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Fun Way To Show Collection Football Edition
TJMAC
Posts: 864 ✭✭
Hi Everyone,
Last month, I completed (for now) my post showing 30 of the top baseball cards from 1956-1985. Here is the link if you are interested: https://forums.collectors.com/messageview.aspx?catid=11&threadid=837896&highlight_key=y&keyword1=fun+collection.
I am now moving on to showing some of my football cards. For about the past 7 or 8 years I have been collecting 18 of the top football cards from 1959 to 1986. So far, I have completed 1960, 1961, 1963-1985. I actually have more than 18 for several of these years, but I am going to limit what I show to 18 from each year. From 1960-1967 I will be showing the NFL players only. I have been collecting 6 of the top AFL cards from 1962-1967, but I will wait to post those until I have completed the run. I have most of them, but the 1965 Namath will prove to be a challenge for my budget.
1963 - Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.24%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 762
Average Cost of new house $12,650.00
Average Income per year $5,807.00
Gas per Gallon 29 cents
Average Cost of a new car $3,233.00
Loaf of bread 22 cents
Bedroom Air Conditioner $149.95
1963 Topps football cards were available in five-cent wax packs, cello packs, one-cent wax packs and six-pack vending trays.
In the NFL, the nation and the NFL was mourning the loss of President Kennedy who died on November 24. In a decision he later regretted, the NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle decided to go through with the games in spite of the tragedy.
No NFL games were telecast, since on the afternoon of the 22nd, just after the president had been pronounced dead, CBS President Frank Stanton ordered that all regular programming be pre-empted until after Mr. Kennedy was buried. Normal programming, including the NFL, was replaced by non-stop news coverage, broadcast without commercials.
The New York Giants rolled to an 11-3 record behind 36 year old MVP Y.A. Tittle who threw 36 touchdowns That does not sound like a crazy number today, but in 1963 it was a pretty big number. The second highest total was from St Louis Cardinal QB Charley Johnson with 28. Tittle also had a 104 QB rating. The runner up Cleveland QB Frank Ryan has only a 90 rating. The Giants would ultimately fall short of winning the NFL championship as they fell to the Chicago Bears 14-10. The Bears finished with a 11-1-2 powered on offense by the original Rob Gronkowski - Mike Ditka and his 63 catches, 794 yards and 8 touchdowns. The Bear defense allowed a league best 10.9 points a game. 6' 8" 1st Team All Pro Defensive End, Doug Atkins anchored the defense.
The great Johnny Unitas led the league in passing yards with 3,481. His yardage total would have placed him 15th in 2014. Boy, how the game has changed!
Jim Brown led the league in rushing 1,863 yards which was nearly 850 more yards than runner up Jim Taylor. Brown also led the league in touchdowns with 15. The receptions leader was St. Louis Cardinals Bobby Joe Conrad with 73. His total would not even rank inside the top 25 in 2014.
Here is a fun fact, the AFL's Dallas Texans were so overshadowed by the new NFL Franchise the Cowboys that they relocated in 1963 to Kansas City and became the Chiefs.
I think the 1963 set has the greatest number of key defensive rookies of any set. It doesn't get any better than HOFers Bob Lilly, Ray Nitschke, Dave (Deacon) Jones, Willie Wood and Larry Wilson. Another notable defensive great is the famed Purple People Eater, the Vikings Jim Marshall.
1964 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.28%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 874
Average Cost of new house $13,050.00
Average Income per year $6,000.00
Gas per Gallon 30 cents
Average Cost of a new car $3,500.00
Loaf of bread 21 cents
United States Postage Stamp 5 cents
Ticket to the movies $1.25
- That is about $9.50 in today's money, so movies have not gone up quite as much as you think.
In 1964 the Philadelphia Gum Company took over the NFL licensing from Topps and produced sets from 1964 to 1967. They were available in 5 cent wax packs and 10 cent cellos.
I found this interesting oddity from the Cardboard Connection website: There is a pink Cadillac that appears in the background of all the cards of players on the Cleveland Browns. Hobbyists have claimed it was a car that Jim Brown owned, others say it was a car his dealership sold, and others insist that the pictures were merely taken next to a parking lot. Whatever the reason for it being included, it makes those cards stand out.
In the NFL, it was the second year in a row the league MVP led his team to the title and lost as Johnny Unitas and the 12-2 Colts fell to the 10-3-1 Browns 27-0.
The Cardinals Charley Johnson led the league in passing attempts (223), completions (420), yards (3,045) and interceptions (24). Cleveland’s Frank Ryan threw a league leading 25 TD passes and Bart Star was the leader on passer rating with a 97.1.
Jim Brown rushed led the league in rushing with 1,446 yards but only scored 7 TDs. Baltimore’s Lenny Moore only rushed for 584 yards, but scored a league high 16 TDs. Chicago receiver Johnny Moore had a career year catching the ball with 93 catches 1,200 yards and 10 TDs. He never even caught 60 balls before or after.
