I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m a checklist collector. However, when asked about team checklists, I say I don’t collect them, but that’s only because I need to focus my collection a little. That’s not to say I’m not a fan, though! I think the 1973 Topps Football Team Checklists are pretty interesting.
The set has 26 cards, one for each National Football League team. They’re unnumbered and were inserted in packs. The upper quarter of the card is an action photo. Beneath that is a Topps helmet, the team name, and the words “Team Checklist.” Then, the bottom 2/3 of the card is an alphabetical list of players, with the card number on the left of the player’s name, their uniform number, and position to the right.
The backs of the cards form a photo of either Joe Namath or Larry Brown. Unfortunately, as I said, I don’t have these cards, so I can’t piece them all together. However, I did find one of Joe Namath online and a photo of all the backs, but not in “order.”
PSA has graded 909 1973 Topps Team Checklists; fewer than 10% have hit ultra high-grade PSA 10 or PSA 9 grades. There are 7 PSA 10s and 76 PSA 9s. However, there are a lot of eights and sevens with 320 and 209, respectively. So in ultra-high-end, these are tough cards, but the eye-appealing 7/8 range cards are readily available (and affordable).
The Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Los Angeles Rams are the most commonly graded checklists. And the least graded are the Chicago Bears with 21, Atlanta Falcons with 22, New York Jets with 23, and St. Louis Cardinals with 24.
A couple of years ago, a few higher-end sales included a PSA 10 Dallas Cowboys checklist for $482 in June 2019, a PSA 9 Atlanta Falcons for $599 in early 2020, and a PSA 9 New York Jets checklist for $214 in mid-2019.
Complete raw sets can be purchased for between $50 and $200, depending on condition and whether they’re marked. Just a few years ago, you could commonly find them for between $25 and $50.
There are also variations where one or two asterisks can be found printed next to the copyright symbol.
Once I check off a few of my bucket list checklists, I’ll probably go after the 1973 Topps Football Team Checklists. As you can see above, a complete set of these looks great together and could make an excellent wall display for a football fan. Let me know in the comments or on X if you have any of these cards, and happy collecting!