Football Cards – Post War Cards

A Near-Set Of 1959 Bazooka Football Cards, Including Rare Promo Tabs, Hit the Auction Block In 2009

April 11, 2025 by John

In November 2009, Mastro offered for sale an incredible near set of 17 different 1959 Bazooka football cards, 12 of which included the promo tab at the bottom!

Here’s the auction lot’s description:

Collection of 17 different 1959 Bazooka Football cards. The year 1959 was fairly uneventful in Topps’ several entree sports card issues. However, that company’s grist, Bazooka bubble gum, appeared very sparingly in boxed form. The container, a basic cardboard prism, measured approximately 5″ x 3″ x 1″ and held individually wrapped tasty ingots. To lubricate sales, one of an assortment of well-known sports figures would appear, in full-color, on the bottoms of the boxes. Baseball, of course, preceded football. Initially, nine different baseball players were imposed on the boxes. These are scarce. Later, 14 others were added. These are much tougher, and the evidence suggests that sales were listless. Bazooka,under the guidance of Topps, obviously had an investment in preparation, and as kids returned to school, the football segment of the strategy appeared. The marketing scheme was doomed from the start, and very few remains of this misdirected ambition exist today. All that money for one card, which dimensionally disrupted otherwise uniform stacks of cards. Bazooka would later promote the idea by offering panels of three baseball cards. There were 18 different in the 1959 Bazooka football production, and all are very scarce. Of these, three were produced in undetermined shorter numbers and include Conerly, Groza and Tom Tracy. The collection offered here is missing only the Tracy card. Of the 17 cards offered here, 12 include the promo tab at the bottom of the card. Those without the tab are John Arnett, LeBaron, Joe Perry, Kyle Rote, and Tittle. The cards are cut responsibly with very little violation of the dotted lines. Condition Report: Ameche (NR-MT to MT); Arnett (cut slightly inside dotted lines, EX-MT); Brown (very light crease on back, EX+); Casares (NR-MT to MT); Conerly (mild crease on back, EX); Ferguson (NR-MT to MT); Gifford (NR-MT to MT); Groza (light crease on back, EX+); Layne (mild crease through tab, NR-MT ); LeBaron (light surface wear, EX+); Lewis (light crease on back at tab, EX-MT); Matson (mild crease on back, writing on back, EX); Perry (NR-MT to MT); Retzlaff (NR-MT to MT); Rote (very slight miscut on left border, EX-MT); Tittle (left border cut imperfectly EX+); Unitas (mild surface wear, EX-MT).

Minimum Bid $1,500

I previously highlighted the set in a piece about a complete box featuring Frank Gifford in which I mentioned that Larry Fritsch believed that the Chuck Connerly variations were the toughest to track down, but this collection, as stated, was missing the Tracy card, one of the other presumed short prints.

By the way, the cards, particularly Jim Brown’s, are pretty pricey these days. In October 2024, Heritage sold an SGC 5 graded Brown for $9,600.

I haven’t seen any complete or near-sets for sale recently, but over a decade ago, REA sold a near-complete set (17 of 18) cards for $6,518. It lacked the Perry card. For more on the set, check out this net54Baseball thread and this article from Sports Collectors Daily.

Happy collecting!

A Quick Look at NFL and AFL Trading Card Rights in the Early 1960s

April 10, 2025 by John

In the middle of 2022, on X, I shared a handful of 1961 Topps and 1961 Fleer football unopened products, and someone asked how it was that both Topps and Fleer had a license to print AFL and NFL cards in the same year. We also noted that it was weird that it was midway through seemingly exclusive 4-year deals for each brand. Honestly, after more research, I still don’t know why or how this happened, but I thought I would share some information about NFL and AFL trading card rights in the early 1960s.

This all started with the founding of the American Football League in 1959 and its inaugural season in 1960. They were challenging the established National Football League, who, as PSA wrote, “…had a fan base. They had connections with college athletes, and they had Topps bubble gum cards. The popular trading card company had issued its first professional football set featuring NFL players in 1956, which began an uninterrupted streak of Topps football sets featuring contemporary players that ran through the 2015 season.”

So, just as the leagues were competing against each other, Fleer and Topps would also. Fleer printed football cards from 1960 to 1963, having the rights to the AFL players in 1960, 1962, and 1963, and Topps had the rights to the NFL players during that time. Somehow, in 1961, both companies had players from the AFL and NFL.