Per Wikipedia, 1964 was the year the uniform rules changed. Since 1957 the home team must wear a colored jersey and the visitors a white one, teams were now given the option of wearing their white jerseys at home. As a result, the Browns, Cardinals, Colts, Cowboys, Rams, Redskins, Steelers (for one game) and Vikings (except for most of one game in which the Lions forgot to bring their blue jerseys) [1] did so; while the rest reverted to home colors the following year, the Cardinals would not wear red at home until 1966, the Rams would not do so again until 1972, the Browns only once until 1975, and the Cowboys, aside from an unwilling use of their blue tops as the "home" team in Super Bowls, have since continuously worn white at home.
The 1964 set has a pretty simple design and I find it attractive. I always liked the Bob Lilly and Don Meredith cards. The blue Cowboys uniforms go nicely with the yellow background on the bottom of the card. Key rookies of 1964 include HOFers Herb Adderley, Merlin Olsen, John Mackey, Willie Davis and Jim Johnson.
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
1965 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.59%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 969
Average Cost of new house $13,600.00
Average Income per year $6,450.00
Gas per Gallon 31 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,650.00
A Stereo System with AM / FM Stereo Receiver and Amplifier, 2 Bookcase Speakers, Automatic Record Deck cost $249.95. That is $1,883 in today's money.
Loaf of bread 21 cents
Average Rent per month $118.00
The 1965 Philadelphia set has a pretty plain white card front with a red back. The photo of the player has a pretty prominent place on the card which makes them visually appealing even though they are plain. What makes the issue particularly interesting is that it is the first set that has the NFL logo on the front. It may be due to their rivals Topps having the rights to the AFL. They were distributed in nickel packs and ten-cent cellos.
The war between the NFL and AFL rages on with one of the main battlefronts being draft picks. The NFL was able to wrestle Gale Sayers from the AFL when the Bears triumphed over the Chiefs in the sweepstakes to sign the talented back from Kansas. However, it was the AFL who gained the upper hand when Joe Namath selected the New York Jets over the St. Louis Cardinals. It is hard to picture Broadway Joe in Cardinal red.
The Cleveland Browns rolled to a 11-3 record in the East as they ran roughshod over their competition. The next best records were held by Giants and Cowboys who each finished 7-7. In the West, the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts each had a 10-3-1 record. In another year where the MVP led their team to the championship only to lose, Jim Brown and his Browns fell to the Packers of Lombardi 23-12. It would be the last championship before the Super Bowl era.
In what seemed like commonplace, Jim Brown leads the league in rushing with 1,544 yards and finishes 2nd with 20 touchdowns. The second place rusher, Gale Sayers had only 867 yards. That's right! Jim Brown nearly doubled him. However, Sayers was the talk of the season with his league leading 21 touchdowns and his ability to kill you running, catching and returning kicks. He had 14 rushing, 6 receiving and 1 kickoff return touchdown.
John Brodie quarterbacked the 49ers to a mediocre 7-6-1 record and in the process led the league with 30 touchdowns and 3,112 yards passing. He was the only 3,000 plus yard passer in 1965. Johnny U led the league in quarterback rating with a 97. San Francisco 49er receiver Dave Parks shows why he was the 1st overall pick in the 1964 draft as he went on to earn the receiver triple crown leading the league in receptions (80), yards (1344) and tied in touchdowns (12). Parks never even came near those numbers again. Bullet Bob Hayes put Tom Landry and Gil Brant's great draft prowess on display as the former track star finished 2nd in yards per a catch and scored 12 TDs.
The 1965 set has 6 HOF rookies including Paul Warfield, Mel Renfro, Dick LeBeau, Carl Eller, Paul Krause, and Charley Taylor. All but LeBeau and Krause are pictured below. Though the HOF selection does not contain any superstars it is a nice group nonetheless. My favorites are Johnny Unitas, Don Meredith, Paul Warfield and Charley Taylor.
1966 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 3.01%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 785
Average Cost of new house $14,200.00
Average Income per year $6,900.00
Gas per Gallon 32 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,650.00
Dishwasher $119.95 which is $878.66 in today’s dollars. A 19” Black and White Television was also $119.95
A 25” Color Television and Entertainment Center was $869.95 which is $6,372 in today’s money. Wow!
In 1966, Philadelphia Gum Company issued what I think was the nicest of their 4 sets between 1964-1967. They were colorful and had the marquee rookie cards of Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and speedster, Bob Hayes. The first Atlanta Falcons cards are featured as well as the last regular issue of Jim Brown.
In the world of football, the brokering of the peace between the NFL and AFL started in 1966 when the two leagues agreed to merge on June 8th. The two teams would maintain separate schedules through 1969, but would play an AFL-NFL Championship game starting in January 1967 (later known as Super Bowl I).
The Atlanta Falcons began their inaugural season finishing 3-11 which was better than only the hapless New York Giants who were 1-12-1. The Giants allowed 501 points which is an NFL record for a 14 game season.
