1956 Parkhurst Football Cards

There are 50 cards in the 1956 Parkhurst Canadian football card set. The cards are printed on photo stock. The fronts of the cards came undeveloped, and the packs included squares of developing paper for revealing the images. The backs of the cards, which did not have to be developed, contain short bios of the players.

The set contains 10 cards for each of 5 teams: the Montreal Alouettes of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU), and the Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). Four teams from the IRFU and WIFU were omitted: the BC Lions, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Ottawa Rough Riders, and Toronto Argonauts. I don't know the reason for the omission; perhaps Parkhurst planned a second series but did not produce it.

In the 1956 Grey Cup, Edmonton, the WIFU champion, defeated Montreal, the IRFU champion, 50-27. Two years later, on January 19, 1958, the two unions formed the Canadian Football League.

Image Set #Card Title/Players Pro Team Position College Honors Notes Grades available at Nearmint Sports Cards
1956 Parkhurst Art Walker 1956 Parkhurst 1 Art Walker Edmonton Eskimos guard Michigan
1956 Parkhurst Frank Anderson 1956 Parkhurst 2 Frank Anderson Edmonton Eskimos tackle Oklahoma
1956 Parkhurst Normie Kwong 1956 Parkhurst 3 Normie Kwong Edmonton Eskimos fullback Canadian Football Hall of Fame 1969 Kwong served as the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 2005 to 2010.
1956 Parkhurst John Bright 1956 Parkhurst 4 John Bright Edmonton Eskimos halfback Drake Canadian Football Hall of Fame 1970, College Hall of Fame 1984
1956 Parkhurst Jackie Parker 1956 Parkhurst 5 Jackie Parker Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mississippi Canadian Football Hall of Fame 1971, College Hall of Fame 1976
1956 Parkhurst Bob Dean 1956 Parkhurst 6 Bob Dean Edmonton Eskimos kicker, tackle Maryland
1956 Parkhurst Don Getty 1956 Parkhurst 7 Don Getty Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Western Ontario
1956 Parkhurst Rollie Miles 1956 Parkhurst 8 Rollie Miles Edmonton Eskimos running back, defensive back St. Augustine Canadian Football Hall of Fame 1980
1956 Parkhurst Ted Tully 1956 Parkhurst 9 Ted Tully Edmonton Eskimos linebacker, guard
1956 Parkhurst Frank Morris 1956 Parkhurst 10 Frank Morris Edmonton Eskimos guard Canadian Football Hall of Fame 1983
1956 Parkhurst Martin Ruby 1956 Parkhurst 11 Martin Ruby Saskatchewan Roughriders tackle Texas A and M Canadian Football Hall of Fame 1974
1956 Parkhurst Mel Becket 1956 Parkhurst 12 Mel Becket Saskatchewan Roughriders center, tight end Indiana Error card

Becket's last name is misspelled "Beckett" on the back of this card. On December 9, 1956, Becket died in a plane crash with four other Canadian football players: Gordon Sturtridge, Mario DeMarco, Ray Syrnyk, and Cal Jones.
1956 Parkhurst Bill Clarke 1956 Parkhurst 13 Bill Clarke Saskatchewan Roughriders tackle Canadian Football Hall of Fame 1996
1956 Parkhurst John Wozniak 1956 Parkhurst 14 John Wozniak Saskatchewan Roughriders guard Alabama
1956 Parkhurst Larry Isbell 1956 Parkhurst 15 Larry Isbell Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back, punter Baylor Isbell's older brother, Cecil Isbell, is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
1956 Parkhurst Ken Carpenter 1956 Parkhurst 16 Ken Carpenter Saskatchewan Roughriders halfback Oregon State
1956 Parkhurst Sully Glasser 1956 Parkhurst 17 Sully Glasser Saskatchewan Roughriders running back
1956 Parkhurst Bob Marlow 1956 Parkhurst 18 Bob Marlow Saskatchewan Roughriders halfback Alabama
1956 Parkhurst Paul Anderson 1956 Parkhurst 19 Paul Anderson Saskatchewan Roughriders tackle
1956 Parkhurst Gordon Sturtridge 1956 Parkhurst 20 Gordon Sturtridge Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive end St. Boniface On December 9, 1956, Sturtridge died in a plane crash with four other Canadian football players: Mel Becket, Mario DeMarco, Ray Syrnyk, and Cal Jones.
1956 Parkhurst Alex Macklin 1956 Parkhurst 21 Alex Macklin Calgary Stampeders guard, tackle Toronto
1956 Parkhurst Duke Cook 1956 Parkhurst 22 Duke Cook Calgary Stampeders center Trinity
1956 Parkhurst Bill Stevenson 1956 Parkhurst 23 Bill Stevenson Calgary Stampeders quarterback Toronto
1956 Parkhurst Lynn Bottoms 1956 Parkhurst 24 Lynn Bottoms Calgary Stampeders halfback Washington
1956 Parkhurst Aramis Dandoy 1956 Parkhurst 25 Aramis Dandoy Calgary Stampeders halfback USC Dandoy still holds the Rose Bowl record for longest punt return. He returned a punt for 86 yards and a touchdown against Ohio State in 1955.