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.

San Francisco 49ers

Here are the 1967 San Francisco 49ers.  I had all these cards in 1967 except for Dave Parks and Tommy Davis.

The 49ers finished 6-6-2 in 1966, 4th of 7 in the Western Division. In 1967 the NFL realigned into four 4-team divisions, and they finished 3rd in the Coastal Division with a 7-7 record. Oddly enough, backup QB Billy Kilmer (#17) is front-and-center, while the starting QB John Brodie (#12) is 3rd from the right.  (3rd stringer George Mira (#10) is in the top left corner.)

John Brodie - Brodie was the 49ers' #1 pick (3rd overall) in 1957. He played 17 seasons (1957-73), all with the 49ers, and was the starting QB from 1960-1971, except for missing 11 games during the 1963 season. Brodie led the NFL in passing yards in '65, '68, and '70, and made the Pro Bowl in 1965 and 1970. He became a pro golfer after his football career.

Ken Willard - Willard was the 49ers' #1 pick (2nd overall) in 1965. Ken was the team's starting fullback for his 1st 9 seasons, then finished his career with the Cardinals in 1974. He made the Pro Bowl in 4 of his first 5 seasons.

Bernie Casey - Casey was selected by the 49ers in the 1st round of the 1961 draft. He played for San Francisco from 1961-66, and was their starting flanker in all but his rookie season. Casey also played for the Rams from 1967 - 1968. Since 1969, he has been an actor, appearing in over 70 movies and TV shows, including "Brian's Song", "Roots", and the role of Felix Leiter in "Never Say Never Again".

Dave Parks - The 49ers made Parks the #1 overall pick in the 1964 draft. He made the Pro Bowl in his 1st 3 seasons, and led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TDs in 1965. After 4 seasons as the 49ers' starting split end, he was traded to the Saints in 1968, and was a starter there for 5 seasons (the last 4 at tight end). Parks finished his career in 1973 as a backup with the Oilers.

Bruce Bosley - The 49ers' #2 pick in 1956, Bosley was the team's starting left defensive end as a rookie. After missing part of 1957, he started at left guard for 4 seasons, then moved over to center, where he was the starter from 1962-68 (including trips to the Pro Bowl from '65-'67). He wrapped up his career as the Falcons' #1 center in 1969.

John Thomas - A longshot 23rd-round pick in 1957, Thomas played for the 49ers from 1958 through 1967. He was a starter in all but his final season, playing left tackle for 4 seasons, then middle linebacker in 1962, and finally left guard from 1963-66.

Howard Mudd - Mudd was also selected by the 49ers in the 1964 draft (#9), and started at right guard from 1965-68, making the Pro Bowl in the latter 3 seasons. After splitting 1969 between the 49ers and the Bears, he finished his career in 1970 with the Bears. Mudd went on to a long career as an offensive line coach.

Tommy Davis - Davis was drafted by the 49ers in 1957, but did not play until 1959, when he began an 11-year career as the team's placekicker. Tommy made the Pro Bowl in '62 and '63, and was also the team's punter every season except '67 and '68.

Dave Wilcox - Wilcox was drafted by the 49ers in 1964, and was their starting left linebacker for the next 11 seasons. He made 7 Pro Bowls, and was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

Kermit Alexander - Alexander was the team's #1 pick in 1963, and was a starting defensive back for the next 7 seasons, alternating between cornerback and free safety, while also returning kicks and punts. He also started in the Rams' backfield in 1970 and 1971, then finished his career as a backup for the Eagles in '72 and '73.

After 4 seasons in the AAFC, the 49ers (along with the Browns and Colts) joined the NFL in 1950.


Also check out the 1971 and 1972 49ers.

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And the #1 pick is...

Normally, this is a blog about 1967 football cards. To mark the occasion of the NFL draft, today we have some cross-set mojo, as I present the #1 overall draft picks for the years 1957 to 1971.

1957: Paul Hornung (Notre Dame) was selected by the Packers.
1958: King Hill (Rice) was selected by the Chicago Cardinals.
1959: Dick Bass (Pacific) was the #2 pick by the Rams. (QB Randy Duncan (Iowa) was drafted #1 by the Packers, but his only pro experience was 14 games (2 starts) for the 1961 AFL Texans.)

1960: Billy Cannon (LSU) was drafted by the Rams, but he signed with the AFL's Houston Oilers.
1961: Tommy Mason (Tulane) was selected by the Vikings.
1962: Roman Gabriel (NC State) was selected #2 by the Rams.  (Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis of Syracuse was selected #1 by the Redskins, then traded to the Browns.  He never played a down, having contracted leukemia.)

1963: Jerry Stovall (LSU) was selected #2 by the Cardinals. (QB Terry Baker (Oregon State) was drafted #1 by the Rams, but threw only 21 passes in 3 seasons with LA.)
1964: Dave Parks (Texas Tech) was drafted by the 49ers.
1965: Tucker Fredrickson (Auburn) was drafted by the Giants. (In that same draft, the Bears picked Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers with the #3 and #4 overall picks.)