The Dallas Cowboys finished 10-3-1 to begin their record run of 20 consecutive winning seasons. They fell short of reaching the first Super Bowl losing 34-27 to the Green Bay Packers. The Packers went 12-2 and defeated the AFL Champion Kansas Chiefs 35-10 to win Super Bowl I.
The average ticket price for Super Bowl I was $6 and the game did not sell out. The average ticket price to Super Bowl 50 is $5,525 with the lowest price being $3,749. Adjusted for inflation, the $6 Super Bowl Ticket would now be $43.95.
Leroy Kelly took over for Jim Brown in the Cleveland backfield and rushed 1141 yards and scored 16 total TDs. The leading rusher was the Kansas Comet, Gayle Sayers who was spectacular with 1278 yards and a league high 1678 yards from scrimmage. The only other 1000 yard rusher was the Rams Dick Bass with 1090. In 2015, there were only 6 running backs who gained more than a 1000 yards and that is in a 16 game season. There were 16 in 2012. My friends, it looks like the times may be changing! Is 2015 an anomaly or is the single running back becoming less and less relevant?
The original Red Rifle (sorry Andy) Sonny Jurgensen leads the league passed completed (254), attempts (436) and yards (3209). He finished second in TDs (28) to Cleveland’s Frank Ryan who led the league with 29. The league MVP, Bart Starr had a 105.0 passer rating which was 17 points higher than Ryan. Johnny “U” led the league in Interceptions with 24.
Bob Hayes caught a league leading 13 touchdowns to go along with 64 catches and 1232 yards. Washington’s Charley Taylor caught a league leading 72 balls and Detroit’s Pat Studstill led the league in yards with 1266. Studstill was a one hit wonder and never came close to those numbers again.
On the other side of the ball, Cardinals great, Larry Wilson picked off 10 passes. The NFL did not keep sacks as an official stat until 1982. However, Deacon Jones was believed to have had 18 sacks in 1966.
It was fun acquiring the star cards for this set. The Dick Butkus rookie was a bear (pardon the pun). They are commonly diamond cut. I got mine in a PSA 6 and am very happy with it.
1967 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 2.78%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 905
Average Cost of new house $14,250.00
Average Income per year $7,300.00
Average Monthly Rent $125.00
Gas per Gallon 33 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,750.00
The Aurora 4 lane slot car racing set (remember those) with 19’of track was $29.95. That is $212 in today’s money. I guess slot car sets were the PlayStation of their time.
8 Track Cartridges were a $1.29 which is $9.17 today. Cheaper than a CD, but the quality and number of songs was far less.
The Philadelphia Gum Company released their last Football set and in my opinion, the least aesthetically pleasing of the four. The cards were a drab yellow and overall uninspiring. Though, the Johnny Unitas card is one of my favorite of his issues. It is cool seeing him with his helmet on. The rookie crop was lacking with HOFer Leroy Kelly leading the way. Other HOFers include Jackie Smith, Chris Hanburger and Dave Wilcox.
1967 was the last year cards were issued in team order until 1982.
In the NFL, the league was realigned into 4 divisions. The Capitol (Dallas, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Washington) and Century (Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh and St. Louis) Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central (Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota) and Coastal (Atlanta, Baltimore, Los Angeles and San Francisco) Divisions in the Western Conference.
New Orleans was awarded an expansion franchise bringing the total teams to 16.
Though 1967 would again be the year of the Packer. Not many people realize that the Rams and Colts both finished 11-1-2 and the Packers finished 9-4-1. The funny thing is the Colts did not make the Playoffs since they were in the same division as the Rams and lost the tie breaker due to point differential. I am not sure if there is another instance where a 1 loss team missed the playoffs. In the Conference Championship games the Packers won 28-7 over the Rams and Cowboys beat the Browns 52-14. The stage was set for the famed “Ice Bowl” where the Packers won 21-17 in -36 degrees with the wind chill. The Packers would cap another storied season with a 33-14 win over the Raiders.
The NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards were created. The Lions swept the awards with Running Back, Mel Farr winning OROY with 860 yards rushing and Hall of Fame Cornerback, Lem Barney taking home the DROY with 10 interceptions.
The only 1000 yard rusher was Leroy Kelly who finished with 1205 yards to go with 13 TDs.
Johnny Unitas won his 3rd and final MVP with 3428 passing yards and 20 TDs. Sonny Jurgensen was again tops in yards passing with 3747 and also led in touchdown passes (31) and QB Rating (87.3). Fran Tarkenton in his first season with the Giants throws for 3088 yards and 29 TDs. The latter is his career high.
The Giants Homer Jones caught only 49 balls, but had 1209 yards and an NFL leading 14 TDs. Tight End Jackie Smith had 56 receptions for 1205 yards and 9 TDs. Redskins great Charley Taylor led the NFL in receptions with 70.
1968 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.27%
Year End Dow Jones Industrial Average 943
Average Cost of new house $14,950.00 ($101,821 in 2015)
Average Income per year $7,850.00
Gas per Gallon 34 cents Average
Cost of a new car $2,822.00 ($19,220 in 2015)
Hourly Minimum Wage is $1.60 an hour ($10.90 in 2015)
In 1968, a $1 could buy you a hamburger, salad, french fries, salad and desert or a 6 pack of beer.
