The Baltimore Colts

I know what you're thinking... "This guy couldn't even maintain the blogs he had, and yet he's starting a new one?"

Guilty as charged. The truth is I was frustrated by the fact that I didn't have much of an audience on those other blogs. As the new, shiny cards became more popular I was spinning farther and farther away from the current card interest orbit. I felt like I was shouting into an echo chamber. Add to that the fact that I was getting ready to sell the bulk of my complete sets and blogging became less and less of a priority.

On the other hand, my Baltimore Colts collection is something I'll never let go of. I loved the Colts and as a kid, I spent Sunday mornings during the football season at 9:00 Mass praying for Johnny Unitas and crew to work their magic once again. 

I put most of the entries for this blog together about five years ago when I completed the collection. They went on the back burner along with my other blogs. But I always intended to publish them, even if they never got any views or comments. So here they are.

I'm going back through each post and cleaning up some references to 'recent' purchases and blog entries. They are posted in chronological order, i.e. the last group of sets to be showcased will be the last ones that depicted the Colts in their rightful hometown of Baltimore. 

Once I'm done with these I'll put together entries to show off more on my Colts collection, my media guides and display pieces, etc. 

I chose the '63 Fleer Lenny Moore card to show at the top for one reason. It's my favorite Colts card. I love his pose, the Memorial Stadium crowd, and the scoreboard behind him. The 'leaping Colt' logo is perfection. It's art on a 2x3 piece of cardboard.

I welcome any and all comments. It will be nice to know someone, anyone is out there reading my nonsense. Let's Go (Baltimore) Colts!

Colts Cards.. the Beginning, the early 50s

 1950 Bowman #112 Billy Stone

As I worked to complete the Baltimore Colts vintage card checklist I toyed with different ideas about presenting it here. I fully realize that football posts don't get much readership but then again if it was readership I was after I'd stick to newer baseball stuff. I decided just to post what I felt like posting and have fun with it. So there ya go. I've posted at least two for each decade of the team's history, showing the evolution of the cards. I scanned a variety of cards within each set to give a good idea of the set's 'flavor'.

Most of the emphasis is on the major card issues, i.e. Topps, Fleer, Bowman, and Philly Gum but I also have included cards from other sets, Kelloggs' for example, and try to show the various inserts that came with the base cards. Most of those inserts are Topps products in the 1970s.

The Colts can trace their history back quite a way. The franchise was part of the All American Football Conference which formed in 1946. But due to not being able to find a stadium deal, they folded up their tent before playing a game, 'moved' to Miami, and played there as the Seahawks. That Miami club lasted one rocky season and relocated back to Baltimore as the 'Colts' and played in the AAFL through 1949.

1950 Bowman

The AAFC merged three teams (Colts, Browns, 49ers) into the NFL in 1950,  and thus began the life of the team I grew up worshiping. The 1950 Colts are represented in the only major football set of that season, the gorgeous Bowman effort.

 1950 Bowman #77 Bob Kelly

The Colts were still wearing green and white back then and the cards were the 'standard Bowman size' and featured painted photos. There is a fairly even mix of horizontal and vertical orientation among the cards. The backs were printed in blue, red, and black with basic player info and a paragraph of text. The back is dominated, at least visually, by the Bowman 'Five Star Football Series' logo.

The Colts finished the 1950 season with a 1-11 mark and they were disbanded by the NFL. Two seasons of no football in Baltimore followed before the Colts re-entered the league carrying the shell of the Dallas Texans franchise. 1953 is considered the first year of the long-time Colts franchise. Bowman once again produced an NFL set. That year the cards were larger, and the 'standard' size matched the baseball sets of the day.

1953 Bowman

The '53 Colts inherited the colors (blue and white) and some of the players of the defunct Dallas Texans franchise.

 1953 Bowman #19 George Taliaferro

 1953 Bowman #30 Buddy Young

1953 Bowman #8 Sisto Averno

There are only six Colts in the 96-card Bowman set of 1953. Like the 1950 set,  there is an assortment of horizontal and vertical cards. The big white football with name and team dominates each card. The backs, printed in red and black feature names, card # and vitals across the top. Below that you'll find two of three elements depending on the player's position. Backs and ends have 'Records for last season' and an 'Officials Signals' cartoon. Linemen have the Officials' Signals and a Football Quiz.

1954 Bowman Colts

 1954 Bowman #14 Fred Enke

I see the '54 set as a step up from the previous season if for no other reason than the pennant which replaced the football. I'm a sucker for the old 'Colt over the crossbar' logo and it makes its first card appearance with the '54 set.

 1954 Bowman #  Tom Keane 

Most of the 11 Colts in the set are shown in posed action shots. One notable exception is Buddy Young whose portrait will be reused in the '55 set.

1954 Bowman #38 Buddy Young

The red and black backs of the cards are very similar to the '53 cards. The elements are nearly identical but they have been rearranged. 

1955 Bowman Colts

1955 Bowman #118 Royce Womble

In the final year of Bowman football (they were bought out by Topps for 1956) they departed from the two previous issues. There are ten Colts in the set and they are shown with a 'halo effect' on a background that can only be described as red/pink/orange.

1955 Bowman #20 Bert Rechichar

Most of the cards are posed action shots but again Buddy Young had the close-up portrait. The background on Young's card isn't as vibrant as the others and his photo is 'washed out' a bit. I thought it was just my copy but it's the same on every one I find to some extent.

 1955 Bowman #65 Buddy Young 

In their last set, Bowman changes the orientation of the card back to horizontal. But other than that the backs are very similar. Colors and elements are about the same as in the previous three years. 

NFL-licensed

Topps took over production of the NFL-licensed cards in 1956 and their first set is very reminiscent of Bowman's last one. That Topps '56 set will kick off the next post in this little series.