Few things indicate that a TV show has broken through into pop culture at large like getting its own set of trading cards. Naturally, most of these programs don’t really need or deserve a trading card set, but that’s another topic altogether. While some shows — particularly ones heavy on action or in the sci-fi/fantasy genres — lend themselves to interesting cards, more often than not you just got a still photo of some cast member that says, “Remember that this was a person on our show? So do we.”

Regardless, let’s look take a trip back to the days when you could find cards for almost any show imaginable, issued by giants of the field such as Topps, Donruss, and Fleer.

In my Worst Sports Cards Ever series, I look at the good, the bad and the ugly from the long and spotty history of sports trading cards.

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I can only imagine that few things sent trading card companies into a tizzy like an offseason trade. I’m sure the lead time needed to pull off a nice-looking card is pretty lengthy; especially so in the pre-digital days.

So what happens when a player switches teams and a company such as, say, Topps has to scramble at the 11th hour to reflect that change? You get a card like #151 from the Topps 1972 NFL set, for running back MacArthur Lane.

It seems likely that Topps was all ready to go in early 1972 with an image of Lane with his then-current team, the St. Louis Cardinals. But then he was traded to the Green Bay Packers in February of that year, and would not have been scheduled to put on a Packers uniform until some time in the summer.

Try as they might, there was no disguising the fact that this is a laughably crude attempt at airbrushing Packer green onto a Cardinals uniform. Everything gives this one away — the phony shadows and the lack of a uniform number for starters, but most of all the mysterious green blotch on the left side of Lane’s face.

Lane switched teams again in 1975, when he moved to the Kansas City Chiefs. Thankfully that trading card transition was handled a little more gracefully.

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Since it’s the off-season I thought I’d start a fun project involving NFL history. So I’m going to go division by division and post galleries of football cards (when available) featuring all NFL players who have had their jersey numbers retired by their teams. This week it’s the four squads of the AFC West — the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and San Diego Chargers.

Previous galleries: AFC East, NFC East, AFC North, NFC North, AFC South, NFC South

Denver Broncos (3)

#7 — John Elway

#18 — Frank Tripucka

#44 — Floyd Little

Kansas City Chiefs (10)

#3 — Jan Stenerud

#16 — Len Dawson

#18 — Emmitt Thomas

#28 — Abner Haynes

#33 — Stone Johnson

On August 30, 1963, rookie RB/KR Stone Johnson suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck during a preseason game against the Houston Oilers while returning a kickoff. He died on September 8 at the age of 23. Although he was only on the team’s active roster during the 1963 preseason, his jersey number 33 was posthumously retired.

#36 — Mack Lee Hill

Just two years after Johnson’s tragic death, the Chiefs suffered another grievous loss when second-year back Mack Lee Hill died at age 25 from complications following knee surgery. A year later, Kansas City established the Mack Lee Hill Award to honor the rookie who best exemplifies Hill’s spirit.

#58 — Derrick Thomas

On February 8, 2000, Derrick Thomas died from a massive blood clot that developed in his paralyzed lower extremities and traveled to his lungs. His paralysis was the result of severe injuries sustained in a car accident weeks earlier. On January 31, 2009, Thomas was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his fifth year of eligibility.

#63 — Willie Lanier

#78 — Bobby Bell

#86 — Buck Buchanan

Oakland Raiders (0)

The Raiders have never retired any jersey numbers in their five-plus decades of existence, although league rules prohibit Jim Otto’s #00 from ever being issued again. Numbers for even the most legendary Oakland players get recycled on a routine basis.

San Diego Chargers (3)

#14 — Dan Fouts

#19 — Lance Alworth

#55 — Junior Seau

Since it’s the off-season I thought I’d start a fun project involving NFL history. So I’m going to go division by division and post galleries of football cards (when available) featuring all NFL players who have had their jersey numbers retired by their teams. This week it’s the four squads of the NFC South — the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Previous galleries: AFC East, NFC East, AFC North, NFC North, AFC South

Atlanta Falcons (0)

The Falcons do not retire jersey numbers, but in 2004 they established their own Ring of Honor for former players. The inductees to date are Steve Bartkowski, Deion Sanders, William Andrews, Jeff Van Note, Jessie Tuggle, Tommy Nobis, Mike Kenn, and Claude Humphrey.

Carolina Panthers (1)

#51 — Sam Mills

New Orleans Saints (4)

#31 — Jim Taylor

#81 — Doug Atkins

#51 — Sam Mills

#57 — Rickey Jackson

In a rather odd move, the Saints still issue these four jersey numbers to active players even though officially they’re “retired.”

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)

#63 — Lee Roy Selmon

#99 — Warren Sapp

Since it’s the off-season I thought I’d start a fun project involving NFL history. So I’m going to go division by division and post galleries of football cards (when available) featuring all NFL players who have had their jersey numbers retired by their teams. This week it’s the four squads of the AFC South — the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans.

