Great Rookie Cards (Part 3)

#19  1984 Topps Dan Marino

Dan Marino is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, some might even say the greatest of all-time. Marino was known for his precision on offense and lightning quick release. His tools at the quarterback position allowed him to lead the league in passing 5 times while throwing for 420 career touchdowns which currently puts him 3rd all-time among quarterbacks.

#18 1954 Topps Hank Aaron

Still regarded as "The Homerun King" to many baseball fans Hank Aaron had a knack for putting the ball over the fence. He hit 755 homeruns which places him just 2nd all-time behind only Barry Bonds (Who took steroids). His homeruns where never these long majestic bombs we see guys like Chris Davis or Miguel Cabrera hit but they got the job done.

#17  1966 Philadelphia Dick Butkus

8 times a pro bowler and regarded as one of the greatest line backers to ever play the game Dick Butkus left his mark all over the game of football. Before there was Brian Urlacher or Ray Lewis the NFL had Dick Butkus and he was mean. In 1979 the long time Chicago Bears standout was inducted into the football hall of fame in Canton,Ohio.

#16 1998 Upperdeck Authentic Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning is an incredible leader of men on the field, an extension of the head coach on the field if you will. In terms of pure talent and knowing X's and O's i'm not sure you can do much better than Peyton Manning. He has had some tremendous season in the past but the group of receivers he has in Denver this season may be the best he has ever had.

#15 1955 Topps Harmon Killibrew

573 Homeruns is what Harmon Killibrew collected while playing in the major leagues.  During his tenure he led the league 6 times in Homeruns. Whether with the Twins or Senators he was always and a productive, powerful guy. Killibrew was elected to the hall of fame in 1984.

#14 1989 Upperdeck Ken Griffey Jr.

I don't like to compare players from different eras but in the 1990's Ken Griffey jr was a modern day, left handed version of Willie Mays. More importantly he did things the right way in an era where so many players earned an asterisk next to your name. Griffey was a true 5 tool player and that's very rare in baseball.

#13 1972 Topps Julius Erving

before he captured the imagination of basketball fans in New York and Philadelphia Julius Erving played his rookie season in the ABA for the Virginia Squires. He was Jordan before Jordan taking the high flying above the rim style and bringing it to the forefront of mainstream. He also made the dunk contest popular with his very basic but very hard free throw line dunk. DR.J was the kind of guy you wanted to be the pioneer of a sport trying to grow.

#12 2000 Topps Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera by the age of 15 was playing pro baseball and was signed by the Florida Marlins. Fast forward a decade and some change later and he is undeniably the best player in baseball and has collected a World Series ring, MVP and a triple crown. At the rate he is going he may be the best hitter of this generation.

#11 1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain was the most physically imposing player of his time. Looking at the back of his basketball card at his stats would make you question if he was even real in the first place. As we all know he still holds the single game record for points in a game with 100.

Hope you enjoyed part 3 of this series stay tuned for the top 10 great rookie cards in sports history coming up in the next few days. Thank you for reading and follow us on Twitter @TruSchoolSports and @ThatBoyBtaylor.

The Best Mitchell & Ness NBA Caricature Shirts

Since 1904 Philadelphia based company Mitchell&Ness has been committed to making top of the line vintage sports clothing. The apparel variety ranges from Jerseys to Hats to even scarf's of your favorite teams. Some people like myself can't afford a 300$ vintage jersey of our favorite players so we look for a different alternative that satisfies our hunger to properly represent our favorite teams. I'm obviously a huge NBA fan so a throwback Larry Johnson Jersey is out of the question due to my current economic status but that's where the ever popular caricature t-shirts come in. At only 30$ plus tax caricature shirts pay tribute to some of the NBA's greatest players of yesteryear by cartoonizing every part of them along with your favorite teams logo. So if your NBA fan consider this countdown of caricature shirts your guide for smart purchases of fan apparel...lets get started.

  Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)

Larry Bird won 3 championships in his time with the Boston Celtics and is one of the best players the game has ever seen. If you're a Celtics fan who was a Bird fan and don't have the most money in the world then this shirt is perfect for you.  Mitchell & Ness shirts are comfortable and crafted at a high level. This shirt like many does a great job of painting the picture of what "Larry Legend" looked like when he had more hair and his mustache was thicker.

Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)

Patrick Ewing never won any championships but was still a great player for the Knicks in his tenure. The Knicks in the 90's boasted one of the most physical front lines ever with guys like Anthony Mason, Charles Oakley and Ewing himself.  This is a great shirt surely you will see a few around Madison Square Garden among Knicks diehards.

Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)

In the 80's the "Showtime" Lakers ran by Magic Johnson changed basketball. Magic was a great passer it almost seemed like he tried to out do his previous years highlight tape every time he stepped onto the floor in the Forum. Great shirt and the fact that this one has no sleeves makes it very suitable for people who live in LA.

Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)

Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is hands down the greatest player in Houston Rockets franchise history. Hakeem on the shirt looks just like him these days. I feel like for any Rockets fan that lived that era of basketball that this is a must have shirt. Hakeem is Houston Houston and just the image of this shirt should conjure visuals of his patented "Dream Shake" move or the back to back championships Houston Captured in the 90's

Shawn Kemp (Seattle Supersonics)

Although Seattle no longer has an NBA team one glimpse  at this shirt of Shawn Kemp should bring smiles and marries of all of the rim rocking dunks he threw down in the green and yellow .This shirt does a great job with details capturing Kemp in his essence all the way down to his Reebok Kamikazes. Kemp along with Gary Payton certainly represented a great time for the city of Seattle in its basketball history. Hopefully they bring back a team.

