JOE STYDAHAR - FIRST DAY COVER SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: CHARLEY TRIPPI, JIM PARKER, PAUL E. BROWN, RICHARD "NIGHT TRAIN" LANE, TONY CANADEO, ERNIE STAUTNER, KEN STRONG, ART ROONEY - HFSID 286238

PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
Nine members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including owner Art Rooney and head coach Paul Brown, signed this First Day Cover celebrating 100 year of intercollegiate football. Only one signer, 90-year old Charley Trippi, is still living in 2011.
First Day Cover signed: "Jim Parker/77", "Ken Strong", "Joe Stydahar", "Tony Canadeo", "Charley Trippi", "Dick Night Train Lane", "Paul E. Brown", "Art Rooney", "Ernie Stautner", 6½x3¾. Also present is a secretarial signature of Sid Luckman. FDC honoring the centennial of intercollegiate football (1869-1969), postmarked New Brunswick, New Jersey, September 26, 1969, 6-cent stamp affixed, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE. Twice a first-team All American at Ohio State, JIM PARKER (1934-2005) was the first round draft pick of the Baltimore Colts in 1957. Playing offensive tackle and offensive guard, Parker protected Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas and opened holes for Hall of Fame running back Lenny Moore, as the Colts won back to back National Football League championships (1958-1959). An 8-time All-Pro, Parker became in 1973 the first full-time lineman elected to the Hall. KEN STRONG (1906-1979), an All-American at NYU, was a professional halfback from 1929 to 1947, interrupted by World War II, from which he returned as a kicking specialist. The first NFL player to score after a fair catch - there have been only three since - he entered the Hall of Fame in 1967. JOE STYDAHAR (1912-1977), a collegian at West Virginia, was a tackle for the Chicago Bears (1936-1942, 1945-1946). A key component of the "Monsters of the Midway" line which won 5 division titles and 3 NFL championships, Stydahar entered the Hall f Fame in 1967. Early in his career, the hulking Stydahar often played without a helmet. TONY CANADEO (1919-2003) was prematurely gray, earning him the name "The Gray Ghost of Gonzaga" (his alma mater). He starred with the Green Bay Packers (1941-1944, 1946-1952). Like most of the other signers here, Canadeo played both offense and defense, and he was adept at rushing, pass receptions and interceptions, and kickoff and punt returns. He entered the Hall of Fame in1974. In 1968, CHARLEY TRIPPI (born 1920, Chicago Cardinals, 1947-1955) was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The HOF describes him as "Final link in Cards' famed 'Dream Backfield'." He scored two TDs in 1947 NFL title win. All-NFL in 1948, the very versatile Trippi - played halfback five years, quarterback two years, defense two years. He played his college ball at Georgia. As cornerbacks go, no player in NFL history instilled more fear in wide receivers or running backs than DICK "NIGHT TRAIN" LANE (1928-2002, HOF 1974) He burst onto the NFL scene in 1952 by setting a record for most interceptions in a single season: 14. Accomplished when the NFL played only a 12-game regular season, this record still stands today. Lane also ranks 3rd all-time for career interceptions with 68. In 1969, just 4 years after his retirement, Lane was voted the best cornerback in the first 50 years of the NFL. Previously a high school, college and military football coach, PAUL BROWN (1908-1991) revolutionized coaching. He organized the original Cleveland Browns in 1946, and boasted a record of 167-53-8 with the team, having only one losing season in 17 years. His firsts included statistical analysis of game films, sending plays from the sidelines with alternating guards, and giving IQ tests to players. After entering the Hall of Fame in 1967, he returned to coaching with the Cincinnati Bengals. ART ROONEY (1901-1988) purchased the NFL Pittsburgh Pirates in 1933, renaming the team the Steelers in 1940. His team didn't have a winning record until 1942, and didn't win a title until 1975 (Super Bowl IX), but won three more Super Bowls thereafter. Rooney consistently lost money in his team's first decade, but helped the NFL survive the Depression. In 1938 he signed Colorado All-American (and future Supreme Court Justice) Byron "Whizzer" White for a shockingly high $15,000. One of Rooney's early stars was German-born Ernest Alfred "ERNIE" STAUTNER (1925-2006). A defensive tackle from 1950-1963, he was known for his mobility, desire, ruggedness and durability. The 1957 Pro Bowl MVP, Stautner played in nine Pro Bowls (1953-1954, 1956-1962), and he is the only player to have his number (70) retired by the Steelers. Stautner was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969, while he was Assistant Coach of the Dallas Cowboys; Stautner would later be the team's defensive coordinator from 1973-1988. He returned to Germany from 1995-1997 as head coach of the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. His team played in two consecutive World Bowls (1995 and 1996), winning in 1995.  Lightly toned and creased. Stained at upper center edge. Pencil note (unknown hand) on verso. Otherwise fine condition. 

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JOE STYDAHAR   ART ROONEY   KEN STRONG   ERNIE STAUTNER   TONY CANADEO   RICHARD LANE   PAUL E. BROWN   JIM PARKER   CHARLEY TRIPPI  

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