1978 Opeechee hockey card of former pro hockey center Don Luce, who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for 5 different teams. He enjoyed his most success with the Buffalo Sabres, where he centered a top checking line along with Craig Ramsay and Danny Gare. After retiring as a player Luce worked in player scouting and player development for the Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers, and is currently a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
1968 Topps football card of former pro football defensive tackle Jim Kanicki, who played 9 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Cleveland Browns. In the years before the 2 leagues merged both the NFL and AFL held separate player drafts, and Kanicki was picked by the Browns and the Buffalo Bills of the AFL. He chose to sign with Cleveland and helped anchor their defensive line for 8 years. He was a member of the Browns’ 1964 NFL championship team, and was named one of the top 100 players in franchise history in 2012. After retiring, Kanicki purchased the Arthur Louis Steel Company in 1985, and still maintains control of the business.
1973 Topps football card of former pro football defensive end Al Cowlings, who played 10 seasons of pro ball, 9 in the NFL, with 5 franchises. A top pick of the Buffalo Bills, he flamed out there after 3 years and drifted around the league for the rest of his years. They included a season in the Canadian League with Montreal in 1978. Cowlings dabbled in acting for a brief period after retiring as a player, but his claim to fame was unfortunate, as he was best friend O.J. Simpson’s driver in the slow-speed police chase that ended in Simpson’s arrest for murder in 1995.
1965 Topps football card of former pro quarterback John Huarte, who played 8 years in the AFL and NFL for 5 different teams. He was once listed as one of the top 50 draft busts of all time, but there’s more to his story. After winning the Heisman Trophy at Notre Dame, he was picked in the second round of the AFL draft as a highly-regarded prospect. The only problem was the team that drafted him, the New York Jets, had chosen Joe Namath in the first round. Despite that, Huarte kicked around pro ball as a backup and even won a Super Bowl ring as part of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl IV squad. After his playing days he opened a tile business that has grown to 30 locations and employs 1,000 people.
From CheckOutMyCards.com, a 1985 Opeechee hockey card of former pro hockey winger Mark Napier, who had a long 19 year career in the sport, starting with the old World Hockey Association’s Toronto Toros. He eventually found his way to the NHL where he spent time with 4 different organizations, winning Stanley Cups with Montreal in 1979 and Edmonton in 1985. He finished his NHL career in Buffalo before playing in Italy for 3 years. After retiring as a player he coached in Canadian junior hockey and served as president of the NHL Alumni Association for 12 years.
1961 Topps baseball card of former major league pitcher Jim “Mudcat” Grant, who threw for 7 different teams in a 14 year career in the big leagues. He started out in Cleveland and was traded to the Minnesota Twins, where he had his most success. In 1965 he became the first black pitcher in the American League to win 20 games, securing his place with the “Black Aces”, a group of African American hurlers who accomplished that feat. He also helped the Twins reach the World Series that year, and although the Twins lost the Series to the Dodgers, he pitched 2 complete game victories. After he retired, Grant was involved with professional softball leagues as a director, and dabbled in broadcasting with Cleveland and the Oakland A’s. He died in 2021 at the age of 85.
2004 Fleer Tradition football card of former NFL quarterback Eli Manning, who enjoyed a 16 year career in the league with the New York Giants. He was a 4 time Pro Bowler and won the Walter Payton Man of The Year Award in 2016. The younger brother of Peyton Manning, he matched his brother in Super Bowl wins with 2, both coming against Tom Brady’s New England Patriots. He was the MVP in both of those games also. Since retiring, Eli appears on an alternate Monday Night Football broadcast with his brother dubbed the Manningcast.
1968 Topps football card of former pro football quarterback Bill Nelsen, who was an NFL signal caller for 10 years, sharing time with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns. Known for being a tough-as-nails player who battled through knee injuries, he was a Pro Bowler in 1969 and a second team All Pro in 1968. Nelsen retired as a player in 1972 following his fifth knee operation, and after his playing days worked in coaching with 6 different NFL clubs, including a 6 year stint as quarterbacks coach in Tampa Bay and as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator. Nelsen passed away in 2019 at the age of 78.
1983 Topps football card of former pro football receiver Drew Pearson, who played 11 years in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. He was a three time All Pro, three time Pro Bowler, a member of the NFL’s 1970s All Decade Team and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. Pearson was a member of the Cowboys’ Super Bowl XII-winning club and was on the receiving end of Roger Staubach’s “Hail Mary” pass in the 1975 playoffs. Pearson, along with Michael Irvin, Dez Bryant and current Cowboy CeeDee Lamb, compose the “88” club, since all 4 wore that jersey number in Dallas.
1998 Upper Deck rookie football card of former NFL wide receiver Hines Ward, who played 14 years in the league, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and helped the Steelers to a pair of Super Bowl wins, capturing the game’s MVP award in Super Bowl XL. Ward was named to the Steelers’ Wall of Honor and also the franchise’s All Time Team. Since retiring as a player, the borderline Hall of Famer has dabbled in coaching at both the pro and college level, and is currently the head coach and general manager of the San Antonio Brahmas of the revived XFL.