Celebrity Jersey Cards #790 Festus Ezeli & Juan Toscano

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create virtual trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, I continue my season-long alphabetical journey through all Major League Baseball teams.

Nigeria native Ifeanyi Festus Ezeli-Ndulue starred at Vanderbilt before the Golden State Warriors selected him in the first round of the 2012 draft. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his career, limiting him to just 170 games over three seasons before he had to retire. He gained his American citizenship in 2019. He also gained a Celebrity Jersey Card by tossing a ceremonial pitch for the Oakland A's.

A native of Oakland, California, Juan Toscano-Anderson starred at Marquette, but went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft. He has carved out a long professional career, including three seasons with the Golden State Warriors among his five NBA seasons. He is still active overseas. Toscano tossed a ceremonial pitch to land on his Celebrity Jersey Card.

Cards That Never Were: Dick Sharon Topps 1976

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create virtual trading cards for players missed in various sets. It is a concept I borrowed from far to many folks to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Outfielder Dick Sharon was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1st round (9th pick) of the 1968 amateur draft. After the 1972 season, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers. He mad his MLB in 1973 and played one more season with the Tigers before being traded to the San Diego Padres. He played one season with the Padres, before he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, California Angels and Boston Red Sox all within five months. One more season in the with e minors would be it for Sharon. All told, he played 242 games in parts of three seasons, hitting .218 with 13 HRs, 46 RBIs and 47 runs scored.

For his effort, Topps gave Sharon cards in their 1974 and '75 sets, leaving out his career capper in 1976. I found a picture and started to make one, when I looked and found out Gio of When Topps Had (Base)Balls beat me to it again. There was no point in me trying to duplicate his effort. Intead, I just highlight his great work. His site has thousands of his creations and is just incredible.

Player Turned Coach Michelle Gascoigne

The player turned coach of the day is Michelle Gascoigne. A star pitcher at the University of Oklahoma, Gascoigne is currently the pitching coach with Northwestern University.

Michelle had an outstanding career at Oklahoma. She was 49-7 record with a 1.65 ERA and 507 strikeouts in 378.0 innings pitched. She held opponents to a measly .189 batting average.

Upon leaving Oklahoma, Michelle played professional softball with the National Pro Fastpitch Chicago Bandits in 2013. An All-NPF selection in 2013 and 2014, Michelle helped lead the Bandits to two Cowles Cup titles in 2015 and 2016.

Starting her coaching journey while still playing pro ball, Michelle was a grad assistant at Oklahoma in 2014 and 2015. Michelle joined the Northwestern staff in 2016 and has been there since. He husband Tony Smith is also on the staff.

I get to see Michelle and the Wildcats several times every season. While they usually play in Evanston, about 15 minutes away, this season, they will play in Rosemont, just a bit farther in the other direction. Still, I will see the team several times as usual.

Like the others I have featured in this series, Michelle has always been great to me. I have interviewed her several times, but even in simple chats around the stadium, she is always gracious and great to see. The same can be said for Coach Tony, too!

For more info on Coach Michelle and the Wildcats, go to nusports.com. This concludes my player turned coach series...for now.

Michele Gascoigne and me in Evanston, IL-Spring 2017.

Player Turned Coach Alisa Goler

Next in my series of players I knew who are now coaches is Alisa Goler. A star player at Georgia and in the pros, Alisa is now Head Coach at Western Illinois University.

A three-time All-American at Georgia, Goler set school single-season records for batting average (.455), slugging percentage (.994), on-base percentage (.551), home runs (24), extra-base hits (41), RBI (83), and total bases (164). Her Georgia teams also had Kristyn Sandberg and Megan Wiggins. All three would later play together for the National Pro Fastpitch Chicago Bandits.

Goler was drafted by the Bandits in 2011 and was Rookie of the Year. She played seven years of pro softball and twice earned All-NPF Team honors.

Her coaching career began as hitting instructor at Roosevelt University in 2014. After stints at Syracuse and Penn State, Goler was named the fourth Head Coach for WIU after the 2020 season.

I don't get to see many WIU games, as it is about four hours away, but I usually see Coach Goler at the Dome Tourney in Rosemont to start the season. Such was the case in 2021, when masks were still required because of the pandemic.

For more info on Coach Goler and the WIU team, go to goleathernecks.com. Check here for a few more player turned coach pieces..  

Alisa Goler and me in Rosemont, IL-February 2021. 

Celebrity Jersey Cards #789 Fritz Coleman & Fred Roggin

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create virtual trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, on MLB Opening Day, I start my season-long alphabetical journey through all Major League Baseball teams.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Fritz Coleman spent almost 40 years at KNBC in Los Angeles. A weatherman, disc jockey, comedian and more, he was a staple in the Los Angeles media. He originally left the east coast to be a standup comic in Los Angeles. His career was no joke however. It landed him on a Celebrity Jersey Card. For more info, check fritzcolemancomedy.com.  

