A Namath Rookie Card from a non-Card Person-UPDATE June 18
TomB
Posts: 20,730 ✭✭✭✭✭
The folks in this section of the boards might not recognize me, but I have been with the PCGS (CU) boards since the late 1990s, which would be at least three major board revisions ago. I am a real "coin person". In fact, I have been on these boards so long that my join date is listed as February, 2001, which is when they made all of us on the old boards re-register at the time the new (three versions ago new) boards were set up. Why do I tell you this? Because I want you to know that I am not out to troll any of you for some fun.
Years ago I had the typical collection of baseball cards that were obtained from buying the packs directly from a general store, opening up the cards, shuffling through them to memorize all the stats and anecdotes and then filing them carefully away in myriad shoe boxes with 3" x 5" stationary cards placed between teams. I did this for years and had many boxes. Similar to many other folks, I then left the field and eventually sold off all my cards. They didn't bring much and I expect that I left money on the table, but I turned the sales money into the re-birth of my coin collection and here I am years later a full-time coin dealer.
One thing I didn't sell, however, was my very small group of football cards. At one point in time I traded a pile of generic and then rather recent vintage baseball cards for a slightly smaller sized pile of appreciably older football cards. I wanted the football cards primarily because I was attracted to the group of extra tall cards with vivid backgrounds. You would all know better than me that these would be the 1965 Topps Football series, which I believe many folks refer to as "Tall Boys". It is likely I didn't sell the football cards with the baseball cards because they were in a different box and I forgot all about them. That would be lucky for me.
I recently went through these cards and thought I would share a brief synopsis of what I found. This might be viewed as a found lot, essentially, of cards that were not preferentially saved or pulled from larger collections or the bourse, but rather would simply be a small time capsule of what was actually out there "back in the day". From time-to-time in the coin world there will be an old jar, purse or bag full of coins that comes up where there was no special motivation for saving the coins and they simply fell through the cracks until many years later. It is always cool, as a collector and dealer, to see what these small hoards have to tell us. I imagine that collecting cards might not be so different from collecting coins and, as such, perhaps folks here would find this information useful, as well.
Therefore, here are the details of my little, random hoard.
There are 45 cards from the 1964 Topps set and this includes six duplicates and one triplicate. The centering is rather poor on these cards. Also, as an aside, what is Micky Slaughter doing (Denver Broncos QB, card 61) on the card? Is he bowling? In 1965 there are the Topps Tall Boys as well as the Philadelphia Gum Company series cards. There are 19 PCGC cards without any duplicates while there are 33 Tall Boys cards with one duplicate. Similarly, in 1966 there are both Topps cards and PCGC cards. The PCGC set has 49 pieces with three duplicates and one triplicate while the Topps series has 28 cards and a whopping 11 duplicates! I would be mighty annoyed if I were a little boy who purchased two or three packs and received such a large overlap of players. Of course, had they been all superstars I might be happy, but....Oddly, there are no 1967 cards and I assume a 1967 series was produced. The 1968 Topps series has 103 cards total and they stop at card 130 save for the checklist at card 219. This seems mighty strange. There are ten sets of duplicates, 11 sets of triplicates and one quadruplicate card. Card 118, Dick Westmorland, DB, Miami Dolphins, please come to the front, your quadruplicates are waiting for you.
I hope this was interesting and of some value. Below please find images of the Namath card. The coloring is actually quite uniform, but I don't often shoot images of cards so it is not lit that well.
UPDATE June 18-
I finally got off my lazy butt and sent the card in two weeks ago. It graded PSA Very Good+ 3.5 and is en route as I type. Thank you all for your help.
Comments
Thats a great card. There is probably no card I want more in my collection then the 1965 Namath.
Nice re-find. Looks like a PSA 4 to me. If you do send it in for grading, very gently "help" the top right corner back to it's original position so that the dog ear does not seem so folded over.
That is a terrific story! I had a similar experience recently with my old comic book collection and am hoping it doesn't turn into a new (old) addiction!
Don't waste your time and fees listing on ebay before getting in touch me by PM or at gregmo32@aol.com !
Eye appeal card, rarely seen with centering that nice.
Great looking card
A great card Tom -- very much in demand nowadays too! The Namath is definitely the key of that set. For those that don't know him on the card side, Tom is one of the nicest dealers and person you could ever hope to meet.
Thank you for the kind words and thank you also to originalisbest for vouching that I am not trolling anyone. This Namath card is similar to what happens in many coin collections that I am asked to evaluate. That is, one coin is typically worth as much or more than the entire remainder of the collection and I suspect this Namath card to be worth as much as most everything else combined in that group.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
that is a STRONG looking Namath! Certainly have PSA slab it!
WTB: PSA 1 - PSA 3 Centered, High Eye Appeal 1950's Mantle
Thanks for sharing.
Agree 100%. With centering that nice, this card will also command a price point higher than its technical grade. Terrific find!
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
The scenario is just as you say, Tom, probably the Namath is worth same or more as the rest of the group. Certainly it's worth getting graded at PSA. Kind words sincerely meant and given!
Well, I guess the verdict is to have the card certified. I'll zip PCGS an email and ask them if my Authorized Dealer status for PCGS transfers the ability to submit cards, as well. Thank you all and if you are interested in finding out what else is in the hoard, and in seeing images as well, please let me know.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
You don't have to be a PSA member to submit cards for grading.
James
Indeed, you can just go to PSA's section of the site and download the appropriate forms; I would leave it to more experienced submitters, at what level (cost) the tallboy Namath in the grade you have it, should be submitted at.
I finally got off my lazy butt and sent the card in two weeks ago. It graded PSA Very Good+ 3.5 and is en route as I type. Thank you all for your help.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I still think it is a 4. Be sure to post a picture of it in it's slab when you get it back.
I picked up the card Monday and shot it Tuesday. Here are images that have been reduced somewhat in size. The card has certification number 27471291 if you would like to run the number on the PSA site-
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
By the way, what appear to be scratches or black marks in the image are actually cat hairs that I had not realized were adhered to the outer plastic of the slab. I have a black cat and the static on the plastic picked up some of the stray hairs on and around "NEW YORK" on the upper half of the obverse of the card.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
It's a winner! Nice card Tom, definitely worth getting graded.
Thank you!
I'm also happy to report that I have no desire to start collecting cards.
Whew! 
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson