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1961 Fleer football card of a quarterback who enjoyed a long, eventful career in the NFL, Earl Morrall. He played for 21 seasons with 6 different teams, as both a starter and a backup. He was named to the Pro Bowl twice, amazingly, 11 years apart, in 1957 and 1968. Morrall played on 3 Super Bowl-winning teams, and his best season may have been 1972, when he replaced injured starter Bob Griese and led the Miami Dolphins to the Super Bowl in their historic 17-0 undefeated season. After his playing days ended, he was QB coach at the University of Miami, tutoring Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinnie Testaverde. He also was a politician, serving as mayor of Davie, Florida.

1973 Topps football card of former Buffalo Bills’ fullback Jim Braxton, who was one of the first to play the position the way today’s fullbacks do – not as much of a rushing threat but as a lead blocker for a star halfback. In Braxton’s case, that back was Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson. He played 8 seasons in the NFL, and had a well-earned reputation as a tough, physical player who was largely responsible for helping Simpson break league rushing records.  “Bubby” Braxton was an effective runner when needed, and even scored 31 career touchdowns (most modern-day fullbacks don’t get 31 career carries). He died of cancer in 1986.

1989 Score football card of former Cleveland Browns’ tight end Ozzie Newsome, who is considered one of the top players at the position of all time. He played 13 seasons with the Browns, and was a seven time Pro Bowler. He was named to the NFL All Decade team for the 1980s, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999. After his playing career ended, Newsome moved into the Browns’ front office and moved with the club to Baltimore. In 2002, he was named general manager of the Ravens (a job he still holds today), becoming the first African American to hold that position.

1965 Topps football card of former linebacker and punter Paul Maguire, who is one of only 20 players to play for the entire 10 year existence of the old American Football League. Amazingly, Maguire played in the league’s first 6 championship games, the first 3 with the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers followed by 3 with Buffalo, and was a part of 3 consecutive title-winning teams, 1 with the Chargers before moving to Buffalo and helping the Bills win back-to-back titles. He was considered a master of the “coffin corner” kick, in which the punter angles his kick toward the sideline to pin the opponent deep in his own territory. After his playing days ended, Maguire enjoyed a long career in broadcasting as a color analyst, working games for ESPN, NBC and ABC involving teams from college football, the NFL, Canadian Football League, the USFL and the United Football League. He also hosted the Budweiser Sportsline, a local sports call-in show in Buffalo.

1988 Topps football card of former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon, who played 14 seasons in the league. Seven of those seasons, and the most successful, were played with the Chicago Bears, where he led his team to the Super Bowl title in 1985. That Bears’ team became known as the “Super Bowl Shuffle” Bears, after a rap video made by players on the club, incidentally, before they even had qualified for the title game. McMahon played at the time of the “punk” music era, and carried the “punk” personna onto the field, routinely defying dress code orders from commissioner Pete Rozelle with headbands that had “unauthorized corporate logos” on them.

1956 Topps football card of former Washington Redskin receiver Jack Carson. Better known as “Johnny” Carson during his playing days, he had a non-descript career, spending 6 years with the Redskins before closing out his playing days with one season in the American Football League, in the league’s inaugural season of 1960, with the Houston Oilers, who won the league’s championship that year. I featured this card not so much to feature Carson but to highlight the white football that the NFL used in night games played in the early years up until the 1950s. The ball was used to help players see it better in the poorly lit stadiums of the day, and actually the NFL also prohibited teams from wearing white helmets and jerseys in night games, so that the white ball wouldn’t blend into a player’s uniform. This rule meant that some teams had to wear different color jerseys and helmets for day and night games.

This is a 1964 Philadelphia football card of “another” Bradshaw who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1960s, former offensive tackle Charley Bradshaw. Although there does appear to be a slight resemblance, he is not related to Terry, the four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback of the 1970s Steelers. Charley played 11 seasons in the NFL, mostly for the Steelers but also with the Rams and Lions. He played for the Steelers during an era when they were one of the league’s perennial losers, and was so disliked by Pittsburgh fans that owner Art Rooney suspended pre-game introductions of the players due to how badly the home crowd booed him. Bradshaw served for a time as head of the NFL Players’ Association, and earned a law degree during the off-season of his playing days. He practiced law in Dallas, Texas up until his death in 2002.

1966 Philadelphia football card of former NFL kicker and punter Don Chandler, who played 12 seasons in the league, 9 with the New York Giants and the last 3 with the Green Bay Packers. Chandler has the distinction of having played in the NFL’s first 2 overtime games, with the Giants in the famous 1958 championship game against the Colts, and for the Packers, again versus the Colts, in a Western Conference playoff game. In that game, he was involved in a play that changed the game, as his fourth quarter field goal that tied the game appeared to sail wide right of the uprights. That kick directly resulted in the NFL raising the height of the goalpost uprights to their current height. Chandler was named the punter on the NFL’s All Decade team of the 1960s, and helped the Packers win the first 2 Super Bowls. He passed away in 2011.

1965 Philadelphia football card of a guy who has spent 51 years in the professional game, Dick Lebeau. He played for 14 seasons as a defensive back for the Detroit Lions, and still holds the franchise record for career interceptions. He was a three time Pro Bowler, and when he retired after the 1972 season, his NFL career was hardly over. He has coached at various levels for 37 years, and is currently the defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is widely considered the greatest D-coordinator in the game, having invented the “zone blitz” concept that is so popular in today’s game. LeBeau was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

1956 Topps football card of former NFL quarterback George Ratterman, who had the distinction of playing in the old All America Football Conference (AAFC), the Canadian Football League and the NFL. After he retired he wrote a book titled Confessions of A Gypsy Quarterback , and that title pretty much describes his career. He played for the Buffalo Bills in the AAFC and New York Yanks for 2 years in the NFL, but his best years came from 1952 to 1956 with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, where he succeeded one of the game’s greatest of all time, Otto Graham. While playing for innovative coach Paul Brown with the Browns, Ratterman became the first player to wear a radio receiver in his helmet, with the coach sending in plays using a microphone. Also after his playing days ended, Ratterman served as general counsel for the American Football League players’ union, and was a color analyst on AFL game telecasts.