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.

New York Giants

Seven of the 10 Giants are pictured in helmets. In fact, of all the players in the 1967 set, only 12 are wearing helmets: 7 Giants, 2 Saints (pictured in their 1966 Giants' uniforms), and 3 Colts.

I had all these Giants cards in 1967 except for Spider Lockhart.


#109 Giants Team - The back of this card tells us that "After a spectacular rise from the cellar in '64, to a 2nd place tie in '65, the Giants fell to the cellar again in '66 with a 1-12-1 record".
With a new QB on board for 1967, they would soar to a 7-7 record, finishing 2nd in their division.


#114 Tom Kennedy - I always thought it was strange that Philly Gum chose Tom Kennedy for their 1967 Giants' QB. Earl Morrall began the previous season as the starter, but after injuries sidelined him, he was replaced by backup Gary Wood, with Kennedy being called up from the Continental League as a backup. Wood was then lost to the Saints in the expansion draft, so the obvious choice for this card would have been Morrall. No matter, in March 1967 the Giants traded for Fran Tarkenton, making Morrall and Kennedy irrelevant. Kennedy's only NFL action was in 1966.


#112 Allen Jacobs - Allen's NFL career consisted of 1 year with the Packers (1965), and 2 years with the Giants. He played 34 games, starting none.

#116 Joe Morrison - Morrison was the Giants' 3rd-round pick in 1959, and played his entire career with the Giants (1959-72). Usually a running back or flanker, he also played defensive back during his career.

#113 Homer Jones - Homer played 6 seasons (1964-69) with the Giants before finishing his career in 1970 with the Browns. He was the Giants' starting split end from 1966-69.


#119 Aaron Thomas - Thomas was drafted by the 49ers in 1961, and was their starting split end as a rookie. He joined the Giants early in the 1962 season, and remained with them until retiring after the 1970 season. He was the starting tight end from 1964-68.


#117 Francis Peay - Peay was New York's #1 pick in the 1966 draft. After only 2 seasons with the Giants he moved on to the Packers, where he was their starting left offensive tackle for several years, before finishing his career with the Chiefs from 1973-74.


#118 Jeff Smith - Who's picking the subjects for these cards? Smith was a 10th-round pick in 1966, played 14 games for the Giants, and never played in the NFL again.


#111 Clarence Childs - Childs played for the Giants from 1964-1967, and the Bears in 1968. Primarily a kick returner, he was also the Giants' starting right cornerback in 1966. As a rookie, he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.


#115 "Spider" Lockhart - Lockhart was the Giants' 13th-round pick in 1965, and played his entire career (1965-75) with the Giants. After serving as the starting left cornerback for his 1st 2 seasons, he was the team's starting free safety for his remaining 9 seasons. He also returned punts (mostly from 1966-70), and punted from 1965-68.


#110 Henry Carr - Carr was drafted by the Giants in 1965, and after 2 seasons as a starting safety, he concluded his NFL career in 1967 as the Giants' starting right cornerback. A track star at Arizona State, Henry won 2 gold medals at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.



#120 Giants Logo - "The players try hard. The coach tries hard. Perhaps the fans should try harder." Whaaa? This is the funniest comment I've ever seen on the back of a sports trading card!


Next time: Philadelphia Eagles


Also check out the 1972 Giants.

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