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Updated as of 11/6/2023
Nowbatting19.net Presents... The Gridiron Greats Page!
1967 Topps Football #132 Checklist
"Are you ready for some Football?"
"Are you ready for some Football?"
Football cards played 3rd string to Baseball, even Boxing cards, before they became popular in the 1950's and up to the current day. Big name stars like Bronco Nagurski, "Slingin" Sammy Baugh, Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown & more are more popular today than ever! On this page we are going to feature some classic vintage Football Cards. It's fitting today happens to be Super Bowl Sunday*, so relax, have some coffee (or a beer) and enjoy a little pre-game entertainment that doesn't suck!
*The Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl; in case you don't know! Congrats to both teams!
I had to add a photo of Fred Lynn on this page, even though he became a major league star for the Boston Red Sox (Thank you Danny Mewes for sharing!). He is the inspiration for this website Nowbatting19.net! Fred played football at El Monte High School here in Los Angeles and was good enough to get a Football Scholarship to U.S.C. He played with Lynn Swann, who was to become a Hall of Fame receiver with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also excelled in baseball and helped the Trojans win 3 College World Series (1971-73). Fred chose to pursue a baseball career, and in his rookie season (1975) won not only the A.L. Rookie of the Year, but the A.L. Most Valuable Player Award as well! So, good career choices for both Lynn's! Fred went on to become a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, while Swann went on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio.
Willie Galimore #28 Half Back Chicago Bears
1962 Post Cereal Football #113 Willie Galimore (Hand cut from cereal box)
Willie "The Wisp" Galimore was the star running back for the Bears, before the coming of Gale Sayers. Even of more importance, Galimore was active in the Civil Rights movement. Tragically, Willie Galimore, along with teammate John Bo Ferrington, died in a car crash near the Bears practice facility in 1964. He was just 29 years old & Ferrington was only 28. The Bears retired Galimore's jersey number 28. Gone but not forgotten!
Dick Butkus #51 - Middle Linebacker - Chicago Bears
Dick Butkus Football Cards
1968 Topps #127 Dick Butkus
1971 Kellogg's 3-D Superstars #39 Dick Butkus
1972 Topps #341 Dick Butkus Pro Action
1973 Topps #300 Dick Butkus
1962 Post Cereal Football Cards - FREE on the backs of cereal boxes!
1962 Post Cereal Football 90 Johnny Unitas (Hand cut)
1962 Post Cereal Football 184 Francis Tarkenton ROOKIE (Hand cut)
1962 Post Cereal Football 111 Mike Ditka ROOKIE SP (Hand cut)
1962 Post Cereal Football 29 Y.A. Tittle Short Print (Hand cut)
Post Cereal not only issued baseball cards, but football cards as well. These cards were printed on the backs of cereal boxes and were intended to be cut out, traded & collected. As you would expect, many cards were cut short by excited kids but there are still quite a few cards that are well cut (outside or on the black cutting lines) and even some uncut cereal box panel with cards still on them. Kudos for whoever saved these cards! Post issued their only football card sets in 1962. They also issued Canadian Football League cards on cereal boxes up in the Great White North. The 1962 Post Cereal Football cards measure 2-1/2" x 3/1/2" (standard card size) when cut properly. There are few cards that were put on unpopular cereals, or short-printed (the Mike Ditka & Y.A. Tittle cards pictured are short prints). Some are quite expensive. The set is loaded with Hall of Fame players including Dick Bass, Jim Brown, Ray Nitschke, Bart Starr, Jim Taylor and many more.
The 1962 Post Cereal #111 Mike Ditka and #184 Fran Tarkenton (both pictured) are rookie cards, and much scarcer than their Topps counterparts!
1962 Topps Football - Black Beauties
1962 Topps 1 Johnny Unitas
1962 Topps 88 Roman Gabriel ROOKIE UER
One of the toughest issues to find in high grades are the 1962 Topps Football cards. Printed with jet black borders, the cards are condition sensitive and show the tiniest hints of wear. There are also typical centering issues by Topps. The card features 2 photos, the main color photo is larger than the smaller black & white photo, which shows the player in action. Key rookies in the set include Mike Ditka, Ernie Davis, Roman Gabriel (pictured) & Fran Tarkenton. Card #1 Johnny Unitas (pictured) is difficult in grades above Near Mint (Abrev. "NM") due to it being the first card of the set. Back then kids would put the cards in number order, then put a rubber band around them and put them in a shoebox. As the stack grew the top and last card in the set would be the most susceptible to wear and tear, and these black borders are unforgiving. Because Johnny U. was considered the greatest quarterback of All-Time, even in the 1960's, he was given the honored #1 spot on several different Topps sets during the decade. When Johnny Unitas finally hung up his black high-tops, he was considered the Greatest QB of all-time (GOAT). Now Tom Brady is condsidered the GOAT, but in my opinion, Brady & other pampered QB's like him would have gotten killed. The NFL was much tougher back then, and quarterbacks were not protected like they are in today's game. Brady's pretty face would not be so pretty in retirement, like he is now, and he'd probably be a gimp. Johnny Unitas loss the use of his right arm, and had permanently disfigured fingers after retirement. And like many players of that era, Unitas suffered from the many concussions he had on the field.
