1979 Topps baseball card of former Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt. Considered one of the greatest third basemen of all time, Schmidt played his entire career for the Phils, and led them to the 1980 World Series title, being named Series MVP. He was a 12-time all star, 10 time Gold glove winner for fielding and an 8-time NL home run champ. Schmidt was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1995.
1961 Fleer football card of former Chicago Bears back Willie Galimore. “Willie The Wisp” was drafted by the Bears in 1956 and was known for his tremendous speed and lateral movement – some teammates even claimed he could run as fast side-to-side down the field as most men could in a straight line. Galimore played for the Bears from 1957 until 1963, including their ’63 NFL championship team, but unfortunately, was killed in an auto accident along with teammate Bo Farrington in 1964. He was active in the Civil Rights movement at the time, taking part in demonstrations in his hometown of St. Augustine, Florida shortly before his death. Galimore’s son Ron was the first African-American U.S. gymnast.
1969 Topps football card of former NFL running back Elijah Pitts, who played 11 seasons in the league, mostly with the Green Bay Packers. Although a backup for most of his career, Pitts was a valuable member of the Packer dynasty, and even scored 2 touchdowns in the first Super Bowl. After his playing days ended, he served as an assistant coach for 3 different NFL teams, and was assistant head coach under Marv Levy in Buffalo. Pitts died of stomach cancer in 1998. His son Ron also played in the NFL and is currently a sportscaster on Fox.
1968 Topps football card of Hall of Fame running back Leroy Kelly. Kelly had the unenviable task of trying to replace the legendary Jim Brown in the Cleveland Browns’ backfield when Brown abruptly retired in 1965, but he was not intimidated, fashioning a 10 year career that, like Brown, landed him in Canton. He led the NFL in rushing in 2 of those seasons, and was a six-time Pro Bowler. His brother Pat was a long-time major league baseball player.
1961 Fleer football card of former pro football receiver Don Maynard. Maynard is one of many players whose careers were resurrected by the birth of the American Football League in 1960. He was released by the NFL’s New York Giants after the 1958 season, kicked around in the Canadian League for a year, then became the first player signed by the New York Titans franchise in the AFL’s inaugural season. It turned out to be a pretty good acquisition, as Maynard fashioned a 13 year career with the Titans/Jets franchise, earning him induction into Pro Football’s Hall of Fame in 1987. Dubbed an “NFL reject” by the New York media upon signing with the Titans, Maynard got a measure of revenge when he teamed with Joe Namath to help the Jets upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, firmly establishing the AFL’s legitimacy.
1968 Topps football card of former Dallas Cowboys receiver Bob Hayes. An Olympic sprinter who carried the title “World’s Fastest Human”, he became an instant hit as a receiver in the NFL and started a trend of other “copycat” NFL teams scouring the country for track stars to try to convert into split ends. While it turned out that a lot of those other track stars weren’t very good at playing football, “Bullet Bob” was, and he put together a dominating 11 year career that resulted in his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009, unfortunately 5 years after he passed away. When the Cowboys won their first Super Bowl title in 1971, Hayes became the first player to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring.
1961 Fleer football card of the first player drafted in Buffalo Bills history, quarterback Richie Lucas. He joined the Bills after a stellar college career at Penn State but never really panned out as a pro QB. The Bills tried him as a defensive back and kick returner but eventually let him go to the Denver Broncos in the AFL’s “equalization” draft following the 1962 season.
1991 Topps football card of former NFL defensive lineman Mike Golic, who played 9 seasons in the league for 3 different teams. He was mostly a journeyman player, but since retiring has found a niche in sports broadcasting, most notably teaming with Mike Greenberg on ESPN’s popular Mike & Mike In The Morning program. Golic’s brother Bob also played in the NFL.
1955 Bowman football card, front and back, of former Baltimore Colt fullback Alan “The Horse” Ameche. He was NFL Rookie of The Year in 1955, and a four-time Pro Bowler. His pro career was relatively short, as he played only six seasons, but Ameche carved out a place in league history when he scored the winning touchdown in the NFL’s first sudden death overtime championship game against the New York Giants in 1958, a contest now known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played”. Ameche, who died in 1988, was a cousin of noted actor Don Ameche.
From www.CheckOutMyCards.com , a 1986 Topps football card of former Buffalo Bills linebacker Darryl Talley. Although he was overshadowed publicity-wise by teammates like Bruce Smith and Cornelius Bennett, Talley was the heart, soul and conscience of the Bills’ defense for most of the 12 years he played with the team. Known for wearing his “Spiderman” shirt under his uniform, he never missed a game in his long career with the Bills. He was a two-time Pro Bowler, and is a member of the Bills’ Wall of Fame. His brother John also played briefly in the NFL, and he is a cousin of New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter.