Philadelphia Eagles

These are the cards for the 1971 Eagles. You may be wondering why there is no quarterback card. Long-time veteran Norm Snead was traded to the Vikings in the off-season, and appears on a Vikings card (but in an Eagles' jersey). Snead was replaced by CFL quarterback Pete Liske, but not until just before training camp.

Aside from not including a quarterback, the position allocation seems a little strange here: 3 running backs, 2 wide receivers (including kick returner Billy Walik instead of veteran starter Ben Hawkins), no offensive linemen, and no middle linebacker.

Except for Tom Woodeshick, Harold Jackson, and Tim Rossovich, all of the cards here are the player's rookie card. The 1970 rookies (Lee Bouggess, Walik, Mark Moseley) appear in the team's current jerseys. Others are shown in the late-1960s' Eagles jersey with stripes around the shoulders.

I noticed today that although each player's card back contains a long narrative, most of them go into great detail about the player's college career, with only a sentence about their NFL accomplishments. I guess because it's the early-70s Eagles!


Cyril Pinder - Cyril was the Eagles' #2 pick in 1968, and worked his way up to starting halfback in 1970, leading the team in rushing. However he didn't make the team in 1971 (?!?) and was traded to the Bears. After 2 seasons in Chicago, he ended his career in 1973 with the Cowboys.


Lee Bouggess - The Eagles' #3 pick in the 1970 draft, Bouggess was the team's starting fullback for his first 2 seasons, and was the Eagles' 2nd-leading rusher as a rookie, with 401 yards. After missing the 1972 season with injuries, he returned for 1 final season with the Eagles in 1973, as a backup.


Tom Woodeshick - Tom was drafted by the Eagles in 1963, and after 4 seasons as a backup, he was the starting fullback from 1967-69. Woodeshick made the Pro Bowl in 1968, the year he rushed for 947 yards. He was the 2nd-string fullback behind Bouggess from 1970-71, and wrapped up his career with the Cardinals in 1972.


Harold Jackson - Harold was one of the few stars on the Eagles in 1971. Drafted by the Rams in 1968, he was a starter for the Eagles from 1969-72, and led the NFL in receiving yards in 1969 and 1972. After the 1972 season, he returned to the Rams in the Roman Gabriel trade. Jackson played 5 more seasons for the Rams, and 4 with the Patriots. He finished as a backup with the Vikings (1982) and Seahawks (1983).


Billy Walik - Walik's NFL career consisted of 3 seasons (1970-72) with the Eagles as a kick returner and occasional punt returner. I'm not sure why he has a card, as he never scored on a return, and he rarely lined up as a receiver. (Meanwhile, #2 WR Ben Hawkins had over 30 catches and 4 TDs in 1970, but no card in 1971.)


Mark Moseley - Oh, what could have been! Moseley was drafted by the Eagles in 1970, and after a poor rookie season (56% of field goals made) where he was also pressed into service as a punter due to injuries, the Eagles gave up on him. After 2 seasons with the Oilers, Mark went on to kick for the Redskins for 12 years, leading the NFL in field goals 4 times.


Tim Rossovich - The Eagles' #1 pick in the 1968 draft was probably more notable for his off-field activities (like eating glass and setting his hair on fire) than for his football accomplishments. After starting at left defensive end for 2 1/2 seasons, he moved to middle linebacker midway through the 1970 season, replacing long-time veteran Dave Lloyd. After the 1971 season, he moved on to the Chargers. Rossovich played for the WFL's Philadelphia Bell for the 1974-75 seasons, then returned to the NFL with the Oilers in 1976.

After football, Tim began acting, and appeared in various TV series, including "Magnum, P.I." (with his college roommate Tom Selleck), "MacGyver", "Knight Rider", and most notably 1980's "When the Whistle Blows".


Gary Pettigrew - Gary was the Eagles' #2 draft pick in 1966, and was a starter on their defensive line for 8-plus seasons, except for missing some time in 1969 and 1971 with injuries. He was the team's starting right end for his first 2 seasons, before moving to defensive tackle. He began his last season (1974) with the Eagles, but ended it with the Giants.

Steve Preece - Preece began his career with the Saints in 1969, but was the Eagles' starting free safety in 1970. He replaced long-time Eagles' free safety Joe Scarpati, who was traded to the Saints in a separate deal. After his 2nd season with the Eagles, Steve moved on to the Broncos and Rams before ending his career with the Seahawks in 1977.

