Tag Archives: NFL 1960’s all decade team

AFL, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Mackey, John (1941-2011)

CARD: Upper Deck Legends 1997
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2020

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • John Mackey played RB and WR at Syracuse from 1960-’62.
  • He rushed for 259 yards on 58 carries, scoring 2 TDs while catching 27 passes for 481 yards and 6 TDs over his college career.
  • Selected by the Baltimore Colts in the second round of the 1963 NFL Draft.
  • Made an immediate impact as a TE, catching 35 passes for 726 yards and 7 TDs.
  • Over the next 7 following seasons- he never failed to reach 400 yards or catch at least 22 passes.
  • In ’65 he had 30 catches for 814 yards and 7 TDs.
  • Then in ’66 he caught 50 passes for a career high 829 yards and 9 TDs.
  • Finally in ’67 Mackey caught a career high 55 passes.
  • Caught an acrobatic75 yard TD from Johnny Unitas in Super Bowl V over the Dallas Cowboys.
  • He’d play with the Colts through the 1971 season.
  • After an acrimonious departure from Baltimore, Mackey played a final season in 1972 with the San Diego Chargers.
  • A knee injury ended his career- but over that period he played in 139 out of a possible 140 games- a testament to his durability.

ACCOLADES:

  • Syracuse Orangemen #88 retired
  • NFL 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
  • NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
  • NFL 1960s All-Decade Team
  • Pro Bowl 1963, ’65-68
  • All Pro 1966-1968
  • Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame
  • 100 Greatest Football Players
  • Nassau County High School Athletic Hall of Fame

NOTES:

John Mackey is considered one of the greatest tight ends of all time and he was the second pure TE inducted into the HoF in 1992. He revolutionized the position with his combination speed and power.

He was also instrumental in unionizing the players into the NFLPA, serving as the group’s first president after the merger, and held that capacity from 1970-’73. (He was blackballed at the end of his career, but squeezed out a final year in San Diego.) Mackey organized the first labor strike, and helped overturn the ‘Rozelle Rule’ (which was in regards to free agency).

Frontotemporal dementia entered his life and it became harder and harder for him to function, and after a few bizarre social episodes, he entered full-time assisted living. Mackey’s wife reached out to Paul Tagliabue, who then worked with then current NFLPA president Gene Upshaw to create a new plan that would help cover the cost of former NFL players struggling with dementia and Alzheimer’s. It was called the ’88 Plan’ in Mackey’s honor.

In a final note, it’s very important with Mackey to make sure that you are getting a certified autograph of his- as there is a bustling market of fake autographs of his circulating in the wild.

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EPITAPH:

7/6/2011- John Mackey passed away at the age of 69. His brain was posthumously donated to science, where it was discovered he suffered from CTE.

NFL

Meador, Ed (1937-2023)

Cards: Topps 1969, Action Packed Whizzer White Award 1991
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 1/17 Received: 1/28 (11 days)

Ed Meador is not a household name outside of the banner guard of the pre-St. Louis Los Angeles Rams, however he has an impressive resume, that has somehow slipped past Pro Football HoF induction.

Ed played for Arkansas Tech from 1955-1958. Back then players went both ways, and Meador distinguished himself as both a dangerous defensive back, but also as a top flight runner and return man. An all-conference selection 3 times, and Little American his Senior year, Ed was co-captain of the squad know as ‘The Wonder Boys’, and scored 272 career points over his time at Tech. He’d be selected in the 7th round of the 1969 NFL Draft.

The rest is history. He’d spend time returning kicks, holding kicks, and playing defensive back. After seeing time early in his career at corner, the Rams switched him to Free Safety where he excelled. Nicknamed ‘The Rams Little Assassin’, Ed owns multiple Rams career records to this day including interceptions (46), fumble recoveries (18), and blocked kicks (10). A 6 time Pro Bowler (1960, 1964-1968), 6 time First or Second Team All-Pro, and a member of the NFL 1960s All-Decade team, it is surprising that Meador’s name has not received a Canton induction.

In addition to his numerous on the field accomplishments, Ed won the NFLPA Byron Whizzer White Award in 1969. Retiring after 1970, Meador was inducted into the Arkansas Sports HoF in 1978, and worked in real estate for a few years before edging his way into jewelry.

Ed signed these two cards of his pretty quickly. Oddly enough both of these cards represent sets that I only had one other card from those sets signed, and they were both acquired many, many years ago. I wasn’t really a fan of Topps 1969. It strictly is more about the player than the design, and with limited technology to do so back then, this card just comes off very plain. The Action Packed 1991 Whizzer White card is really nice though. The only tweaks they did from the base 91 set is changing the marquee to a silver color and adding the helmeted year of the winner on it. It’s a great card of Ed and I am glad that he could sign it for me- even if it was in a ball point pen.

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EPITAPH:

09/06/23- Ed Meador passed away today at the grand old age of 86. No cause of death was given. He recently made it into the semifinalists of the 2024 NFL HoF Seniors class, but was not inducted.

The drive to get him into the HoF hasn’t stopped with his passing though. You can visit his website at http://www.edmeador21.com/ for more information.

NFL, Pro Football HoF

Taylor, Jim (1935-2018)

Card: Topps 1965
Acquired: In Person 1993, (Signing fee)

One of the best rushing fullbacks in the NFL’s history before the AFL merger, Jim Taylor was drafted in 1958 by the Green Bay Packers after winning the MVP honors of the NCAA Senior Bowl. Jim would be overshadowed by teammates Bart Starr and Jim Hornug, and NFL rushing champion Jim Brown, but Taylor would win the rushing record in 1962 -the only season Jim Brown failed to. Taylor was a winner of the NFL championship in 1961 and 1962.  He’d later score the first rushing touchdown in SuperBowl I enroute to the team’s victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. A 6 time All Pro selection and 5 time Pro Bowl selection, Jim was a member of the 1960s All Decade team. Taylor was also a durable, brutal hitter, who was quite effective out of the backfield on swing passes (and made 1,000 yard seasons on a 14 game schedule regularly).In his final season in the league in 1967 he’d be traded to the expansion New Orleans Saints – retiring at season’s end.  Jim was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976 and his most outstanding memory of playing was being named the league MVP in 1962. Taylor has also been inducted into the Wisconsin and Packers HoF. Recently Jim was named the best player in NFL history to wear the #31. Josh and I drove downtown to the Austin Convention Center where there was a card show where Taylor was at. We were two of the first people there and Jim gave me a big handshake where he almost crushed my fingers. Taylor was selected by the Green Bay Packers to announce their 2nd round draft choice in 2011.

G 132   Att 1941    Yds 8597    Avg 4.4   Td 83   lg 84    |   Rec 225   Yds 1756    Avg 7.8   Td 10   lg 41

UPDATE: 10/13/18- Jim Taylor passed away early on Saturday morning at the age of 83.