Question on 1972 Roger Stauback rookie

mb2005

Maybe asked here before, but....his first year playing was 1969....why are there no cards for Staubach earlier than 1972? Pretty rare to see a "rookie" card that on the back says he was MVP of the Super Bowl...

baz518

Football sets were so small back then they couldn't account for all the players on all the teams. So it took backup QBs (Staubach only started 4 games his first two years) and other lesser known players/linemen a couple years to establish themselves and get represented on a card. Similar thing happened with Joe Montana... he was drafted in 79 but his "rookie" card was in 81. If the player was more hyped and played a bulk of snaps right away, then they were rewarded with a TRUE rookie card right away.

PowderedH2O

Times were different back then. Rookie cards didn't appear until after the player had played in the league. Also, the sets carried a pretty wide variety of players. Today's sets often include only a handful of linemen and defensive players, except for the HOF types. In the 60's and 70's, the sets were full of those guys. So, when Topps put out a set of 263 cards (as they did in 1969, 1970, and 1971), it had 261 players (two checklists) representing 26 teams, with all positions included. Very few backups were in these sets. To be honest, I don't blame them for waiting. The Cowboys had Craig Morton in those days. He was the starter. The Cowboys had gone to the Super Bowl the year before for the first time with Morton as the quarterback. I think Topps had pretty much figured Morton would start again. Eventually, Staubach won the job and kept it for a decade, and Morton had to find his glory elsewhere. In today's game, Staubach likely would have had a rookie card in the mid 1960's. He definitely would have had a card by 1971. But, not then,

Morton was actually a really good quarterback. Even at 38, he led the Broncos to 10 wins and threw for almost 3,200 yards. Unfortunately, he had one of his worst days as a pro on the last day of the 1981 season against the Bears. He threw two pick six's, and another interception as the Bears beat the Broncos to keep them out of the playoffs. If they win that game, they have the AFC West title, and the Broncos go to Miami, and that legendary Chargers-Dolphins playoff game never happens. Oh well.

ClockworkAngel

Slightly off topic:

I was always confused why Lynn Swaan only had 3 cards from Topps. (1975-1977). I would assume he declined to continue and did not sign a contract for the remainder of his career. But with no other competitors, I always wondered why that would be...

baz518

I do believe Swaan was similar to Namath and Campbell. They started out on cards, then opted out of the PA agreement and never signed with Topps (probably could never agree on an amount). I don't really blame them, I'm sure Topps was making way more money than the players... and since the PA agreement payouts were split evenly amungst the players, these few probably felt they were entitled to more (especially if Topps was making more). The players with contract disputes all seem to be upper-echelon players that were probably making plenty of money (at the time) in endorsement deals.

SDSportsFan

You have to also remember that Staubach was 27 years old when he finally got to the NFL in 1969, and was coming off four years in the US Navy (including a year in Vietnam). There was probably some thinking at Topps, that he was past his prime and wouldn't amount to more than a career backup. His performance in 1971 changed all that.



Steve

vols1

I don't know how Topps ever got anyone to sign. I have seen the old contracts from the 1980's and players got paid like $250.

shagrotn77

Mel Blount's career started in 1970 and his Topps "rookie" card was issued in 1975. The man was bald by the time that card came out!

jmoran19

I take it 3rd series 1970 packs never made it to your neck of the woods

cardbender

John,
Those are awesome looking 'what if' cards. I even like the natural corner wear to them.