Previous galleries: AFC East, NFC East, AFC North, NFC North

Houston Texans (0)

The Texans have yet to retire a number in their decade-plus of existence. If I had to bust out my crystal ball, wide receiver Andre Johnson (#80) is a potential future candidate. He holds a number of team records (some by a sizable margin) and is poised in 2013 to become one of the NFL’s top 20 receivers ever for career receiving yards.

Indianapolis Colts (7)

To date, no Colts who played in Indianapolis have had their jersey number retired. In fact the most recent Colt on this list is Johnny Unitas, who was traded away after the 1972 season.

#19 — Johnny Unitas

#22 — Buddy Young

#24 — Lenny Moore

#70 — Art Donovan

#77 — Jim Parker

#82 — Raymond Berry

#89 — Gino Marchetti

Jacksonville Jaguars (0)

Although not officially retired, the number 71 worn by offensive tackle Tony Boselli, the Jaguars’ first-ever draft pick, has not been worn since his retirement in 2002. According to team officials the number has been “taken out of service.”

Tennessee Titans (6)

This list is made up entirely of players who got their start as a member of the Houston Oilers. Bruce Matthews did play in Tennessee, but spent the vast majority of his amazing career in Houston.

#1 — Warren Moon

#34 — Earl Campbell

#43 — Jim Norton

#63 — Mike Munchak

#65 — Elvin Bethea

#74 — Bruce Matthews

Since it’s the off-season I thought I’d start a fun project involving NFL history. So I’m going to go division by division and post football card galleries (when available) featuring all NFL players who have had their jersey numbers retired by their teams. This week it’s the four squads of the NFC North — the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings.

Previous galleries: AFC East, NFC East, AFC North

Chicago Bears (13)

#3 — Bronko Nagurski

#5 — George McAfee

#7 — George Halas

I couldn’t find a card from Halas’s playing days, but how could I leave off Papa Bear?

#28 — Willie Galimore

Galimore was killed in an automobile accident on July 27, 1964 in Rensselaer, Indiana at the age of 29 with teammate Bo Farrington.

#34 — Walter Payton

#40 — Gale Sayers

#41 — Brian Piccolo

Piccolo died of cancer in 1970 at age 26, and was famously portrayed by James Caan in the made-for-TV movie Brian’s Song.

#42 — Sid Luckman

#51 — Dick Butkus

#56 — Bill Hewitt

#61 — Bill George

#66 — Clyde “Bulldog” Turner

#77 — Red Grange

Detroit Lions (6)

#7 — Dutch Clark

#20 — Barry Sanders

#22 — Bobby Layne

#37 — Doak Walker

#56 — Joe Schmidt

#85 — Chuck Hughes

Hughes, who played in Philadelphia and Detroit, never saw much action at his wide receiver position — he caught a total of 15 passes in his pro career in fact. His number was retired because on October 24, 1971 he collapsed during a game against the Bears and died from a blood clot that completely cut the circulation to his heart. To date, Hughes is the only NFL player to die on the field during a game.

There are no football cards bearing Hughes’ likeness that I’m aware of. There are photos of the scene on the field after he collapsed, but I’m not really interested in sharing them. They’re out there if you want to look.

Green Bay Packers (5)

#3 — Tony Canadeo

#14 — Don Hutson

#15 — Bart Starr

#66 — Ray Nitschke

#92 — Reggie White

Minnesota Vikings (6)

#10 — Fran Tarkenton

#53 — Mick Tingelhoff

#70 — Jim Marshall

#77 — Korey Stringer

Stringer died in August 2001 from complications brought on by heat stroke during the Vikings’ training camp in Mankato, Minnesota. He was 27.

#80 — Cris Carter

#88 — Alan Page

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Since it’s the off-season I thought I’d start a fun project involving NFL history. So I’m going to go division by division and post football card galleries (when available) featuring all NFL players who have had their jersey numbers retired by their teams. This week it’s the four squads of the AFC North — the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Previous galleries: AFC East, NFC East

Baltimore Ravens (0)

The Ravens, who have only been in existence since 1996, have not yet retired any jersey numbers. Much like the Cowboys, the team has its own Ring of Honor for former players and personnel. So like Dallas, Baltimore gets no football cards here. The list, in order of induction:

#19 — Johnny Unitas
#24 — Lenny Moore
#70 — Art Donovan
#77 — Jim Parker
#82 — Raymond Berry
#83 — Ted Hendricks
#88 — John Mackey
#89 — Gino Marchetti
#99 — Michael McCrary
#58 — Peter Boulware
#75 — Jonathan Ogden
#3 — Matt Stover
#31 — Jamal Lewis

I have no doubt that Ray Lewis will be inducted in short order.

Cincinnati Bengals (1)

#54 — Bob Johnson

The lone number retired by the Bengals belongs to center Bob Johnson. #54 was a member of Cincy’s inaugural 1968 AFL squad, and remained with the team for 12 seasons.

