Fearsome Foursome Fan Faves

For collectors of vintage cards this design is an homage to the 1966 Topps Football design, which in turn is sort of an homage to the 1955 Bowman Baseball design. The most prominent feature is the wood grain look with the television screen image. In 2005 Topps produced an All-Time Fans Favorites Football set (although the TradingCardDataBase lists these as being 2004) The All-Time Fans Favorites set is similar to the Topps Archives type sets where they use older and vintage card designs for newer cards. Most of the designs from this set appear to be from the 1980s and late 1970s.

Here is a 4 card subset from that set the features the best players from my fave (and by fave I mean tied for number one) NFL team the Los Angeles Rams recently returned from being in St. Louis for 20 years (1995-2015). These four players individually had impressive careers primarily played for the Rams together they were known as the FEARSOME FOURSOME. OK one of a few defensive lines that went by that name, but the Rams were perhaps the most widely known. The Giants, Lions and Chargers have also had that nickname applied to their defensive line around the 1950s to 1970s era.

The Rams Fearsome Foursome were: Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen and Rosey Grier. In my book they are the FEARSOME FOURSOME of note.

2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Football - 19 Deacon Jones

2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Football - 58 Lamar Lundy

Dag-nab-it I thought I had straightened/rotated this back image

2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Football - 68 Merlin Olsen

2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Football - 78 Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier

For Reference:

 1955 Bowman Baseball

 1955 Bowman Baseball: 104 Bob Porterfield Washington Senators

1966 Topps Football

1966 Topps Football - 32 Cookie Gilchrist Denver Broncos

Deacon Jones Passes On

DEACON JONES 1938-2013

As we grow older the icons of our youth die off. One of the icons of my childhood passed away on Monday 03 June 2013. Deacon Jones who played in the NFL from 1961 - 1974 Mostly for the Los Angeles Rams, he also spent a while with the San Diego Chargers and finished his football career with the Washington Redskins has joined fellow Fearsome Foursome teammates Merlin Olsen and Lamar Lundy on the immortal gridiron in the great beyond. I'm not good at writing these type of things so I'll just show some cards and pics.

 1970 Topps Super Football 7 Deacon Jones Rams

(Front and Back)

2007 Donruss Classics Football Classic Single 71 Deacon Jones Rams

#d/1000

Merlin Olsen (1940 - 2010)

Merlin Jay Olsen (14 September 1940 - 11 March 2010)

Today is a sad day for Rams fans. HOFer Merlin Olsen (Age 69) passed away due to mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer often related to exposure to asbestos. He played with the Los Angeles Rams from 1962 - 1976 he was enshrined into the National Football League's Hall of Fame in 1982.


Olsen played left tackle in the Rams' legendary front four nicknamed "The Fearsome Foursome", with David "Deacon" Jones at left end, Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier at right tackle and Lamar Lundy at right end. Jones, who lined up to Mr. Olsen's left, coined the term "sack" to describe tackling the opposing quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. Olsen is the second member of the Fearsome Foursome to pass away, Lundy passed away on February 24 2007 at the age of 71.

Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundry, Deacon Jones, (Glenn Ressler B'more Colts), Roger Brown (Misidentified as Rosey Grier from the source I got the pic from)

Merlin was also known for his acting in television roles for "Little House on The Prairie" and "Father Murphy" . Teammate Lundy also did some acting he portrayed the boulder-hurling cyclops in the (previously) unaired pilot of Lost in Space (this pilot was later made into episode 4 of the series, entitled "There Were Giants in the Earth").

Lamar Lundy as Cyclops in "Lost in Space".

*I posted this on my regular blog Merlin Olsen (1940-2010) with different pictures.