In the football card world, 1968 saw the reemergence of Topps in the NFL game. They would dominate for the next 21 years. It’s the first time since 1961 that AFL and NFL players were included together. The design was colorful and had the team logos in the upper left or corner. A wax pack in 1968 would run you a whopping 5 cents. The key rookies were Bob Griese, Jim Hart, Craig Morton and HOFer Floyd Little.
1968 was the year of Joe Namath. He was arguably becoming football’s biggest star. He won both the AP and Super Bowl MVPs as he led the New York Jets to a huge upset of the NFL Powerhouse Baltimore Colts who finished 13-1 and allowed only 144 points. The Jets were no slouch finishing 11-3 and scoring 419 point, the second highest total in the AFL. Namath didn’t post MVP numbers even for that time with 3147 yards passing (3rd in the league), 15 TDs (5 in the league) and 17 Interceptions (2nd worse in the league). It is hard to compare football stats across generations, but Joe Namath was more than just a football player, he was a cultural icon. Don Maynard was his star receiver catching 57 balls for 1297 yards and 10 TDs. Chargers QB, John Hadl lead the league in passing TDs with 27 and yards with 3473, but he threw a league worse 32 interceptions. This was nearly twice as many as Namath. The great Lance Alworth led the league in catches with 68, yards with 1312 and was tied for 3rd in touchdowns with 10.
In the NFL, the Cowboys finish with a 12-2 record in the Eastern Conference, but fall to the 10-4 Browns, 31-20. They Browns ended up facing the Colts for the right to appear in Super Bowl III and were destroyed 34-0.
The NFL MVP was Earl Morrall, who finished second in the league with 2909 yards passing, 1st in TDs with 26 and 1st in passer rating with 93.2. John Brodie was the only passer to break the 3000 yard mark by only 20.
On the ground, Cleveland’s Leroy Kelly was the class of the running backs again, winning the rushing title with 1,239. No other player even broke a 1000. Writing this made me realize just how good Kelly’s numbers were. Kelly also scored a league leading 20 TDs, which was 6 more than the second place finisher.
49ers Receiver, Clifton McNeil caught a league high 72 balls for 994 yards and 7 TDs. Arguably the best receiving year was had by Brown’s HOFer, Paul Warfield who had 50 receptions, 1067 yards and 12 TDs. Pittsburgh’s Roy Jefferson had a career year with 58 receptions, 1074 yards and 11 TDs.
The OROY was Detroit Wide Receiver, Earl McCullouch who finished with 40 receptions, 680 yards and 5 TDs. The DROY was HOF Cornerback, Claude Humphrey. Detroit Cornerback, Lem Barney did not have a sophomore slump with 7 interceptions and 5 fumble recoveries.
I really enjoyed putting the top cards for 1968 together. The Packers and Raiders cards had an interesting horizontal design. My favorite cards in the set are Joe Namath, Jack Kemp and Lance Alworth.
1969 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 5.46 %
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 800
Average Cost of new house $15,550.00
Average Income per year $8,550.00
Average Monthly Rent $135.00
Average Cost New Car $3,270.00
Gas per Gallon 35 cents
A Schwinn Stingray was $54.99 which is $355 in 2015 money.
Potatoes were 8 cents a pound which is about 54 cents in 2015 money. Potatoes are about that much today depending on where you live.
The Federal Debt was $365.8 billion
The 1969 Topps set is one my favorite football sets of the 60s. Normally, I prefer cards with natural backgrounds, but the 1969 Topps cards have such bright and rich colors that they really stand out. I also like the team logos. It was the last year Topps used team logos on football cards until 1982. Topps doubled the price of their wax packs from 5 cents to 10 cents. The key rookie card is the bruising Miami fullback, Larry Csonka and Brian Piccolo of Brian’s Song fame. It is that movie that singlehandedly made the card valuable. My favorite cards from the set are Joe Namath, Ray Nitschke (cool pic of him holding his Packers helmet) and Gale Sayers. The Sayers is special to me because it was one of the first 60s football cards I bought in the late 80s. I also think the pink background goes well with the image on the card.
1969 was the last year before the AFL-NFL merger. In the AFL, the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs were the class of the league. The Raiders were 12-1-1 and the Chiefs were 11-3. It was fitting the two met in the AFL Championship Game with the Chiefs prevailing 17-7. The Chiefs had a great team at that time, Defensive Tackles Buck Buchanan and Curly Culp; Linebackers Bobby Bell and Willie Lanier; Cornerback Emmitt Thomas; Running Back Mike Garrett and the great Quarterback, Len Dawson. The Chiefs would go on to Super Bowl IV to face the 12-2 Vikings. The Vikings were a 12.5-13 point favorite and the Chiefs Defense would pull the upset by dominating with 5 turnovers in a 23-7 route.
