A Chicle a day through the end of May

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Jeffrey- The mention of the "Fair Catch Kick" on the Ken Strong card brought back some fun memories.

About 8 or 9 years ago I was broadcasting a local high game on local cable and right before half the rule was put into use. A visiting player called a fair catch at mid-field and theie coach declared the free kick option.

I was aware of the rule but was not aware that an unlimited run-up to the ball is allowed. The ball was placed on a kickoff tee and a 270 lb. lineman took about a ten yard run-up to the ball and kicked it through.

The points were the deciding margin at game's end. Fun stuff.

By the way NFL Ref Walt Coleman is our guest speaker at our annual Boys & Girls Club fund raiser next Tuesday night. I am sure he will address the "Tuck Rule" and his relationship with the Raider organization.

[smotan_02]

Jeffrey
Great thread, keep them coming!

[jefferyepayne]

Thanks. I needed a little positive feedback ... I was starting to wonder whether I was just talking to myself!

jeff

Originally Posted by smotan_02

Jeffrey
Great thread, keep them coming!

[smotan_02]

Originally Posted by jefferyepayne

Thanks. I needed a little positive feedback ... I was starting to wonder whether I was just talking to myself!

jeff

Not at all, I check them everyday and admire the cards. I think a '55 AA thread should be next, at least I can contribute to that one.

[jefferyepayne]

That would be awesome. I'd love to see them. I have the complete set but it's mostly junk. I bought the set cheap a while back and haven't started working on upgrading it yet so I won't be able to contribute much to the thread. Maybe you'll motivate me to get working on it.

jeff

Originally Posted by smotan_02

Not at all, I check them everyday and admire the cards. I think a '55 AA thread should be next, at least I can contribute to that one.

[vintagetopps]

Keep them coming. Missed the past few days, but caught today. Thanks Again!

[jefferyepayne]

Card #9 in the Chicle set is Knute Rockne. Known for being one of the all-time great college coaches, Knute was a great player as well, winning All-American honors in 1913 at Notre Dame where he helped popularize the forward pass as a speedy end. More information on Knute can be found here: http://www.knuterockne.com/

Knute is the only non-NFL person in the 1935 National Chicle set, making may wonder whether the set was originally going to include college players as well. Note that the back of each card says it is "One of 240 football players" and only 36 cards were produced. Due to the size of the NFL in the mid 1930's it would have been nearly impossible to produce a 240 card set that included only NFL players.

Another theory is that National Chicle wanted kids to think there were more cards in the set to keep them purchasing the cards. This strategy was definitely employed in the 1930's (see discussions of the 1933 Goudey Nap Lajoie for more details). This seems unlikely due to the large difference between the number of cards produced vs. the number of cards the backs say are in the set.

Since the National Chicle Gum Company went bankrupt in 1937, it is likely that they had originally planned a set of 240 but ultimately could not afford to produce the complete set before running into financial problems.

Scan_Pic0002.jpg
rockne35back.jpg

You will note that the front and back scans of this card look different. It IS the same card. I'm just playing around with my scanner to make the images look better.

jeff

[jefferyepayne]

NFL kickers are so good at drilling kickoffs through the uprights now that I'm surprised more situations to try a fair catch kick haven't occurred in the NFL recently. Probably because most teams forced to punt in a close game are going to punt it out of bounds. On a last second kickoff, teams usually squib it as well.

My understanding is that a fair catch kick is a legitimate field goal attempt and if someone made one from farther than 64 yards it would be considered the longest field goal in history.

jeff

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

Jeffrey- The mention of the "Fair Catch Kick" on the Ken Strong card brought back some fun memories.

About 8 or 9 years ago I was broadcasting a local high game on local cable and right before half the rule was put into use. A visiting player called a fair catch at mid-field and theie coach declared the free kick option.

I was aware of the rule but was not aware that an unlimited run-up to the ball is allowed. The ball was placed on a kickoff tee and a 270 lb. lineman took about a ten yard run-up to the ball and kicked it through.

The points were the deciding margin at game's end. Fun stuff.