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1954 Topps baseball card of former Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 84. Nicknamed “The Duke of Flatbush”, Snider was the centerfielder and top power hitter on the club affectionately known as “Dem Bums”, the Dodger teams of the 1950s. He went with the Dodgers when they relocated to his hometown of Los Angeles, playing on a World Series winning team in Brooklyn in 1955 and in L.A. in 1959. Snider was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1980, and his uniform number 4 has been retired by the Dodger franchise. Snider worked as a broadcaster for the Montreal Expos for 14 seasons after his playing career ended.

From www.CheckOutMyCards.com , a 1971 Topps hockey card of former Boston Bruin Derek Sanderson. He won the NHL’s Calder Trophy as Rookie of The Year in 1968, and was a key player on the Bruins’ Stanley Cup winning teams in 1970 and 1972. Sanderson was a flamboyant character, the “Joe Namath of the NHL”, and even partnered with Broadway Joe in opening the Bachelor’s III nightclub in New York City. Nicknamed “Turk”, Sanderson’s career flamed out after the early success in Boston. He signed a huge contract with the WHA Philadelphia Blazers but never played well there, returning to Boston and later being traded to the New York Rangers. He battled alcoholism, to the point where he almost wound up homeless. Eventually, former teammate Bobby Orr paid to check Sanderson into rehab, and he recovered and went on to a ten-year career broadcasting on NESN (New England Sports Network).

1971 Topps football card of former Miami Dolphins’ placekicker Garo Yepremian, who made one of the all-time “blooper” plays in Super Bowl history in Super Bowl VII. Yepremian, from Cyprus, somehow managed to get his hands on a bobbled snap on a Dolphin field goal attempt, then tried to apparently throw a pass. The ball just floated straight upward into the waiting arms of Redskins’ DB Mike Bass, who returned it for a touchdown and turned a 14-0 Miami lead into a close 14-7 game. The Dolphins wound up holding on to win to cap off an amazing undefeated 17-0 season with their first Super Bowl title. Yepremian lasted 16 seasons in the NFL, 14 with Miami, and was named the kicker on the NFL’s All Decade  team for the 1970s. The picture used on this card was probably taken during an early training camp practice, since he wore jersey # 1 for his entire career with the Dolphins.

From www.CheckOutMyCards.com , this is a 1981 Topps football card of the player many consider the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Joe Montana. He led the San Francisco 49ers to 4 Super Bowl titles, and is the only player in NFL history to be named Super Bowl MVP three times. “Joe Cool” earned so many accolades in his career that it’s hard to list them all, but here are a few: 8 time Pro Bowler, 2 time league MVP, named to both the All Decade team for the 1980s and the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time team. Montana was above all a winner, and his jersey # 16 is retired by the 49ers. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

1965 Topps football card of former American Football League defensive back Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, who played 7 seasons for Oakland and Kansas City. Williamson was a notorious self-promoter, and as a Chief, prior to the inaugural Super Bowl, boasted that he would knock both Green Bay starting receivers out of the game with his famous “hammer”, a vicious “clothesline”  forearm  that he used regularly, that would get him fined, suspended and probably banned from today’s game. Ironically, “The Hammer”  himself was knocked out of the game when he caught a knee to the head from Packer back Donny Anderson. After his playing days, Williamson had a successful acting career, specializing in what was called “Blaxploitation” films, and briefly served as an analyst on Monday Night Football.

From www.CheckOutMyCards.com , a 1962 Topps football card of former Green Bay Packers’ receiver Max McGee. McGee played for the Packers from 1954, through some terrible losing seasons, through 1967, surviving long enough to enjoy the winning years under Vince Lombardi. He had his shining moment in the first Super Bowl, entering the game – with a hangover from partying the night before – after starter Boyd Dowler was injured, and playing the game of his life, with 7 catches for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns. After his football career ended, McGee became a partner in the Chi-Chi’s Mexican restaurant chain, and served as a color analyst on Packers’ radio broadcasts. He died in 2007 as a result of falling off the roof of his home while using a leaf blower to remove leaves.

Since it’s Super Bowl week this week, the Sports Card of  The Day will feature all football cards, and what better card to kick off the week than this 1982 Topps football card of former Los Angeles Rams’ defensive end Jack Youngblood. Youngblood was a symbol of toughness in his playing days, and played in the Super Bowl against Pittsburgh in 1979 with a broken leg. He played 14 years in the NFL and was a Pro Bowler 7 times. Youngblood was voted to the NFL All Decade Team for the 1970s, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

From www.CheckOutMyCards.com , this is a 1971 Opechee football card of quarterback Joe Theismann, a player with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts at the time the card was issued. Theismann played in the CFL after a stellar college career, mostly because he was considered “too small” to play in the NFL. Theisman finally made it to the NFL in 1974, joining the Washington Redskins, and became the team’s starting QB by ’78. He eventually led the ‘Skins to a Super Bowl title. Theisman entered a career in broadcasting after his playing days ended, and currently is an analyst on the NFL Network’s Thursday night game broadcasts.

From www.CheckOutMyCards.com , a 1975 Topps basketball card of former NBA great Paul Silas. Manning the “power forward” position, Silas was one of the top defensive players and rebounders of his era, and was a key member of 2 championship teams with the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. He was one of the consummate “role” players, the type of player every team needs to be a winner, and in 1979 won a third NBA title with the Seattle Supersonics. Silas became a coach after his playing career ended, and has coached various teams over the years, and is currently the “interim” coach of the Charlotte Bobcats.

This is a 1958 Topps baseball card of former Cleveland Indians outfielder Larry Doby. In sports circles on the annual Martin Luther King Day celebrations, the legacy of Jackie Robinson,  and his struggles while breaking the color line in major league baseball, are always chronicled. It’s equally important that Doby’s story be remembered. Doby was the second African American to play in the majors, and the first in the American League, joining the Indians in 1948, and having to endure the same racial prejudice that Robinson did, in a completely different set of ballparks and cities. Doby helped the Tribe win the World Series in ’48, and in game 4 of the Series became the first black player in history to hit a home run in the World Series. Doby played 3 seasons in the Negro Leagues and 13 years in the majors, mostly for the Indians. He was a 9 time All Star, and was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1998.