1960-1969 Football Cards

The 1960s football card sets elevated the football card hobby and collecting to a whole new level. This included a strong lineup of former greats and iconic card designs. The main card companies during this period consist of Topps, Fleer and Philadelphia Gum Company. They combined to offer collectors vintage 1960 football card sets for each year of the decade. Vintage football cards still rank behind baseball, but the 1960s helped close the gap.

1961 was a great year for football cards as it ushered in a decade where collectors had a choice. In addition, two football leagues were now vying for fans across America as the fledging American Football League (AFL) emerged to compete against the established National Football League (NFL).

The most valuable 1960s football rookie cards are available for Dick Butkus, Joe Namath and Mike Ditka. Other popular rookie options include Fran Tarkenton, Ray Nitschke, Gale Sayers, Fred Biletnikoff, Lance Alworth, Bob Lilly, Ernie Davis, Deacon Jones, Brian Piccolo, Larry Csonka, Don Meredith, Roman Gabriel, Jack Kemp, and Lenny Dawson.

1967 Topps Football Trading Card Set

1967 Topps Football trading card set features a colorful design and limited quality rookie options. However, several Hall of Fame veterans carry the product, including Joe Namath and Fred Biletnikoff.

Product Details

The 1967 Topps Football card set would be their final AFL-only release. Just as the previous year, the set consists of 132 standard-sized cards, measuring 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches. The set is anchored by veterans and future Hall of Fame players, including Joe Namath (#98), Jack Kemp (#24), Len Dawson (#61), Fred Biletnikoff (#106), and Lance Alworth (#123). Unfortunately, there are no noteworthy rookie cards in the set other than Wahoo McDaniel (#82). Despite not achieving success on the gridiron, McDaniel did gain fame as a professional wrestler.

Design

The 1967 Topps Football card set perfectly captures the AFL's colorful and flashy style of play, by using vibrant colors and a detailed design. The card fronts feature an oval-shaped player picture. A brightly-colored frame surrounds most of the card, with the player's team name in a unique font designed to fit the corner. A footer area stretches out below the player, displaying his name and position. The colors are consistent throughout each team and a white border surrounds the entire design. The back of the cards are laid out in a vertical orientation. A black circle in the upper left contains the card number and the player's name runs along the top, and the team, position and vital stats follow. Certain players have an area designated for year/lifetime statistics, while others simply mention the AFL broadcasts on NBC-TV. A short biographical write-up follows. There is also a generic cartoon at the bottom that is accompanied by a trivia question.

Like Topps' other AFL-only sets, the 1967 football cards are arranged so each team is grouped together throughout the set. The teams are arranged in alphabetical order by city, while each player is ordered alphabetically by his last name. There are no team photo cards, however, there are two checklist cards (#'s 59 and 132).

Printing and Distribution

Printed on a single 264-card press sheet, there are no short prints. Interesting to note, 33 of the cards were reprinted as part of a Milton Bradley game and are occasionally found in collections. They can be identified by a light yellow color on their backs, as opposed to the gold of the original cards. Primarily distributed in 5c wax packs, the cards, in addition to being accompanied by the customary piece of bubble gum, contained one of 31 different Comic Pennant sticker cards. The stickers were not very popular at the time of their release and are considered to be scarce.

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. 

We believe that all our listings are 100% Original and Authentic unless otherwise noted. They are all covered by a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, if for whatever reason you are not happy with your purchase we will exchange it, replace it, discount it or you can return it for a full refund.

Standard/Combined Shipping via USPS Ground Advantage is $3.95 for the first card and $0.15 for each additional card, with a max. of (40) items per invoice. Subject to change as postal rates continue to increase. Estimated delivery is 3-5 days. Subject to change as postal delivery schedules continue to increase. Please see shipping tab for current postage rates. All cards will ship in penny sleeves, top loaders, team bag & bubble wrap envelopes.

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