John Wiebusch & the NFL

“Joe” Montana for one of the NFL Commemorative Books

I went to a memorial for John Wiebusch this last weekend. John was an amazing writer and editor. I met him while he was the senior editor at NFL Publications which created everything from the Super Bowl Programs to trading cards and awesome books.

John Wiebusch August 26, 1939 – August 21, 2014

He edited an NFL book published in 1970 that I came across when I was twelve years old called, “More Than  A Game” that was filled with amazing art and photography. It inspired me big time with the myriad of art styles it showcased including Alan E. Cober, Merv Corning, Bart Forbes, Ignacio Gomez, James McMullan, Don Weller, Dave Willardson, Dick Oden and many more. I highly recommend it even today as a piece of visual and editorial poetry. He even got Ray Bradbury to write a piece in it. Timeless.

John had an amazing eye for quality art and was not afraid to take risks. I appreciated his candor and insight. He was a good man and I miss him.

I worked with John extensively on many pieces of artwork for the NFL. Below are some of the NFL trading cards I created. Can you guess who the different players are?

Click on the images to see them larger. Graphite, acrylic, oil, gold leaf on board.

I am happy that some of these pieces created with John are in my book.