1968 "AFL" Oakland Raiders Team Autographed Football

Forty-four (44) of fifty (50) players from the 1968 AFL Oakland Raiders season autographed this football.  Of those 44, five are now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame!  This football has been in our family since the late 60's.  It sat in our dad’s office for 40 years on top of his bookcases perched on a wood base, encased in a plexi-glass dome and away from dust and little hands.  Several of the Raiders worked with my dad in transportation sales off-season from 1968 through the 1970’s.  George Blanda (Quarterback and Kicker) personally gave this ball to him.  (For those of you who might see this auction and know my dad, he is now 81 years old and mother is keeping him going.)

As you can see from the photos, the face of the ball reads:

Spalding

AFL Logo (Eagle)

American Football League

Pete Rozelle, football commissioner

We wondered why Pete Rozelle's name was on this 1968 AFL ball.  Our research found that in 1966 the AFL agreed to merge with the NFL but did not officially merge until 1970.  Pete Rozelle was the commissioner of the NFL from January 1960 through 1989.  Before the merge, the AFL used only Spalding balls and the NFL used Wilson.  In 1967, the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs met for Super Bowl I.  They actually used different balls on the offense as a compromise measure.  NFL balls featuring “The Duke,” as its moniker, were manufactured by the Wilson Sporting Goods Company and used from the 1930s until 1969.  The AFL used the Spalding J5-V football, which had a more tapered shape.  Pete Rozelle’s name was engraved on those 1967 Spalding balls.  We assume that Spalding must have started engraving Pete Rozelle’s name on all of their Spalding balls after the announcement of the merger in 1966.

(See, http://www.jacksonville.com/superbowl/history/football.shtml for a photograph of the type of balls used in Super Bowl I.) 

Below, are the names of the players that autographed the football, their jersey numbers, college attended, season, position and Hall of Famers.  We also named the six men that did not sign the ball.

Also check out our 1972 LA Rams autographed team football at our store.  Harry Schuh played for the Oakland Raiders and LA Rams.  Therefore, his autograph is on both balls.  Go to:  www.turbosebaystore.com.  If you have any questions, comments (or corrections), please feel free to e-mail me at turbosgaragesale@gmail.com.

Good luck and happy bidding!

Cindy Chesney (a/k/a Turbo)