before giving way to Bobby Douglass in 1971.

Veteran Milt Plum was the Browns' #2 pick in 1957, and was their starting QB through the 1961 season (making the Pro Bowl in '60 and '61). He was the Lions' starting QB from 1962-65, and started 6 games each season for the Lions in '66 and '67. Perhaps Karl Sweetan was chosen as the QB in the 1967 set because he started 8 games in 1966, to the injured Plum's 6 games. After 1967, Plum was traded to the Rams for QB Bill Munson. He finished his career in 1969 with the Giants.

Billy Kilmer was the 49ers' 1st pick in the 1961 draft. After 6 years with the Niners (4 on the bench behind John Brodie, and 2 on injured reserve), Kilmer was selected by the Saints in the expansion draft prior to the 1967 season. Gary Wood was chosen as the QB for the '67 set. My theory is that Wood started many games for the Giants in 1966 due to Earl Morrall's injury, while Kilmer and 3rd QB Gary Cuozzo had not been starters in the previous season.

Kilmer spent 4 years in New Orleans, the last 3 1/2 as their starting QB. His penance with the Saints was rewarded in 1971, when he was traded to the Redskins and installed as their #1 QB for the next 7 seasons. In 1972 he led the NFL with 19 TD passes, and took the 'Skins to the Super Bowl.

With the Giants' QB department in shambles after the 1966 season, the team acquired Fran Tarkenton from the Vikings. Tarkenton had been the Vikes' starter since their inaugural season in 1961, and made the Pro Bowl in '64 and '65. During his 5 seasons in New York he made 4 more Pro Bowls. After the 1971 season, Fran was traded back to the Vikings, where he was the starting QB for his remaining 7 seasons. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.

With Scramblin' Fran now in New York, what were the Vikings to do? Raid the Canadian League for their star QB Joe Kapp! Kapp played 4 seasons in the NFL, 3 with the Vikings and one with the Boston Patriots. Joe made the Pro Bowl in 1969, while leading the Vikings to the Super Bowl.

John also made some cards of Doug Buffone, after his death a few years ago. Here is the 1967 card.


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I also found this custom card of ex-Packers' great Jim Taylor floating around on the internet. It was made by Bob Lemke, who creates limited edition cards (fronts and backs) for sale to the public.

Chicago Bears

Here are the 1967 Chicago Bears cards, including 3 future hall-of-famers. I got all but two of these cards (Roger LeClerc, Dick Butkus) back in 1967, so they are very scuffed up.


#25 Bears Team - Besides telling us that the 1966 Bears finished 5th in the Western Division with a 5-7-2 record, the back of this card says the Bears led the league in punting with 3558 yards (not one of the more coveted records!)


#26 Rudy Buckich - Although Buckich (here in his 13th season) is the quarterback featured on a card, Jack Concannon (acquired from the Eagles for Mike Ditka) was the starter in 1967.


#35 Gale Sayers - Sayers was the Bears leading rusher, and one of the best running backs in the league. A rookie in 1965, he was first-team All-Pro in each of his first 5 seasons, and led the league in rushing twice. His career was cut short by a knee injury, as he appeared in only 2 games in each of 1970 and 1971. Sayers was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.


#27 Ron Bull - Bull won the NFL Rookie of the Year award in 1962 as a halfback. He switched to fullback with the arrival of Gale Sayers. Ron played for the Bears for 9 years, and finished his career with the Eagles in 1971.


#30 Dick Gordon - A rookie in 1965, Gordon played for the Bears for 7 seasons. His best season was in 1970, as he led the league in catches (71) and TDs (13). He also played for the Rams from 1972-73, the Packers in 1973, and the Chargers in 1974.


#29 Mike Ditka - Although featured on a Bears card, Ditka was traded to the Eagles for QB Jack Concannon prior to the 1967 season. Mike was the #1 draft pick for both the Bears and the AFL's Houston Oilers in 1961. He made the Pro Bowl 5 times, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988. After 6 seasons with the Bears and 2 with the Eagles, Ditka played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 to 1972.


#34 Mike Pyle - Pyle played his entire career with the Bears (1961-69) and was the starting center for each of those seasons.


#31 Roger LeClerc - Roger was the Bears' kicker from 1960 to 1966, and kicked for the Denver Broncos in 1967. In 1965, he led the NFL with 52 PATs. He also played occasionally at linebacker.


#28 Dick Butkus - One of the Bears' two first-round picks in 1965 (along with Gale Sayers), Butkus was a fixture at middle linebacker for the Bears from 1965 until a knee injury ended his career after 9 games in 1973. He made the Pro Bowl 8 times in his 9-year career, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979. Butkus was easily the toughest middle linebacker in NFL history. More on Butkus


#32 Bennie McRae - Bennie played 9 seasons with the Bears (1962-70), missing only 1 game during that time. He was the Bears' starting left cornerback from 1963-70. McRae finished his career with the Giants in 1971.


#33 Richie Petitbon - As a rookie in 1959, Petitbon was the Bears' starting "left defensive halfback" (cornerback). The following season, he took over the starting strong safety position and held it through the 1968 season. From 1969-1970 he was the Rams' strong safety. In 1971 and 1972, he played the same position for the Redskins, being part of coach George Allen's mass acquisition of ex-Rams.



#36 Bears Logo - George Halas was the owner and head coach of the Bears for decades - the Connie Mack of football!


Also check out the 1971 Bears.