Raiders Quarterback, Daryl Lamonica led the league in passing yards with 3302 and TDs with 34. He would share the MVP with Joe Namath who was second with 2734 passing yards and 19 TDs.
Bills rookie and USC standout, OJ Simpson finished with 697 yards rushing. The AFL leader was Chargers Dickie Post who had a pedestrian 873 yards.
Oakland’s Warren Wells may be one of the greatest receivers no one has heard of. He was quite possibly on his way to a Hall of Fame career before off field problems cut his career short after just 5 season. In 1969, Wells had only 42 catches, but for 1260 yards and 10 TDs. He averaged 26.8 yards per catch!!! Wells never had a Topps card issued in spite of putting together 3 good to great seasons. Oakland’s other standout receiver Fred Biletnikoff caught 54 balls for 837 yards and 12 TDs.
The NFL celebrated their 50th anniversary. The four divisions were easily won by the Cowboys, Browns, Rams and Vikings. The Browns would once again end the Cowboys championship hopes 38-14 and the Vikings edged the Rams 23-20. In the NFL Championship, the Vikings beat the Browns 27-7.
The league MVP was Rams QB, Roman Gabriel led the league in TD passes with 24 and was second to Fran Tarkenton in passer rating with an 86.8. Sonny Jurgensen was the only 3000 yard passer with 3102.
Gale Sayers was healthy and led the league in rushing with 1032 yards. Colts Running Back, Tom Matte had a nice year with 909 yards and 13 total touchdowns.
The Eagles Harold Jackson caught 54 balls for a league high 1116 yards. The leader in catches was New Orleans Danny Abramowicz with 73.
Dallas HOFer Mel Renfro led the league with 10 interceptions.
The NFL OROY was Cowboys Running Back, Calvin Hill and the DROY was the great Mean Joe Greene who was the first building block to the eventual Steelers Dynasty of the 70s. NFL Legend Chuck Noll also began his tenure as Steeler Head Coach. They finished a terrible 1-13.
1970 Key Indicators:
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 5.84%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 838
Average Cost of new house $23,450.00
Average Income per year $9,400.00 ($57,421).
Average Monthly Rent $140.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 36 cents ($2.20 in 2015)
Cost of La-z-Boy Recliner $188 ($1148 in 2015)
Back To College Typewriter $28.88 ($177 in 2015)
Lava Lamp $19.99 ($122 in 2015)
The 70’s begin with a pretty good offering from Topps. Like its 60’s predecessors, the 1970 set sticks to predominately head shots or posed, helmetless photos. The pictures are oval shaped and have a colorful flag flowing on the bottom with a football on the right. The cards present well in a PSA holder and many of the photos are pretty sharp. There are several rookie hall of famers including Jan Stenerud, Elvin Bethea, Lem Barney, Tom Mack, Claude Humphrey, Alan Page and the great running back (but not so great person) O J Simpson. A couple of semi-famous actors are in the set – Police Academy Star Bubba Smith and Fred Dryer star of the 80s NBC Detective Drama Hunter. Grant Hill’s father, Calvin Hill also has a rookie card in the set. He was a pretty good running back with the Cowboys. My personal favorites in the set are Johnny Unitas (Got to love the flattop!) and Alan Page.
In the NFL, the merger took effect and the divisions were laid out as follows:
NFC East: Dallas, New York (Giants), Philadelphia, St. Louis, Washington
NFC Central: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota
NFC West: Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco
AFC East: Baltimore, Buffalo, Miami, Boston (New England), New York (Jets)
AFC Central: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Pittsburgh
AFC West: Denver, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego
The divisions have the feel of the NFL that many of us grew up on and remember. The playoffs consisted of each division winner and a wildcard from each conference. The divisions were won by Baltimore (11-2-1), Cincinnati (8-6), Oakland (8-4-2), Dallas (10-4), Minnesota (12-2) and San Francisco (10-3-1). The first wild card teams were Miami (10-4) in the AFC and Detroit (10-4) in the NFC. The AFC Championship saw the Colts beat the Raiders 27-17 and the NFC Championship went to the Cowboys as they beat the 49ers 17-10. Super Bowl V was remembered for sloppy play as the two teams combined for 11 turnovers (7 for the Colts and 4 for the Cowboys). The Cowboys were up 13-6 going into the 4th quarter, but gave up 10 points and lost 16-13. Cowboys Linebacker, Chuck Howley became the first non-QB and losing team player to win the MVP. He refused to accept the award.
The format where one station shows primarily one conference and another shows a different conference came about in 1970. CBS handled primarily NFC games and NBC broadcasted AFC games.
1970 also saw the debut of ABC’s Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell, Keith Jackson and Don Meredith. The debut game saw the Cleveland Browns beat the New York Jets 31-21.
On November 8, New Orleans Saints placekicker Tom Dempsey, who had no toes on his right foot or fingers on his right hand, kicked a record 63-yard field goal. The record stood for 43 years (tied in 1998, 2011 and 2012) until it was broken in 2013 by Denver Broncos' Matt Prater.
