rayonsports.com

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.

1961 Fleer football card of former running back John Olszewski, who started his career with the NFL’s Chicago Cardinals in 1953. He had a decent career, making the Pro Bowl twice. He was nicknamed “Johnny O”, and wore the jersey number 0, as seen in the card, which was a rare allowance for individualism by the buttoned-down NFL at the time.  His NFL career wound down with the Detroit Lions in ’61, but he resurfaced the next year in the AFL with the Denver Broncos, playing just the 1962 season there before retiring.

1952 Topps baseball card of former major leaguer Ray Boone, the first in a long line of major league players from the Boone family. He enjoyed an 11 year major league career with 6 different teams, starting in 1948 with the Cleveland Indians, where he helped win the World Series, the last time that franchise has won a world title. Boone, an infielder, was a two-time All Star. He was followed into the major leagues by his son, Bob, who had a long career as a catcher, and grandsons Brett and Aaron, both of whom were also infielders. The family was the first to send 3 generations of players to the All Star game.

1981 Topps football card of former Oakland Raider cornerback Lester Hayes, who was known for his low, crouching stance while lining up opposite opposing receivers, and also for his extensive use of “Stickum” before it was banned by the NFL. He was nicknamed “Lester The Molester” for his relentless style of bump-and-run coverage. Hayes was an avid Star Wars fan, and in pregame interviews prior to Super Bowl XVIII, he proclaimed himself “the only true Jedi.” The colorful Hayes was more than just a “character”, however. He was a 5-time Pro Bowler, a 2-time Super Bowl champion, the NFL Defensive Player of The Year in 1981, and a member of the NFL’s All Decade team for the 1980s. He is arguably the greatest “shutdown” corner in league history.

1964 Topps football card of former pro player and coach Walt Corey, who starred as a linebacker for the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs franchise in the American Football League from 1960 until 1966. He was an AFL All Star in ’63. After retiring as a player, Corey was a long-time assistant coach for several teams, with his most notable stint being the defensive coordinator in Buffalo under Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy. Corey worked for another Hall of Famer – Mike Ditka – as he was the defensive line coach for Ditka during his time as coach of the New Orleans Saints.

From www.CheckOutMyCards.com , a 1978 Topps football card of former Buffalo Bills’ defensive back Tony Greene, one of the most underrated and unsung players in Bills’ history. An undrafted free agent, he played 9 seasons with the team, from 1971 to 1979, and made the Pro Bowl in 1977. Greene had 37 career interceptions for the Bills.