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Two Sport Stars - Football


We're all familiar with the big name athletes that played in MLB and in the NFL: Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and Brian Jordan. The first two are practically household names. But there have been several others, some fairly recently, and some from long ago. There are probably others that have played in both leagues, but the following is my collection that features such athletes.

1990 Score Bo Jackson. 1985 Heisman Trophy winner. NFL's 1st overall draft pick in 1986. First professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star/All-Pro in both baseball and football. Bo's on the field baseball achievements are legendary: homering in his first All-Star game appearance and being named MVP of the game; a one handed home run; running up an outfield wall, and so many more. A hip injury limited his playing career in both sports, but ultimately Jackson's MLB career spanned 9 seasons and his NFL career 4 seasons.

There's no info on the back of the Auburn University card, so I imagine the University put it out toward the end of Jackson's 1982 - 1985 Auburn career. The card on the right doesn't have the year of manufacture, but it was probably in 1991 as it has 1990 baseball stats and 1989 football stats on the back. It's card no. 5,731 of 10,000 by Savannah Sports Cards.

The card on the left is a 2001 Choice card, which is when Sanders played for the Syracuse SkyChiefs after he was released by the Reds and signed as a free agent with the Blue Jays. The card in the center is a 1999 Playoff '99 SSD Momentum card, and the card on the right is Sander's 1998 Fleer Ultra card. Sanders MLB career spanned from 1988 - 2001 except for 3 years when he was dedicated to football. His NFL career spanned from 1989 - 2005 interrupted from 2001 - 2003 when he was retired. Sanders is the only man to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. A rare two-way starter, Sanders was elected to the Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
The card on the left is Brian Jordan's 1993 Leaf Donruss card. The card back shows Jordan in baseball gear in the famous Heisman stance. The center card is Jordan's 1992 Hi-Pro Action Packed card. The card on the right is Jordan's 1998 Topps card. Jordan played MLB for 15-yrs and in the NFL for 3-years.

1998 Topps.

D.J. Dozier and Drew Henson are two somewhat lesser known athletes that played in both MLB and the NFL, but they both accomplished that rare feat. Dozier played in 25 games in 1992 with the Mets, and he played in the NFL for 5 seasons. Henson played in 8 games with the Yankees in 2002 - 2003, and he played in 9 games in the NFL - 7 games in 2004 and 2 in 2008.

1992 Topps Bowman.

1989 Topps.

2002 Topps Bowman Chrome.

2004 Donruss Playoff/Score no. 588/625.

 1992 The Sporting News (TSN) Conlon Collection. Neale played in 8 MLB seasons, including 1919 for the Cincinnati Reds. He batted .357 in the 1919 World Series and led the Reds with ten hits in their eight-game series win over the scandalous White Sox. He played football professionally in the Ohio League, but never in the NFL. He did however, serve as head coach in the NFL for 10 seasons, eventually earning enshrinement in the NFL Hall of Fame in 1969.

1990 Swell CMC Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corp.

1992 TSN Conlon Collection. Wow! Thorpe played 6-yrs in MLB, 8-yrs in the APFA/NFL, and he was an Olympic gold medalist in the pentathlon and decathlon! Thorpe was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 1963.

1933 The Goudy Company Sport Kings Gum reprint.

1992 TSN Conlon Collection. Nevers played 3 seasons in MLB and 5 in the NFL. Like Thorpe, Nevers was inducted with the inaugural class of inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

1990 Swell CMC Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corp.

Thank goodness for the following 1992 The Sporting News Conlon Collection. There may have never been any other cards of the these players. If there were, they must be rare. There may be reprints, but these do a great job of providing the players' two sport history. Plus, the photos are just great.

 11-yrs in MLB and 2 in the NFL.

 8-yrs in MLB and 3 in the NFL.

 5-yrs in MLB and 4 in the NFL.

 7-yrs in MLB and 1 in the NFL.

 4-yrs in MLB and 3 in the NFL.

 4-yrs in MLB and 2 in the NFL.

 5-yrs in MLB and 4 in the NFL.

 2-yrs in MLB and 3 in the NFL.

2-yrs in MLB and 1 in the NFL.

 3-yrs in MLB (as a manager) and 2 in the NFL.


 6-yrs in MLB and 2 in the NFL.

4-yrs in MLB and 4 in the NFL.

These last few two sport athletes fell (or are falling) short of making it to both MLB and the NFL.

 1997 Lone Star. 1 MiLB season and 16 pretty good NFL seasons.

1990 Collegiate Collection card. 17 MLB seasons after being drafted in the 7th round, but declining, an offer from the St. Louis Cardinals NFL team.

2019 Choice SportCards.

2012 Topps Platinum. 2007 Heisman winner.

1991 Classic Best. 2000 Heisman winner. Played for the Syracuse Chiefs in 1995 and 1996.

Blogger is behaving BADLY today so things may look a little different than usual. But there you have it. Three Heisman Trophy winners, 5 Pro Football Hall of Famers, 3 Syracuse Chiefs/SkyChiefs, an Olympic Gold medalist, and 7 Reds players (I have a Drew Henson card when he was a minor leaguer for the Reds, but I thought I show the Yankee fans a little love :)

Stay well,
CinciCuse Bill
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Comments

  1. Jim from DowningtownApril 6, 2020 at 2:09 PM

    Tom Brown was a safety on the Packers' teams in the 1960s, and I believe he also played MLB.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CinciCuse BillApril 6, 2020 at 5:54 PM

    Your right. I just looked it up. 1-yr in MLB and 5 in the NFL. Another card to look for. Good stuff - thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. FujiApril 7, 2020 at 12:55 PM

    Don't forget Chad Hutchinson. He played baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals in the early 2000's... then switched over to football and played for the Dallas Cowboys.

    ReplyDelete

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