A rule was adopted from the AFL where a player’s name was placed on the back of his jersey.
49ers QB, John Brodie won the NFL MVP as he led the league with 2941 yards, 24TD and a 93.8 QB Rating. Fran Tarkenton was second in yards with 2777 and added 19 TDs. Rookie QB Terry Bradshaw did not start his NFL career off on a good note as he led the league with 24 interceptions. Sonny Jergensen was the league leader in completion percentage with 59.8%. In 2015 that would not even come close to cracking the top 10. Kurt Cousins led the league with nearly 69.8%.
Redskins Running Back, Larry Brown led the NFL in rushing with 1125 yards and the Giants Ron Johnson was the only other 1000 yard rusher with 1027. The St. Louis Cardinals MacArthur Lane scored a league leading 11 touchdowns on the ground.
Chicago’s Dick Gordon caught 71 balls for 1026 yards and a league leading 13 TDs. The 49ers Gene Washington had 53 receptions for 1100 yards and 12 TDs.
Chiefs Cornerback Johnny Robinson led the NFL with 10 interceptions. Hall of Famer Dick Lebeau was second with 9. The great Alan Page recovered a league leading 7 fumbles.
The offensive ROY was Bills QB Dennis Shaw and the Defensive ROY was 49ers Cornerback Bruce Taylor. Dennis Shaw had 10 TDs, 20 INTs and threw for 2505. I can’t say it enough, the game has certainly changed!
1971 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.3%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 890
Average Cost of new house $25,250.00
Average Income per year $10,600.00
Average Monthly Rent $150.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 40 cents
Tape Cassette Recorder $29.88 ($174.87 in 2015 dollars)
Rock Em Sock Em Robots $8.99 ($52.61 in 2015 dollars)
Side By Side Fridge $704.95 ($4,125.56 in 2015 dollars)
1971 is one of my favorite years for card design. The Topps issues for football, baseball, hockey and basketball are all sharp looking. The 71 football set is colorful and has great photography. My favorite cards are Len Dawson, Lance Alworth, Joe Namath and Gayle Sayers. In what signified a cardboard changing of the guard, the last cards of the greatest defensive and offensive players of Lombardi’s Packers Dynasty – Ray Nitschke and Bart Starr were issued in the same year as the first cards of the two key players in the Steelers Dynasty – Terry Bradshaw and Mean Joe Greene. The traditional wax packs, costing 10 cents, came with eight cards, one game card, one poster and one stick of gum.
Besides Bradshaw and Greene, other key rookies include Willie Lanier, Charlie Sanders, Ken Houston and Roger Wehrli.
In the NFL, the 6 division winners were Miami (10-3-1), Cleveland (9-5), Kansas City (10-3-1), Dallas (11-3), Minnesota (11-3) and San Francisco (9-5). The Baltimore Colts (10-4) earned the Wild Card in the AFC and the Redskins (9-4-1) were the Wild Card recipient in the NFC. The Cowboys once again defeated the 49ers 14-3 in the NFC Championship, but did not get a rematch against the Colts as they fell to the Dolphins 21-0 in the AFC Championship. Tom Landry and Cowboys went on to win their first Super Bowl as they easily defeat Don Shula’s Dolphins 24-3.
The MVP and first ever Defensive Player of the Year Award went to Alan Page. Page was also the first defensive player to win the league MVP. The OROY when to Green Bay Packers Running Back John Brockington, who finished with 1105 yards and 5 total touchdowns. The DROY was Isiah Robertson, Linebacker, L.A. Rams.
1971 was another year with only one 3,000 yard passer as the Chargers John Hadl led the league with 3,075 yards and also 21 touchdowns. “Captain America” – Roger Staubach came on to the scene as a full time starter and led the league in passer rating by 14 points with a 104.8 over the runner up Bob Griese.
The 5 thousand yard rushers in 1971 were Floyd Little, Denver (1,133 yards), John Brockington, Green Bay (1,105 yards), Larry Csonka, Miami (1,051 yards), Steve Owens, Detroit (1,035 yards) and Willie Ellison L.A. Rams (1,000 yards). Cowboys temperamental running back Duane Thomas led the league with 13 rushing/receiving touchdowns and the underrated Leroy Kelly was second with 12.
The leader in receptions was the Raiders Fred Biletnikoff with 61. He was also 3rd in yards with 929 yards and 2nd in receiving TDs with 9. The Chiefs Otis Taylor was the only 1,000 yard receiver with 1,110 yards. The Dolphins Paul Warfield also had a great year with 996 yards, 11 touchdowns and 24.0 yards a catch.
