1975 Topps Tom Paciorek #523

Who is the greatest baseball player from the University of Houston? There are several players to consider, and Tom Paciorek would have to be included in the discussion. Tom was a two time All-American at the University of Houston leading the Cougars to the College World Series in 1967. He was drafted in the 5th round of the MLB draft.

In addition to playing baseball at UH, Paciorek also played football. He is tied for 8th in career interceptions at UH. In 1965, he led the team in punt returns. In 1966, he tied for team lead in interceptions. He was selected in the 9th round of the NFL draft.

In 1978, he was elected to the UH Hall of Honor.

Paciorek played 18 seasons in the Major Leagues with a career batting average of .282. He was named an All-Star in 1981. In 1992, he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. I know that sounds a little goofy, but there are some big names there.

For today's collectible, let's look at the 1975 Topps card #523. The '60s had truly classic cards. The '80s and '90s started the high tech cards. The '70s... you get the interesting color combinations associated with that decade. In this case, the top half of the card is bordered in yellow while the bottom half is bordered in green. Nice...

Why do I like this card? While many cards list where the player went to school, this card states that he also played football for UH and helped the team to defeat the Michigan State team in 1967.