Dirty Work - post your Off Linemen

[albrshbr]

The only member of the HOF who spent his entire career in the AFL

A couple of my favorite road graders, HOF Jim Langer and College Football Hall of Famer Reggie McKenzie. Division II legend, Langer was a middle linebacker in college (at South Dakota State?), was cut by the Browns, before an exemplary career as the anchor of the Dolphins O-line for more than a decade. The Best Lineman in DII football is given the Langer Award annually.

McKenzie was a two time all-pro 1973-74 who could pull with the very best of them, a key component of the heralded "Electric Company" line in Buffalo. When Seattle acquired him in 1983, it was one of the great experiences of my younger days as a football fan to meet the man at my father's garage in Auburn, Washington. At the time, former Lightweight champion Greg "Mutt" Haugen, was a 22 year-old lot hand at the same dealership. Crazy place in the 1980's, I remember Bill Elliot and his #9 Coors car visited as well. Happy Father's Day, my hero and best friend, Bob Phelan (1929-2014).

[Stevew]

An under appreciated Cowboys lineman... 6 consecutive pro bowls and 3 time All-Pro, played in 3 Super bowls.

[revmoran]

Along with Duke Osborne we have Pottsville Guard Frank Racis



And these are not cards, but a couple of great images

[TanksAndSpartans]

I’m late to the party on this thread, but I really enjoyed it. Lots of great OL discussed and images posted.

I just picked up my first matchbook and I thought it would fit in this thread. Clare Randolph was never considered a big star (overshadowed by the great Mel Hein, he did get some recognition late in his career), but his name is listed as the starting Center in just about every Spartans/Lions boxscore I’ve looked at from 31-36 including the 32 "ironman game" game against the Packers, the first unofficial NFL championship game against the Bears (32) and the championship win against the Giants in 35.

According to this PFRA article, his claim to fame was the ability to tackle Bronko Nagurski one-on-one: http://www.profootballresearchers.or.../20-04-761.pdf

Not a bad thing to be known for.

As a collector, I got a good deal - I was the only bidder and picked up the matchbook for a $1.99. I know very little about these and have some questions: Is there such a thing as a 3x5 penny sleeve? Jeff mentioned 3x5 top loaders and six pocket sheets, but with cards I always use a penny sleeve first, so I was wondering if I could do the same with this matchbook?

Also, what year is this Matchbook? 34 or 35 maybe? There was no info in the listing. Thanks.

[DBesse27]

Yes, ultra pro makes postcard sized soft sleeves. Great matchbook!

[jefferyepayne]

Be careful, John, your gonna get hooked on matchbook covers if you aren't careful!

John Spano wrote an excellent article on matchbooks for Gridiron Greats that discusses the various years and difficult ones to find. It's issue #39 if you want to check it out.

In summary, here's how to tell the difference between the years.

1933 - easy to tell, silver color. Bio info has either a green or pink background.



1934 - tan, red, green, or blue color. Picture is colorized. "The Diamond Match Co. N.Y.C." is printed near the striker



1935 - same as 1934 except the pictures are NOT colorized (they are B&W) and "Made in U.S.A. The Diamond Match Co. N.Y.C." is printed near the striker



1936 - vertical bars on R and L sides of player photo differentiates this set of the the ones before it.



1937 - exactly the same as the 1936 design. For players in both the 1936 and 1937 set, I believe the only way to differentiate them is that their bios are different. Compare this George Musso bio with the one above.



1938 - back to a silver background but with a yellow football in the center of the matchbook

I don't have any scans of this set but you can find them online pretty easily to see what they look like.

jeff