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1972 – Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 3.27%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 1020
Average Cost of new house $27,550
Average Income per year $11,800
Average Monthly Rent $165.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 55 cents
Ford Pinto $2,078 ($11,787 in 2016)
Hellman’s Mayonnaise $1.39 ($7.88 in 2016)
Strawberries 0.31 cents a pound ($1.76 in 2016)
In 1972, Topps Football issued another great design. It sported large block lettering and an array of colors: blue, red, pink, green, yellow, purple etc. It was the last a football card set by Topps that was released in multiple series. The first two were available in wax and rack packs as well as cellos and vending boxes. The third series, however, was released in smaller quantities and was not widely available, but regionally, could be found in both wax and rack packs. At 351 cards, it was the largest football set issued at the time. The set features a great assortment of rookies, John Riggins, Charlie Joiner, Rayfield Wright, Ted Hendricks, Emmitt Thomas, Gene Upshaw, Ron Yary, Larry Little, Archie Manning and the great Roger “Captain America” Staubach. My favorite cards are the Staubach, Bradshaw, Joe Greene and Unitas.
In the NFL, 1972 was a history making year as the Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins would run the table and finish 17-0 becoming the first undefeated team in league history. Of course, they won the Super Bowl beating the Redskins 14 to 7. It seems that the Dolphins do not get the credit they deserve because they didn’t have many big name players, especially on defense. However, they led the league in both points scored and allowed.
The 6 division winners were the Dolphins (14-0) in the AFC East, Steelers (11-3) in the AFC Central, Raiders (10-3-1) in the AFC West, Redskins (11-3) in the NFC East, Packers (10-4) in the NFC Central and the 49ers 8-5-1 in the NFC West. The wildcards went to the Browns (10-4) and the Cowboys (10-4).
1972 saw the rise of the Steelers as a major power in the AFC. They took part in one of the most memorable playoff games in the history of the league, when rookie Franco Harris makes the “Immaculate Reception” as the Steelers beat the Raiders in the Divisional Playoff Game for their first ever playoff win. Harris’ controversial catch appears to be legal as it bounces of Raiders safety Jack Tatum before Harris seizes it out of the air. They were not quite yet ready to claim their title as team of the 70s as they fell to the Dolphins in the AFC Championship 21-17.
The league MVP and OPOY went to Washington Running Back Larry Brown who finished 2nd in the league in rushing with 1216 yards and 3rd in touchdowns with 12. The DPOY went to Steeler’s great Mean Joe Greene. The OROY was Hall of Famer Franco Harris who ran for 1055 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Packers cornerback Willie Buchanan was the DROY.
Standout years were had by Joe Namath who led the league in passing with 2816 yards and touchdowns with 19. Though the Saints were awful, 2nd year QB, Archie Manning finished 2nd in passing with 2781 and 3rd in passing touchdowns with 18. Dolphins QB Earl Morrell started 9 games and led the league in quarterback rating with a 91.0.
The Bills O.J. Simpson won the rushing title with 1251 yards. Giants running back Ron Johnson had a nice year with 1182 yards rushing and tied for a league leading 14 TDs with Emerson Boozer.
The Eagles Harold Jackson was only one of two receivers to break the 1000 yard mark. The other was the Vikings John Gillam. Jackson also led the league in receptions with 62. Fred Biletnikoff was 2nd with 58. The 49ers Gene Washington was the league leader with 12 receiving TDs.
On the defensive side of the ball, legendary Steeler Linebacker Jack Ham had 7 interceptions and forced 5 fumbles The Eagles Bill Bradley led the league with 9 interceptions.
1973 – Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 6.16%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 850
Average Cost of new house $32,500.00
Average Income per year $12,900.00
Average Monthly Rent $175.00 ($934 in 2016 Dollars)
Cost of a gallon of Gas 40 cents (2.14 in 2016 Dollars)
Men’s Paisley Slacks $23.49 ($125 in 2016 Dollars)
Crock pot Cooker $17.79 ($95 in 2016 Dollars)
It seems like 1973 was the first year when the Football, Baseball and Basketball sets all had the same feel. It was a plain, white design where the picture mainly did the talking. Like the baseball, basketball and hockey issues, there was a greater amount of sideline and action shots. Due to not having the NFL license, Topps had to airbrush the logos out of the pictures. At 528 cards, it was the largest issue up to that time. There was a nice assortment of rookies, Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Art Shell, Kenny Stabler, Ken Anderson, Jim Langer, Jack Youngblood, Dan Dierdorf and Curly Culp. It also feature the last year card of Joe Namath who was never featured on a Topps card again during his playing days due to an “alleged” contract dispute. He was one of the originators of branding his name as his picture shows the cool wool hat with “Joe” on it. My favorite cards are the Namath, John Riggins (love the white man afro), Fran Tarkenton, and O.J. Simpson (bad guy, but cool action shot).
1973 saw the advent of the jersey number system. It want as follows:
1–19: Quarterbacks and specialists
20–49: Running backs and defensive backs
50–59: Centers and linebackers
60–79: Defensive linemen and offensive linemen other than centers
80–89: Wide receivers and tight ends
Numbers 0, 00, and 90–99 are no longer allowed to be issued, even though these numbers were rarely issued anyway. Numbers 90–99 would be allowed again in 1984 for defensive linemen and linebackers in addition to the above-mentioned numbers.
