General Forum

Hi all,

Here are some questions relating to interesting (to me at least) facts I have discovered while persuing the database.  They're pretty hard questions, I think, but may be fun to think about.  

1) How many players can you name that played football in the Topps era, had at least one normal (single player card with default stats on back) Topps card issued, and was designated an All Pro on every normal Topps card they had issued?  I have found four, two of whom are actually in the Hall of Fame, but would be curious if there were others.

2) How many teams can you name that were a major league team in one of the four major sports and every player card in the database for that team is a Hall of Famer?  I have one definite answer for this, and another which is debatable.  

3) Who is the "most significant" player who played in the Topps era and doesn't have a single card in the database?  I have found a player who led the league in at least one of the stats commonly printed on the backs of cards but who has no cards in the database.  

Here are some facts about me that may or may not help here...

I tend to collect cards that represent some sort of accomplishment. In the past I've collected all stars and all pros, 1000 yard receivers and rushers, perfect game pitchers, 50+ HR hitters, 33.0+ PPG scorers, etc. I also try to collect significant cards from my favorite NFL team, the Raiders. I like Ohio State, and have at least one card from most players that had any sort of impact in the NFL or NBA. I also have collected at least one card for every team name in the four sports in the Topps era (MLB/NHL/NFL/NBA/ABA).

I got Earl Campbell for 1.

And depending on whether you classify the Negro Leagues as a major league, I got NY Lincoln Giants for 2.

Earl Campbell is indeed one of my four!  I remember looking at the 1980 Oilers checklist and being so disappointed that he wasn't on it. 

The other three consists of two Raiders and a former Ohio State player.  One of them actually has three Topps cards, all All Pro. 

I was not considering the Negro Leagues, but thanks for that answer! I would call them debatable as an answer, since the cards weren't actually issued during the league's existence.  One of the two teams I have in mind falls into this category as well.  The other is a team that had cards issued during its existence and all players cards represent people in the Hall of Fame.  (The slightly clunky wording there may or may not be a hint...)

Dave

Now that I fixed some erroneous Baltimore players, the NFL Boston Braves fit the HOF/not issued during existence category.

NBA Chicago Packers & Chicago Zephyrs!

The Packers are my answer, with two team members in the 1961-62 Fleer set. The Zephyrs are my half answer, with a single card, HoFer Bob Leonard, issued in 1980.

Thanks for the NFL Boston Braves answer!

Here are my answers...

1) In addition to Earl Campbell (1979), we have Dave Casper (1977, 1978, 1979), Dave Pear (1980), and Todd Bell (1985). I came across Bell when I was trying to collect Ohio State players who had been All Pros in the NFL.  I assume Casper, like Campbell, had some sort of licensing issue.  (I may be misremembering Campbell's case.)  Pear appears to have been sort of a blip.  

2) My answers were the Chicago Packers (definite) and Chicago Zephyrs (debatable).  The Packers at least had cards issued during their existence. On a side note, the Packers and Zephyrs were both icarnations of the current Washington Wizards franchise. Another of the many names for this franchise was the Capital Bullets, which is interesting to me for two reasons.  First, "Capital" is neither a state nor a city, and such names are pretty rare. Second, as far as I can tell, the word "Capital" doesn't appear on any of the Topps cards for the Capital Bullets in the DB except maybe in passing.  

3) My answer is Warren Wells of the Oakland Raiders.   He led the old AFL in TD receptions twice (1968, 1969), and in receiving yards and yards per catch once (1969).  He doesn't appear in the database at all, to the best of my knowledge.  He did have some legal issues and this may have led Topps to decide not to issue cards for him. In any case, I think it's somewhat interesting that such a productive player is not in the DB at all.

I didn't get the Packers/Zephers one. Very good! They also have one card in the 1994 Action Packed Hall of Fame set, labeled here as a 1995 for some reason.