Tag Archives: topps 1970

Hanburger, Chris ‘The Hangman’

Card: Topps 1970
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 7/9 Received: 7/19      (10 days)

Chris Hanburger thought the door had closed on his attempts to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame- so he was pleasantly surprised to get the nod as a Seniors candidate in 2011. It’s a great story really. Chris has been so good to the TTM community and fans for years, so it was long overdue that the Redskins linebacker received the honor after his accolade laden career concluded. 

I mean, who knows if much was expected from the little known 18th round selection out of North Carolina in 1965. Regardless, Chris put together a remarkable 14 year career with 9 Pro Bowl nominations (1966-1969, 1972-1976) and All-Pro Honors (69, 72, 73, and 75) setting the standard for professional play at outside linebacker, durability (135 straight games started), and as a member of the Redskins’ Over the Hill Gang.

I had been wanting to get Chris’ autograph for a while, but had to find the perfect card to get signed. I had no clue that he had a Topps 1970- but considering that he was playing during that period, I should have assumed that there was this great golden era card. It was nice of him to personalize and put an inscription to the card- but it’s too bad that the inscription was slightly smudged.

G/GSTACSACFUMINTYDSAVGTDLG
187/177N/AN/A171934718.3245

Barney, Lem


Cards: Topps 1970, Upper Deck Legends 1997, ProLine 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent:  6/11    Received:  6/25        (14 days)*
* Donation included

When you talk about a player- a throwback- somebody who played for ‘the love of the game first’, one of the first names that should come to mind, is Hall of Fame inductee Lem Barney.  One of the greats of his position it just so happened he played in a studded secondary with Dick LeBeau and Dick ‘Night Train’ Lane while with the Detroit Lions.  Lem did it all for the Lions from 1967 to 1977, playing corner, return man, and even moonlighting as a punter. A man about town, Lem was good friends with singer Marvin Gaye, and had a great set of pipes, singing backup on one of Gaye’s tunes, and tried his hand in acting as well.

His first season in the NFL was- well- easy.  He led the NFL in interceptions with 10, returned 3 of them for TDs and earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Honors. Over the next 3 following seasons, Lem added 22 more interceptions to his resume.  During his storied career he posted 11 career touchdowns on 7 interceptions, a kick off return, a blocked FG, and 2 punt returns, earning all-NFL Honors in 1968, 1969, 1972, and 1975.

It’s surprising that Barney did not attract more attention before he was selected by the Lions in the second round. Playing for Jackson State, Lem racked up 26 interceptions, and earned All-Southwestern Athletic Conference Honors.

His career came to a ignominious halt in 1978 after he was heard on tape during a wiretap investigation. While Barney was not part of the investigation, the press focused squarely on him which may have made both the Lions and other NFL teams skittish to sign him. Lem retired in 1979.

That didn’t stop Barney from accomplishing all the things he wanted to do in life however. He has spent a lot of his time in PR, marketing, and broadcasting. Lem is good to the TTM community, however he requires a $15.00 fee. It was very kind of him to inscribe these cards with his HOF information, although- unlike most collectors it’s appreciated but not necessary.

As far as these cards go, Barney had very few actual action shots because well Topps didn’t go out of their way back then, so in steps my favorite classic set Topps 1970 with that great press pass looking image of Lem. I can’t really complain. The Upper Deck Legends card was a really clean action shot of Lem- and it is a set I like to get as well. The design of the card (on the front) is almost second to none and has been emulated over the years. The ProLine NFL Throwback was a curious choice for the third autograph. I always maligned the set, because it was the NFL- but it typically was NFL players doing things other than NFL, so it was sort of an oddity at the time of collecting in the early 90s. This card of Lem however, with the trench coat and bowler hat is absolutely classy, and it seems to really capture the style and the subliminal statement that the set was trying to project on the canvas in encapsulating the players’ voices.

G/Gs 140/136     TAC  N/a     SAC N/a     FUM 25
INT 56        YDS 1077       AVG 19.2      TD   7     LG 71T

KR  50     YDS  1274     AVG 25.5     TD 1    LG 98T
PR   143    YDS 1312   AVG 9.2        TD  2    LG 74T

P 113     YDS   4006     AVG 35.5    LG 55   BLK 1

Trumpy, Bob

Cards: Topps 1970, Upper Deck Legends 1997
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent:  1/2/2018        Received: 3/8/2018   (60 days)

A Cincinnati legend, Bob Trumpy is a great example of the early AFL/ NFL reaching for a player whose primary sport was basketball. A surprise 12th round pick of the expansion Cincinnati Bengals in 1968, Trumpy didn’t have that much in the way of stats.  He played for Illinois in 1964 as a wide receiver. – There he had 28 receptions for 428 yards and 2 TDs, and then later In 1966 he played one additional year at Utah catching 9 passes for 159 yards and 2 TDs.

Trumpy had 2 things really going for him from the get go. First, he was an imposing specimen at 6’6″, 230, and secondly, the Bengals expansion franchise was pretty well stocked with veterans, so everyday Bob had to go out there and impress people.  Bob played 10 seasons for the Bengals putting together solid numbers during the ‘dead ball’ era of football. He’d earn 4 Pro Bowl nominations (1968, 1969, 1970, and 1973), and one All Pro nod in 1969- his best season as a pro when he had 37 receptions for 835 yards and 9 touchdowns, including an 80 yard strike. He’d retire after the 1977 season, but find his calling quickly in broadcasting.

Cincinnati loved Trumpy- so much so that he became a mainstay radio personality. Later Bob moved onto the national stage as a network color man. That’s where I became familiar with ol’ Trumpy. He did great color work during the ’80s for the then AFC Central on NBC Sports. Frequently Bob would call a play before it’d happen, or mention that some player hasn’t caught a pass in 6 games and is over due, and then all of a sudden the quarterback would throw a completion towards that overlooked player. He really was a marvel to listen to, and was especially in his element when paired up with Don Criqui or Dick Enberg.

A few months ago, I happened to catch an old rebroadcast of the infamous 1988 Wild Card Playoff slugout between the Cleveland Browns and Houston Oilers. The aforementioned team was assigned announcing and color duties and the game would end up going down in infamy. As the antics of Jerry Glanville went into overdrive, this game proved to be the final game of the Schottenheimer Era in Cleveland. It was an amazing game full of heroes, villains, and a pulse pounding finale. To this day, I still remember the game and consider it an epitome of a sports classic from the old rough and tumble of the AFC Central.

Bob continued in broadcasting for many years and in 2014 was awarded the Pete Rozelle Radio- Television award for outstanding longtime contributions to TV in radio in the realm of professional football, by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

G/Gs 128/121        Rec 298      Yds 4600      Avg 15.4       TD 35    Lg 80T