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1971 Topps basketball card of NBA Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com . A graduate of St. Bonaventure, Lanier played 14 seasons in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks. He was an eight-time All Star, and his # 16 jersey is retired by both franchises. He was famous for his size 22 sneakers, and today, in a display at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, visitors can compare their shoe size with Lanier’s. Lanier served briefly as interim head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 1995 after Don Nelson resigned.

1972 Topps baseball card, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of major league baseball legend Pete Rose. Rose was one of the game’s all-time greats, as he still stands as baseball’s leader in hits, games played and at-bats. A switch-hitter, “Charley Hustle” was known for his aggressive style of play and was a 17-time All Star. He played on 3 World Series winning teams, won 3 batting titles and an MVP award. He was a manager after he retired as a player, but got into trouble for gambling on his team’s games and was banned from the game for life by commissioner Bart Giamatti. Rose remains ineligible for the baseball Hall of Fame to this day.

1989 Topps hockey card of former Detroit Red Wing star Steve Yzerman. Yzerman was named Red Wings captain at the age of 21, and served in that role for the next 2 decades, becoming the longing serving team captain in North American sports history. “Stevie Y” led the Wings to three Stanley Cup titles in his career, and retired in 2006. He was inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. Yzerman is currently the general manager of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.

1970 Topps football card of former Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese. Griese, a pro football Hall of Famer, was drafted by Miami in 1967, and flourished after Don Shula took over as coach in 1970, leading the Dolphins to 3 consecutive Super Bowls, 2 of which they won. Griese is credited with quarterbacking the Dolphins’ undefeated 17-0 season in 1972, but actually he was injured most of the year and Earl Morrall led them to most of their wins. Griese currently works as a college football analyst for ABC.

1957 Topps basketball card, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of  former NBA player and coach Al Bianchi. Actually, Bianchi not only coached after his playing career ended, but served as a scout and general manager also, for various teams in both the NBA and ABA. Bianchi’s playing career consisted of 10 seasons with the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers franchise. In 1966 he was selected in the NBA expansion draft by the Chicago Bulls. His coaching career began there as an assistant under Johnny Kerr.

1966 Topps baseball card, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of former major league first baseman Donn Clendenon. Clendenon played 12 years in the big leagues, starting with the Pirates, then was picked by the Montreal Expos in the 1968 expansion draft. In June of 1969, he was traded to the New York Mets, and was a major part of the Amazin’ Mets shocking World Series win that year, winning the Series MVP Award. Clendenon became a lawyer in Dayton, Ohio after retiring. He died of leukemia in 2005.

1989 Topps hockey card of former New York Islander star Pat LaFontaine, who played on the U.S. Olympic team in the 1984 Winter Games before joining the Islanders. He became an Islander just when the team’s championship dynasty of 4 straight Stanley Cup wins was coming to an end. LaFontaine has always been considered one of the best American born players to play in the NHL, and had a long, successful career with the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. In the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs, his goal in the fourth overtime period ended a game that was dubbed the “Easter Epic”, as the game against Washington started on a Saturday night and ended at 2 AM on Easter Sunday.

From www.CheckOutMyCards.com , a 1970 Topps football card of Hall of Fame running back O.J. Simpson, who is also another former Monday Night Football analyst. “The Juice” had a terrific playing career with Buffalo, breaking Jim Brown’s career rushing yardage mark and becoming the first back to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season. Simpson worked as an analyst on NBC football telecasts as well as Monday Night Football after he retired, and also had a pretty successful acting career before heading down a path that pretty much ruined his life.

1961 Fleer basketball card of Philadelphia Warriors’ guard Al Attles. Attles played 11 years in the NBA, all with the Warriors franchise, moving with them from Philly to San Francisco in 1962. He stayed a fixture in the Warrior organization when his playing career ended, becoming their head coach in 1970 and holding that position until 1983. Attles became one of the first African American coaches to win an NBA title in 1975 when his squad, a heavy underdog in the finals to the Washington Bullets, shocked the world by sweeping the Bullets in 4 games. Attles’ jersey number 16 is retired by the franchise, and he still attends every Warrior home game today.

1961 Topps baseball card, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of former Pittsburgh Pirates’ second baseman Bill Mazeroski. I would have expected Mazeroski to have a much bigger smile on his face on this card, since his walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of game 7 of the 1960 World Series gave the Pirates the Series win over the New York Yankees. He also played on the Bucs’ 1971 Series-winning team. “Maz” is generally regarded as one of the greatest defensive second basemen of all time, but his offensive statistics kept him out of baseball’s Hall of Fame until he was finally recognized by the Veterans’ Committee and inducted into Cooperstown in 2001.