1970-1979 Football Cards

While the 1960s were the first big step for football cards, the 1970s helped establish football cards as a legitimate option for a league with growing popularity. Topps was the king of 1970s football cards and the products include many top rookie players that are still relevant in the hobby today.

A few well-known names top the list of 1970s rookie football cards. Comprised of elite Hall of Fame players, the most valuable rookies from the decade include Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach and Walter Payton. Many other names are hotly pursued by collectors, such as O.J. Simpson, Steve Largent, Earl Campbell, Joe Greene, Steve Spurrier, Tony Dorsett, and Lynn Swann.

1972 Topps Football Cards

1972 Topps Football is the only time that a Topps football product was released in three series. Top cards include the Joe Namath Pro Action card, and rookie cards for Roger Staubach and John Riggins.

Product Details

The 1972 Topps Football card set would be the first and only time that a football card set was issued in three series. However, the decision to include a third series seems to have been made at the last minute. There were no checklists for the new series as there had been in previous years, and the final series has long been a very scarce issue. In the end, the set contained 351 cards, which made it the largest football card set ever released up until that time.

The key rookie cards of the 1972 Topps set belongs to Roger Staubach (#200) and John Riggins (#13). Other notable rookies include Archie Manning (#55), Lyle Alzado (#106), L.C. Greenwood (#101), Charlie Joyner (#244), Gene Upshaw (#186), Emmitt Thomas (#157), Larry Little (#240), Rayfield Wright (#316), Ron Yary (#104), Ted Hendricks (#93), Jim Plunkett (#65) and Steve Spurrier (#291). One of the more elusive and expensive cards in the set is Joe Namath's Pro Action card, which is part of the third series.

For the first time in several years, the 1972 Topps Football card release was produced with subsets including:

Conference Leaders - #1-8

Playoffs - #133-139

All-Pro - #264-287

Pro Action - #119-132, #250-263, #338-351

Design

Measuring 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches, the cards feature both a horizontal and vertical layout. The card fronts showcase a very basic design in comparison to previous years' sets. There are no banners or cartoons, or even team-specific logos, just square shapes and block lettering. The cards include a player picture, with his name and position towards the bottom of the picture and superimposed over the image. The team name is shown at the top of the card inside a box that frames the picture. Each team has its own distinct color scheme. A white border surrounds the entire card. The backs of the cards feature the player's name, position and team arranged across the top and the rest of the card broken into two sections. On the left are vital stats and a cartoon about the player, along with a circle containing the card number. The right side features a biography and year-by-year statistics for most players.

Printing and Distribution

Originally, it appears Topps went with the same 132-cards series format it had used since 1969. The two series releases create a 263-card set, just like the three previous years. However, a third series of 88 cards showed up very late in the season. They don't appear to have been distributed in mass quantities. In fact, many of them have filtered into the hobby over the years after being offered by one seller who managed to hold onto several cases of them. As a result, the cards in the third series are much more valuable than the cards #1-263.

The 1972 issue was the last time a football card set by Topps was released in multiple series. The first two were available in wax and rack packs as well as cellos and vending boxes. The third series, however, was released in smaller quantities and was not widely available, but regionally, could be found in both wax and rack packs. Card number 79, the checklist, is a double-print, as it was printed in both the first and second series. The third series of cards contains numbers 264-351.

Condition Issues

Common condition issues for the 1972 Topps Football card set mostly center around printing defects including print dots and smudges. Other issues frequently seen in the set include rough cut edges and poor centering. There are several uncorrected error cards having mostly to do with misspellings and inaccurate information. The most notable of these is the card of Mike Curtis (#326) who is given credit as being the MVP of the1971 Super Bowl. However, in actuality, Chuck Howley was the recipient of that award.

How We Grade:

Gem Mint (GMT): (10.0) A flawless card. To be in Gem Mint condition, a card’s borders must have a ratio of 50/50 side to side and top to bottom. 

Mint (MT): (9.0-9.5) A perfect card. Well-centered with parallel borders which appear equal to the naked eye. Four sharp, square corners. No creases, edge dents, surface scratches, paper flaws, loss of luster, yellowing or fading, regardless of age. No imperfectly printed cards – out of register, badly cut or ink flawed – or card stained by contact with gum, wax or other substances can be considered truly Mint, even if new out of the pack. Generally, to be considered in Mint condition, a card’s borders must exist in a ratio of 60/40 side to side and top to bottom. 

Near Mint/Mint (NM/MT): (8.0-8.5) A super high-end card that appears Mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may exhibit a very slight wax stain on reverse, slight fraying at one or two corners, or a minor printing imperfection. Centering must be app. 65/35 to 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. 

Near Mint (NM): (7.0-7.5) A nearly perfect card at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may have slight surface wear, slight fraying on some corners, slightly out-of-register picture focus, a minor printing blemish or slight wax stain on reverse. Centering must be 70/30 to 75/25 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

Excellent/Near Mint (EX/NM): (6.0-6.5) Card may have visible surface wear or a printing defect. A very light scratch. Corners may have slightly graduated fraying. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. Card may have minor wax stain on reverse, may have very slight nothing on edges. Centering must be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

Excellent (EX): (5.0-5.5) Corners are still fairly sharp with only moderate wear. Card borders may be off center as much as 85/15. No creases. May have very minor gum, wax or product stains, front or back. Surfaces may show slight loss of luster from rubbing across other cards. Dark bordered cards may have one or two small nicks.

Very Good/Excellent (VG/EX): (4.0-4.5) Shows obvious handling, but still looks nice. Corners may be rounded or have minor creases. No major creases, tape marks or extraneous markings or writing. Surfaces does exhibit loss of luster, but the printing is intact. May have paper wrinkles. May show major gum, wax or other packaging stains. All four borders visible, though the ratio may be as poor as 95/5. Exhibits honest wear. 

Very Good (VG): (3.0-3.5) A well-worn card, but exhibits no intentional damage or abuse. May be “Mis-cut or Off-Center” with no border visible. May have major or multiple creases, however, creases are not so deep as to show the underlying paper. This card is completely readable, has not been written on, and has no tape marks or holes. Corner rounding may extend well beyond the border. 

Good (GD) (2.0-2.5) Shows excessive wear, along with damage or abuse. Will show all the wear characteristics of a Very Good card, along with such damage as thumb tack holes in or near margins, evidence of having been taped or pasted, perhaps small tears around the edges or creases so heavily as to break the cardboard. Backs may show minor added pen or pencil writing or be missing small bits of paper. Still basically a complete card. 

Poor (P): (1.0-1.5) A card that has been tortured to death. Corners or other areas may be torn off. Card may have been trimmed, show holes from a paper punch or have been used for BB gun practice. Front may have extraneous pen or pencil writing, or other defacement. Major portions of front or back design may be missing. Not a pretty sight. 

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