Cleveland Browns (5)

#14 — Otto Graham

Graham wore #60 for much of his career, but he was forced to change it to #14 in 1952 after the NFL passed a rule requiring offensive linemen to wear jersey numbers 50–79 so referees could more easily identify ineligible receivers.

#32 — Jim Brown

#45 — Ernie Davis

The Elmira Express never played in a regular season game for the Browns. He was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 1962 and died the following May at the age of 23.

#46 — Don Fleming

#76 — Lou Groza

Pittsburgh Steelers (1)

#70 — Ernie Stautner

Ten-time All Pro Ernie Stautner played his entire career (1950-63) in Pittsburgh, and is the only Steeler to have his jersey number retired. Although the team doesn’t officially retire numbers anymore, certain ones haven’t been reissued. This includes #12 (Terry Bradshaw), #32 (Franco Harris), #52 (Mike Webster), and #75 (Joe Greene).

Since it’s the off-season I thought I’d start a fun project involving NFL history. So I’m going to go division by division and post football card galleries (when available) featuring all NFL players who have had their jersey numbers retired by their teams. This week it’s the four squads of the NFC East — the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins.

Previous galleries: AFC East

Dallas Cowboys (0)

The Cowboys do not officially retire jersey numbers, opting rather to induct players into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor. The Ring, which began in 1975, is made up of the players listed below (as of the end of the 2012 season, in order of induction). Sorry, no cards for the Cowboys, since they insist on being so different.

#74 — Bob Lilly
#17 — Don Meredith
#43 — Don Perkins
#54 — Chuck Howley
#20 — Mel Renfro
#12 — Roger Staubach
#55 — Lee Roy Jordan
#33 — Tony Dorsett
#54 — Randy White
#22 — Bob Hayes
#43 — Cliff Harris
#70 — Rayfield Wright
#8 — Troy Aikman
#88 — Michael Irvin
#22 — Emmitt Smith
#88 — Drew Pearson
#94 — Charles Haley
#73 — Larry Allen

New York Giants (11)

#1 — Ray Flaherty

Flaherty, whose #1 jersey was the first number retired in NFL history, played before the era of modern football cards.

#4 — Tuffy Leemans

Same goes for RB Alphonse “Tuffy” Leemans.

#7 — Mel Hein

I couldn’t find any Giants cards for Hall of Famer Mel Hein (who retired in 1945), but this 1955 Topps showing him from Washington State is very nice.

#11 — Phil Simms

#14 — Y. A. Tittle

#16 — Frank Gifford

#32 — Al Blozis

Blozis only played for two full seasons for the Giants, 1942 and 1943. After a lengthy attempt to join the U.S. Army, he was finally inducted on December 9, 1943. In January 1945 his platoon was in the Vosges Mountains of France scouting enemy lines. When two of his men failed to return from a patrol, he went in search of them alone. Blozis never returned. He was first listed as missing, but in April 1945 his death was confirmed. His jersey retirement, therefore, was a posthumous honor.

#40 — Joe Morrison

#42 — Charlie Conerly

#50 — Ken Strong

#56 — Lawrence Taylor

Philadelphia Eagles (9)

#5 — Donovan McNabb

#15 — Steve Van Buren

#20 — Brian Dawkins

#40 — Tom Brookshier

#44 — Pete Retzlaff

#60 — Chuck Bednarik

#70 — Al Wistert

#92 — Reggie White

#99 — Jerome Brown

Jerome Brown played five seasons for the Eagles before his death on June 25, 1992, following an automobile accident in Brooksville, Florida. He was 27 years old.

Washington Redskins (1)

#33 — Sammy Baugh

The Redskins have not officially retired any jersey numbers since Hall of Fame quarterback Slingin’ Sammy Baugh retired in 1952.

Since it’s the off-season  I thought I’d start a fun project involving NFL history. So I’m going to go division by division and post football card galleries (when available) featuring all NFL players who have had their jersey numbers retired by their teams. This week it’s the four squads of the AFC East — the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and New York Jets.

Buffalo Bills (1)

#12 — Jim Kelly

Believe it or not, #12 is the only jersey number officially retired by the Bills. There are three other numbers that aren’t issued anymore — #32, #34, and #78 — but they have not been retired. It’s unlikely that OJ Simpson’s number ever will be at this point.

Miami Dolphins (3)

#12 — Bob Griese

#13 — Dan Marino

#39 — Larry Csonka

New England Patriots (7)

#20 — Gino Cappelletti

#40 — Mike Haynes

#57 — Steve Nelson

#73 — John Hannah

#78 — Bruce Armstrong

#79 — Jim Lee Hunt

#89 — Bob Dee

New York Jets (5)

#12 — Joe Namath

#13 — Don Maynard

#28 — Curtis Martin

#73 — Joe Klecko

#90 — Dennis Byrd