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Fred Roggin had newscasting stints in a few cities, before settling in Los Angeles in 1980. He stayed in L.A. through January 2023. He continues to do radio and television in his Palm Springs home area. In 1993 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He also landed on a Celebrity Jersey Card. I assume the number four jersey he's wearing is for one of his stations, but it was most notably worn by former outfielder Jimmy Piersall and former second baseman Bobby Grich.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #788: Piper Gilles & Mark Sutcliffe

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create digital cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, I feature the last two Canadian teams in my first series of Celebrity Jersey Cards for the Professional Women's Hockey League.

Representing the Toronto Sceptres is Rockford, Illinois native Piper Gilles. Learning to skate as a toddler, Gilles competed in ice dancing for Team Canada in three Winter Olympics, including this year. Gilles and her partner Paul Poirier took the bronze in the recent Olympics. Prior to that, she repped the Toronto Sceptres to earn her Celebrity Jersey Card, which is almost as cool as a bronze medal.

Ottawa Mayor was happy to wear an Ottawa Charge sweater as he took part in a street naming ceremony for the team. Elected Mayor in 2022, Sutcliffe previously worked in radio, including being the first play-by-play announcer for the Ottawa Lynx baseball team. The street became Charge Avenue and Sutcliffe became a member of the Celebrity Jersey Card Club.

Friend Encounters: Jeff Burroughs and Dennis

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring my friends meeting celebrities.

My convention buddy Dennis has me on this one. How did he meet former MLB player Jeff Burroughs? He never even played for the Milwaukee Brewers,

Dennis meets a lot of celebrities and athletes. Usually, the athletes have a Wisconsin connection. As much as I envy him for many of those, I also understand he meets most in Wisconsin, too far for me to go for one athlete. Burroughs though has no such connection to the Badger state.

This one is especially painful, because it happened in Rosemont, just west of me. Easing the pain a bit is the fact I was out of town. At least I did not miss it. I just couldn't be there.

Burroughs was one of my favorites growing up. He won the MVP as a glasses-wearing outfielder. He was an excellent player for a lot of years. His son eventually played in the majors, too, but without much success. Sean died tragically at 43.

I'll let go of this one with Dennis. I just hope he doesn;t have many more that I could not get. There's only so much disappointment I can take.

Jeff Burroughs and Dennis in Rosemont, IL-March 2025.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #787: Kevin Lankinen & Lane Hutson

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create digital cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Previously, I featured the American teams of the Professional Women's Hockey League. Today, I show two of the Canadian teams.

Repping the Vancouver Goldeneyes is goalie Kevin Lankinen. Borbn in Finland, Lankinen played for the Finland national team, other pro international teams, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators, before joining the Vancouver Canucks. Lankinen showed his support for the women's hockey team in Vancouver to get his Celebrity Jersey Card.

Wearing the sweater of the Montreal Victoire is Montreal Canadiens Lane Hutson. Born in Michigan, Hutson represented the United States national team, before being drafted by the Canadiens. Hutson won the Calder Memorial Trophy (the NHL's Rookie of the Year) in 2025. Hutson supported his Montreal hockey counterparts to earn his Celebrity Jersey Card.

Cards That Never Were Mike Corkins Topps 1975

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create virtual trading cards for players missed in various sets. It is a concept I borrow from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Pitcher Mike Corkins was signed by the San Francisco Giants prior to the 1965 season. Still in the minors, he was drafted by the San Diego Padres from the Giants in the 1968 expansion draft. After making his MLB debut in 1969, he split time between the minors and the Padres through the 1974 season. Although his MLB career was over, he spent one more season in the California Angels minor league system. All told, he went 15-28 with 9 saves and a 4.39 ERA.

For his efforts, Topps gave Corkins cards from 1970-'74, leaving only a career capper, which once again was created by Gio of When Topps Had Baseballs before I could make it. Gio is the master!

Player Turned Coach Coach Abby Ramirez

Chicago native Abby Ramirez starred at shortstop for the University of Michigan. Among her highlights with the Wolverines, she was named to the 2015 NCAA All-Tournament Team after the Wolverines finished runner-up at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Abby went on to play two seasons with the National Pro Fastpitch Chicago Bandits and three seasons with Athletes Unlimited..With all those teams, Rosemont was home and local gal Abby was a definite fan favorite.

Her coaching career started as a grad assistant with Northwestern. Abby joined DePaul as an interim assistant coach in 2021. Abby brings a wealth of experience for such a young coach. 

I had the pleasure of interviewing Abby several times. Those interviews can be found on the Chicago Bandits playlist on the Johngy's Beat YouTube channel.

Abby remains one of my favorites. No matter how busy she is, she always makes time for a chat or quick picture. It's been a lot of fun watching her career develop.

For more info on Abby and DePaul, go to depaulbluedemons.com. Also, check back here for my recurring NCAA softball coverage.

Abby Ramirez and me in Rosemont, IL-February 2023.