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1986 Topps football card, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of the late Reggie White, one of the premier pass rushers of all time. This was White’s “rookie” card, as he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL after playing in the USFL. After eight seasons in Philadelphia, White signed with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent in 1993 and helped lead that historic franchise back to glory, playing on 2 consecutive Super Bowl teams, winning Super Bowl XXXI. White was an ordained Evangelical minister, and was nicknamed “The Minister of Defense” when he played. He was a 13-time Pro Bowler, was named to the NFL All-Decade teams for both the 1980s and ’90s, and was also named to the league’s 75th Anniversary All-Time team. When White retired, he was number one in NFL history in quarterback sacks, and now ranks second behind Bruce Smith. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, 2 years after he passed away.

1977 Topps basketball card of the player widely regarded as the best big man of all time in the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He began his pro career with the Milwaukee Bucks, as Lew Alcindor, in 1969, and played until 1989. He led the Bucks to the NBA title in his second season, and a day after the Bucks won the title, he adopted his new Muslim name. Kareem was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975, and played on 5 more championship teams with them. In his long, storied career, Jabbar was league MVP 6 times, NBA Finals MVP twice, a 19 time All-Star, and had his jersey number 33 retired by both the Bucks and Lakers. He is a member of the basketball Hall of Fame, has been a movie actor, and is also a best-selling author.

“Can’t anybody play this here game?” was the cry of New York Mets’ manager Casey Stengel during the time when this 1963 Topps baseball card was issued.  In 1962 when the National League placed an expansion team, the Mets, in New York, Stengel was talked out of retirement to manage the team and give it instant credibility. The Mets were one of the worst major league teams of all time in their early years, however, and Stengel kept the mood of the press on the lighter side with some of his quotes during those years. Once describing his 2 first basemen, Ed Kranepool and Greg Goosen, Stengel said “See that guy over there? He’s 20 years old and in 10 years he has a chance to be a star. See that other guy? He’s 20 also and in 10 years he has a chance to be 30”.  Stengel, despite the clowning around with the Mets, was a baseball icon. His baseball career as a player and manager lasted from 1912 until 1965, and his number has been retired by both the Yankees and Mets franchises. He played on a World Series champion team with the New York Giants in 1922 and managed 7 Series winning teams with the Yankees, including a record 5 in a row from 1949 to 1953. Stengel was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.

This is a 2000 Upper Deck hockey card of former NHL goaltender Curtis Joseph. He broke into the league with the St. Louis Blues in 1989, and his career lasted until the end of the 2009 season. “Cujo” played for 6 different teams, most notably with the Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs, and has the most career victories for a goalie who never played on a Stanley Cup-winning team. He was a 3-time NHL All Star, and played on the 2002 Canadian Olympic team that won a gold medal in Salt Lake City.

From www.CheckOutMyCards.com, a 1960 Fleer football card of Los Angeles Chargers head coach Sid Gillman. Gillman is widely considered to be the father of the modern passing game in pro football. The Chargers, based in L.A. for one season before moving to San Diego, were the main reason that the American Football League got its’ reputation for being a wide-open, high-scoring league, and in 1963 Gillman’s team reached the pinnacle by routing the Boston Patriots, 51-10, in the AFL championship game. Considered one of the greatest offensive minds in football history, coaches who tutored under Gillman and went on to NFL success include Chuck Noll, Al Davis, Dick Vermeil, George Allen and Chuck Knox. Gillman was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and passed away in 2003. Davis, an AFL pioneer and current Oakland Raiders’ owner, said this of Gillman:  “Sid Gillman brought class to the AFL.  Being part of Sid’s organization was like going to a laboratory for the highly developed science of professional football.”

1986 Fleer basketball card of one of the NBA’s most exciting little men of all time, 5’7″ Spud Webb. He played 14 years in the league, mostly with the Atlanta Hawks, and at the time he was active Webb was the shortest person to ever play in the NBA. His most famous accomplishment was winning the NBA slam dunk contest in 1986. The defending slam dunk champ was Webb’s teammate, Dominique Wilkins, who had never seen Spud dunk before the event. Webb shocked everyone by putting on a tremendous show and being voted the winner. Today Webb is President of Basketball Operations for a minor league franchise, the Texas Legends.

1963 Topps baseball card of Hall of Fame pitcher, and retiring U.S. Senator Jim Bunning. Bunning pitched for 17 seasons in the major leagues, most notably with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. He is one of only five players to throw a no-hitter in both leagues, and his National League no-no was a perfect game against the New York Mets. Bunning was a 7-time All Star team selection and was inducted into Cooperstown in 1996. He has been involved in politics since first winning elected office in Kentucky in 1977, and is retiring from his position as one of Kentucky’s senators when his current term is finished at the end of this year.

1975 O-pee-chee hockey card, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of the winningest coach of all time in a major sport, Scott Bowman. Bowman has been a part of 12 Stanley Cup championship teams, 9 as a coach and 3 as a front office executive. He has the most wins in both regular season (1,244) and postseason (223) of any NHL coach. He is also the only coach in any of the 4 major professional sports (football, baseball, basketball, hockey) to win a championship with 3 different teams – Montreal, Detroit and Pittsburgh. In his first stint as a head coach, he took over a first year expansion team, the St. Louis Blues, early in their first season, and coached them into the Cup Finals the first 3 years of the franchise’s existence. Bowman was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, served as a color commentator on Canada’s national TV broadcasts on Hockey Night In Canada , and currently is a senior advisor with the Chicago Black Hawks, whose general manager is Bowman’s son Stan. Not coincidentally, the Hawks won their first Stanley Cup since 1961 last season.

With another Monday Night Football game now completed, here is the 1973 Topps football card of former St. Louis Cardinals offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf, who was a color commentator on MNF for 12 seasons. Dierdorf played on an offensive line for the Cardinals in the 1970s that was one of the NFL’s best, and in 1975 they allowed a then-league record low of 8 sacks for the entire season (the Bears gave up 9 in the first half last Sunday night). Dierdorf was an All Pro selection 6 times, was voted as a lineman on the all-decade team of the ’70s, and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Dierdorf  has enjoyed an equally successful career in broadcasting. While working for ABC and doing the Monday night telecasts, he showed versatility by also working as a boxing commentator for the network and serving as a correspondent on the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988. After a shakeup at ABC in 1998, Deirdorf signed on with CBS as an analyst on NFL games and continues in that position today. He is in the Hall of Fame as both a player and broadcaster, as he won the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2008, given annually to a broadcaster who has made significant contributions to the sport through the media.

1986 Fleer basketball card of Detroit Pistons’ guard Joe Dumars. Dumars was the backcourt running mate to Isiah Thomas for the Pistons’  aggressive “Bad Boys” NBA championship teams of 1989 and 1990. Dumars was primarily a shooting guard when he played alongside Thomas, then showed his versatility by moving to point guard after Thomas retired. Dumars, a six-time NBA all-star, was also known for his hard-nosed defensive play, as he was a 4-time NBA All-defensive player. He was elected to the basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, and currently serves in the Pistons’ front office as President of Basketball operations.