A 1987 Fleer basketball card of the late Manute Bol, who passed away recently at the young age of 47. Bol was born the son of a tribal chief in Sudan and did a lot of charitable work during and after his playing career in his native country. A huge physical specimen at 7’7″ and 225 lbs., Bol was a shot-blocking machine during his long NBA career. Rest in peace, Manute.
Classic Sports Card of The Day
25
Jun
NBA – The Los Angeles Lakers First Championship
24
Jun
Recently, after the Chicago Black Hawks won the NHL’s Stanley Cup, I highlighted the last Hawks team to win the Cup, in 1961. If I did the same thing for this year’s NBA champs, the Los Angeles Lakers, I would only have to go back to last season. So instead I’ve decided to look back at the 1972 Lakers, who won the team’s first title in that city that year. The Lakers, behind legend George Mikan, won 5 titles in Minneapolis before moving to L.A. But despite having one of the league’s best teams year after year, they were frustrated throughout the 1960s, mostly by the Boston Celtics, and didn’t win a championship until the 1971-72 season. After dropping game one to the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks, the Lakers stormed back to win the next 4 games and claim the title. The Knicks were handicapped by an injury to center Willis Reed, and the much shorter Jerry Lucas was forced to try and stop the Lakers’ Wilt Chamberlain. Also, Dave DeBuscherre was forced to play hurt throughout the series, and was ineffective. The series win was sweet for Laker veterans Chamberlain and Jerry West, with Wilt coming close but not having won a title since 1967 and West chasing that elusive NBA title for his entire long, storied career. Both of them were nearing the end of their careers at that point, and another Laker legend, Elgin Baylor, had been forced to retire because of injuries and unfortunately wasn’t a part of this team. West played well throughout the Finals but Wilt was dominating and wound up winning the Finals MVP award. Young forward Jim McMillian had replaced Baylor in the lineup, and was a key player in the Finals, averaging 19 points per game. Other players on the team included Happy Hairston, Gail Goodrich, Jim Cleamons and future Laker coach Pat Riley. Another future Laker coach, Phil Jackson, played for the Knicks.
Classic Team Logo of The Day
24
Jun
The logo of a storied National Football League franchise – the old Baltimore Colts. The Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984, breaking the hearts of a loyal fan base there. The worst part of the move was the way owner Robert Irsay did it – bringing in moving vans in the middle of the night and cleaning out the facility. The Colts’ history has many great moments – winning the “Greatest Game Ever Played” in the NFL’s first overtime championship game in 1958, losing the Joe Namath-guaranteed win Super Bowl game in 1969, being led by the sport’s all-time winningest coach, Don Shula, and having the honor to have had many great players, among them the late John Unitas, Raymond Berry, Jim Parker, Gino Marchetti and Lenny Moore.
Classic Sports Card of The Day
24
Jun
Hockey card of former Montreal goalie Ken Dryden, a Hockey Hall of Famer. Dryden, amazingly, played only 6 regular season games in 1971 after being called up from the minors but played so well the Canadiens kept him in goal for the playoffs, and he backstopped them to a Stanley Cup title. Dryden was a broadcaster after his playing career ended, and was the analyst working along side Al Michaels for the “Miracle On Ice” U.S. Olympic win over the Soviets in 1980. Today he is active in Canadian politics.