Adrian Young - Young was the Eagles' #3 pick in 1968 out of USC, the same school where they found their #1 pick Rossovich. After 2 seasons as a backup, Adrian was a starting outside linebacker in 1970. He missed almost all of 1971 due to injury, and was traded to the Lions early in the 1972 season. He finished his career in 1973 with the Bears.

One more thing: this picture is not Adrian Young - it's Rick Duncan. Duncan punted for 1 game with the Eagles in 1968, and was invited to their 1971 training camp, but didn't make the team. Below are Young's and Duncan's pages from the Eagles 1971 yearbook.





Also check out the 1967 and 1972 Eagles.
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Denver Broncos

Here we have the 1971 Denver Broncos cards. Four of the ten players are pictured in other teams' uniforms. In the early days, the Broncos seemed like the AFL's revolving door. In their first 8 seasons, Denver finished 2-11-1 twice, 3-11 twice, and 4-10 twice. After 2 straight 5-8-1 seasons, the Broncos slipped to 4-9-1 in 1971, bringing an end to Lou Saban's 5-year tenure as head coach.


#59 Don Horn - Horn was the Packers' 1st-round draft pick in 1967, and after caddying for Bart Starr for 4 seasons, Don finally got his own gig in 1971 with the Broncos. He was Denver's 4th starting QB in 4 years, but the carousel didn't stop there. After 9 games, he lost his job to Steve Ramsey, who would be replaced in 1972 by ex-Cardinal Charlie Johnson. In 1972, Don wasted away as the Broncos' 3rd-string QB before moving on to Cleveland in 1973 and San Diego in 1974.


#110 Floyd Little - One of the few Broncos' stars of the 1960s and early 1970s, Little was Denver's 1st-round pick in 1967, and played his entire career (1967-75) with the Broncos. Floyd led the NFL in rushing with 1133 yards in 1971, and his 12 TDs in 1973 also led the league. Little was inducted in to the Hall of Fame in 2010.


#212 Bob Anderson - Bob was drafted in the 1st round by the Broncos in 1970, and played 4 seasons with them as a fullback and kick returner. After jumping to the WFL in 1974, Bob returned to the NFL in 1975 and played briefly for the Redskins and Patriots. His brother Dick was a safety with the Dolphins in the early 1970s.


#185 Sam Brunelli - Brunelli had a 6-year career with the Broncos from 1966 to 1971. He was their starting left tackle from 1967-70.


#136 Jim Turner - Turner was drafted by the Redskins in 1963 but did not make the team. Beginning in 1964, Jim played every game for the next 16 seasons, first with the Jets (1964-70) and then the Broncos (1971-79). Turner kicked for the Jets in Super Bowl III and the Broncos in Super Bowl XII. Because the back of the card said "he can also fill in at quarterback", apparently in 1971 I felt the need to update his position on the front. (He had a total of 4 passing attempts in 1967 and 1 in 1973.)


#81 Rich Jackson - Jackson was signed as a free agent in 1965 by the Raiders, but a training camp injury landed him on the taxi squad all season. He returned in 1966 as a backup linebacker for the Raiders, then was traded to the Broncos in summer 1967 and switched to defensive END. From 1967 to 1972, he was a starting defensive end for Denver, until finishing his career with the Browns in the latter part of the 1972 season.


#164 Dave Costa - Dave played 12 years in the AFL and NFL as a defensive tackle. He began with Oakland (1963-65), then Buffalo (1966), Denver (1967-71), San Diego (1972-72), and back to Buffalo (1974). He was a starter everywhere except for his 2 seasons with the Bills, and made the Pro Bowl 4 times.


#256 Cornell Gordon - Cornell played for the Jets from 1965 to 1969, finally becoming the starting right cornerback in his last season there. He also played 3 seasons with the Broncos (1970-72), and was their starting left cornerback in 1970.


#38 Paul Martha - Paul was drafted by the Steelers in the 1st round in 1964, out of the University of Pittsburgh. A seldom-used split end during his first 2 seasons, he moved to defense in 1966 when injuries decimated the Steelers, and was their starting free safety for 4 seasons. He wrapped up his career in 1970 as the Broncos' starting free safety. After football, he became an attorney, and was an executive with the San Francisco 49ers and later the Pittsburgh Penguins.

#9 Billy Van Heusen - Van Heusen was primarily a punter, and played his entire career (1968-76) with the Broncos. He was also a starting wide receiver in 1974 and 1975.


Also see the 1968 Broncos.


Next time: Green Bay Packers
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