1962 Fleer football card of former pro football back Dick Christy, who played 5 seasons of pro ball, 3 of them for the American Football League’s New York Titans, who later became the Jets. He was an AFL All Star in 1962. Christy died in an automobile accident in 1966. His alma mater, North Carolina State, created the Dick Christy Award, given to the most valuable player in games against rival South Carolina.
1977 Topps football card of former NFL linebacker Willie Hall, who enjoyed a six year career in the league, most notably with the Oakland Raiders. Drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 1972, he was acquired by the Raiders in 1975 and became one of many reclamation projects that Al Davis produced while running the Silver and Black. Hall was a key member of the 1976 Super Bowl champion Oakland club that finished 16-1 on the season.
1985 Topps football card of former pro football running back Billy Sims, who played 5 years for the Detroit Lions before he was forced to retire due to a serious knee injury. He was a major star in that short career, winning Rookie of The Year honors in 1980, while also earning 3 Pro Bowl nods and a pair of All Pro designations. The 1978 Heisman Trophy winner as the top player in college fell on hard times after his playing days ended, with some bad investments forcing him into bankruptcy. Sims has recently rebounded from those troubles, and now co-owns a chain of Billy Sims Barbecue restaurant franchises in Oklahoma.
From CheckOutMyCards.com, a 1996 ProLine football card of former NFL defensive end Phil Hansen, who played his entire 11 year career with the Buffalo Bills. He played in 3 Super Bowls with the club, and ranks 3rd behind Bruce Smith and Aaron Schobel on the franchise career sack list. Hansen ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2012 for a Minnesota state senate spot.
1974 Topps hockey card of former NHL star winger Rene Robert, who passed away recently. He played 12 seasons in the league for 4 different teams, with his most successful years coming while a member of the Buffalo Sabres. In Buffalo, he teamed with Gilbert Perreault and Richard Martin to form the famed French Connection line. Robert was a two-time NHL All Star and after retiring as a player served as president of the NHL Alumni Association. His jersey number 14 has been retired by the Sabres’ franchise, and hangs in the rafters of Buffalo’s arena along with those of Perreault and Martin.
1984 Topps football card of former NFL linebacker Eugene Marve, who enjoyed an 11 year career in the league with 3 different teams, most notably with the Buffalo Bills. He was the first player ever drafted from Saginaw Valley State, and was a productive middle linebacker for the Bills in the early to mid 1980s. His son Robert was a college quarterback at Miami of Florida and Purdue. Marve passed away recently at the age of 60.
1997 Pacific Philadelphia football card of former NFL offensive lineman Justin Strzelczyk, who played 9 seasons at tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He attended West Seneca West High School, where he starred in football and basketball. He also played hockey as a youth. Strzelczyk died tragically in a car accident at the age of 36 in 2004.
1963 Fleer football card of former pro football cornerback Booker Edgerson, who played 9 seasons in the AFL, mostly for the Buffalo Bills. A key member of the Bills’ back-to-back AFL titles in the mid-1960s, he was the embodiment of a “lockdown corner” before that term was popular. Edgerson was a track star as a sprinter and long jumper in college. He was a two-time AFL All Star, is a member of the Bills’ Wall of Fame, and has been active in charitable endeavors through the Bills’ Alumni group.
2010 Score football card of NFL placekicker Ryan Succop, who has enjoyed a 12 year career in the league with 3 different teams. He is perhaps the most successful of the NFL Draft’s “Mister Irrelevant” class, a name given to the last player chosen on the draft’s final day. Succop holds 2 NFL placekicking records – highest single season field goal percentage by a rookie (86%) and most consecutive field goals made inside 50 yards (56). He earned a Super Bowl ring kicking for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
1977 Topps football card of former NFL defensive tackle Mike Kadish, who spent 10 years in the league, mostly with the Buffalo Bills. He was a first round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins in 1972 and spent that year on the team’s taxi squad as they completed their undefeated season. He was traded to the Bills and was a main fixture on their defense until his final season in 1981.