Happy 75th birthday to Cotton Speyrer! Speyrer played wide receiver for three seasons with the Baltimore Colts and one with the Miami Dolphins. His best season was 1973, when he caught 17 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns for the Colts. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown and threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Glenn Doughty.
Prior to his pro career, Speyrer played college football at the University of Texas. He was a member of the 1969 Texas team that beat Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl, finished 11-0, and won the NCAA National Championship.
Speyrer’s legal first name is Charles. According to a “Catching Up With” article at texassports.com, he was nicknamed “Cotton” because he had white hair as a child.
Today’s card of the day is Speyrer’s rookie card, a 1974 Topps. This was his only card as a pro, but he appeared later on a bunch of Texas Longhorns tribute cards.