Here is the year-by-year breakdown of each set.

1960 Fleer: The set has 132 cards, 125 with players and seven showing head coaches. It was Fleer’s first football set and was made up entirely of AFL players. And since it was the first year of the AFL, most players were coming into the pro ranks out of college, so Fleer showed them in college uniforms.

1960 Topps: The 132-card set only has NFL players and showcased the expansion Dallas Cowboys.

1961 Fleer: Fleer released the 220-card set in two series, the first with 132 NFL players and the second with 88 AFL players.

1961 Topps: The 198-card set featured NFL players in the first series (#’s 1-132) and AFL players in the second series (#s 133-197), with card 198 being a checklist.

1962 Fleer: The set has cards of 88 AFL players, and many collectors believe it had the lowest print run of any of the Fleer football sets.

1962 Topps: The 176-card set features NFL players

1963 Fleer: The set features 88 cards of AFL players and a great unnumbered checklist. The set is known to have three of the most sought-after vintage football cards of the ’60s (the Checklist, Charles Long, and Bob Dougherty).

1963 Topps: The 170-card set of NFL players was grouped alphabetically by city name.

Things got interesting after that. In 1964, the Philadelphia Gum Company obtained NFL rights through 1967, and Topps printed AFL-only sets between 1964 and 1967, leaving Fleer with no product in football (or baseball). Then, in 1968, after the NFL and AFL agreed to merge, Topps got the rights to both leagues.

I can make a lot of guesses about exclusivity and printing rights in the early 1960s that led to the 1961 sets from Fleer and Topps having both AFL and NFL cards, but I really don’t have any facts. If anyone knows what happened, please let me know in the comments and happy collecting!

A Rare Sight: Mint 1965 Topps Tall Boy 5-Cent Display Boxes

April 5, 2025 by John

You’re not going to see many mint 1965 Topps Tall Boy 5-cent Display Boxes on the market; I scanned this one from Mastro’s December 2007 catalog.

This empty box once held 24 5-cent packs, and one or more of them may have contained Joe Namath’s rookie card. Its minimum bid was $300 at the time, but I’m unsure what it closed at.

As I said, the box is rarely found, especially in mint condition. However, you may remember that in September 2017, MileHighCard Co. sold a full unopened BBCE-authenticated box for $145,746 and a box with 21/24 packs for $106,149.

Exploring auction history over the past few years, it looks like mid-grade display boxes have been selling for between $250 and $500.

Happy collecting, and don’t forget to check out The Unopened Archive!

Faux Wood Grain Bordered Sports Cards

March 24, 2025 by John

Love ’em or hate ’em, you definitely have an opinion about the faux wood grain bordered cards; they’re pretty unforgettable. In this article, I’ll run down a few details about five key wood grain framed sports card sets in the hobby and share a few thoughts about them.

1955 Bowman Baseball

The first faux wood-grained border set was Bowman’s final vintage postwar set. I consider it the first bold design choice that Topps or Bowman made with the horizontal color television set style (inspired by the 1950 Drake’s cards). Most real TVs at the time had a wood-grain paneled look. The first 64 cards have a lighter wood grain within the set, and the rest are darker.

The look of these cards is incredibly recognizable, show one to a vintage collector, and they KNOW it’s a 1955 Bowman card. Sports Collector’s Digest once wrote in an interview that “if collectors mention the set they hate from the ’50s the most, the 1955 Bowman set is the one that’s mentioned probably 80-85 percent of the time.” I don’t hate ANY sports card set, but I probably fit more in the group that isn’t a fan of this design than the group who loves it; it’s just a little tacky/cheesy; perhaps I’m just too young to appreciate them!

It’s also weird that the card fronts don’t show the player’s first name, team name, or position. However, Bowman’s last set is still important to the hobby. So, I think the best way to summarize the set is something I once heard during a hobby chat: the cards are ugly but historic. I do applaud Bowman for trying to do something different.

1962 Topps Baseball

The next major release to use a faux wood grain background was Topps’s 1962 baseball set. This time, they made the image look like a sticker peeling away from the wood background, revealing the player’s name, team, and position.

