Do you remember football’s Ricky Williams as a Phillie?

Well, let me clarify that as a minor league Phillie. Williams, the former University of Texas and Heisman Trophy winning running back, was the first overall pick by the Saints in the 1999 NFL draft. He later starred with the Dolphins, and Williams also played four years in the Phillies’ minor league system from 1995-98.

In this week’s version of my Yesterday column – reminiscing about sports and pop culture in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and sometimes beyond - I will look at some Philadelphia athletes who were two sport stars in their time. Also, I will look at some national two-sports athletes as well as rewind it back to some memorable pop culture moments.

Speaking of doubles, remember the Doublemint Gum twins? Was Wilt Chamberlain ever a coach? And what was “In The News?”

Double Shot: Williams began with rookie league in 1995, but he didn’t make it above the A level with stops in Piedmont (two seasons) and Batavia.

When his career was over in ‘98, Williams played in 170 games with a .211 average with four homers and 40 RBIs. On the football field, Williams won the Heisman in ‘99, and rushed for 2,124 yards that season. He finished his collegiate career with 7,206 yards rushing, but he ended with just 2,606 yards in 11 combined seasons. His pro career was marked by substance abuse as he missed the entire 2006 due to a violation of the policy.

Another Phillie player who double-dipped was Gene Conley, who played for the Phillies during the ‘59-60 seasons, posting a 20-21 record with a 3.34 ERA. Overall, Conley was 91-96 with a 3.82 ERA in 11 seasons, and he also played pro basketball for the Knicks and the Celtics for a combined six seasons and averaged 5.9 points per game.

Then there was Ron Reed, who was a spot starter and reliever for the Phillies for eight years from ‘76-83. Reed posted a 57-38 mark with a 3.06 ERA and had 90 saves. A surprise to most, Reed lasted 19 years with 146-140, 3.46 line with 103 saves. The 6-foot-6 Reed also was a third-round pick of the Detroit Pistons in the ‘65 draft and played two seasons, averaging 8.0 points and 6.4 rebounds over 119 games. Reed also has the Notre Dame single-season rebound record of 17.7 per game, set in his junior year.

On the National Front: Bo Jackson’s prominence as a two-sport athlete has been well chronicled. There also was actor Chuck Connors (“The Rifleman”), who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cubs as well as for the Celtics; Penn State’s and Minnesota Viking’s D.J. Dozier, who played in the Mets’ farm system; and fellow Nittany Lions Matt and Chris Bahr, who played for the North American Soccer League (Chris for the Philadelphia Atoms).

If you want to go a little outside the realm, how about Dallas Cowboys defensive end Ed “Too Tall” Jones, who had a brief stint as a boxer (6-0 record), and longtime former NFL standout Ernie “The Big Cat” Ladd, who was a mainstay in pro wrestling.

Double Trouble: in the 70s, the basketball-playing, left-handed Van Arsdale twins were the set most of us knew. They both played for Indiana University, and had NBA careers that were from 1965-77.

Tom had a year stint with the Sixers on the 1973-74 team that went 25-57 under Gene Shue, but Van Arsdale averaged 19.6 points per game behind Freddie Carter (21.6). Dick began his career with the Knicks before he moved on to Phoenix, where he had a nine-year stay. Both brothers finished their career with the Suns.

On the baseball diamond, Jose and Ozzie Canseco were the most recent set of twins. Joe played 17 years, primarily with Oakland for nine years and six other teams for a combined eight years. He hit 462 homers with 1,407 RBIs and a .266 average. Ozzie played very sparingly for three years, two with the Cardinals and one with the A’s in a combined 24 games, hitting a combined .200.

Double It Up: Staring back in the 60s. There were a number of songs that had the title repeated twice. See if any of these ring a bell: “Louie, Louie” (The Kingsman, 1963), “Mony, Mony “ (original one by Tommy James and the Shandells, 1968), “Cherry, Cherry” (Neil Diamond, 1966). “Sugar, Sugar” (Archies, 1969), and “Mary, Mary” (Monkees, 1968), “Rebel, Rebel” (David Bowie, 1974), and “Promises, Promises” (Naked Eyes, 1983).

Seeing Double: As mentioned, Wrigley’s promoted its Doublemint Gum with a set of twins in commercials beginning in 1959. Their slogan was “double your pleasure, double your fun.”

There were various sets of twins employed until 2005. The most popular set were Patricia and Priscella Farmstable, who also posed for Playboy. Enough said there.

We can also mention “Dubble Bubble” chewing gum that was invented in 1906, and it is still on the market today.

Double Beef: These days, I can’t go too far without mentioning or thinking about food. When I think about food “doubles,” the ones that come to mind are the Whopper, Big Mac, and McDonald’s double cheeseburger.

Unknown to most people, the Whopper debuted in 1957, likely unknown because of all the hype it received in the late 60s and 70s. The double cheeseburger followed in 1965, and the Big Mac hit the scene in 1967. My favorite is the double Quarter Pounder, which was unveiled as a permanent item in 1993.

Were You “In the News?”: Growing up watching Saturday morning cartoons, you had to remember CBS’ “In the News” with Christopher Glenn. It was clips of national or world events and special-interest stories were shown with voice-over narration specifically written with children in mind. Glenn had the perfect delivery as the narrator. The two-minute news clip took us off the cartoon path for a few moments before we got back on it.

It also was widely recognized for its spinning global sphere logo. We were being educated, and truly didn’t realize it.

Another Classic Game: In 1976, Tudor released NFL Play Action. Known for their electric football games, Tudor comprised this version with a plastic chess-like board that had plastic football figures.

There were red and white squares with NFC helmets on some, and blue and white squares with AFC helmets on some of them. It was played similar to chess, and I don’t remember having this one.

Yeah, That League: Every week, I will look back at one of the leagues outside the big four (NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB) we grew up with.

Chamberlain was a coach for one year with the ABA San Diego Conquistadors in the 73-74 as a player coach for $600,000. He didn’t flourish as a coach, as he frequently would be late to games or miss them. Chamberlain had the luxury of assistant Stan Albeck, who later would have a successful run as a head coach. Yet, fans would attend road games just to see him. San Diego went 37-47 and 2-4 in the playoffs.

Memory Lane: Every week, I will reflect on a former player, coach, manager, or media member from our yesterday. Do you remember former Phillie Larry Hisle? He was the Phillies 1965 second -round pick and spent four years with them, hitting .234 with 30 homers and 104 RBIs. He was traded to the Dodgers for Tommy Hutton in Oct. ‘71. In 14 seasons, Hisle hit .273 with 166 homers and 674 RBIs.

Feedback: Your comments, thoughts, and ideas are always welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com.