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1963 Topps football card of former pro football safety Larry Wilson, who enjoyed a 13 year career in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was an eight time Pro Bowler, was named to the All Decade teams for both the 1960s and ’70s, was named NFL Defensive Player of The Year in 1966 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1978. He was the first NFL player to employ the safety blitz as a tactic to rush the opposing quarterback. He stayed loyal to the Cardinal organization after his playing days ended, serving at various times as defensive backs coach, interim head coach, scouting director, vice president and general manager. In all, he worked for the Cardinal organization for 43 years before retiring in 2002.

1961 Topps football card of former Detroit Lions’ linebacker Joe Schmidt, a dedicated Lion who played 13 seasons with the team and also served as their head coach for 6 years. As a player, he was a 10-time Pro Bowler, 2-time NFL Defensive MVP, member of the NFL All Decade team of the 1950s, and a major part of Detroit championship teams in 1953 and 1957. He served 6 months in the U.S. Army after the ’57 season. Some perspective relating to players of the 1960s compared to today: Schmidt was the Lions’ highest paid defensive player in 1963, making $22,000 for the year. As a coach, he compiled a winning record but only got the Lions to the playoffs once. Schmidt had his jersey number 56 retired by the franchise, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973.

1986 Topps football card, courtesy of CheckOutMyCards.com , of a player many consider the greatest of all time, former wide receiver Jerry Rice. This is his “rookie” card, from 1986, and he would play 20 years in the NFL, 16 of them with the San Francisco 49ers. He holds most career records for wide receivers in league history. Rice’s resume is long and storied – 13-time Pro Bowler, NFL MVP in 1987, Super Bowl XXIII MVP, All Decade team for both the 1980s and 1990s and three time Super Bowl champion. His 208 career touchdowns are a record that will be hard to break. The second most is Emmitt Smith’s 175. Rice was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

The Classic Sports Card of The Day for this day isn’t a real one. It’s a home-made card, mimicking a 1955 Bowman style, done by Bob Lemke of boblemke.blogspot.com, of one of the NFL’s legendary hard hitters, linebacker Hardy Brown. Brown played 10 seasons of pro football with 7 different teams and his best and longest stint was with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1950s. He served with United States Marines in World War II before his football career began, and passed away in 1991 in a mental institution.

1964 Topps football card of a former pro football defensive lineman, Junious “Buck” Buchanan, who enjoyed a 13 year career, all with the Kansas City Chiefs. The NFL’s New York Giants picked him in the 19th round of the 1963 draft, while the Chiefs, who obviously had better scouts, made him the top pick of the AFL draft. Buchanan wisely chose to sign with Kansas City and went on to become one of the franchise’s most iconic defensive stars. He was also the first African American player to be the top pick of a pro football league. Buchanan went on to be a six-time AFL All Star and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. Unfortunately, Buchanan died of lung cancer in 1992 at the young age of 51.

1966 Topps football card of former pro football linebacker Mike Stratton, who played 12 seasons in the American and National Football Leagues, all but one of them for the Buffalo Bills. He was a six-time AFL All Star selection and helped the Bills win AFL championships in 1964 and ’65. His “Hit Heard ‘Round The World” on San Diego’s Keith Lincoln in the ’64 title game lives on in Buffalo sports lore as it put Lincoln out for the game and helped lift the Bills to their first championship.

1962 Topps football card of former NFL defensive end Doug Atkins, a massive 6’8″ man who enjoyed a long, successful 17 year career in pro football. He was a 10 time All Pro, made the Pro Bowl 8 times and was selected to the All Decade Team for the 1960s. He played most of his career with the Chicago Bears, helping them win a pair of NFL titles, in 1954 and 1963. He finished his playing days with the expansion New Orleans Saints, and despite playing only 3 seasons there, made the Pro Bowl in ’68 and had his jersey # 81 retired by the franchise. Atkins, who passed away in 2015, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

1961 Fleer football card of the greatest NFL player of all time, Cleveland Browns’ fullback Jim Brown. He played only 9 seasons in the league before retiring to make movies, but those 9 years were amazing. Brown led the league in rushing 8 of his 9 seasons, was Rookie of The Year in 1957, was a three time NFL MVP, named All Pro all 9 years of his career, was named to the All Decade team of the 1960s and led the Browns to an NFL Championship in 1964. He used his fame to help the cause of the Civil Rights movement in the ’60s and still champions causes to help troubled youth today. He also enjoyed a successful acting career, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.

1949 Leaf football card of a National Football League legendary quarterback, Sid Luckman of the Chicago Bears. After a stellar college career at Columbia University, Bears’ owner George Halas wanted him for his team, but Luckman initially wasn’t interested in pro football, preferring to go work for his father’s trucking company. Halas convinced him otherwise, and Luckman went on to revolutionize the pro game running a T-formation offense that won 4 NFL titles in the 1940s. Besides being a four-time champ, Luckman was a five-time All Pro, NFL MVP in 1943, was named to the All Decade team for the 1940s and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. He passed away at the age of 81 in 1998.

1964 Topps football card of former pro football defensive tackle Jim Dunaway, who played 10 seasons in the AFL and NFL, all but one with the Buffalo Bills. He was a four-time AFL All Star and spent his final pro season in 1972 with the undefeated Miami Dolphins. He was a teammate for 3 seasons of O.J. Simpson, and like Simpson, was charged but never found guilty in the murder of his ex-wife in 1998.