1956 Topps football card of former Washington Redskin receiver Jack Carson. Better known as “Johnny” Carson during his playing days, he had a non-descript career, spending 6 years with the Redskins before closing out his playing days with one season in the American Football League, in the league’s inaugural season of 1960, with the Houston Oilers, who won the league’s championship that year. I featured this card not so much to feature Carson but to highlight the white football that the NFL used in night games played in the early years up until the 1950s. The ball was used to help players see it better in the poorly lit stadiums of the day, and actually the NFL also prohibited teams from wearing white helmets and jerseys in night games, so that the white ball wouldn’t blend into a player’s uniform. This rule meant that some teams had to wear different color jerseys and helmets for day and night games.