Anyone collect sports-related playing cards?

nearmint

I've recently picked up a few decks of vintage playing cards that picture pro and college football players. Does anyone else collect playing cards with sports themes? I've noticed that most often they appear in eBay's playing cards category, rather than under sports cards.

Here are some of my latest--and oddest--playing cards: Littelfuse Linebackers. You can read more about them in an article on my blog.




I don't remember if I posted them here, but I've also bought 1974 West Virginia University and 1973 Nebraska University playing cards in the past few months. I have 1974 Nebraska playing cards on the way, too.

TNP777

nearmint

Nice, TNP. What decks are your top two Butler cards from? Are there just Dodgers in them, or players from other teams, too?

TNP777

U.S. Playing Cards All-Stars - 1991 and 1994

fkw

closest things I have...


ca1925 W-Unc. (extremely rare)


ca1929 W-Unc. (extremely rare)


1929 W560 (incorrectly called 1927 by 99.9% of all collectors)


1928 W565 sheet


1933 E285 (very rare green stock)

And the rarest of them all.... the 1969 Globe Imports!!! (just kidding)

nearmint

Very cool, fkw, thanks for posting those.

Barfvader

Got a few sets of these that I picked up awhile back.

Stone193

Playing card sets like those are pretty darn cool!

I don't collect them but do have "game" playing cards like these:



It's from the National-American League Base Ball Game:



I have many other game playing card sets - but this is the only one with a ball player on it.

There's quite a few I'd like to eventually pick up tho.

QUITCRAB

I got a unopen set of globe imports for sale- 12.00 if anyone is interested.
Scott

TheHun

Here are a few -

1986 Dandy Gum

jaderock

I got a couple of 1963 Stancraft Football sets...I grew up playing with them (and in the process destroyed them and lost all but 2 or 3 of them), so I had to get a couple back for my childhood memories.

Also got a 1976 (I think) Tom Seaver set

nearmint

Great stuff!

Mike opened the door to other game cards, so I'll throw in a couple. These game cards were inserts in 1971 Topps football packs. There was a field marker card and a paper football field, too. I'm not positive, but it seems to me that the football field was printed on the backs of the posters that also came in the packs. Some of the cards have just the number printed on them, and some say "xx of 52 cards." I remember thinking that was odd, even back then.

Stadium1978

Beyond Rare:

1961 Topps Dice Game - This set was never released. It's thought that as few as 3-4 of each exist. I came across this one, but had to sell it when I found out how much it was worth.

Barfvader

I can add to the game cards as well.

My $1 yard sale find a few years back.

Box isn't very pretty.




Rest of it looks like it was never played with. (Didn't scan the dice and playing pieces)

goraiders

I have nightmares about 1978 SPORTS DECK DIVISION KEN STABLER .I was doing the master
set when all of a sudden,they added these cards to the set,I have yet to find them all,but theres
52 I think in all,great idea to add these whoever did,thanks alot

nearmint

Dang, barf, that's the best yard sale purchase I've ever seen!

nearmint

Here are a couple of my latest additions, 1974 Nebraska Cornhuskers playing cards. Fourteen of the players in the deck played at least a few games in the NFL.

HoofHearted

I picked this one up not too long ago for my Senators/Twins type collection:

nearmint

Here's my latest purchase: 1974 University of Colorado Football Playing Cards. 15 of the players in the deck played in at least one NFL game, and several played in the NFL for 10+ seasons.

nearmint

I picked up a deck of 1972 Auburn Tigers playing cards this week. Below are two of them, Bill Newton and David Langner, heroes of the Punt, 'Bama, Punt game against Alabama. Here is a little article I wrote about the cards.

AkbarClone

I collect ones that go with any of my player or team collections.

The set that has frustrated me the most is the 72-73 North Carolina Playing Card collection.

I've been able to buy a good chunk of the deck (as singles)--but they rarely appear and when sellers do list singles, they ask some pretty high prices.

If anyone ever comes across a good lead on any decks or singles, please let me know.


EDITED TO REPORT: I found a complete deck for sale from a seller in England, so I no longer need any help--now I have all the singles I originally bought available to trade or sell.

nearmint

Here are a couple of cards that look like regular Topps cards, but they were actually included in board games. First is a 1974 Parker Brothers Norm Snead, which was included in a game called Pro Draft. His regular 1974 Topps card has an action photo.



Next is a 1967 Milton Bradley Joe Namath card. It was included along with 1968 Topps baseball cards, 1965 Topps Hot Rod cards, and other 1967 Topps football cards in a 1969 Milton Bradley game called Win-A-Card. You can tell from the brown strip along the top--that's actually part of a 1968 Topps baseball card.



For more details about the sets, see my blog articles about them:
- 1974 Parker Brothers football cards
- 1967 Milton Bradley football cards

nearmint

I picked up a deck of 1973 Auburn football playing cards last week. Four of the players in the deck later played in the NFL. Below is one of them, Ken Bernich, who played in five games for the Jets in 1975. You can see the rest of the deck here.

bishop

nearmint

I picked up yet another deck of college football playing cards this week. This one is 1973 Alabama playing cards. At least 8 of the players in the deck played in the NFL, and 4 played in the CFL. Sylvester Croom, pictured here, played in exactly one game in the NFL, so I added him to my Cups of Coffee page. Croom is now the running backs coach for the St. Louis Rams.

brianwintersfan

Don't have any pics handy but I have the only graded set of Coca-Cola/White Hen Pantry Milwaukee Bucks cards from 1977. Fairly tough regional set that is also sought after by Coke collectors.