Slingin’ Sammy Baugh

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 17, 2021

Today is St. Paddy’s day, but really…it’s the birthdate of the greatest Quarterback of all-time.

Samuel ‘Slingin Sammy’ Adrian Baugh.

Well, the greatest quarterback if you ask a Washington Redskins fan. Another notable note is that Sammy Baugh was born in Temple, Texas, just a mere 145 miles from my hometown of San Antonio…so, yeah. Why not, let’s go.

Slingin’ Sammy was beyond impressive on the gridiron. He led the way in transforming the game of football from a bruising sport led by fullbacks pounding the pig skin to downfield aerial attacks with wideouts. The game went from three yards and a cloud of dust to the greatest show on turf, mainly due in part to Sammy. His ability to re-imagine the forward pass as a means of attacking made the game exciting, action packed and brought greater scoring to the game, well…quicker scoring. Other QB’s did it at this time, but no one did it quite like Sammy. Sammy was the best.

Beyond being a tremendous quarterback, Sammy was also an accomplished defensive back and quite possibly, his most impressive feat (bad pun…sorry) of being a tremendous punter. Leading the league in all three positions during the 1943 season. That year he was the leader in pass completions, punting yard average (46) and interceptions (11). Who the hell does THAT!!??! Sammy was truly a three way player, offense, defense, special teams. Whatever he did, he did it well, well…he achieved greatness in the game that has been unmatched. Not too many guys in the history of the game have managed to excel on opposing sides of the ball, but Sammy did. Sammy was the best.

Baugh came to the Boston Redskins via the ’37 draft from Texas Christian University where he excelled at football and baseball. (Something, I never knew before was that he got the nickname ‘Slingin’ while playing baseball and not lighting up the Giants and Eagles on Sunday afternoons.) He was the 6^th pick overall that draft, an epic slide for such a phenomenal talent. He fell behind Sam Francis, Ed Goddard, Buzz Buivid, Ed Widseth and Mike Basrak. Now, I have no idea where Mel Kiper had him going, but I gotta think his draft slide was kind of a shock for everyone. He didn’t have that Aaron Rodgers kind of slide, but for five other teams to pass on a franchise quarterback must’ve caused a huge stir at the time. To that, I say the Redskins franchise were incredibly lucky that day, because…Sammy was the best.

During his 16 year career (1937-1952) he led the franchise to four football championships winning two of them in 1937 and 1942, both against George Halas’ Chicago Bears. He was also a seven time all-pro and two-time player of the year, in back to back seasons of 1947 and 1948…essentially consecutive MVP’s. Pretty impressive, again…Sammy was the best.

The greatness of Slingin Sammy can’t be stated in this blog, but hey, I’ve got some sweet cards to show off and it’s his birthday. So hope you enjoyed the brief bio and remember…Sammy was the best.

Thank you for reading and sticking with me, deadlines and life get in the way but man I love this blog. Mostly for personal reasons, but l love to share as well. Hope you all enjoy reading.

Let’s go, one more for the road…Slingin’ Sammy Baugh ya’ll!

-Cardboard Hogs

You know who is also the best? Jay-Z. Maybe not to the level of Sammy’s greatness, but excellent in his own right. So, here’s a video of Jay-Z…wearing a Sammy Baugh jersey…because Sammy was the best.

Mail week roundup and some thoughts…

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 20, 2020

I thought Sunday night would be a great time to do a weekly recap of the cards that came into my house during the week. Mostly they will be eBay pickups. Some will be from my two close-by LCS’s, Hoody’s and The Sports Room and there may even be a Sportlots delivery or COMC soon…oh yeah, possibly some Topps stuff too.

Sunday’s around our house are normally filled with chores. Chores of all kinds.

Laundry

Vacuuming

Bedroom cleaning

Yardwork

Maybe even some Washington Football Team viewing.

