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1963 Topps baseball card of the “other” Aaron, Hank’s brother Tommie. The younger brother of baseball’s all-time home run king played all or parts of seven seasons with the Braves in Milwaukee and Atlanta. The Aarons hold the major league record for career homers by a tandem of brothers – with Hank contributing 755 and Tommie 13. After his playing days, Tommie worked for the Braves as both a major league coach and minor league manager. He died of leukemia in 1984, and the Braves’ AAA farm team annually awards the Tommie Aaron Memorial Award to its’ team MVP.

What type of players do the Buffalo Sabres need to find to become legitimate Stanley Cup contenders? A look at this 1976 Opeechee hockey card of the Sabres’ season statistical leaders provides some hints. They could really use some guys who can score like the 2 of 3 members of the French Connection featured on the card, but how about a player like Danny Gare? How many players in the NHL today lead their team in goal-scoring (with 50 goals even) and also lead the team in penalty minutes? Here’s hoping they can keep the right “grinders” on the roster who are already there, and add some much-needed offense, preferably offensive players who play with a physical edge, as Gare did.

The details of this 1959 Topps football card of legendary NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden are right on the money. And, he was drafted by the Eagles and went to training camp with them, but a knee injury kept him from making the team, and he never actually had his own Topps card. This card is actually a fake, although it is a very impressive one, produced by a guy named Bob Lemke. Check out his blog for more details… http://boblemke.blogspot.com/2009/11/my-custom-creation-john-madden-football.html  My only complaint with the card is that if Madden had really had a card, he certainly would’ve insisted on posing in the old “huckabuck” style of the day.

1988 Fleer basketball card, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of former NBA point guard Kenny Smith. Smith played 11 seasons in the league with 6 different teams. Nicknamed “The Jet”, he helped the Houston Rockets win 2 NBA championships in the mid-1990s. Smith now works as an NBA analyst for TNT on the Emmy Award winning studio show Inside The NBA.

1962 Topps baseball card of former major league pitcher Al Downing. He was a promising young pitcher when he broke in with the Yanks in ’62, and was outstanding on a 1963 Yankee team that won 104 games. Injuries hampered him later in his career, but he stuck with it and lasted 16 seasons in the majors. In 1971 he won 20 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers and was named Comeback Player of The Year. In 1974, Downing became a trivia answer in baseball history when he surrendered Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time record.

1974 Opeechee hockey card of the king of the “Broad Street Bullies” Philadelphia Flyer teams of the 1970s – Dave “The Hammer” Schultz. He was a major intimidator in an era when the Flyers won back-to-back Stanley Cups with a physical style of hockey never seen before. Schultz epitomized the term “enforcer” in his career, and holds the league record for most penalty minutes in a season with 472. Despite being mostly remembered as the ultimate NHL “goon”, Schultz scored 20 goals in the Flyers’ ’73-74 Cup-winning season, and also once scored a first round series- clinching goal against the Flames.

With the NFL Draft scheduled for later this week, here is a 1998 Bowman “Chrome” football card of one of the top draft pick decisions of all time, Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning. Leading up to the ’98 draft, there was a debate among NFL scouts and personnel people over who was the better choice – Peyton or Ryan Leaf. Fortunately for the Colts, GM Bill Polian had the foresight to draft Manning, while San Diego followed by picking Leaf #2, and wound up with perhaps the biggest draft bust in history. Manning, on the other hand, is in the prime of what is a certain Hall of Fame career. He is an 11 time Pro Bowler and has been league MVP four times, and led the Colts to a Super Bowl title in 2006. Manning has been one of pro sports’ most marketable players also, appearing in numerous commercials over the years and even hosting Saturday Night Live.

1976 Topps basketball card, courtesy of www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of a player with another great 1970s Afro, former San Antonio Spur James Silas. Silas started his pro career with the Dallas Chaparrals of the old American Basketball Association, and stayed with the franchise when they moved to San Antonio. He played a total of 9 pro seasons, and was one of the game’s most accurate free throw shooters. Nicknamed “The Late Mr. Silas” for his knack of playing his best late in games at crunch time, Silas’s jersey # 13 was the first to be retired by the Spurs’ franchise.

1962 Topps baseball card, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of former New York Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson. Playing on a power-hitting Yankee dynasty in the 1950s and ’60s, he was a superb defensive infielder who won 5 Gold Gloves as a fielder and was an eight time All Star. Richardson hit only 34 career home runs, yet had a knack for coming through with clutch hits for the Yanks. He won the World Series MVP Award in 1960, despite the fact New York lost the Series in seven games to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He made perhaps his most famous defensive play in game seven of the 1962 World Series, when he snatched a line drive off the bat of San Francisco’s Willie McCovey, robbing the Giants’ slugger of a game winning hit and clinching the Series for the Yankees. Richardson, a deeply religous born-again Christian, officiated at the funeral of former teammate Mickey Mantle.

Courtesy of www.CheckOutMyCards.com , a 1984 Topps hockey card of former Buffalo Sabre forward/defenseman and current coach Lindy Ruff. Ruff played 15 seasons in the NHL, mostly with the Sabres. He was traded to the New York Rangers in 1989 and finished his career there. He was known for grit and toughness, and served as the Sabres’ captain for 3 seasons. Ruff entered the coaching ranks after retiring as a player, serving as an assistant with the Florida Panthers before taking the Sabres’ head job, not exactly under the best of circumstances as he was replacing the popular Ted Nolan. He immediately had success, however, guiding the Sabres to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1997-98. Ruff is currently the longest tenured head coach in the NHL.