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1979 Opeechee hockey card of Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne, who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League with three different franchises, most notably the Los Angeles Kings. In L.A., he was a member of the “Triple Crown” line along with Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer. Dionne, nicknamed “Little Beaver”, was the third player in NHL history to reach the 700 goal plateau for his career. He was a two-time winner of both the Lester B. Pearson Award as the outstanding regular season player and the Lady Bing Trophy for sportsmanship, and won election to the Hall of Fame in 1992.

1987 Fleer basketball card of former NBA player Michael Cooper, who played his entire 12 year career in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers. Known for his tenacious defense, he was a key player on the Lakers’ “Showtime” championship teams of the 1980s, helping the franchise win 5 titles. A 6’5 “swingman”, who could play both guard and forward, Cooper also had a knack for adding a touch of offense, especially when his team needed it most. After retiring as a player, he went into coaching, serving as an assistant in the NBA but having tremendous success as a head coach in the WNBA, where is currently coach of the Atlanta Dream. His WNBA coaching resume includes 2 championships while guiding the Los Angeles Sparks.

1959 Topps football card of former NFL offensive lineman Jim Ray Smith, who had a solid nine year career in the league that included five Pro Bowl selections. Smith began his playing days with the Cleveland Browns in 1956 and played 7 seasons for them, then finished his career with a two year stint as a Dallas Cowboy. This card is another  “error” card, which I like to feature on this blog. The team logo shown on the top left of the card is that of the Detroit Lions, and of course Smith never played for that franchise.

1966 Topps hockey card of legendary former Montreal Canadiens’ captain Jean Beliveau, who played 20 seasons for the NHL’s most storied franchise. Individual honors that he earned during his career include 2 Hart Trophies as league MVP, a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP and an Art Ross Trophy as the league’s high scorer for a season. His real accomplishments, however, were always team-oriented, as he played on 10 Stanley Cup champion teams in Montreal, then served in a front office capacity as the franchise won 7 more titles. Beliveau was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 and passed away in December of 2014.

1960 Fleer football card of former pro football player, and the first head coach in Buffalo Bills’ history, Garrard “Buster” Ramsey. He coached the Bills in their first 2 seasons of existence, in 1960 and ’61. Ramsey enjoyed a six year playing career in the 1940s and ’50s with the Chicago Cardinals, but his greatest success came in the ’50s when he served as chief defensive assistant coach with the Detroit Lions, helping them win 3 NFL championships. Ramsey is credited with devising the 4-3 defense, which is a standard scheme in today’s NFL, and also being the first coach to blitz linebackers, a tactic he called the Red Dog. His defensive prowess got him the head job in Buffalo, and after he was fired from that post he returned to the NFL and coached the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense from 1962 until 1964. Ramsey passed away in 2007.

1974 Topps football card of former pro football linebacker John Skorupan, who played eight seasons in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants. He was a starting ‘backer for the Bills immediately after being drafted out of Penn State in 1973, when the school was known as “Linebacker U.” due to the large number of stars they turned out at that position. He played for the Bills for 5 seasons before moving on to New York, where he played on the outside for 3 years before giving his starting spot over to a young player named Lawrence Taylor.

1989 Score football card of former pro football wide receiver Quinn Early, who played 12 seasons in the NFL for four different teams. His longest stay was with New Orleans, where he played five years, while also putting in three year stints in San Diego and Buffalo. Early currently resides in San Diego, where he teaches Kung Fu at a martial arts academy. He has written books on that subject and also been published in Inside Kung Fu magazine.

1986 Topps football card of former pro football quarterback Bruce Mathison, who had a brief NFL career with 3 different teams. He was drafted out of Nebraska by the San Diego Chargers in 1983 and played there for 2 years before hooking up for a season with the Buffalo Bills, where he started for a short time before Jim Kelly took the reins there. Mathison returned to the Chargers for a year, then finished his playing days in 1987 with Seattle.

1984 Topps football card of former NFL fullback Roosevelt Leaks, who played nine seasons in the league, for the Baltimore Colts and Buffalo Bills. He was known as one of pro football’s top blocking backs in his era. He had an outstanding college career also, at the University of Texas, where he became the Longhorns’ first African American All American. He worked in real estate after his playing days ended, and retired from a job at the Texas General Land Office in 2013.

1978 Topps football card of Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka, one of the hardest-running backs of all time. His most successful seasons came in the first seven years of his career in Miami, where he was a five-time Pro Bowler and key cog in a pair of Dolphin Super Bowl titles. Looking for a bigger paycheck in a non-free agency era of the NFL, Csonka jumped to the Memphis Southmen of the new World Football League in 1975 (along with teammates Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield), but lasted only one season there. He returned to the NFL the following year, signing with the New York Giants and playing there for three uneventful seasons. He returned to Miami for a year and had a decent season, but when the Dolphins failed to give him a new contract  he retired.