PLEASE VIEW ALL PHOTOS and READ ENTIRE LISTING -- FREE INSURED SHIPPING TO USA
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Estate Vintage from the 1960s
These are GENUINE, from the days before players got paid to sign things, and before the notion of a COA - There were NO Certificates of Authenticity back then!!!
Autographs - New York Giants Greats
within a handwritten envelope and letter, dated 1964
on NYG Training Camp Letterhead
These autographs were collected by John H. Rollins for the son of his friend back in 1964. An envelope dated 1964 has the New York Giants Training Camp, Fairfield University, Fairfield Connecticut masthead, with matching letterhead upon which a letter was written. The autographs are also on letterhead that was neatly torn
Training Camp was held at Fairfield University from 1961-1969 and again in 1974.
NO CLUE who John H. Rollins was or his position within the Giants franchise - if you know, let us know! You could consider his signature on the letter a fourth autograph!!
Envelope is torn, tattered, with foxing, stains, rips, but protected reasonably well the letter and autographs within. Autograph paper has slightly roughened corners and side edges where it may have slid from side to side.
Letter reads:
"You may not know it, but I am a new friend of yours as of last weekend
I have gotten three autographs which I think you will like very much.
They are from Frank Gifford, Y.A. Tittle, and Del Shofner.
Luck to you
John H. Rollins"
The "last weekend" refers to a Going Away party during which Rollins and recipient met. See our other listings for that envelope.
Enclosed within is Giants letterhead intentionally measured and torn as per bottom edge to a 3" x 8.5" size, with the signatures of Del Shofner, Frank Gifford and Y.A. Tittle.
NOTE: We blocked out the old mailing addresses on the envelope, plus put red lines through the signatures to prevent copying. Actual items DO NOT have these. Clippings and articles in background are NOT included in this listing. Stationery paper discoloration, folds, but largely intact considering they are 50+ years old..
A. YA TITTLE, Quarterback great
Reads Yelberton Abraham (Y. A.) Tittle Jr. (1926–2017) was a professional American football quarterback. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, and Baltimore Colts, after spending two seasons with the Colts in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). Known for his competitiveness, leadership, and striking profile, Tittle was the centerpiece of several prolific offenses throughout his 17-year professional career from 1948 to 1964.
----After college, he was drafted in the 1947 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, but he instead chose to play in the AAFC for the Colts. With the Colts, Tittle was named the AAFC Rookie of the Year in 1948 after leading the team to the AAFC playoffs. After consecutive one-win seasons, the Colts franchise folded, which allowed Tittle to be drafted in the 1951 NFL Draft by the 49ers.
----A groundbreaker, Tittle was part of the 49ers' famed Million Dollar Backfield, was the first professional football player featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and is credited with having coined "alley-oop" as a sports term.
===Considered washed-up, the 34-year-old Tittle was traded to the Giants following the 1960 season. Over the next four seasons, he won several individual awards, twice set the league single-season record for touchdown passes – including a 1962 game with a combined 7 touchdown passes and 500-yards passing with a near perfect (151.4 out of 158.33) passer rating, and led the Giants to three straight NFL championship games. Although he was never able to deliver a championship to the team, Tittle's time in New York is regarded among the glory years of the franchise.
---In his final season, Tittle was photographed bloodied and kneeling down in the end zone after a tackle by a defender left him helmetless. The photograph is considered one of the most iconic images in North American sports history. [[INCLUDED in our other listing!!]] He retired as the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, attempts, completions, and games played. Tittle was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971, and his jersey number 14 is retired by the Giants.
B. DEL SHOFNER Wide Receiver
Delbert Martin (Del) Shofner (1934–2020) was an American NFL football wide receiver who played for eleven seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants from 1957 to 1967 in the National Football League.
--- On August 28, 1961, he was traded from the Rams to the Giants for draft picks. He was acquired because of how much then-new quarterback Y.A. Tittle raved about the receiver. The result proved positive for both New York and Shofner. He caught 69 passes for 1,125 yards (second most in the NFL) for 11 touchdowns while returning to Pro Bowl and All-Pro form. He was the first Giant to have a 1,000-yard season, and he would soon become the first to do so in consecutive seasons. The Giants, led by YA Tittle and coach Allie Sherman, roared all the way to the NFL Championship Game. However, facing the Green Bay Packers at New City Stadium, the Giants were shut-out 37-0. Shofner caught three passes for 41 yards in the loss.
