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1961 Topps football card of former NFL receiver Joe Walton, who enjoyed a long career in pro football as both a player and coach. Born in Beaver Falls, PA, the same town that produced Joe Namath, Walton played 8 seasons in the NFL, splitting his time between the Washington Redskins, a team his father Frank “Tiger” Walton also played for, and the New York Giants. He also coached in the league for 24 years, including a 7 year stint as head coach of the New York Jets. Walton currently is the head coach at Robert Morris University.

1958 Topps football card of former Chicago Bear fullback Rick Casares. This hard-nosed runner played for 14 seasons in pro football, mostly with the Bears, in the 1950s and ’60s. Casares was a member of the Bears’ team that won the NFL title in 1963. He was always among the top yardage gainers in the NFL during his career, but never won the league rushing title, as he played in the same era as the greatest back of all time – Jim Brown. Yet, he held most of  the rushing yardage records for the Bears’ franchise until the great Walter Payton shattered them in the 1980s. He still ranks ahead of Gale Sayers on the team’s career rushing yardage list. Casares’ running style was summed up on an NFL Films video when Steve Sabol proclaimed that a slow motion shot of a three yard run by the Bear fullback, highlighting his grit and determination, epitomized the era of the 1960s in the NFL, which he considered the golden era of pro football.

1963 Topps football card of one of the best middle linebackers of all time, former Green Bay Packer Ray Nitschke, who played 15 seasons for the team from 1958 to 1972. He was a big part of a dominating defense in Green Bay, under coach Vince Lombardi, that won 5 NFL championships in a 7 year span. Known for his fierce, physical style of play, Nitschke was an All Pro 7 times in his career, and was MVP of the 1962 NFL title game. After retiring from football, Nitschke dabbled in acting, appearing in the original version of the movie The Longest Yard in 1974. He was elected to Pro Football’s Hall of Fame in 1978, and died of a heart attack in 1998.

1964 Topps football card of former safety George Saimes, who played in the old American Football League for the Buffalo Bills, and was one of the league’s premier defensive players. He was an All-AFL performer 5 times in the league’s 10 year history, and was known for his ability as an open field tackler, a skill sadly lacking in today’s pro game. He was the first AFL player to perfect the “safety blitz”, rushing opposing QBs from his safety position, around the time Larry Wilson was doing the same in the NFL for the St. Louis Cardinals. Saimes was an integral part of the defense in Buffalo that won back-to-back AFL championships in 1964 and ’65. After the 2 leagues merged, Saimes finished his playing career by playing a couple of NFL seasons in Denver before retiring. He served as a player scout after retiring.

1962 Fleer football card of one of the premier pass receivers of the old American Football League, the Houston Oilers’ Charlie Hennigan. One of many great former AFL players who’ve been overlooked by pro football’s Hall of Fame, he was the main target of Hall of Fame QB George Blanda during his seven seasons as an Oiler receiver, from 1960 until his retirement in 1966. Today’s wideouts regularly put up big numbers, but Hennigan did it in an era when teams actually ran the ball also. He caught 101 passes in 1964, an almost unheard of number in that era, and also had 3 games of 200+ yards receiving, and 11 games of over 100 yards receiving in a single season, both records that still stand today. Hennigan was an AFL All Star 5 times and was a major factor in the Oilers winning the AFL’s first 2 championships.

1989 Topps football card, courtesy of www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of former NFL defensive back Gill Byrd, who enjoyed a highly successful pro career as a cornerback for the San Diego Chargers. He played 10 seasons for the team, and was an All Pro selection 4 times. Byrd holds the Chargers’ all time record for career interceptions, with 42. His son Jairus is a star safety for the Buffalo Bills today. Gill Byrd is also still a part of the game, as he is currently in his fifth season as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bears.

1966 Topps baseball card of the last player, prior to this season,  to win the sport’s “triple crown”, former Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski. The Triple Crown, of course, is accomplished by leading your league in the categories of batting average, home runs and runs batted in. “Yaz” managed the feat in 1967, hitting .326 with 44 homers and 121 RBIs. That was only one season of an amazing 23-year career, which he spent entirely with the Boston Red Sox. He was an 18-time All Star, won 7 Gold Gloves for his fielding and was named American League MVP in his Triple Crown season. Yastrzemski was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

1976 Topps football card of former NFL quarterback James Harris, who was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1969, then won the team’s starting QB job, becoming the first African American to start a season as his team’s quarterback. Ironically, Marlin Briscoe had become pro football’s first black QB to start a game the previous year, in 1968 with Denver, but he was traded to the Bills in ’69 and switched to wide receiver, where he wound up catching some of Harris’ passes. Most of Harris’ success as a player came after he signed with the Los Angeles Rams, playing for them from 1973 until 1976 and guiding them to 2 consecutive NFC West titles and a conference title game appearance. Since retiring as a player, Harris has served as an executive in the front offices of 3 different NFL teams, currently working for the Detroit Lions.

1959 Topps football card of one of the all time legendary quarterbacks in NFL history, John Unitas. Until Sunday night, he held an NFL record said to be the football equivalent of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in baseball – throwing at least one touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games. Drew Brees, who broke Dan Marino’s single season passing yardage mark last season, tossed a TD pass in his 48th straight game to pass Unitas. “Johnny U” was rescued from the scrap heap, after being cut by the Steelers, by the Baltimore Colts, and he rewarded them with a 17 year career (of the 19 years he played altogether) that included 3 world championships, 3 league MVP awards and 10 selections to the Pro Bowl. Unitas was named to the NFL’s All Decade team for the 1960s, the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All Time team, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. He was always recognizable with his flat-top haircut and black high-top shoes, and his penchant for keeping drives alive with pinpoint passes and leading clutch fourth quarter comebacks made him the prototype for today’s signal callers, even though he played in an era dominated by a “three yards and a cloud of dust” conservative mentality. Unitas passed away of a heart attack in 2002.

1963 Fleer football card of former Buffalo Bills’ defensive tackle Tom Sestak, who was the anchor of the defensive line on a unit that was a dominant force in the American Football League in the 1960s, winning consecutive league titles in 1964 and ’65. He played only 6 seasons, as his career was cut short by a series of knee injuries, but was an AFL All Star in 4 of those years. He was named to the All Time AFL team and the Bills’ 50th Anniversary Team. Sestak died of a heart attack in 1987.