Note the 1962 Topps 88 Roman Gabriel ROOKIE is an uncorrected ERROR card. The smaller black & white photo shows N.Y. Giants quarterback (& future Hall of Famer) Y.A. Tittle!
1979 Fleer Team Action Football Cards
1979 Fleer Team Action #21 Houston Oilers Offensive Gushers
The Oilers Running Back is Earl Campbell (HOF), in his rookie season!
Thile TOPPS dominated Football trading cards in the 1970's, Fleer also produced Football cards in the late 70's-early 1980's. The Topps cards during the era were NOT licensed by the NFL, because of this the team logo's were airbrushed over. The Fleer cards WERE licensed by the NFL, so that photos showed the team logos. However the Fleer cards were NOT licensed by the NFL players, so Fleer featured only TEAMS, not individual players. Called "Teams in Action," the cards were sold in wax packs with 7 cards, 3 stickers & 1 stick of gum. They were not the most popular football cards of the time, most collectors still preferred the Topps Football cards. That being said, the Fleer Team Action cards depict many Hall of Fame players and stars; you just have to look for them because they are not named on the card fronts. The above 1979 Fleer Team Action #21 Houston Oilers Offensive Gusher does not have the player name, but the running back is Earl Campbell in his rookie season. These cards are fun & very inexpensive for vintage football cards.
Gale Sayers #40 - Running Back - Chicago Bears 1965-1971
1966 Philadelphia #38 Gale Sayers ROOKIE
1968 Topps 75 Gale Sayers (First TOPPS card)
Gale Sayers ("The Kansas Comet") played essentially just 5 season in the NFL, but those seasons were so productive that he became the youngest member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the time (age 34). Sayers had the misfortune, like teammate Dick Butkus, to never have played in the post season. But both were exceptional at their positions, perhaps the best, & both have bronze busts in Canton Ohio. Topps was only licensed to do AFL (American Football League) cards from 1964-1967, as Philadelphia Gum got the NFL contract. So, the 1966 Philadelphia 38 Gale Sayers is his "rookie card." The 1968 Topps 75 Gale Sayers is first TOPPS card, while the 1972 Topps 110 Sayers card is his last.
1972 Topps 110 Gale Sayers (Final Topps card)
1967 Topps Milton Bradley 98 Joe Namath - Issued in 1968 "WIN-A-CARD" game
1967 Topps Milton Bradley 98 Joe Namath
1968 Topps Milton Bradley 98 Joe Namath (Back)
Many collectors do not know what the 1968 TOPPS MILTON BRADLEY cards are, let alone know how to distinguish them from regular 1967 Topps football & 1968 Topps baseball cards. Here's the story- In 1968 Milton Bradley came up with a board game called "WIN-A-CARD." They got TOPPS to produce select baseball, football and hot rod cards for the game. Topps had to create special card sheets made up of 1967 Topps Football, 1968 Topps baseball & 1965 Tops Hot Rod cards for the game. The cards were rubber banded together and inserted in the Milton Bradley game in cellophane. The problem is Milton Bradley did a poor job in marketing the game. Even a few years after it's original release, you could still purchase a "new" unopened game at five & dime stores or even small department stores. That is how my dad acquired one. He brought it home and that was my introduction to sports cards.
The 1968 Milton Bradley "WIN-A-CARD" game today, unopened, will fetch a nice price because not only is the game itself rare, but the cards are scarcer than the regular Topps cards by a long shot. Key 1967 Topps Milton Bradley Football cards include Hall of Famers Fred Biletnikof, Joe Namath, & Nick Buoniconti. The Namath is the key football card in the set.
How do you tell the difference between a 1967 Topps Milton Bradley 98 Joe Namath and a regular Topps Namath? Note the top border on the Milton Bradley Namath card (pictured). Instead of a solid white border, there is a partial brownish "burlap" border of a 1968 Topps MILTON BRADLEY card. This is a dead giveaway that it is authentic 1968 Topps MILTON BRADLEY card.
