1957 Topps hockey card of “The Chief”, long-time Boston Bruins left winger John Bucyk. Bucyk played on some of Boston’s bad teams in the 1960s, but was the team captain when they won the Stanley Cup in the early ’70s. Bucyk has been with the Bruins’ organization for over 50 years, serving in various capacities including broadcaster and in the front office. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981.
Football card of NFL Hall of Fame legend Ollie Matson, whose career began in 1952 and lasted until 1966. He was a 7 time All Pro selection in his career as a halfback, which began with the Chicago Cardinals. Matson’s main claim to fame is being traded by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Rams – for nine players. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
Basketball card of an NBA legend who played in the 1950s and ’60s, Bob Pettit. Pettit played his entire career with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks and was the inaugural recipient of the NBA’s most valuable player award. He also was NBA Rookie of the Year in 1954 and led the Hawks to an NBA title in 1958, defeating the Boston Celtics. Pettit was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
Here is a 1963 Topps baseball card of former New York Yankee outfielder Roger Maris, who broke Babe Ruth’s longstanding single season home run record by clubbing 61 “dingers” in 1961. His more popular Yankee teammate, Mickey Mantle, was the favorite of the fans to break the mark but came up short and wound up hitting 54 that season. Then the commissioner of baseball declared that Maris’ record would carry an asterisk in the record book because he broke the mark in 162 games, while Ruth played a shorter 154 game season in his time. It really was a shame how Maris was treated at the time, but he was highly regarded as a teammate by the players he played with, and the recent mess made of baseball’s record book in the steroid era has cast him in a new light and gained him much more respect for not only his single-season accomplishment but his entire career.
1979 Topps hockey card of Chicago Black Hawks Hall of Fame center Stan Mikita. His NHL career spanned 22 seasons, and he played them all with the Hawks, playing on their Stanley Cup-winning team in 1961. Although he gained a reputation as a great defensive centerman who was terrific on faceoffs later in his career, Mikita won the NHL scoring title 4 times in the 1960s.
Topps football card of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton. “Sweetness” was not only one of the greatest running backs of all time, but one of the greatest flat-out football players. He surpassed Jim Brown in 1984 to become the NFL’s all-time career rushing leader, although his record has since been broken by Emmitt Smith. Payton’s coach, Mike Ditka, called him “the greatest football player I have ever seen—but an even greater human being.” Payton died of a rare liver disease in 1999.
A basketball card of center Nate Thurmond that was obviously not sanctioned by the NBA, hence the lack of team logo and official team uniform on the card. “Nate the Great” was a backup to Wilt Chamberlain with the San Francisco Warriors and was a terrific defensive player and rebounder. He became the Warriors’ starting center when Wilt was traded to Philadelphia, but prior to the 1974-75 season was dealt to the Chicago Bulls for Clifford Ray. The Warriors went on to win the NBA title that season. He was a great player, and his jersey number 42 was retired by 2 teams he played for, the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
1963 Topps baseball card of Joe Torre, probably best known as the World Series-winning manager of the New York Yankees. Torre, however, also had an outstanding playing career. He was one of the best catchers in the game while with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the 1960s, then played for the St. Louis Cardinals, moving to third base. He had the best season of his career there in 1971, when he won the NL batting title and the MVP award. Torre is currently managing the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Goaltender Terry Sawchuck was featured in a post on this blog early on where I designated him as my choice for the greatest goalie of all time. This is one of his early hockey cards. He played in the era before goalie masks/helmets, and when the equipment the goalies wore didn’t make them look like transformer robots. Sawchuck’s statistical numbers were at or near the top of nearly every category when he retired.
A 1948 Leaf football card of a real football legend, the late “Slingin'” Sammy Baugh of the Washington Redskins. Baugh was a pioneer in the advent of what is now the modern passing game we as fans watch today. He was included in the inaugural class inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. Baugh was not only a two-way player as a quarterback and defensive back (most players played both ways in Baugh’s era), but also pro football’s premier punter. In the 1943 season, he led the NFL in passing, punting and interceptions.
