What are the key football sets?

CollectorAtWork

I collect baseball and basketball cards, but not really football cards, and I was wondering what were considered the key football sets? For example, for baseball, it's usually T206, 33 Goudey, 52 Topps. For basketball, I think it's more debateable, but around 48 Bowman, 57 Topps, 61 Fleer, 69 Topps, 86 Fleer. Thanks!

edmundfitzgerald

The tall boys and the 1972 set have always been very attractive behind some of the classic Bowman issues.

NCDOLFAN

<< <i>The tall boys and the 1972 set have always been very attractive behind some of the classic Bowman issues. >>


I echo that and would say 52 Bowman Lg. and 55 All American were key sets although 1948 Leaf is the main post war set. 1962 Topps is a favorite as is 1969. The 70's are probably dominated by the 72 set because of the new sub-sets ton of rookies and the overall design. The 80's would have to go to the 1984 set.

thedutymon

<< <i>

<< <i>The tall boys and the 1972 set have always been very attractive behind some of the classic Bowman issues. >>


I echo that and would say 52 Bowman Lg. and 55 All American were key sets although 1948 Leaf is the main post war set. 1962 Topps is a favorite as is 1969. The 70's are probably dominated by the 72 set because of the new sub-sets ton of rookies and the overall design. The 80's would have to go to the 1984 set. >>



Afternoon,

Spot on, except for the 80's, the 85 set has always been my love! Nothing like those Black Bordered Beauties!!!

YeeHah

Neil

BobbyVCP

I think you are missing the big one and that is 1935 National Chicle with Nagurski..in the newer arena would say 1984 nad 1986 Topps seem to be popular.

Toro

Starting with 1955

55 Topps All-American
65 Topps
72 Topps
84 Topps
89 Score
98 SP Authentic

After that it's really about Auto rookie cards with the following sets in order of most expensive rookie

1.Exquisite
2T.National Treasures(some years suck due to stickers)
2T.SP Authentic (on card autos with a jersey swatch)
3.Playoff Contenders

Pinkcatfish

The '71 FB set is greatly underappreciated - Great design, Red/Blue borders as well as some great RC's. I think the best of the 70's.

bigbfh72

1963 Fleer set is also very highly valued.

AFL cards only, but has some great rookies

jay0791

all the 1950's bowman sets are very popular. 1952 being the best by far.
I would say every topps set from there on to 1973 is popular.
Everyone has their favorite. I personally love the 65's

otwcards

'48 Weaf is the footbaw set that Baba Wawa wecommends faawode by '52 Bowman Warge and '65 Topps Taw Boys.

Probstein123

leaf, chicle, tall boys, and 76 topps ( only cause its my favorite )

bobbyw8469

I like the 1958 Topps set because of Jim Brown's rookie, as well as Bart Starr & Johnny U's 2nd year cards....

VitoCo1972

I always like 48 Leaf, 55 All American, 57 Topps, 65 Topps and 69 Topps.

glossycrazy

My favs:
52 Bowman Large... Tough to put together in top grade!
57 Topps... Great rookie crew!
62 Topps.... Black borders make 'em tough
69 Topps... Colorful and first and second series are so different! Great rookie crew!
71 Topps... So colorful and great rookies!

Paul

RipublicaninMass

chicle

eagles33

I'm not sure about the entire sets but the most important cards imo are 1935 chicle Nagursk, 1965 namath and 1955 bowman large gifford. So I guess I would start with those sets. 57 topps has to be up there too with starr and unitas rookies. 71 and 72 are great sets from the 70s. 84, 86 and 89 score are loaded with HOF rookies from the 80s. 1998 sp from the 90s and 2000 sp and 2004 sp for the 2000s

CollectorAtWork

Thanks for the information, guys. Let me ask this, if you were to collect only one football set, as a set collector, and not just HOFers/rookies, what set would that be? I'm thinking of starting to collect a set myself. I prefer vintage or earlier, so no modern sets, and pure football as I already have the 33 Sport Kings set pretty close. Thanks!

edmundfitzgerald

I would start out by purchasing the stars from the 71 set and the stars from the 72 high numbers.

Then I would purchase the stars from a bowman set of your choice.

I think that would give you a good mix, let you hold them in your hand, and then decide which direction you want to go.
You can always sell the stars for pretty much near the price you bought them for in case you decide not to collect that set.

mexpo75

35 Chicle
55 AA
57 Topps

PSASAP

My top ten football sets in chronological order:

1. 1935 National Chicle-The granddaddy of all football sets, it contains the most valuable of all football cards, Bronko Nagurski, as well as Knute Rockne. The last 12 cards of the set are scarce and a major challenge to find.
2. 1948 Leaf-Loaded with rookie cards of Hall of Famers (Luckman, Layne, Baugh, Bednarik, etc.), this set, as well as the 1948 Bowman, were the first big sets ever produced, and began a consecutive run of sets that continues to this day.
3. 1950 Bowman-Another set loaded with Hall of Fame rookies (Tittle, Perry, Motley, Graham, Fears and Hirsch), this set is very overlooked and surprisingly affordable.
4. 1955 Topps All-American-Topps first major football set, it's more of a retrospective set, similar to the 1961 Golden Press baseball set, but still loaded with great names, like Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, Don Hutson and the Four Horsemen.
5. 1957 Topps-This was the first regular size issue from Topps, and is anchored by the rookie cards of Unitas, Starr and Hornung. Often overlooked is the rookie card of Raymond Berry, Johnny U's favorite receiver.
6. 1962 Topps-The black bordered set is a huge challenge to collect in near mint or better, and the single print cards add to the task. The top rookies include Ditka, Tarkenton and the only Topps card of Ernie Davis.
7. 1965 Topps-The first Tall Boy football set ever produced, the highlight of the set is, of course, the Joe Namath rookie. Other key rookies include Willie Brown and Fred Biletnikoff. This set is a tough one because of the short prints and poor quality control, which resulted in centering problems on most of the cards.
8. 1971 Topps-The colored borders make this set tough to complete in PSA 8 or higher. The Bradshaw rookie is the key, but the set also contains the rookie card of Mean Joe Greene, Willie Lanier, Ken Houston, Roger Wehrli and Charlie Sanders.
9. 1972 Topps-The biggest Topps set at the time, it's a difficult set to complete because of the scarce high numbers. The big card is the Roger Staubach rookie.
10. 1984 Topps-This set is notable mainly because it contains the Marino and Elway rookies, whereas most of the other sets of the era have only one. The set also has rookie cards of Dickerson, Long, and Darrell Green.