Football Stars Football Card Gallery 1
1975 Topps 400 Fran Tarkenton
1976 Topps 220 Jack Lambert ROOKIE
1975 Topps 526 1974 Champs Pittsburgh Steelers
1974 Topps # 1 O.J. Simpson All-Time Single-Season Rushing Ldr
1977 Topps 360 Walter Payton
1982 Topps 303 Walter Payton In Action
1971 Topps 250 Joe Namath
1970 Topps 162 Larry Csonka
1985 Topps 314 Dan Marino
1985 Topps 157 Joe Montana
1971 Topps 209 Deacon Jones
1974 Topps 451 Ken Stabler
1962 Post Cereal 12 Bart Star
1972 Topps 343 Joe Namath Pro Action
"BROADWAY" JOE
Joe Namath is to football what Mickey Mantle was to baseball. An icon. A legend. Both were huge stars in their day, & aftterward. Namath & Mantle both invested in a club in New York, and both had more than their share of endorsements. Joe even had some acting roles as well as a famous panty hose commercial. So both had their fun. What is impressive is that both players reached the pinnacle of their sport- Mantle won 7 World Series Championships, while Namath won Super Bowl III, even predicting the Jets were going to win ("I guarantee it"). That's "BROADWAY JOE." Unfortunately Namath played in an era where quarterbacks are not protected like the OB's of today. Most QB's like Namath, Johnny Unitas, Y.A.Tittle, Kenny Stabler, Fran Tarkenton etc. got their bells rung on may occasions & many paid for it later in life. Joe Namath suffered serious knee injuries as well. Those guys were tough. Really tough.
Watch "BROADWAY" JOE & Sex Kitten Ann Margaret Get Groovy in "C.C. And Company"
BO JACKSON - A HALL OF FAMER NOT IN THE HALL OF FAME (It doesn't matter!)
1987 Topps Tiffany 170 Bo Jackson Future Stars
1989 Topps 269 Bo Jackson
Probably the Greatest Athlete to NOT be in a Hall of Fame is the legendary BO JACKSON. Sports looked way too easy for Bo. Certainly the greatest athlete of his generation, Bo could do everything exceptionally well. Well enough to play both Professional Baseball and Football at the top level (MLB, NFL)! He also did things that seemed impossible. Like snap a baseball bat like a piece of kindling. Or seemingly running sideways on the padding of an outfield wall after a sensational catch. Or the time he threw out a runner at home plate with a throw from the warning track, on the fly, to the catcher who made the putout. Or the mammoth home runs, like the one he hit in the 1989 All-Star Game on the National stage. And that is just the baseball part. Football was another sport Bo excelled in. He would run past defensive players, or go right through them like a battering ram. The only thing that stopped Bo Jackson was a serious hip injury (suffered in football). In his prime, he was shut down. Just like that. He was able to make a comeback in MLB, and still performed some feats of legend, but with a bum hip you are not going to be playing a major sport very long. I think Bo just wanted to prove he could comeback. And he certainly did. I sincerely hope the Baseball & Football Hall of Fame has at least some Bo Jackson memoriblia or film footage, because if you ever saw Bo play, you were on the edge of your seat. What would BO do next? That's how good he was. It really does not matter that Bo is not in the Hall of Fame. He might as well be, because as long as they talk about great athletes, baseball or football players, the name BO JACKSON will always pop up.
Bryan Piccolo #41 - Running Back Chicago Bears
Brian Piccolo 1943-1970
WARNING - Vandalism on a Hall of Fame vintage Bart Starr football card is a crime...
1962 Post Cereal #12 Bart Starr (Hand cut from cereal box)
I hope this wasn't done intentionally, but did someone put a mustache on Bart Starr's face? Hopefully it was just a stray pen mark, but either way it significantly lowers the value of the card. So, I got it for cheap, but shame on the little punk who marked up the great Bart Starr! May you be cursed to have a permanent, unremovable mustache like "Kip" in "NAPOLEON DYNAMITE" in your next life, you little turd! Oops, you are an old turd now (or a goner). In which case, you are sporting a "Kip" mustache as we speak! "HA-HA! HA-HA!" - Nelson from "THE SIMPSONS"
1970 TOPPS SUPER FOOTBALL
1970 Topps Super Joe Namath Square Corner Proof
1970 Topps Super Gale Sayers Square Corner Proof
Topps began issuing "SUPER`" cards beginning with the 1969 Topps Baseball Super issue. The cards featured high gloss photos on front, which is why Topps called them "super." The corners of those first Super cards were rounded, as issued in packs. Topps returned with "Super" cards (both Baseball & Football) in 1970.. These cards are quite larger than regular Topps cards and feature different photos from the regular cards as well. The card fronts do not have a high glossy front; Topps reserved that for the Topps Glossy insert cards that were issued in regular packs. So these cards are "super" in that they are a larger card size. They should have just called them "Giant" cards because that is what they are. The backs are similar to the regular 1970 Topps card backs and they were issued with rounded corners. Proof cards like the examples above are quite scarce but they are out there. Some proof cards can be found with printed card backs, or blank back.
It's interesting that Topps chose to use an earlier Joe Namath photo for his card (above). How can you tell? The hair is the dead giveaway; by 1970 "Broadway Joe' was sporting long hair. His 1971 Topps football card (#250) was the first to depict him with long hair. This photo is from early in Namath's career, before the 1969 "I guarantee it" Super Bowl win over the Baltimore Colts. The regular 1970 Topps Joe Namath card also shows a photo of him in short hair (& a band aid above his eyebrow). Topps issued a "Super" baseball set the following year (1971), but not a Super football issue.
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