1966: Tommy Nobis (Texas) was drafted by the Falcons in their inaugural season.
1967: Bubba Smith (Michigan State) was drafted by the Colts.
1968: Ron Yary (USC) was drafted by the Vikings.
 

1969: Runningback/criminal O.J. Simpson (USC) was drafted by the Buffalo Bills.
1970: Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech) was drafted by the Steelers.
1971: Jim Plunkett (Stanford) was drafted by the Patriots, and took every snap in his rookie season.

My Football Blog Index

  JIM FROM DOWNINGTOWN'S MULTI-BLOG INDEX  (Updated 26-Jul-2025) This is a list of all the teams for the '66, '67, '68, '71, and '72 seasons. The years with links indicates that team has a post on that year's blog. I have listed the teams by the traditional 1970s-1990s divisions.

Further down is a list of the 1964, 1969, and 1970 players posted to those blogs.

Click here to see the post index for my baseball card blogs.

TEAMS:

Dallas Cowboys       1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
New York Giants      1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Philadelphia Eagles  1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
St. Louis Cardinals  1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Washington Redskins  1966   1967   1968   1971   1972

Chicago Bears        1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Detroit Lions        1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Green Bay Packers    1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Minnesota Vikings    1966   1967   1968   1971   1972

Atlanta Falcons      1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Los Angeles Rams     1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
New Orleans Saints          1967   1968   1971   1972
San Francisco 49ers  1966   1967   1968   1971   1972


Baltimore Colts      1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Boston Patriots             1967   1968   1971   1972
Buffalo Bills               1967   1968   1971   1972
Miami Dolphins              1967   1968   1971   1972
New York Jets               1967   1968   1971   1972

Cincinnati Bengals                 1968   1971   1972
Cleveland Browns     1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Houston Oilers              1967   1968   1971   1972
Pittsburgh Steelers  1966   1967   1968   1971   1972

Denver Broncos              1967   1968   1971   1972
Kansas City Chiefs          1967   1968   1971   1972
Oakland Raiders             1967   1968   1971   1972
San Diego Chargers          1967   1968   1971   1972


OTHER POSTS PER SET:
Introductions        1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Checklists           1966 67N 67A  1968   1971   1972
Miscellaneous cards  1966   1967                 1972
Hall of Famers       1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
Custom Cards                1967  1968/9  1971
RetroCards Customs:   
-  Bears             1966   1967   1968   1971
-  Colts             1966          1968
-  Cowboys           1966   1967   1968   1971   1972
-  Eagles            1966          1968
-  Packers           1966   1967   1968
-  Saints                   1967
-  Chiefs                   1967
-  Raiders                  1967
-  Dolphins                                      1972


1964 CARDS
John Mackey, Darrell Dess, Myron Pottios
All the Philadelphia Eagles
Billy Wade, Ed Brown, Lamar McHan


1969 CARDS:
Players without other cards in the 1966-72 
Topps or Philly sets. (2nd series cards in bold font)

Pete Banaszak
Craig Baynham
Sonny Bishop
Larry Bowie
Don Brumm
Jimmy Burson
Jim Cadile
Bob Cappadona
Pete Case
Jim Colclough
Ben Davis
Darrell Dess
Pete Duranko
Dave Edwards
Billy Gambrell
Charlie Harper
Matt Hazeltine
Fred Hill
Jerry Hill
Gene Howard
Pete Jaquess
Jimmy Keyes
Charley King
Ken Kortas
Rudy Kuechenberg
Izzy Lang
Chuck Latourette
Jim Lindsey
Bob Matheson
Don McCall
Karl Noonan
Ray Ogden
Pete Perreault
Brian Piccolo
Nick Rassas
Willie Richardson
Johnnie Robinson (Lions)
Goldie Sellers
Dick Shiner
Jim Simon
John Stofa
Rosey Taylor
Tom Vaughn
Lonnie Warwick
Jerrel Wilson
Roy Winston
Dick Witcher

Other 1969 cards:
Bob Brown
Leroy Caffey
Charlie Gogolak
Ron Mix
Bob Talamini

Some custom 1969 cards found on the internet:
Marlin Briscoe
Doug Buffone
Greg Cook
Winston Hill
Jack Kemp
Babe Parilli
Johnny Sample
Wendell Tucker


1970 CARDS:
Gary Ballman
Greg Cook
Dan Darragh
Ben Hawkins
Harold Jackson
Dave Lloyd
Ray Mansfield
Al Nelson
Nate Ramsey
Johnny Robinson
Tim Rossovich
Joe Scarpati
Larry Seiple
Norm Snead
Tom Woodeshick

