Merry Christmas, everyone! And happy 80th birthday to Howard Twilley! Twilley was a wide receiver from 1966 to 1976 for the Miami Dolphins. He played in Super Bowls VI, VII, and VIII: a loss to the Dallas Cowboys and wins over the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings. The win over the Redskins in Super Bowl VII capped off the Dolphins’ perfect 17-0 season.
Twilley also had a stellar college career at the University of Tulsa. In 1965, he set NCAA records for receptions in a season, with 134, and receiving yards in a season, with 1779. Both records stood for over 20 years. The same season, Twilley finished second to Mike Garrett in voting for the Heisman Trophy. (See the Gallery’s page of football cards of Heisman candidates.) He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Today’s card of the day is Twilley’s 1967 Royal Castle Dolphins card, issued a year before his first Topps card. This is actually one of the easier cards in the set to find, though none of them are plentiful. The short prints in the Royal Castle set seldom come up for sale.
Not surprisingly, Twilley appeared on a bunch of other cards, as well. You can see all of them in the Gallery.