----He continued his consistency the next year, catching 53 passes for 1,133 yards for 12 touchdowns (second most in the league). Shofner holds the record for most receiving yards by a Giant in a game, having caught eleven passes for 269 yards on October 28, 1962 against the Washington Redskins (this was also the game where Tittle threw for seven touchdown passes, with Shofner catching one of them). The Giants made it back to the NFL Championship Game again that year, this time playing the Packers in New York. Shofner caught five passes for 69 yards, but the Giants were trounced once again 16-7
The next year, 1963, was Shofner's last great one. He caught 64 passes for 1,181 yards (second most in the league) while having nine touchdowns while being named to his fifth and final Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection. In 1963, the Giants rolled to the NFL Championship Game Playing the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field. Shofner had no statline as the Giants lost 14-10. He was the first receiver with four 1,000-yard seasons, and no receiver would match him until 1981.
----In 2005, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's third HOVG class. Despite being named to the All-Decade team of the 1960s, Shofner has not been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, nor has he been a finalist in recent years
C. FRANK GIFFORD Star Halfback / Football Commentator
Francis Newton (Frank) Gifford (1930-2015) was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL), he was a play-by-play announcer and commentator for 27 years on ABC's Monday Night Football.
----Gifford won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award from United Press International in 1956, the same season his team won the NFL Championship. During his career, he participated in five league championship games and was named to eight Pro Bowls. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977. After retiring as a player Gifford was an Emmy Award-winning sportscaster, known for his work on ABC's Monday Night Football, Wide World of Sports, and the Olympics. His first 2 marriages ending in divorce, he was married to television host Kathie Lee Gifford from 1986 until his death.
--A '52 graduate of USC, Gifford was named an All-American after rushing for 841 yards on 195 carries during his final season.
---Gifford spent his entire NFL career with the New York Giants, beginning in 1952, playing both offense and defense. He made eight Pro Bowl appearances and had five trips to the NFL Championship Game. Gifford's best season may have been 1956, when he won the league's Most Valuable Player Award and led the Giants to the NFL title over the Chicago Bears.
---During his 12 seasons with the Giants (136 regular-season games) Gifford had 3,609 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns in 840 carries; he also had 367 receptions for 5,434 yards and 43 touchdowns. Gifford completed 29 of the 63 passes he threw for 823 yards and 14 touchdowns with 6 interceptions. The 14 touchdowns is the most among any non-quarterback in NFL history; the 6 interceptions is tied with Walter Payton for most thrown by a non-quarterback.
After his death, an autopsy on his brain revealed that he lived with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a disease closely related to repeated head trauma. As of September 18, 2015, 87 out of 91 former NFL players tested had been diagnosed with the disease, causing controversy regarding the violence in football, and a reexamination of helmets. The Gifford family offered his brain to medical research to study the link between football and traumatic brain injury... "We decided to disclose our loved one's condition to honor Frank's legacy of promoting player safety dating back to his involvement in the formation of the NFL Players Association in the 1950s."
See our other listings for a similar envelope also with signatures of these 3 major Giants football players plus articles and newspaper clippings about the Giants, especially Y A Tittle, with a magazine pullout of that famous photo of his cut head - In his final season, Tittle was photographed bloodied and kneeling down in the end zone after a tackle left him helmetless. The photograph is considered one of the most iconic images in North American sports history.
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PLEASE READ ENTIRE LISTING & VIEW ALL PHOTOS
Ask questions, Sold As-Is, No returns.
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We'd love to see someone adopt and enjoy!
We are a smoke-free home with a hypoallergenic dog (Standard Poodle) – We usually mail w/in a day or two of payment, but have 5-10 day handling for health reasons, but if you need sooner LET US KNOW right away, we will do our best to accommodate if we can
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---We combine shipping where safe to do so. Internationals, we use Ebay Global Shipping only. Many of our items are from an old Yankee New England Maine Family estate We are just plain folks looking to move things forward, not dealers, not experts, we do our best to describe but might miss something. Ask questions.
---USE PHOTOS: Pictures are part of the description. Be aware that camera flash and your color monitor can cause color difference –-Remember pics are often closeups and thus exaggerated, so use photos with ruler or coin AND/OR the description for better estimate of actual size
---Used Items: Expect typical evidence of use wear handling and/or storage.
—We’re old, moving things forward, so no returns