OTHER POSTS:
10-year AFL veterans
All-Decade Team
#1 Draft Picks
Best team in Super Bowl era
Football Blog Index  (wait, it's a trick!)
Cards per player (1964-72)
Top Coaches of 1960s and 1970s
RIP - 2016
RIP - 2017
RIP - 2018
RIP - 2019
RIP - 2020
RIP - 2021
RIP - 2022
RIP - 2023
RIP - 2024
RIP - Mike Curtis
RIP - Jim Kiick 
RIP - Don Shula
RIP - Bart Starr
RIP - Jim Taylor
RIP – Gale Sayers
RIP – Jim Brown
RIP – Dick Butkus
RIP - Roman Gabriel
RIP - Jim Otto

St. Louis Cardinals

And now for the St. Louis Football Cardinals. The Cardinals got the always-popular gray color scheme in the '66 and '67 Philadelphia Gum sets.

I had all these cards in 1967 except for Ken Gray and Joe Robb. There's the usual cross-section of positions here, except for no linebackers, and two safties.

Cardinals Team - Except for the 3-year period from 1974 to 1976 (and also 2008-2009), the Cardinals were pretty much the doormat of their division from 1949 to the present day, routinely winning less than 6 games per season. 1967 was no exception: the team finished at 6-7-1 with 2nd-year man Jim Hart in his first season as the starting QB. Hart took over the reins when 5-year starter Charley Johnson spent much of the season in the Army.

Charley Johnson was drafted by the Cardinals in 1960, and was the starting QB from 1962-66, and again for part of 1969. He spent the 1967 and 1968 seasons in the US Army, flying to the games on Sundays (as Hart's backup). Charlie was with the Oilers for 2 seasons (as the starter in '70, and as rookie Dan Pastorini's backup in '71), then finished up with 4 seasons in Denver (the first 3 as the Broncos' starting QB.)

Roy Shivers played 7 seasons (1966-72) in the NFL, all with the Cardinals. He was the team's top kick returner as a rookie, and was a return man and backup running back his entire career.

Johnny Roland was the Cardinals' 4th-round pick in 1965, but did not play that year. He was a starting running back from 1966 to 1969, and was also the team's primary punt returner as a rookie. Johnny also made the Pro Bowl in his first 2 seasons. After backing up MacArthur Lane (1970-71) and Donny Anderson (1972), Roland finished his career in 1973 with the Giants.

Bobby Joe Conrad was drafted by the Giants in 1958, but played for the Chicago Cardinals that year. He was the Cards' placekicker and part-time receiver from 1958-60, then was the starting flanker from 1961-1968. He led the NFL with 73 receptions in 1963. Bobby Joe finished his career with the Cowboys in 1969. (The Cowboys seemed to collect a lot of receivers at the end of their careers: Mike Ditka, Lance Alworth, Jackie Smith, Bobby Joe Conrad).

 

Jackie Smith was drafted by the Cardinals in 1963, and was one of the top tight ends of his day (along with Mike Ditka and John Mackey). He was the team's starting tight end for his first 13 seasons (1963-75), and made the Pro Bowl every year from 1966 to 1970. Smith was also the team's punter from 1964 to 1966. Jackie backed up tight end J. V. Cain for 2 seasons, then went to Dallas for his final season (1978), which included his infamous dropped pass in the end zone in the Super Bowl.

Ken Gray began his career as the starting right defensive end for the Chicago Cardinals in 1958. The next season he switched to offense, where he held down the Cardinals' starting right guard spot from 1959 to 1969, making six Pro Bowls. In his final season (1970) he was the Houston Oilers' starting left guard.

Jim Bakken was drafted by the Rams in 1962, and played 8 games that season - with the Cardinals. He was the Cardinals' regular kicker for the next 16 years (1963-78), and made the Pro Bowl 4 times ('65, '67, '75, '76). He led the NFL in scoring with 117 points in 1967, and was also the team's punter in '65 and '66.

Joe Robb played 13 seasons in the NFL (1959-71), and was a starter for all but his last two. After 2 seasons as the Eagles' starting left defensive end, he manned the same post for the Cardinals from 1961 to 1967. His only Pro Bowl appearance came in 1966. Robb also played for the Lions from 1968 to 1971.

Jerry Stovall played for 9 seasons (1963-71), all with the Cardinals. He was the team's #1 pick (2nd overall) in 1963 (and also the 3rd overall pick in the AFL draft). Jerry was the team's starting strong safety every year except 1969, when he missed all but 4 games. He was also the team's punter in his first 2 years (and to a lesser extent for 2 more seasons). He was also a kick returner for his first 3 seasons, and made 3 Pro Bowls.

Larry Wilson is the only Hall-of-Famer in this group. He was the Cardinals' starting free safety for his entire career (1960-72), made 8 Pro Bowls, and led the NFL with 10 interceptions in 1966. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978.

"In contention" is a relative term.

Also check out the 1971 Cardinals.

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