Dennis Rodman (Chicago Bulls)

In the 90's the Bulls were one of the most iconic teams and Dennis Rodman was one of basketballs most iconic personalities. Many people love the Bulls worldwide so this shirt should appeal to most people who followed the Bulls in the great era of winning. Dennis Rodman was an exceptional re bounder.

Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando Magic)

The Magic in the 90's were one of the most exciting teams with combination of Penny Hardaway and Shaq. In the time he spent in a Magic Jersey Shaq literally brought down the rim and practically broke it in half. Very few things were more entertaining to watch in the NBA than Shaq in the 90's.   

Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers)

What makes a great caricature shirt in my opinion is when the person or in this case NBA player's personality or signature style can be depicted through a visual. This shirt does that perfectly Allen Iverson has the headband on, you see the corn rose rolled tight around his head and obviously his signature "let me hear you" hand above the ear move that got the fans in Philly going on many occasions is being displayed on this shirt. Iverson was excited and he did a lot for the Sixers, just wish he would have brought home a championship.

Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers)

Dr.J-Julius Erving what more can you say this guy did so much for basketball and is such a big part of the Sixers history and tradition. The afro, the hang time, the dunks he was so ahead of his time. My dad tells me stories about watching the Erving on television as he was growing up so through the years I have grown to respect Julius. I actually own this shirt and its one of my favorite basketball shirts.

Larry Johnson (Charlotte Hornets)

"Grandmama" was a tremendous basketball player, he along with Alonzo Mourning and Muggsy Bouges represents a golden era in Charlotte basketball. The coolest thing outside of the Hornets teal on this shirt is the always recognizable gold tooth LJ had, its featured on the shirt. People loved those Hornets teams and Mitchell and Ness does a great job of making great nostalgic clothing of the Charlotte Hornets. Speaking as a Hornets fan I have this shirt and it is a must have. Looking forward to the Hornets return next year in Charlotte.

All in all these are all great shirts for NBA fans and if you are into sneakers they go really well with many different  Nikes, Reeboks, Jordans and Adidas in terms of matching. So hope you enjoyed the post and use it as a reference if your shopping for quality fan apparel.

Throwback Thursday: Spectrum

Happy Throwback Thursday to everybody. I Just want too thank everybody who took the time to read last Thursday article on NBA Street. I want too give a special thanks to NBA point guard Baron Davis who retweeted my article last week make sure you follow him on twitter @Baron_Davis and while your following him you can follow me @ThatboyBtaylor I’ll follow back. Enough of the chit chat though lets get into it today on throwback Thursday we are gonna talk about the Philadelphia Spectrum.

Opened in 1967 the Spectrum aka “America’s Showplace” was the home of the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers. This arena represents a special time in Philadelphia sports history. Names like Julius Erving, Bobby Clarke and Moses Malone all gave fans many reasons too cheer with there excellent play. The Flyers and Sixers combined for 3 Championships in that building Sixers (1983) Flyers (1973-1974,1974-75). Too this day Americas showplace is still the only arena to ever host the NBA and NHL all-star game in the same season. It wasn’t the most luxuorious arena like the ones we have today, lack of luxury suites and higher operating costs would ultimately be the end of the spectrum with both teams moving out in 1996 to the more convient Wells fargo Center. The Spectrum would be Knocked down in 2009 but the memories still live,

Philadelphia Flyers

The time the Flyers spent taking the ice at the spectrum saw some of the most violent play in NHL history. Dave Shultz Bob Kelly and company led the ever goonish gang known as the “Broad Street Bullies” Known for their physical and violent play the Broad Street Bullies would focus on beating opponents through intimidation and fighting.Whenever Teams came to The spectrum too play the flyers it was gonna be a blood bath. Those teams represent Philly in a lot of ways tough, Gritty, blue collar just like Philadelphia. Anytime people came to play Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent and The rest of this team it would become a war. They made history in 1974 Becoming the 1st team too ever beat an original six team to win the franchises 1st  Stanley cup defeating Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins in 6 games. The following season the Flyers would face the Buffalo Sabers in the Stanley Cup and repeat as champions in 6 games. The “Broad Street Bullies” were like super heroes and the Spectrum was they’re home.

Philadelphia 76ers

Dr.J, Moses Malone, Andrew Toni, Maurice Cheeks just a few names that hold value in spectrum lore. These are some of the men that the spectrum faithful would erupt in enthusiasm for and why not? They brought home the city of brotherly love a championship in dominating fashion to. Prior to the 1982-1983 playoffs Moses Malone came out and said that Sixers were not going too lose a game in the playoffs. After a sweep of the New York Knicks and a 5 game victory over the Milwaukee Bucks the Sixers would sweep Magic Johnson and the Lakers and become the 1982-1983 NBA Champions. Malone would be named  Finals MVP. The Sixers had gone 12-1 in the playoffs losing a measly little 1 game. They were one of the Greatest teams in NBA history. The Sixers would close out the spectrum on March 14th 2009 vs. Chicago Bulls. Julius Erving had some words of encouragement for the current Sixers saying “We issued a challenge to be great ambassadors and always play hard and give your best as you take care of the Chicago Bulls like we used too”. The  Spectrum crowd was electric and the Sixers kept them that way winning 104-101 over the Bulls behind a career high 31 points from Thaddeus Young. It was a perfect way for a great franchise to close out a building that was great too them.

Whether it was the orange and black of the “Broad Street Bullies” and the Philadelphia Flyers or the patriotic red white and blue of the Philadelphia 76ers or the Rocky statue outside the arena the spectrum was home too greatness.