Let's have a virtual card show, gridiron edition!

[Exhibitman]

Working like a charm on the prewar baseball board. Rules are simple: post one football card a day (story optional) and keep coming back! I will start with a favorite card from a favorite set:



Forty years ago (gasp!) when I was a teenager I bought a collection of late 1960s cards from one of my teachers. Lots of 1968 FB in there. I fell in love with the design. I had a Starr but must've sold or traded it off. Years later I was at a local card show here and I found a beautiful Starr. I bought it but then sold it too. Several years ago one of my parents' friends' sons was looking to sell off his childhood collection. He collected from 1958 to 1969 but the later years were really just buy and box. I ended up with a stellar 1969 Johnny Bench that he'd barely handled. There was a small but nice group of 1968 FB in there, including this Starr, which I sent to PSA. As an added bonus I got to unfold several crisp, as in never before unfolded, posters, including this great Johnny U:

[LuckyLarry]

I've been "playing" with my 1974 Parker Brothers football cards this morning. I re-discovered that not only were six cards printed with new fronts (three horizontal cards like this Norm Snead, and three ALL-PRO cards), these six cards also got a later printing using the new photos. In this example using Norm Snead, the top card is his regular Topps card printed horizontally. The middle card is the standard Parker Brothers card with the new pose and 1972 stats (also the two asterisks we look for ** @ T.C.G. PRTD. IN U.S.A.). The third card has the new pose but the back has 1973 stats and a single asterisk (* @ T.C.G. PRTD. IN U.S.A.)

read all about it:

sportscollectorsdigest.com/cards/set-overview-1974-topps-parker-brothers-football

[Peter_Spaeth]

While my more typical experience is getting outbid by madmen willing to obliterate world records, luck was with me on this one, I happened to be doing some searches within minutes of it being posted, it was priced fairly, and I bought it amazed at my timing. It would not have lasted the hour.

[Exhibitman]

What was Ollie trying to do here, catch a bus?

[riggs336]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

While my more typical experience is getting outbid by madmen willing to obliterate world records, luck was with me on this one, I happened to be doing some searches within minutes of it being posted, it was priced fairly, and I bought it amazed at my timing. It would not have lasted the hour.

I had a similar experience with this Unitas. I snatched it on a BIN for $50 before anyone else made a bid.

[LuckyLarry]

1972 Topps was the last set issued in series form. Series One #1-#132 (easy) Series Two #133-#263 (somewhat harder to find) and Series Three #264-#351 (GOOD LUCK). It's been a few years since I collected this set, and I remember if I found a low grade high number common for under ten bucks it was a bargain!

[jiw98]

Originally Posted by LuckyLarry

1972 Topps was the last set issued in series form. Series One #1-#132 (easy) Series Two #133-#263 (somewhat harder to find) and Series Three #264-#351 (GOOD LUCK). It's been a few years since I collected this set, and I remember if I found a low grade high number common for under ten bucks it was a bargain!

I remember finishing this set around 10 years ago. What a challenge it was to find the high numbers. The high numbers took me 3 years to complete. My job took me all over the country and I looked every place I could think during those travels. I remember finding cards in a antique store. The chase was a blast!

[riggs336]

This card matched up well both with my low-grade set and my budget.

[LuckyLarry]

I like this idea of a virtual card show. With prices being so high right now, it's a good time to go through what we already have and enjoy it.

Here's the #2 set in the PSA Set Registry 1971 Topps Pin-Ups (which were inserted into wax packs). A few years ago I bought the full set PSA graded at our local card show for $100 which I thought was a heck of a deal. I think the dealer was tired of hauling them around because they take up a lot of room and weigh a ton. Now they sit in the back of my closet in a couple of boxes lol. I always thought they would look cool on a wall in a "man-cave". Plus these are now worth $2,500 in grading fees alone.

