Heisman Heritage: The Express

With football season officially over now (Congratulations Kansas City Chiefs) I wanted to look back at some famous black athletes who impacted the NFL.  This will be done each Sunday for the rest of the month.

Today's black card as part of my new monthly series for Black History Month is a 2011 Topps Heritage Black Chrome Refractor.

 Black Refractors of Pirates players are an annual treasure hunt for me each year in Topps Heritage.

The 2011 Heritage product is based on the 1962 design.

1962 was a significant year in that it saw the first African-American athlete to win a Heisman Trophy to be drafted in the NFL.

 Ernie Davis attended Syracuse University and was the first Heisman Trophy Winner to not be white.

 In 1961 the Elmira Express lead all college backs in yards.

The following year he was drafted 1st overall by the Washington Redskins then was traded to the Cleveland Browns.

During the summer of 1962, Brown was diagnosed with Leukemia.  He past away in 1963 at age 23 without ever appearing in a game.

The Browns have retired his number 45 jersey.

Today he is forever enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

 A statue was resurrected as a remembrance for the great and courageous Brown.

A feature length film starring Rob Brown and Dennis Quaid was created to tell the tragic and inspiring story of Ernie Davis.

Heritage Comparisons: Clemente v Cutch pt2

Over the years, Topps has used Heritage to bring the current stars of the game on designs from the past.

Cutch has appeared using the same numbering as Roberto Clemente a handful of times.

You can view the first Heritage Comparison of Cutch and Clemente here.

I want to preface these segments and state that I do not believe that a single season of Cutch can take away from the greatness of Roberto Clemente's life or his baseball career.

Each of these Heritage comparisons will take a look at a card of Cutch and compare it to the design's original numbered card.

The 2011 Heritage card release is based on the 1962 design.

Cutch's 2011 Heritage card is numbered 10 the same as Pirates Legend and Hall of Famer, Roberto Clemente.

Oddly enough, the card backs were printed flipped differently than the original 1962 backs.

As will be customary for these Heritage Comparisons I will take a look at the standard counting stats typically found on the back of a baseball card.

Slash Lines
Clemente in 1961 went .351/.390/.539 for a .949 OPS
Cutch in 2010 went .286/.365/.449 for an .814 OPS
Advantage Clemente

Plate Discipline
Clemente had a 1.68 K:BB rate (59:35) during his 1st batting title run in 1961
Cutch's 2010 season showed a 1.27K:BB (89:70)
Advantage Cutch

Extra Base Hits (XBH)
Clemente had 30 doubles, 10 triples, and 23 HR in 1961
Cutch had 35 doubles, 5 triples, and 16 round trippers
63 v 56
advantage Clemente

Runs Scored and Runs Batted In
Runs scored and RBI are based on who hits in front of you and who hits behind you.
Clemente scored 100 runs and drove in 89 in 1961
Cutch scored 94 runs and knocked in 56
Advantage Clemente

Stolen Bases
Cutch's main advantage over Clemente was in Stolen Bases 33 to 4
Advantage Cutch

Hardware and awards
Clemente won his 1st Batting Title, 1st Gold Glove, and was elected an All-Star
Cutch had no hardware victories in 2010
Advantage Clemente 

Winner
Clemente
4 to 2

I hope you enjoyed the comparisons made based on the Heritage and original design numbering.  I will continue to do these segments if there is enough interest in them.

To close out here are my 4 parallels of the 2011 Heritage card I own.

Chrome Refractor, Chrome
Retail Black border, Green border chrome