Washington Football Team | Sports Teams Wiki | Fandom

That last one is a must. I’m an incredibly loyal fan, ride or die with a team that’s been killing me for nearly 40 years. The good ol’ days are so far gone at this point that I can barely remember them. Good players have come and bad ones too, it’s just the ebb and flow of a team that isn’t too consistent. You get a lot of turnover during the rough years.

Well, I honestly feel like the team is beginning to make a turn for the better. Yeah, they are now 6-8 after losing 15-20 to the Seattle Seahawks this morning…but they are still in FIRST PLACE IN THE NFC EAST!!! Thanks to the Giants losing at home to Cleveland this evening. What a season, eh?

Bright spots abound for my favorite team and they are centered around this young man, at least on Defense. To see his helmet-less face, you feel the desire to card him and make sure he’s supposed to be here…maybe it’s just me being old, but he looks like he’s still in his teens.

A champion!

A leader!

The cornerstone of a defense that is on the verge of something special. Chase Young ya’ll

Being one of the worst teams the past decade plus you get to collect some great players at the top of the draft. Franchise changing players that can catapult you into a different stratosphere of winning and potentially a dynasty. Now, let me pump the brakes here. I don’t foresee this team being the next Patriots…I’m not nuts. But I do see them gaining some traction and having an impact on the league in the next 5-8 years with their young talent. The coaching staff is doing a great job and putting the team first and winning should hopefully come from that.

Along side Chase is a player that was drafted last year. A guy that I loved watching in college and was drafted in the first round of the 2019 draft. Montez Sweat. His rookie year showed lots of flashes of potential, but teaming up with Young this season has had a tremendous impact on his defensive pressure and overall play. Both are going to be so much fun to watch the next few seasons.

Another pickup from the week is a great young RB that i’m just not sure will make it in the NFL…again, i really hope he does whether it’s with Washington or somewhere else. I’d love to see him healthy and starting somewhere…the Football Team sure could have used him this week with Antonio Gibson out again. Really hoping Bryce Love can get to 100% for 2021.

The last guy I wanted to talk about was the starting QB for the game today. Dwayne Haskins Jr. Quarterbacks these days aren’t allowed to develop like they were way back in the 90’s. They are expected to start from day one and have an impact on day one. Fair or not, that’s the way it has become. Haskins is young, he’s athletic, he’s strong…but he’s young. He also was a one year starter for one of the best college teams, Ohio State. Putting up big numbers wasn’t the greatest challenge you could have every Saturday, and he took full advantage of it.

Now, don’t get me wrong here. I love Haskins and want him to be the guy. I think he can achieve an extremely high bar of success in the NFL. I just don’t think he’s there yet and I’m not sure he will get there next season either. If this was the older NFL days, he’d be on the bench for a season or two before he was thrown into the fire…he hasn’t gotten that chance. I hope he does and I hope he remains in Washington to be part of the rebuild. I would love to see Haskins Jr. hoist a Lombardi trophy next to his college teammates Young and McLaurin.

***

Thinking of Sweat and Young, I’m reminded of Keith Sweat…when I was young. Man I loved 90’s R&B.

Super Rookie Rypien

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 24, 2015

Mark Rypien.

The last Super Bowl winning Redskin QB.

The last.

1992.

Holy Nuts! it’s been a long time since my team was the best in the NFL. I was a junior in high school when the Redskins won their last Super Bowl. Now, i am not a junior in anything at all…nothing. I’m actually closer to Senior in a few things.

That’s all irrelevant to the fact that this lovely piece of junk wax was graded a Mint 9 by PSA. This one only set me back a couple dollars, not enough to buy a lunch with as Rypien isn’t a highly coveted player unless of course you are a Redskins sycophant.

Rypiens’ career wasn’t wonderful, but he had a couple good seasons with the Redskins and, oh yeah, he won the Super Bowl in a season where the offense was nearly unstoppable. Rypien has become quite the golfer and is somewhat of a local celebrity around the Pacific NW. It would be great to run in to him one day and thank him for making my junior year somewhat memorable.