The look of the wood seems a bit more “elegant” this time. Some say they are inspired by the 1955 Bowman design, but Topps did the design in a way that works a lot better to me. The vertical orientation, the move away from the television screen, and additional player information on the front make a complete design. It’s still not the most attractive design Topps has made, but it’s nicer than the 1955 Bowman set.

From a collector’s perspective, the edges in this set show chipping, so, just like the 1955 Bowmans, the cards are tough to find in better condition.

1966 Topps Football and Hockey

The 1966 Topps Hockey and Football sets have the same color TV-based design of a player’s photo within a faux wood grain border with the player’s name, position, and team printed along the bottom of the horizontally aligned card. They’re just as polarizing as the other sets I mentioned.

The hockey card images are imposed in front of a game crowd, which I think looks pretty cool. The football cards seem to have either the background from where the photo was taken (likely a practice field and usually of the sky) or a pure red or yellow background.

Color TV was still new in 1966, so the cards were probably pretty appropriate for the time. Also, the hockey cards have a TV shape on the back (white text on a black background shipped like an oval TV).

1987 Topps Baseball

I think the 1987 Topps Baseball set pulled off the wood grain border the best. The frame looks like a baseball bat and fits the era well. Therefore, it’s one of the most recognizable sets from the 1980s.

The box around the player’s name, the black texted Topps logo, and the team logo in the upper circle look great from a design perspective. It’s the cleanest of these designs, so I’m a big fan.

As I said in the intro, these wood grain-bordered cards definitely elicit a reaction and opinion from collectors, so I’d love to hear what you think about them in the comments.

Happy collecting!

PS: In writing this article, I considered including the 1958 Hires Root Beer set but wanted to concentrate on major releases.

The Original Artwork For The 1953 Bowman #51 John Karras Football Card

March 18, 2025 by John

Here’s a true hobby one-of-one: the original artwork for card number 51 in Bowman’s 1953 football set, featuring John Karras of the Chicago Cardinals.

The piece was a part of Mastro’s December 2005 Sports Premier Catalog Auction. They described it as a hand-crafted artifact measuring 3-1/8” x 4-5/8” (larger than the as-issued card). The item description mentioned that the item’s corners were chipped as a function of the working process. Also, the art piece was matted with an Ex sample of the final card on display measuring 11-3/4” x 15”, but Mastro didn’t share a photo of the combined display in the catalog.

So, here’s an example of the published Karras Bowman football card.

Happy collecting.

PS, check out The Original Artwork Archive if you want to see more pieces like this one.

The Three Original Topps Tall Boy Sets

March 4, 2025 by John

Variety is the spice of life, and Topps definitely mixed things up with the introduction of tall boy sized cards with their 1964 Hockey set. The cards must have been pretty popular because the following year, in 1965, they released tall boy football cards to stand out against their competition. Then, when they decided to re-enter the basketball card market, their 1969 release was, once again, of the tall boy variety. In this article, I’ll run down these three incredibly popular sets.

1964 Topps Hockey

The first year that Topps didn’t have to compete with Parkhurst in the hockey card market, they released their set in a tall boy format (2-1/2″ x 4-11/16″) for the first time in any sport. From a historical perspective, some collectors think going with larger cards (Topps printed “GIANT SIZE” on the wrappers) was a “triumphalist call,” but no one knows for sure.

The set has 110 cards of players from all 6 NHL teams and was the first set in 10 years that included all the teams. The set is nearly double the size of previous Topps hockey sets and was released over two series. Hockey collectors consider 1964 Topps to be one of the greatest hockey sets of all time, and it’s the toughest of these three tall boy sets to complete in high grade.

1965 Topps Football

The football market in 1965 was a little different than the hockey market. Philadelphia Gum had the rights to the NFL’s licensing for cards, so Topps, to expand its AFL release (less interesting content) and compete for sales, released their set in the tall boy format to stand out. Remember, the larger size format worked with 1952 Topps baseball in competition with Bowman too.

The 176 card set would end up being the only football card tall boy set Topps made. Maybe tall boys were too expensive to print/machine? It does, however, feature one of the most recognizable football cards in the hobby, Joe Namath’s card #122.

Topps knew they didn’t have the best content because the packs didn’t advertise the AFL specifically, just “Pro Football.”

