Happy Anniversary The Wrapper Magazine

 I was going to make this post my September post, but I decided on the afternoon of the last day of the month (yesterday 30 Sep) to do something else because I wanted to show some cards. This post doesn't show any cards because it talks about a card magazine. So...

October 2023 marks the 45th Anniversary of the non-sport trading card magazine The Wrapper and their current issue #350. The magazine is published quarterly and still has the feel of the late 1970s, early 1980s when it first started. With the exception of the outer covers that usually have 3 colors the magazine is black & white. Very simple format and low budget as it has been self published by the same guy Les Davis.

Each issue starts with a feedback section/news section "Non Sport Talk". Then there are three or four (I haven't actually counted for each issue) nice articles on some non-sport set from the past usually vintage and often sort of rare and sometimes all but forgotten.

Each issue also has a giveaway/contest called "Wrapper Drawing" that I usually forget about a couple of days after skimming through the issue. Some of the prizes I had been interested in, but never got around to entering or sometimes even checking on the entry details.

Most of the content of magazine is ads and sales lists, maybe some of them are want lists of the dealers. There is also a cartoon, comic on the last page that sneaks an advertisement for some monster related thing or the magazine itself. I didn't scan that. The size is usually 70-some pages.

As I said the overall feel of the magazine is the late 1970s low budget homemade newsletter style. It is informative and the writers of the articles for the sets featured are usually quite enjoyable. I forget when I first found the magazine, but I do think some years back I had to look for it again because I had let my original subscription end, forgot about it and thought like many hobby related sources from the 1970s it had ended.

Again HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (Cardiversary, Wrapperversary) to THE WRAPPER Magazine.

1970s Football Magazines Question

Valerie Bertinelli from "One Day A Time" in a John Riggins Redskins jersey.

I had a Sonny Jurgensen Jersey that style when I was a kid.

I no longer have the shirt but I do have a few pictures of me in the jersey.

I seem to recall that back in the late 1960s early 1970s there was a Football magazine that had some pinup or centerfold like photos of models wearing just football jerseys. It might have just come out at the beginning of the football season, maybe it was Playboy's football preview for the preseason or one of the regular Football magazines preseason issue, but I am about 90% certain it was a football oriented magazine not a men's magazine. My Brother had them and I am not sure if he remembers the magazine he might remember the photos/posters, but I'm not sure if he would recall the exact magazine. The reason I think it might have been just a special preseason issue is there didn't seem to be very many of these. I think it was also one of these one model/picture per issue thing. I think maybe they had four at the most, although I think my brother only had two.  Maybe it was because the magazine folded? I don't think it was a one-shot parody. This has been driving me nuts for years trying to figure this out.

Now-a-days with all the various porn magazines and online websites the sexy image of a girl in nothing but a sports jersey is about as common as a sports card from the late 1980s, or pictures of cats on the internet. Back in the sixties (or seventies) however it wasn't too overdone. These particular magazine images I'm looking for were tastefully done no nudity (at least I think there was no nudity). Color photo not drawing.

Kind of like this except not as provocative.

The pinups were of beautiful girls in a football jersey that is big enough for them to use as a nightgown, the way this image used to be done, now they tend to wear cut-off Jerseys to show more skin. I don't recall all the details, they might have had on white shorts or panties under the jersey, but I think they had nothing, or gave that illusion of nothing. The pinups I am looking for also might have had them holding a football, or with a football helmet, holding the helmet or lying near one or perhaps wearing it.

Something more along these lines, except shot in a photography studio.

Or like this. She sure is cute.

I seem to recall one of them was a blond with long hair in a straight style of the time wearing a white jersey of the Dolphins, Bills, Chargers or some other team's white jersey, either holding a ball or a helmet of that team.

Like many older pinups pre 1980s the effect was sexy without lingerie or showing too much skin. Yeah it was more like Gwen Verdon in Damn Yankees (and the promos) than anything from today.

UPDATE: If I recall correctly the main part of the magazine was black and white on newspaper type stock paper. The "centerfold" or "pinup" whatever you want to call it was the only thing in color. Of course since my memories are 40 some years from the mind of a 5 or 6 year old reality might be very different from the stored memory. Apparently six years ago I had asked about these things on the Ebay sports forums and a trading card forum with no replies or results.