Up for auction is 1977 Topps Mexican #513 FRED DRYER (RAMS/SAN DIEGO STATE). This is one of the top 10 cards to the set! Remaining availability on this scarce card is few and far, particularly at this HIGH grade (PSA 8), has NO gum stain, but is off-centered. Don't let this slip away.

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THE 1977 TOPPS MEXICAN FOOTBALL CARDS

This rare issue is, by far, one of the top ten most difficult football sets to put together. There could be a few reasons for its scarcity. First, they were released in Mexico. No one knows for sure how they were distributed either in Mexico or released in the United States. It is only speculation that perhaps only a dozen cases ever made it to the USA. In fact, there is no knowledge of how many cards were in the print run. Secondly, football in Mexico is better known in European terms as soccer. Soccer is far more popular in Mexico than football was or still is than American football. Lastly, the Mexican economy has always struggled. Somehow spending money on cardboard was not a high priority. The Mexican set contains the same 528 players as the regular issued set done by Topps, except the wording is done in Spanish (both front and back). Some of the more popular cards sought out by collectors are: the passing and rushing leader cards, Roger Staubach, Ken Stabler, Steve Largent (rookie), Terry Bradshaw, Walter Payton, Fran Tarkenton, Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, the AFC & NFC Championship cards, and the Super Bowl XI card. This is the first football set ever licensed to a foreign country to be produced by Topps or any other company. They came in a 2 card pack/36 pack box. This version included a piece of gum. Unfortunately, over time the gum left a stain or residue on one of the two cards. This is accepted as part of the grading or “condition sensitive” issue. Some dealers will charge a premium for cards that are “clean”. The distribution of these cards inside each box is horrible to say the least. It is quite possible to find all both cards to be the same in the same pack. A typical box could produce multiples of several players. This would be great if you got the stars. This is another explanation as to why the scarcity of the set. There are nearly one hundred short print cards and almost twenty-five near impossible cards to find in any condition. Although the cards were translated and pictures were the same, the card wrappers were vastly different, featuring five recognizable NFL players. The players are: #10 Steve Bartkowski (Falcons), #10 Mike Boryla (Eagles), #12 Bob Griese (Dolphins), #17 Brian Sipe (Browns), and #32 O.J. Simpson (Bills). Sports Collectors Digest voted these wrappers as “The most difficult and best looking wrappers to obtain in the 1970’s”. Prices range from $5 for semi-stars to $20 for stars. There are only a handful of dealers can be found who resale these cards. A few of the high end cards range in price as follows: #3 Rushing Leader card (Payton/OJ) valued at $350-$500, #177 Steve Largent (rookie card) valued at $500 to $700, #360 Walter Payton (2nd year) valued at $350 to $500, #528 the Super Bowl card is valued at $400-$550. Since there have been so few sets previously offered, there is not an established price for this set. However, most football card experts agree that a fair range would be $8,000-$10,000. With today’s market of too many card issuing companies, too many “chase cards” at unrealistic prices, it is refreshing to come across a product like the 1977 Topps Mexicans. A product that is truly scarce and a solid investment.