Big League Clark

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 23, 2015

Here is the NFL version of Gary Clark’s rookie card. I did a post of his USFL rookie card that i picked up for free and was a wonderful addition, but as a Redskins collector, I wanted the Redskins rookie! And i got it here. This card set me back around $8-$10 or a graded 9. I saw a couple of 10’s going for $20+ which seemed a little crazy to me…and i don’t like crazy.

I remember Gary Clark being a really intense and passionate guy. This photo exemplifies that personality to it’s fullest. He seems disgruntled or maybe even pissed. I’m guessing Jay Schroeder threw a pick while Clark was wide open down the sidelines…you know how that goes.

Green Lightning

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 22, 2015

Next in line of the Redskins graded cards is Darrell Green. A man of amazing speed and quickness as well as the heart and soul of the franchise for many years. Green is also a Texan which is cool.

He is also graded and in my collection. This little gem was a graded 9 and in very nice condition although as with most of these 80’s cards it’s a tad off center, that’s not just the angle of the photo. It’s a lil off. I love the old school jersey on this card too. Reminds me of the high school football jerseys the kids used to wear with the gigantic shoulder pads. I’m really hoping Breeland can pick up the torch that hasn’t really been carried by anyone in the secondary since Green did it. The Redskins have had some wonderful talent (Bailey, Taylor) in the secondary but haven’t endured like Green has…maybe Bashaud Breeland can be the next guy.

Profile of a Monk

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 21, 2015

Art Monk.

Easily my all time favorite Redskin. Hand’s down, my favorite. I loved his humility and consistency. He is the kind of athlete I would want my kid to be, someone you can be proud of and know that he has a ton of respect for the game and has zero problems in doing the work to be great. There aren’t too many guys like this any more and I don’t think he ever really got enough respect after his career was over. But he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and when he retired was #1 on the all time catch list. That’s pretty good.

I have a couple copies of this card. One that i’ve had the longest is beaten to crap and actually has a couple of holes in it. I thought of using it for the wallet card challenge but decided against it this year but maybe next year? This card seems to be pretty perfect to my laymen’s eyes but it only yielded an 8. Guess it doesn’t really matter…i’m happy with it being slabbed and protected until i don’t want it to be slabbed anymore…kind of thought of shifting to Beckett graded cards for everything 1980’s and beyond but decided to keep it PSA. Anyone have thoughts on PSA vs. Beckett for grading modern cards? I’ve seen arguments for both sides but modern cards seem to carry greater value and graded with Beckett grading. I wasn’t a huge fan of graded cards for a while but feel that a few in my collection are a nice touch!

Joey Sunshine

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 20, 2015

Joe Theismann is one of those guys that a lot of people don’t like. He talks a lot and has strong opinions that may not always stay the same day to day. But really, who doesn’t change their mind and who doesn’t like a good story teller. For me, he was the QB for my childhood team and led my guys to back to back Super Bowls. Unfortunately, he only one the first one but should have easily won the second one over the Los Angeles Raiders. But that’s not what this is about. This is about his NFL rookie card, not his CFL Rookie card, that’s a white wale or Holy Grail if that’s what we are calling it now?

This was another pick up over the summer months and was picked up for a fairly good price. The photo is pretty terrible though? It’s dark and shadowy. Wouldn’t fly in today’s hi-tech photography and editing programs that exist, not to mention there is so much noise in the background that it really tends to detract from Joey Sunshine. Either way, it’s a lovely piece to add to my collection.

Afro Diesel

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 19, 2015

Since i’ve been getting back in to the whole blogging lifestyle, i thought it would be cool to show off some of the purchases i’ve picked up over the past few months…mostly summer pick ups.

This week i wanted to focus on the graded Redskins rookie cards. Obviously, i didn’t want to blow my budget on all of these cards but wanted something really nice to add to my collection. Initially i wanted to shoot for 9+ cards but realized very quickly that most of those cards were a little ridiculous in price, so as i’ve done with most things in my life, i lowered my expectations.

