Category Archives: Pro Football HoF

Little, Floyd ‘The Franchise’ (1942-2021)

Action Packed Whizzer White 1991, #8

CARDS: Upper Deck Legends 1997, Upper Deck College Legends 2011, Panini HoF 2010, Action Packed Whizzer White Award 1991
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, C/o Home
SENT: 6/6/20 RECEIVED: 6/18/20 (12 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Floyd Little played at Syracuse where from 1964 to 1966, he ran for 2,704 yards and 46 TDs.
  • He’d be the 6th overall pick in the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft of the Denver Broncos.
  • In his first two years in the AFL, Floyd led the league in All-Purpose Yards, with 1626 in 1967 and 1,825 in 1968.
  • He led the league in yards per game in both 1969 (81.0) and 1971 (80.9).
  • His best season arguably came in 1971 when Floyd had a career high and league leading 284 carries, 310 touches, 1,133 yards, and 1,388 yards from scrimmage.
  • Little’s 1,113 rushing yards were the first time a member of the team had broken the 1k rushing barrier.
  • Floyd led the NFL in TDs in 1973 with 12 TDs.
  • After starting 105 games, Floyd hung up his cleats in 1976.
  • A Syracuse great, he returned to the school in 2011 as a special assistant to the athletic director- a position he held until 2016 when he retired to Las Vegas.

ACCOLADES:

  • Pro Football Hall of Fame 2010
  • College Football Hall of Fame
  • Broncos Ring of Fame 1984
  • Hall of Very Good 2005
  • All Pro 1969
  • Pro Bowl 1968-’71, ’73
  • Denver Broncos #44 retired
  • Syracuse Orange #44 retired
Panini Hall of Fame 2010, #5

NOTES:

Here’s a great example of how trading cards educate us about football history. I wouldn’t have really stumbled onto Floyd if I hadn’t collected the Action Packed Whizzer White set. So I chased a rabbit down the hole learning all I could about him, and then decided to go ahead donate some money to his cancer treatments and ask for his autograph on a few cards. He signed the three I included lightning fast, and included the HoF Panini card as a thank-you.

Floyd is nicknamed ‘The Franchise’ because he was instrumental in the Broncos staying in Denver. The team struggled badly in its initial years and Little helped put the team on the map by signing with them. He also helped champion the building of Mile High Stadium through his Herculaneum efforts every week for the team.

RUSHYDSAVGTDLG
164163233.94380t
RECYDSAVGTDLG
215241811.2974
KRYDSAVGTDLG
8189311.0281t
RECYDSAVGTDLG
104252324.3089

EPITAPH:

1/2/2021- Floyd Little’s family announced that he had passed away from cancer after a years’ long battle with the disease, at his home in Las Vegas with them by his side. He was 78.

Tarkenton, Fran ‘The Scrambler’

CARDS: Upper Deck Legends 1997, Topps 1970
ACQUIRED: TTM 2020, C/o Home
SENT: 9/23/20 RECEIVED: 10/31/20 (38 days)*
* Fee enclosed

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Fran Tarkenton played college ball at Georgia from 1958-’60.
  • At QB over 3 years he completed 186 of 317 passes for 2100 yards and 18 TDs to 20 INT.
  • In 1961 was a 3rd round pick of the then expansion Minnesota Vikings.
  • Came off the bench in his first game and threw for 4 TDs and rushed for another in a comeback win.
  • Rushed for a career high 5 TDs his rookie year.
  • His 89 yard completion in 1962 led the NFL.
  • Displayed his gift for running out of the pocket early on- becoming one of the first modern hybrid scrambling QBs.
  • In ’64 passed for 2506 yards and 22 TDs to 11 INT as Tarkenton led the Vikings to an 8-5-1 record.
  • Traded to Giants in 1967.
  • Threw for a career high 3,088 yards and 29 TDs that year.
  • Traded back to the Vikings in 1972.
  • During the 70s, alongside the Purple People Eaters, led the Vikings to two 12-2 records, and a 10-2-1 record enroute to the 3 Super Bowl appearances,
  • Led NFL in Attempts in 1975, ’76, ’78, completions in ’75 and ’78 and completion percentage in 1977.
  • Finished out on top in 1978 with 3468 yards passing and retired after the season- his 18th in the NFL
  • At the time of his retirement, owned many of the NFL career passing records.
  • Moved into business, public speaking, commentating, acting, wrote self help books, and an annuity market firm.

ACCOLADES:

  • Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
  • College Football Hall of Fame
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame
  • All Pro 1975
  • NFL MVP 1975
  • NFL Offensive Player of the Year 1875
  • Pro Bowl 1964-’65, 1967-’70, 1974-’76
  • Minnesota Vikings 25th Anniversary Team
  • Minnesota Vikings 40th Anniversary Team
  • 50 Greatest Vikings
  • Vikings #10 Jersey Retired
  • Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor

NOTES:

Fran Tarkenton with Cathy Lee Crosby on ‘That’s Incredible’ alongside Hopper the Frog

Fran Tarkenton was a very comfortable voice during my childhood, in which I wasn’t really familiar with him from football post retirement but from his stint as a host on the show ‘That’s Incredible’. It only lasted one season in the 80’s but the format, some of the segments, the hosts and the theme music stuck with me over the years.

ATTCPDYDSPCT
646736864700357.0
TDINTRATLG
34226680.489
RUSHYDSAVGTDLG
67536745.43252

Shell, Donnie

Upper Deck Legends 1997, #AL-24

CARD: Upper Deck Legends 1997
ACQUIRED: Ebay, 2022

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Donnie Shell played DB at South Carolina State.
  • He’d sign as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974.
  • A key member of the secondary during the heyday of the Steel Curtain, Shell became a fulltime starter in 1977.
  • Had 6 seasons in a row of 5 or more interceptions from 1979-’84.
  • Widely regarded as one of the greatest FS during the Dead Ball Era.
  • Played 14 seasons for the the Steelers retiring after the 1987 season and 201 games.
  • At the time of his retirement, Donnie was the all-time leader at FS in interceptions, with 51.
  • Jumped into the front office after retirement working with the Carolina Panthers as the Director of Pro Player Personnel from 1994-’09.

ACCOLADES:

  • Pro Football Hall of Fame 2020
  • PFRA 2013 Class of Very Good
  • College Football Hall of Fame
  • Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team
  • Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor
  • Pro Bowl 1978-’82
  • All Pro 1979, 1980, 1982

NOTES:

Donnie was long overdue for PFHOF recognition which only underscores how disrespected the position is held by voters.

TACSACFUMINTYDSAVGTDLG
N/a9.519514909.6267