And yes I just confirmed this set remains #2 on the PSA Registry! (OK there are only two sets listed)

[Eddiez]

Picked this up today

[Exhibitman]

I found this in a collection of miscellaneous stuff I bought. It was in one of those old snap tite holders that was so roached and brittle I assumed the card was trashed. The holder shattered in my hand but the card was beautiful.

[psychosem17]

Paul Warfield 7x10 Card Stock Mini Poster.jpg

1971 Coke Fun Pack 8x10

This issue always spoke to me because of some of the great photography and the clear use of the team logos, which Topps didn't have the rights to use at the time.

[scooter729]

I bought this one raw as a teenager 30+ years ago - always loved the Thorpe story and it was an expensive card for me at the time ($50??). It was one of my first PSA submissions over 20 years ago - this will be one of the last cards I would ever let go of, since I remember what a big deal it was to buy it as a young kid...

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by scooter729

I bought this one raw as a teenager 30+ years ago - always loved the Thorpe story and it was an expensive card for me at the time ($50??). It was one of my first PSA submissions over 20 years ago - this will be one of the last cards I would ever let go of, since I remember what a big deal it was to buy it as a young kid...

Nice card. A recent PSA 8 of this card sold for nearly $5K.

jeff

[scooter729]

Originally Posted by jefferyepayne

Nice card. A recent PSA 8 of this card sold for nearly $5K.

jeff

Thanks - I saw that. I know mine isn't the strongest 8 out there because of the centering, but I'm pretty happy with it in my collection!

[LuckyLarry]

I had a lot of fun chasing 1962 Post football cards. A few years ago at the National I purchased this Dave Baker card (raw) it's one of the more expensive short prints in the set. It was so nice I walked it over to SGC and had them slab it! PS my avatar picture is sitting at the SGC booth holding the "raw" Dave Baker lol.

[Exhibitman]

Some of my very favorite FB cards when I was a kid:





"The Juice Is Loose" had an entirely different meaning back then...

[LuckyLarry]

1962 Topps such a GREAT set!

[Exhibitman]

I was always a Raiders fan during the crazy years. Loved the nicknames:



Assassin



Dr. Death



Snake

[scmavl]

Going a slightly different way with this. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson played on the local minor league baseball team here in 2011. Got the whole team set signed by the players one Sunday after the game. I had no idea that the polite, short guy hitting .210 would be the only valuable one in the set!

[commishbob]

IMG_0003.jpg

I'm a big Lenny Moore fan. I was too young to appreciate him in his early years with the Colts but as he played into the mid-60s I got to see some of his amazing talent on display. Lenny is still around and I think he still does card shows. I met him once at a function in Baltimore that my uncle took me to and he was a super guy when visiting with all the guests.

His rookie card shows him in his Penn State gear. I like this one but it's not my favorite Lenny Moore card, this one is....


IMG_0010.jpg

I'm not sure now much better a football card can get. Great design, great player, great picture. Lenny Moore stands, hand on hips, wearing the iconic Baltimore Colts blue and white uni (note that the 'UCLA' shoulder stripes go all the way around the sleeves, just as God intended), with the Memorial Stadium crowd behind him. Just a slice of the great old stadium's original scoreboard shares the picture. That scoreboard just makes this card!

Using the games listed on the scoreboard I can date the shot. On October 2, 1960 the Colts hosted the Bears while the Lions were in Green Bay and the Steelers were in Cleveland. The Colts ran over the Bears that day, 42-7. Moore touched the ball six times. He carried twice for ten yards and caught four passes from Johnny Unitas for 140 years and two touchdowns. Typical Lenny Moore performance.

[Exhibitman]

This is one of my favorites:



It's just so weird. He looks like he's running to catch a bus with a loaf of bread under his arm. I also like the 1956 design when the backgrounds aren't all splotchy.

[ocjack]

I wouldn't like to see Chuck running towards me with that look on his face.

[ocjack]

Crazylegs used to come by where my dad worked and was always willing to sign things for him (me). I finally met him years later and thanked him for always making my dad feel special. He was a true gentleman.

[Exhibitman]

[herbc]

NFL PIONEER