The first card is of one of my most favorite football players, John Riggins aka Riggo aka Diesel. My very first jersey was of John Riggins and his #44 when i was 7. Now, you have to understand that i grew up in San Antonio and this was the early 80’s. A time when the Cowboys rivalry with the Redskins was serious and fierce. Both teams seemed to meet in the playoffs each year and there was a lot of hatred for the Redskins where i grew up. But i didn’t care. I loved the Hogs and the Diesel.

This little gem is in pretty nice shape although the centering is off just a tad. The 8.5 seems to be a little high maybe? I’m not card grader and i was happy with the price on this one, so I couldn’t pass it up.

John Riggins was one of those players that was kind of a bad ass that would plow through the defensive line and sway defensive back away like annoying gnats. Kinda like what Marshawn Lynch has been doing in recent years. Riggo has managed to take great care of himself after retirement and stays busy. Still a little crazy and an off beat personality but he’s doing well for himself.

A New Year, A New Post

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 4, 2015

Man, oh man…it has been a very, very long time since i’ve had the time to post anything here. Not sure if anyone has checked in periodically or just assumed i’ve dropped off the face of the blogosphere earth. I still collect, i still read other blogs and i still am trying to get organized. That has been the main reason for my absence, well, that and a very active and passionate 2 year old exhausting all of my free energy. I love him dearly, but i have cards to write about…

As i mentioned, i am still doing all the things that we do as collectors and i’ve managed to make some great progress in getting organized and up to date on my checklists…thanks to a few late nights on the home computer and an extended vacation from work. My main focus has been on getting everything logged from the 1950’s-1990’s. Everything was sweet until i hit the abyss of the mid 90’s when subsets and serial numbers and various parallels became all the unreasonable rage. This was also the period of time when i put the hobby aside to be a 20 year old male. I’ve regained my focus and will have some checklists updated in the next few weeks to months as they get incorporated in to google docs.

Enough with the words. Here are some photos of a few cards from the 1950 and 1952 Bowman sets i’ve picked up the past 6 months.

Normally, bloggers like to save their best for last. Not me. This one cost a few nickels but was very much worth it to me. It’s a beautiful card and centered fairly well…the corner are in pretty nice condition too. I looked at a few 8’s that were available on eBay and were well outside what i could spend and feel ok with myself. This one wasn’t too bad and it’s in great shape.

One of the things that i wanted to do with my set was get each of the Redskins cards from 1959 and earlier graded, so i searched around and picked up what i could from eBay and from the local card shop just around the corner from me, Hoopla Sports. The guys there are great and have nice deals on what i’m looking for…this isn’t one of them though. This one was scooped from eBay. Love how i drop the curve on you huh? completely unrelated story and then this image.

I love the smaller format cards from the 50’s. The card designers and artists did an amazing job with them and holding these pieced in your had you can really appreciate the amount of work that had to go in to each layout.

Collecting redundancy happens quite a bit in our hobby. You pick up multiple variations of cards…red cards, yellow cards, blue cards…rarely, but sometimes, you pick up the same card that comes in two different sizes like this large Dick Alban…large Dick…

OK, here’s my shot at ending on a high note. Another Slinging’ Sammy Baugh card…1952 Bowman Small. I waited and waited on this card in hopes of finding one at a great price from eBay and finally stumbled across a guy that had it listed as BIN. I made him an offer that he quickly refused and came back with something a little better. After another number from him, i finally got it shipped. A little more than i hoped to get for it, but much less than others had their versions priced at.

We have two shows coming up this month and i’m hoping to make one of them. The Cedar Hills show is much closer to me but tends to be less occupied by dealers and i end up walking away feeling like i wasted my time…but it is closer…if not, i will hit up the show at Mall 205 to see what they have going on…hopefully my friend from COMC, Tom will be there?

One last item, i am going to attempt to do the wallet card “challenge” and see what 365 days in my side pocket will do to a 1986 Topps Rickey Henderson. I chose this card because it has my favorite player on it in my favorite baseball teams jersey…and it was the first set i ever completed. Here is day one, which started yesterday…so 363 days in my side pocket.