1969 Topps Basketball

Topps returned to the basketball card market in 1969 with their 99-card set. Again, Topps must have been trying to make a splash and have the cards stand out on shelves with their larger size as “10 GIANT CARDS” was printed on the wax boxes.

1969 Topps basketball is loaded with stars enhancing its popularity. But you may not know that Topps couldn’t use team logos on the cards due to licensing issues, so some players posed for photos wearing their jerseys backward. Still, it’s an incredibly eye-appealing set due to the tall boy format and choice of colors.

Topps did follow up the 1969 Topps basketball set with another tall boy set in 1970, but they never did publish a baseball tall boy set (1964 Topps Giant-Size All-Stars being the closest we have). The drawback of the tall boy format is that the cards’ size makes them more condition sensitive since they were tougher to store and more prone to miscuts in the factory.

Regardless of your desire to collect high-end cards or not, a trio of all three original tall boy sets would be a great addition to anyone’s vintage card collection. Let me know down in the comments which is your favorite, and happy collecting!

A Few Ways Topps Distributed Uncut Sheets Directly To Customers

February 20, 2025 by John

I love uncut sheets of sports cards. They make awesome display pieces, they’re often scarce, they provide set education, finish “master” collections, and provide hobby integrity. So, despite the storage problem, they continue to be really popular. But how did these sheets make their way to the market if cards were meant to be cut up and put in boxes for sale? The conventional wisdom is that they came from Topps employees or out the backdoor of printing facilities. But the reality is a bit more complicated than that, particularly in more modern times, as Topps provided uncut sheets via direct sales, instant winner programs, marketing add-ons, and a few other planned/legitimate means.

You can see the code #945-84 sell sheet for Topps 1984 Uncut Baseball Card Sheets when it comes to direct sales. Topps offered six different sheets of 132 cards (132 * 6 = a complete 792 card set). Topps realized there was a market for uncut sheets and responded as any business would.

1984 Topps Baseball Uncut Card Sheets Sell Sheet

One collector on a forum had written that they had bought some sheets in the mid-1980s from local stores (not card stores), and the sheets came wrapped in plastic. So Topps sold some of these, though perhaps not through hobby stores. Another collector responded that as early as 1982, they bought sheets like this from ToysRUs. They were in a large box with the top cut off, left in the aisle for display, and sold for around $6. Others surmise this sales method may have happened as early as 1981

There are also examples of complete boxed sets of 6 uncut sheets of 1987 Topps that are still widely available. Whether they were sold by Topps or a 3rd party is less clear.

1987 Topps Uncut Sheets Complete Box Set

1987 Topps Uncut Sheets Complete Boxed Set Zoomed In

3 Boxes of 1987 Topps Uncut Sheets Baseball Card Collections

Topps also used to provide sheets to collectors through add-ons. In 1989, as the code #325 sell sheet indicates (courtesy of 4192Cards), if any store purchased a case of Bazooka Gum, they got two uncut sheets of Topps baseball cards. It’s believed this happened between 1986 and 1990.

In 1984, OPC inserted instant winner cards into packs, and one of the prizes was the three sheets that made up a complete set.

Earlier in the 1980s, for $4 ($5 in 1982), collectors could receive a full-sized uncut sheet of 1981 or 1982 Topps baseball and 1981 Topps football cards through a promotion with Coca-Cola (through the header card packed with team sets). Many of the sheets the distributor sent to collectors had errors. So, this tactic may have been a way for Topps to make some money rather than throwing away printer errors or allowing staff to walk off with them.

The distributor in Connecticut included an additional offer to get every sheet from 1981 for $4 a sheet or $24 for an entire print run.

There’s another example of acquiring uncut sheets as far back as 1972 for Topps basketball in partnership with Wheaties. The Topps Archives wrote about getting 132 player sheets for $2 plus two Wheaties proof of purchase panels. I’ve included the photos from the Topps Archives blog post below, just in case that site ever goes down and we lose access to its incredible history of articles.

Wheaties Box with 1972 Topps Basketball Uncut Sheet Offer

I’m sure there are dozens of more legitimate examples of how Topps distributed uncut sheets of cards in addition to the methods discussed in this post. If you know of any others, share the details in the comments below.

Happy collecting, and don’t forget to check out the Uncut Sheet Archive, too!