NFL – AFC North In 2010
23
Jun
The battle for supremacy in the AFC North division is always a scrappy one each season, and 2010 should be no exception. In handicapping the division, so far from what I’ve seen the Baltimore Ravens look like the team to beat. They will be the favorites of most prognosticators and for good reason. They have a tough, young quarterback in Joe Flacco, a bruising ground game led by the emerging Ray Rice, a good tight end in Todd Heap and added a stellar weapon for Flacco to go to in Anquan Boldin. Their defense is always the focal point of the team and should be again. The only thing that could hold the Ravens back is if age catches up with that defense. Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs are getting up in years and so is star safety Ed Reed, who is even contemplating retirement. The Cincinnati Bengals surprisingly won this division last season by sweeping their division schedule. I don’t see that happening again. Cedric Benson, a cast-off from the Bears, had a career year to lead the running game. I don’t see that happening again either. The Bengals’ good, young defense, along with QB Carson Palmer, should keep them competitive, but their historical track record says that they will falter. The Pittsburgh Steelers, over the long haul, are the class team of this division, but coach Mike Tomlin just has too many issues to overcome this year. Their two Super Bowl heroes of 2 seasons ago, QB Ben Roethlisberger and WR Santonio Holmes, had off-season off-the-field issues that led to Holmes being traded and Big Ben being suspended for at least 4 games. The Steelers always have a rough and tumble defense, although their play slipped badly when Troy Polamalu was hurt last year. They too, will be competitive but there’s just too much to overcome. The team does have a reputation for plugging in new guys when they lose players, and young Mike Wallace could emerge as a competent replacement for Holmes, but getting by for a quarter of the schedule without your starting QB is a tough situation. The Cleveland Browns have been a laughing-stock in recent years but made some noise at the end of the year by winning their last 4 games, probably saving coach Eric Mangini’s job. New team president Mike Holmgren has them headed in the right direction. They handled their quarterback controversy in a very unique way – trading away both Brady Quinn (to Denver) and Derek Anderson (to Arizona) and bringing in all new people – Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace and draft choice Colt McCoy – to compete for the job. If they can get decent QB play the Browns could be the surprise team in this competitive division, but i like the Ravens at this point.
Classic Team Logo of The Day
23
Jun
The logo of the old Chicago Stags of the National Basketball Association, who played from 1946 until 1950. Their claim to fame was having future Hall of Famer Bob Cousy on their roster, although he never played a game for them. The team folded before Cousy could play, and he was then picked by the Boston Celtics in the league’s dispersal draft of Chicago’s players.
Classic Sports Card of The Day
23
Jun
This 1967 football card of Baltimore Colts receiver Raymond Berry is another case of mistaken identity by the card company. Berry wore jersey # 82 for one thing – that should have been a clue. The player on the card is defensive back Bob Boyd.
Chicago Black Hawks – 49 Years Ago
22
Jun
When the Chicago Black Hawks competed for and won hockey’s biggest prize, the Stanley Cup, recently, much was made of the long drought the team had endured since its’ last title, in 1961. I was just starting to get into sports around that year but don’t remember watching much hockey until the mid-’60s when Toronto was battling to win the Cup. I thought it would be interesting to look back at that 1961 team since I didn’t know much about them. The one thing I did know was that the team had three of the sport’s all-time greatest players on its’ roster – Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and goaltender Glenn Hall. Hull and Mikita were making their first appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals. Hall was a great goalie who once played in 502 consecutive games. The players were real workhorses back then, and earned every dime they made. The Hawks defeated the Detroit Red Wings in six games to earn the title, and had ousted the defending champion Montreal Canadiens to get to the finals. The league only had 6 teams at that time and Montreal and Detroit were both considered the class of the league, so the Hawks’ drive to the Cup was no fluke, they beat the best to win it. The team captain was Ed Litzenberger, a player I’d never heard of until I researched this post. He was certainly less famous than the captain of the opposing team in the finals, Detroit’s Gordie Howe. Tough guy Reg Fleming was on the roster, and I’m sure he spent most of the series keeping Wings’ goon Ted Lindsay away from guys like Hull and Mikita. The roster was dotted with players with great hockey names – Chico Maki, Eric Nesterenko, Ab McDonald, Bill Hay, Elmer Vasko and Pierre Pilote (great hockey name if I’ve ever heard one). Congratulations to the 2009-10 Black Hawks on their Stanley Cup win, and a shout-out to their hockey ancestors from 1961.
Classic Team Logo of The Day
22
Jun
The NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs used this logo from 1938 until 1967, and again on their “throwback” uniforms in recent years. It’s pretty much the same as the current logo except on this older one the leaf has it’s “veins”
Classic Sports Card of The Day
22
Jun
This is a 1922 Nielson’s Chocolate baseball card of Yankees’ first baseman Wally Pipp. Most people know his story – he was benched by manager Miller Huggins, supposedly temporarily because he was in a slump, and was replaced by a young player named Lou Gehrig, and never saw the field again, at least not with the Yankees. Pipp was eventually traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1926.