John Hummer: Today I sit on the board of Baynote, Birst and Elastra.

I briefly got my long, elegant fingers on a 1972 John Hummer basketball card. Hummer was a forward who was playing with the NBA’s Buffalo Braves at that point. Averaging a pedestrian 6.9 points per game in his career, Hummer was no great cager on the pro level, but he was an exceptionally bright person.

Hummer graduated from Princeton in 1970 and was selected by the new Buffalo franchise. He played for a handful of teams for a half-dozen years, being coached for a while by Hall of Famer Bill Russell in Seattle, before heading to Stanford to earn an MBA. In 1980, he co-founded a venture capital firm that invests in software companies. An excerpt from the back of his card:

“The Braves’ first draft choice in 1970, John was a starting forward throughout most of the year and was an honorable mention for the NBA All-Rookie team. He has shown great promise on defense. He was All-Ivy League for two years at Princeton. John likes to read in his spare time.”

More Miscellaneous Media: