1974 Topps football card of former NFL defensive tackle Jethro Pugh, a force for the Dallas Cowboys’ “Doomsday Defense” of the 1960s and ’70s. He played for 14 seasons, all with the Cowboys, and helped coach Tom Landry’s team win a pair of Super Bowls. After retiring as a player, he owned a number of western-themed gift shops at the Dallas airport, and also hosted a charity golf tournament. Pugh passed away in 2015 at the age of 70.
1987 Topps football card of former NFL wide receiver Wesley Walker, who had an outstanding 12 year career in the league with the New York Jets. Although legally blind in his left eye, he became a top target of Jet quarterbacks in the 1980s and one of the top Jet pass-catchers of all time. He was named to the Pro Bowl twice. Walker is currently retired after a post-NFL career as a high school physical education teacher.
It was such a huge event that it had to be given it’s own special football card. This 1978 Topps “Highlight” card signifies the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first ever win as a franchise. It took almost 2 full seasons, and after 26 consecutive losses to begin their existence, quarterback Gary Huff led the Bucs to a win over the equally hapless New Orleans Saints. Huff played 7 years in the NFL, and was a classic journeyman. After retiring, he served in various coaching capacities and is currently the senior associate athletic director at his alma mater, Florida State.
1974 Topps football card of former wide receiver Ahmad Rashad, who played 10 seasons in the NFL. Born Bobby Moore, he changed his name in 1972 after converting to a small sect that practices unorthodox Islam. Rashad began his pro career with the St. Louis Cardinals, was traded to Buffalo for quarterback Dennis Shaw in 1974 and after playing only one season there, signed with the Minnesota Vikings, where he had his most success, making the Pro Bowl 4 times. After retiring, he became a successful sports broadcaster with NBC and ABC, covering basketball, football and baseball.
1969 Topps football card of former pro football quarterback Bill Kilmer. This is the second time we’ve featured a Kilmer card on Rayonsports, which is understandable since his career spanned 18 seasons. He began his playing days with the San Francisco 49ers, became the first starting QB for the New Orleans Saints when he was picked in the 1967 expansion draft, and had his most success during an eight year stay in Washington, where he was named to the Pro Bowl twice and led the Redskins to the Super Bowl in 1972 .
1961 Topps football card of former pro football linebacker Bill George, who was a mainstay of the Chicago Bears’ “Monsters of The Midway” defense for 14 of his 15 seasons. He is credited with being the first player to play the middle linebacker position in a 4-3 defense with the Bears, and was named to the Pro Bowl 8 consecutive years from 1954 to 1961. He also helped the Bears win the NFL championship in 1963. A 1974 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, George died in an automobile accident in 1982.
1968 Topps football card of former pro football quarterback Jim Hart, who played an amazing 19 seasons in the NFL, all but one of those years with the old St. Louis Cardinals. His best days were in the mid-1970s, when he quarterbacked coach Don Coryell’s “Cardiac Cards”, a nickname the team earned by winning 10 games over a three year period with late game-winning drives engineered by Hart. Although he threw more interceptions than touchdown passes over his career, Hart was still a four-time Pro Bowler. After retiring, Hart co-owned a restaurant with teammate Dan Dierdorf, did some broadcasting on WGN with Dick Butkus, and served as athletic director at his alma mater, Southern Illinois.
1968 Topps football card of former NFL running back Tom Matte, who had a long distinguished 12 year career with the old Baltimore Colts. The versatile back was a two-time Pro Bowler and was a member of the Super Bowl V winning Colts’ team, although he was hurt and didn’t play in the game. Since his retirement, he has worked in broadcasting as an analyst for CBS and for local coverage of Baltimore Ravens’ games, and also does work to raise funds to help retired players.
1969 Topps football card of former flanker back and punter Gary Collins, who played his entire 10 year National Football League career with the Cleveland Browns. He helped the Browns win the NFL championship in 1964, and was in fact named the title game’s MVP. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and was named to the league’s All Decade team for the 1960s. Collins served briefly as a college assistant coach after retiring, and also worked in insurance and as a broadcaster.
1970 Topps football card of a former wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL, Gene Washington. Oddly, in the era that he played in the league, there was another player, also a star receiver, with the same name but no relation, who was with the San Francisco 49ers. Washington the Viking played seven years in the league, six with Minnesota before finishing up his playing career with a single season in Denver. Despite the relative shortness of his career, Washington was a two-time Pro Bowler and played in the Super Bowl in 1970.