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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.

1956 Topps football card of Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, who played 12 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the high-octane Los Angeles Rams where he split QB duties with Bob Waterfield. With opening day 2011 for the NFL coming up this week, it’s notable that “The Dutchman”, in 1951, set an opening day record by passing for 554 yards, a mark that still stands today. Van Brocklin won an NFL title with the Rams that season also, and at the tail end of his career, led the Philadelphia Eagles to the title in 1960 over Green Bay, the only post-season loss of Vince Lombardi’s career. He retired after that game to become the first head coach of the expansion Minnesota Vikings in 1961.

1977 Topps football card of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive lineman Lee Roy Selmon, who passed away at age 56 over the weekend of complications from a stroke. Selmon was the first player drafted by the Bucs’ organization in their inaugural season, and is arguably still the greatest player to ever don a Tampa Bay uniform. He played his entire 9 year career with the franchise, and was the first Buc to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in 1995. His brother Dewey was a teammate both in college at Oklahoma and with Tampa Bay in the early years.

1963 Topps baseball card of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Eli Grba, which is another of the classic “error” cards, since the player pictured is actually Grba’s Angel teammate, pitcher Ryne Duren. Grba was an important part of Angels’ history, as he was the first player the Angels picked in the 1960 expansion draft, and in all had a 5 year major league career. Duren was mostly a journeyman, pitching for eight different major league teams, and was known for his blazing fastball and poor vision, which combined to instill fear in opposing hitters.

In 1950, the Topps card company printed a series of football cards, known as the 1950 Topps Felt Back Series, featuring college players. This card features University of Indiana quarterback and future NFL player Nick Sebek, who also was my high school gymn teacher. After finishing his college career, Sebek was drafted by the Washington Redskins, where he backed up Hall of Famer “Slingin’ ” Sammy Baugh. During World War II he served with the 82nd Airborne Division and quarterbacked the undefeated All Airborne team. Sebek passed away in 2007.