Now Boarding...United Airlines NFL Ads from the 1960s

With the news that American Airlines and United Airlines have added Flight 1989 from Kansas City to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl to take advantage of the Taylor Swift - Travis Kelce hysteria surrounding Super Bowl LVIII, it made me think of some of the great United Airlines NFL ads I have come across:

Throughout the 1960's and into the 1970's, United Airlines was the official airline of most NFL teams, which they publicized through a number of ads using NFL logos and helmets.

The earliest example I have found likely dates from the early 1960s, which shows a collection of team logos on the side of a plane where they promote that they serve 13 of the 14 NFL teams:

It looks like the Vikings were the one team that used another airline.  The logos in the shape of the NFL shield were one of the ways the NFL was promoting the league at the time, as these color patches show:

Next, we have an ad using helmets, with is likely from the early 1960's as well:

Again, it looks like Vikings were the lone team to not use United.

Later in the decade, we have an ad which is likely from 1967 which includes the NFL expansion teams Falcons and Saints:

Once again, the Vikings are the odd man out.

After the NFL-AFL merger, we now get both NFL and AFL teams in a fantastic poster:

The next ad is likely from 1970 or 1971 based on the Redskins helmet which they only used for those 2 seasons:

Again, no Vikings, and the other missing team is the Dolphins.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, here is an ad where United congratulates the NFL and AFL champions from the 1967 season and indicates they will be getting both teams to the Super Bowl:

The fact that the ad refers to the game as the Super Bowl is interesting, as the NFL was still calling the game the World Championship Game:

 

The NFL did not start referring to the game as the Super Bowl until the following year in Super Bowl III

Finally, we wrap up with one last airline related item - a 1978 United Timetable for flights which just happens to feature Arrowhead stadium:

If you are interested, here is a collection of all available United Airlines commercials (35 in total) that were contained in the yearly NFL Films team highlight shows from 1965-1970:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2PJcn5zf8s

Many of the images came from Vintage Airliners, which has much more information on the connections between airlines and professional football:

https://vintageairliners.com/the-airlines-and-american-football/

1980 Carnation NFL Stickers

I wanted to share a set that I was not aware of until recently.  In 1980, collectors could get NFL helmet stickers when buying a box of Carnation Hot Cocoa Mix:

Most of the stickers are blank backed, but a few do have a coupon for a free box of hot cocoa mix.  The coupon has a 1980 copyright.

1977 Sunbeam NFL Stickers

One set that I was not aware of when I did my original review of Sunbeam's NFL items from the 1970's was the set of helmet stickers from 1977:

 

The stickers do not mention Sunbeam on the back, but  are produced by A. Harris Assoc Inc in Cherry Hill, NJ

which is the same company that produced the 1976 Sunbeam issues, so these small helmet stickers are commonly referred to as 1977 Sunbeam stickers given the copyright on the back.

Here are the backs of the 1976 Sunbeam issues:

1976 Sunbeam NFL Stand-Up Football

1976 Sunbeam NFL Football Pennant Stickers

I really miss the days when you could have some collecting fun when picking up a loaf of bread!

Back to School with NFL and AFL Book Covers from the 1960s

Fall means its time for football and time to head back to school.  As we gear up for another NFL season while the kids are heading back to class, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at something that combines both of these Fall activities by reviewing NFL book covers from the 1960s.

In 1965, kids could buy book covers for their favorite NFL team, such as this cover for the Baltimore Colts:

 

Here is a closer look at the front (note the $.10 price in the upper right corner):

and here is a closer look at the back showing helmets for all the NFL teams (note at this time helmets were shown with chin straps): 

Here are the other teams I have been able to find pictures for with this design:

Chicago Bears:

 

Cleveland Browns:

 

New York Giants:

 

Detroit Lions:

 

Washington Redskins:

There was also a cover showing all 14 NFL Helmets and Team Logos:

Here is a closer look at the team logos:

 The book covers could be purchased in a group of 5 for $.49:

 

 

These were also apparently available via a offer on the wrapper of 1965 Philadelphia Football Cards where you could buy all 15 covers (the 14 teams plus the cover with all the team helmets) for $1.50:

In 1966, the design changed as seen on this Green Bay Packers book cover:

and there were now 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons:

which is also reflected on the back of each book cover with the team logos:

Here are the other teams I have been able to find with this design:

Chicago Bears:

 
Dallas Cowboys:

Detroit Lions:
 

Los Angeles Rams:

Minnesota Vikings:

New York Giants:

Philadelphia Eagles:

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Saint Louis Cardinals:

San Francisco 49ers:

Once again, the book covers were available through an offer on 1966 Philadelphia Football Card Wrappers, but the offer now includes 16 covers for $1.60:

The same design was used in 1967 as there is also a book cover of the expansion New Orleans Saints, but note that the back cover still only shows the 15 teams that were in the league in 1966:

It appears they used the same design in 1967 (which is why these are sometimes identified as being from 1967), but didn't bother to update the back to include the Saints.

The book covers were again available through an offer on the 1967 Philadelphia Football Card Wrappers:

 There were also AFL book covers with a similar design

 

but the backs had the team logos in a shield:

  

It looks like these were available in 1964 given the copyright:

To wrap up, here is another item which would have been great to have heading back to school back in the day - an NFL Folder:

 

 

This folder has a 1967 NFL Properties copyright: