1950 Topps Felt Backs Football Cards
Product Details
1950 Topps Felt Backs Football marked the start of a rich history of professional football cards from the popular card company.
However, Topps' first all-football issue is one of its least-known and misunderstood sets. The official date may not even be correct because it's likely the cards first appeared in 1949. However, since it was sold through 1950, that year has been given to the product.
1950 Topps Felt Backs Football Set Details
Topps sold these cards along with pieces of Varsity gum. Rather than simply including a stick of gum in a card pack as other cardmakers did, cards were included as extras with the gum. And they're really small as a result, measuring approximately 7/8 of an inch (yes, that's less than one inch) by 1 7/16 inches. During the process of cutting up the sheets, the dimensions were handled sloppily, so the cards are often found with slightly different sizes.
Every card shows a collegiate player. Fronts feature a black-and-white player image set against a solid background with a black box below. The box contains the player's name, position and school. Backs are made of felt—hence the set's name—and display a pennant for the player's college.
The 1950 Topps Felt Backs Football checklist has 100 cards in the base set. Originally, the cards came in four colors, with 25 cards each having a different background: blue, green, red and brown. During the print run, an ink change substituted the brown backgrounds for yellow. As a result, 25 cards have either a brown or yellow background. The yellow backgrounds are the tougher variation, but some collectors have claimed the brown ones can be nearly as tough to find, as well.
The top card in the set is legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who was then a quarterback at Brown University. Other first-time players include Heisman winner Leon Hart, plus Dan Towler and Ernie Stautner. Because some players were found in 1948 Leaf Football, not every card is a rookie.
Key 1950 Topps Felt Backs Football Cards:
- Joe Paterno RC #64
- Doak Walker RC #92 (Yellow Back)
- Jack Jensen RC #39 (Yellow Back)
- Darrell Royal RC #71 (Yellow Back)
- Leo Nomellini #62
Set Checklist
1950 Topps Felt Backs Football Checklist
Base Set Checklist
2 Morris Bailey - TCU Horned Frogs RC
3 George Bell - Oregon Ducks RC
4 Lindy Berry - TCU Horned Frogs RC
5 Mike Boldin - Pittsburgh Panthers RC
6 Bernie Botula - Washington & Jefferson RC
7 Bob Bowlby - NC State Wolfpack RC
8 Bob Bucher - Bucknell Bisons RC
9 Al Burnett - Rutgers Scarlet Knights RC
10 Don Burson - Northwestern Wildcats RC
11 Paul Campbell - Texas Longhorns
12 Herb Carey - Dartmouth Big Green RC
13 Bimbo Cecconi - Pittsburgh Panthers RC
14 Bill Chauncey - Iowa State Cyclones RC
15 Dick Clark - Cornell Big Red RC
16 Tom Coleman - Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets RC
17 Billy Conn - Georgetown Hoyas RC
18 John Cox - Florida Gators RC
19 Lou Creekmur - William & Mary Tribe RC
20 Glen Davis - Ohio Bobcats RC
21 Warren Davis - Colgate Raiders RC
22 Bob Deuber - Pennsylvania Quakers RC
23 Ray Dooney - Pennsylvania Quakers RC
24 Tom Dublinski - Utah Utes RC
25 Jeff Fleischman - Cornell Big Red RC
26 Jack Friedland - Duke Blue Devils RC
27 Bob Fuchs - Missouri Tigers RC
28 Arnold Galiffa - Army Black Knights RC
29 Dick Gilman - Kansas Jayhawks RC
30 Frank Gitschier - Louisville Cardinals RC
31 Gene Glick - Michigan State Spartans
32 Bill Gregus - Wake Forest Demon Deacons RC
33 Harold Hagan - South Carolina Gamecocks RC
34 Charles Hall - Arizona Wildcats RC
35 Leon Hart - Notre Dame Fighting Irish
36 Bob Hester - Marquette Golden Avalanche RC
37 George Hughes - William & Mary Tribe RC
38 Levi Jackson - Yale Bulldogs
39 Jackie Jensen - California Golden Bears
40 Charlie Justice - North Carolina Tar Heels
41 Gary Kerkorian - Stanford Cardinal RC
42 Bernie Krueger - Illinois Fighting Illini RC
43 Bill Kuhn - North Carolina Tar Heels RC
44 Dean Laun - Iowa State Cyclones RC
45 Chet Leach - Bucknell Bisons RC
46 Bobby Lee - Pittsburgh Panthers RC
47 Roger Lehew - Tulsa Golden Hurricane RC
48 Glenn Lippman - Texas A&M Aggies RC
49 Mel Lyle - LSU Tigers RC
50 Len Makowski - Tulsa Golden Hurricane RC
52 Jim Martin - Notre Dame Fighting Irish
53 Frank Mataya - Washington State Cougars RC
54 Ray Mathews - Clemson Tigers RC
55 Dick McKissack - SMU Mustangs RC
56 Frank Miller - Cornell Big Red RC
57 John Miller - Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens RC
58 Ed Modzelewski - Maryland Terrapins RC
59 Don Mouser - Baylor Bears RC
60 James Murphy - Holy Cross Crusaders RC
61 Ray Nagel - UCLA Bruins RC
62 Leo Nomellini - Minnesota Golden Gophers
63 James O'Day - Duquesne Dukes RC
64 Joe Paterno - Brown Bears RC
65 Andy Pavich - Denver Pioneers RC
66 Pete Perini - Ohio State Buckeyes RC
67 Jim Powers - USC Trojans RC
68 Dave Rakestraw - Tulsa Golden Hurricane RC
69 Herb Rich - Vanderbilt Commodores RC
70 Fran Rogel - Penn State Nittany Lions RC
71 Darrell Royal - Oklahoma Sooners RC
72 Steve Sawle - Northwestern Wildcats RC
73 Nick Sebek - Indiana Hoosiers RC
74 Herb Seidell - Fordham Rams RC
75 Charles Shaw - Oklahoma A&M Cowboys RC
76 Emil Sitko - Notre Dame Fighting Irish RC
77 Ed Songin - Boston College Eagles RC
78 Mariano Stalloni - Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens RC
79 Ernie Stautner - Boston College Eagles RC
80 Don Stehley - Kansas State Wildcats RC
81 Gil Stevenson - Army Black Knights RC
82 Bishop Strickland - South Carolina Gamecocks RC
83 Harry Szulborski - Purdue Boilermakers
84 Wally Teninga - Michigan Wolverines RC
85 Clayton Tonnemaker - Minnesota Golden Gophers
86 Dan Towler - Washington & Jefferson RC
87 Bert Turek - Marquette Golden Avalanche RC
88 Harry Ulinski - Kentucky Wildcats
89 Leon Van Billingham - Columbia Lions RC
90 Langdon Viracola - Fordham Rams RC
91 Leo Wagner - CCNY Beavers RC
92 Doak Walker - SMU Mustangs
93 Jim Ward - Columbia Lions RC
94 Art Weiner - North Carolina Tar Heels
95 Dick Weiss - North Carolina Tar Heels RC
96 Froggie Williams - Rice Owls RC
97 Red Wilson - Wisconsin Badgers RC
98 Roger Wilson - South Carolina Gamecocks RC
99 Carl Wren - Rochester Yellowjackets RC
100 Pete Zinaich - West Virginia Mountaineers RC
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