Olympic Athletes on Vintage Football Cards

Profootballnetwork.com has a list of pro football players who competed in the Olympics. Perusing the list, I recognized many of the players from vintage football cards. Following are the players who appear in the Gallery:

Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon in the Stockholm Olympics in 1912. In 1913, the International Olympic Committee took the medals away when they learned that Thorpe had played minor league baseball (and thus had been a professional athlete) before participating in the Olympics. In 1982, Thorpe's family succeeded in having his medals restored.

Thorpe played professional football from 1915 to 1928, for six different teams. He was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 1963. Thorpe also played professional baseball--including seven seasons in the major leagues--from 1909 to 1922. The card pictured here is his rookie card, from the 1933 Sport Kings multi-sport set.

1933 Sport Kings #6: Jim Thorpe

Harold "Brick" Muller

Brick Muller took a silver medal in the high jump at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp. He played and coached one season in the NFL, 1926, for the Los Angeles Buccaneers. (The Buccaneers lasted just one season in the NFL.) Like Jim Thorpe, in 1951 he was among the inaugural class of players elected to College Football Hall of Fame. Muller is shown here on his 1926 Spalding Champions card. He also appeared on a 1955 Topps All-American football card.

1926 Spalding Champions #9: Brick Muller

Jack Riley

Jack Riley won a silver medal in wrestling in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. Riley also starred in football: He was an All-American tackle with Northwestern University in 1931, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988. After college, Riley played one season for the NFL's Boston Redskins. His 1954 Quaker Sports Oddities card, pictured here, shows him in both sports.

1954 Quaker Sports Oddities #16: Jack Riley

Clyde Scott

Clyde Scott won a silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles in the 1948 Olympics in London. He played four seasons in the NFL as a running back and defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. He appeared on the 1950 Bowman card pictured here, and on a 1951 Bowman card. According to Scott's profile on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas web site, the readers of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette named Scott the state's Athlete of the Century in 2000.

1950 Bowman #60: Clyde Scott

Ollie Matson

Ollie Matson won a bronze medal in the 400 meters and a silver in the 1600 meter relay in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. He then had a fourteen-year, Hall of Fame career in the NFL. Matson appeared on a lot of cards. Pictured here is his 1962 Topps card.

1962 Topps #79: Ollie Matson

Bob Simpson

Bob Simpson, who played for the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1950 to 1962, was a member of the Canadian basketball team in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. The Canadians finished in a four-way tie for thirteenth in the competition. Simpson is shown here on his 1960 Topps CFL card, looking like he's shooting a layup. Simpson was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1976.

1960 Topps CFL #65: Bob Simpson

Frank Budd

Frank Budd participated in two events in the 1960 Olympics in Rome: He finished fifth in the 100-meter dash, and he ran on the 4 x 100 relay team, which was disqualified. He fared better in 1961, when he set new world records for the 100-yard dash and the 220-yard dash.

Budd then played one season for the Philadelphia Eagles, one for the Washington Redskins, and two for the CFL's Calgary Stampeders. To my knowledge, he did not appear on a football card, but he did appear on a 1964 Redskins Coke Cap, pictured here.

1964 Coke Caps Redskins #4: Frank Budd

Bo Roberson

Bo Roberson took silver in the long jump in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, missing the gold medal by a centimeter. He then played six seasons in the American Football League, for four different teams. His 1966 Topps card is pictured here. According to a his profile at ivy50.com, after football, Roberson attended law school, earned a master's degree at Whitworth College, and earned his doctorate degree at age 58. Wow!

1966 Topps #83: Bo Roberson

Ray Norton

Ray Norton placed sixth in the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, and he also ran in the 100x4 relay. He then played two seasons, 1960 and 1961, for the San Francisco 49ers. Norton is shown here on his 1961 Fleer Wallet Picture. He also appeared, in the same pose, on a regular issue 1961 Fleer card.

1961 Fleer Wallet Pictures #101: Ray Norton

Bob Hayes

"Bullet" Bob Hayes won two gold medals in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, in the 100 meter sprint and 400 meter relay. Hayes then played wide receiver for eleven years for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, and he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Hayes appeared on many football cards; the one pictured here is a 1971 Topps Game card.

1971 Topps Game #16: Bob Hayes

Henry Carr

Henry Carr also won two gold medals in the 1964 Tokyo Games, in the 200 meter sprint and 1600 meter relay. The New York Giants then signed Carr, primarily to cover Bob Hayes. Carr spent three years with the Giants, the highlight of his career being a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown in 1966. His 1966 Philadelphia card is pictured here.

1966 Philadelphia #120: Henry Carr

Randy Dean

Randy Dean and his twin brother Robert played on the 1976 U.S. Olympic handball team, which finished 10th in the competition. The brothers were also teammates on the Northwestern University football team. Randy played three seasons for the New York Giants; he's shown here on his 1979 Topps card.

1979 Topps #228: Randy Dean

Homer Jones--Not!

The cartoon on the back of Homer Jones's 1968 Topps card says that "Homer defeated the Russians in the 1960 Olympics." He apparently didn't, though: I couldn't find any reference saying that Jones had even competed in the Olympics. Jones was a star sprinter at Texas Southern, and he might have defeated the Russians in some competition, but it doesn't appear to have been in the Olympic Games. (According to his Wikipedia page, however, Jones did invent the touchdown spike, which is "said to be the origin of post-touchdown celebrations." While not quite beating the Russians, that's still quite a legacy.)

1968 Topps Homer Jones football card back

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