Set Completion - 1970 Topps Football

 I am struggling to get back in the swing of collecting again.  It isn't anything financial even though my dishwasher just died and I had to get a new one.  I think it is more a case of having lost my muscle memory, as it were.  There is a card show in OKC at the end of the month, and I currently plan to attend.  It is the same weekend I need to fly to Las Vegas (Ugh!) for CONEXPO, an every third year conference combining the aggregates, ready-mix concrete, and construction industry. If I do get to the card show, it will be a week short of a year since the last show I attended.  

In the meantime, I looked over my want list and decided to knock off 1970 Topps football. I only needed 7 cards, mostly commons. I overpaid a little bit, but I really wanted to get something done. I was thinking of doing a post of my favorite card fronts and backs from the set and even went so far as to go through the set noting the likely candidates.  The time needed to scan and write looked to be more than I had available.  Then I noticed that the same card was on both lists. So, here it is: my favorite card from 1970 Topps Football.

I have no idea what is up with this image, but it is glorious.  

Grayson had numerous business interests' post-career, so I have to assume he wasn't working as a carhop.  I haven't been able to find much information to fill in any blanks, but there is enough information out there to see that he was an interesting fellow.

1. Originally undrafted out of college due to his small size, he was signed briefly by the Dallas Cowboys in 1961, but Tom Landry didn't think he was large enough for the NFL.  On the recommendation of Gil Brandt, Hank Stram signed him to the AFL Dallas Texans.
2. He played 4 years with the Texans and their successor organization, the Kansas City Chiefs. During those 4 years, he made 3 Pro Bowls and 2 AFL All-Pro teams.
3. In 1961, he returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown against the New York Titans.  He was also a kick returner, and, in 1963, he returned a kick 99 yards for a TD against Denver.
4. In 1965, he was traded to the Oakland Raiders for cornerback (and later actor) Fred Williamson.  It is with Oakland that he really came into his own.
5. In 1965, his first season in the Bay Area, he intercepted 3 passes returning two for touchdowns. In 1968 he intercepted 10 passes and scored 1 TD.  The following year, he picked off the opposition 8 times and contributed 1 touchdown.  
6. He retired from football after the 1970 season.  In 6 seasons with Oakland, he made 3 Pro Bowls and 4 All-Pro teams.
7. During his 10-year career, he missed exactly one game.  That was the first game of his rookie season in 1961.  How is that for consistency?
8. He is the all-time AFL interception leader and was named to the AFL All-Time team.  He is the only defensive back on that team that is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  
9. He had a number of business interests in his post career life, and his son Dave Grayson Jr played 5 seasons as a linebacker in the NFL for Cleveland and San Diego.

What I am listening to: So Much Trouble in the World by Lucinda Williams & Mavis Staples