1963 Fleer #65 Dalva Allen

Dalva Allen was one of the Cougar greats in the early days of University of Houston football. He played at UH from 1954-1956. In his senior year, he helped lead his team to a 7-2-1 record and UH's second Missouri Valley Conference championship.

His play in the 1956 season also led to individual honors. He was selected All Missouri Valley Conference first team and in 1957 was drafted in the 23rd round of the NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams.

The Rams were not in his pro career future though. He played for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League in 1957. He finally made his American Football League debut for the Houston Oilers in 1960. He played for Houston from 1960-1961 winning two AFL titles. He later played for the Oakland Raiders from 1962-1964.

Today's card is the 1963 Fleer #63. This is Allen's rookie card. The photograph isn't great, but that's not uncommon for cards from the 50s and early 60s. The best part of the card is the colors. It's fate that the border and lettering on the front and back are Cougar red and white. On the back, not only does it mention his All Conference play at UH, but it also says that he ran hurdles. What an amazing athlete.