Sunday, February 3, 2013

My '55 All-American style custom card for RG3

I had to wait until the NFL individual player awards were announced Saturday night before I could finish a 1955 Topps All-American style custom card that I started about a month ago. I needed to know how Robert Griffin III finished in the Rookie of the Year balloting so that I could finish the write-up on my card's back.

Though RG3's rookie season ended on a potentially tragic note, he was one of the feel-good stories of the 2012 season. I enjoyed watching him play and once it looked like the Redskins were going into the post-season, I determined to create a '55-style custom card for my on-going "update" set. As you can see, I'm now on the verge of creating my 150th custom card in this format.

As was the case with all current college and NFL players, there is no shortage of great pictures on the internet. It's only a matter of choosing one that will fit my (usually) horizontal format.

I had completed the front design and posted it on one of the card forums that I haunt when an astute observer questioned my use of a comma between Griffin's surname and "III". I did some poking around and discovered to my surprise that many modern usage experts now note that such a comma is rapidly falling into disuse.

While retaining the comma might have been more period-correct for a 1955 card, I ultimately decided to drop it. I'm not sure why the comma in that context is becoming passe. Perhaps it's a nod to royalty titles; after all, it's Queen Elizabeth II, not Queen Elizabeth, II. 

Many of the same style mavens indicate that a common between a surname and "Jr." is also becoming optional. I think I'll hold off on dropping those for a while yet.



Next time, I'll share another new '55AA-style custom I've just finished -- actually, it's my second "double-header."







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