Up until the 1972 season, all NFL games (including championship games and Super Bowls) were blacked-out on television in each team's home city. In 1973, the league changed their policy to black out games in the team's home city only if tickets to the game had not sold out. This expanded the league's television presence in teams' home cities on game day.
1973 would see the Miami Dolphins win the AFC East with a 12-2 record and then roll through the playoffs, ultimately winning a 2nd Super Bowl with a 24-7 beating of the 12-2 Vikings. Larry Csonka was the game’s MVP with 145 yards rushing.
In addition to Miami and Minnesota, the other division winners in 1973 were the Bengals (10-4) in the AFC Central; the Raiders (9-4-1) in the AFC West; the Cowboys (10-4) in the NFC East and the Rams (12-2) in the NFC West. The two Wild Cards went to the Steelers and Redskins both who finished at 10-4. The Vikings beat the Cowboys 27-10 in the NFC Championship and the Dolphins also beat the Raiders by the same score in the AFC Championship.
The Buffalo Bills powered by their Offensive Line known as “The Electric Company” released “The Juice”, O.J. Simpson as he ran for a league record 2003 yards on his way to league MVP honors. He also took home Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Defensive Play of the Year went to Dolphins Safety, Dick Anderson who finished with 8 interceptions with 2 being returned for a touchdown.
The Eagles Roman Gabriel was the league’s only 3,000 yard passer finishing with 3219 yards and also tied for the lead with 23 touchdowns. Roger Staubach also threw 23 touchdowns and led the league with a 94.6 QB Rating. As mentioned before Simpson rushed for 2003 yards. The second place runner Green Bay’s John Brockington only had 1144 yards. That shows how amazing Simpson's record really was. The other 1000 yard rushers were Calvin Hill of the Cowboys – 1142 yards, Lawrence McCutcheon of the Rams with 1097 yards and the Dolphins Larry Csonka with a 1003 yards. The rushing touchdown leader was Redskins running back Larry Brown who had 14.
The Eagles Harold Carmichael led the NFL in receiving yards (1116), catches (67) and touchdowns (13). He was the only thousand yard receiving in the NFL.
The Offensive Rookie of the Year was Minnesota Running Back, Chuck Foreman who finished with 801 yards and 6 combined rushing/receiving touchdowns.
1974 – Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 11.3% - The economy is really starting to slide around this time.
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 616
Average Cost of new house $34,900.00
Average Income per year $13,900.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 55 cents ($2.65 per gallon in 2016 dollars)
Cost of a gallon of Milk $1.57 ($7.55 per gallon in 2016 dollars. Hopefully, no one is paying that today.)
Cost of a Super Bowl ad in 1974: $103,000. A Super Bowl ad in 2016 was $5,000,000!!!!
Big Mac 0.65 cents (3.13 in 2016 – the average price of a Big Mac now is $4.93).
The 1974 Topps Set is a pretty basic, uninspiring design, but I still like it for nostalgia reasons. It features a player photo in between a goal post graphic. I really like the All-Pro cards. They stand out with their white borders filled in with black and the words All-Pro in bold red letters. The set contains a pretty poor rookie crop with Joe DeLamielleure, Ray Guy, Harold Carmichael and John Hannah leading the way. My favorite cards are O.J. Simpson, Roger Staubach and Ken Stabler. 1974 saw the last regular issue cards of three legends Dick Butkus, Deacon Jones and Johnny Unitas.
1974 saw the Pittsburgh Steelers win their 1st of 4 Super Bowls in the 1970s as they defeat the Minnesota Vikings in an ugly game, 16-6. The game was originally to be played in the Louisiana Super Dome, but due to a delay in its opening, it was played under rainy, cold conditions at Tulane stadium. The temperature was 46 degrees. The game still has the record for lowest halftime score as the Steelers led 2-0. That may be a record that is never broken. They also drafted 4 future hall of famers in the 1974 draft – Lynn Swann (1st Round, #21), Jack Lambert (2nd Round, #46), John Stallworth (4th Round 82nd Pick) and Mike Webster (5th Round, #125).
The year also saw the release of the following classic poem written by Steve Sabol for an NFL Films production on the atmosphere of football in the autumn. Make sure you read this with the voice of John Facenda in your head.
The Autumn Wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea,
With a rollicking song, he sweeps along,
Swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten.
He wears a hooded sash,
With a silver hat about his head,
And a bristling black mustache.
He growls as he storms the country,
A villain big and bold.
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake,
As he robs them of their gold.
The Autumn Wind is a raider,
Pillaging just for fun.
He'll knock you 'round and upside down,
And laugh when he's conquered and won.
Go to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPLmxtiVOe0 if you want to hear it read by the legendary Facenda.
Also premiering was the modern format for the NFL Today on CBS. It changed the way pregame shows were done. Before 1974, the pregame coverage was prerecorded. The new show had a live pre-game show, halftime highlights of other games televised by CBS, and the first to wrap-up as a post-game show. In 1975, the show would be hosted by Brent Musburger, Irv Cross and Phyllis George. Jimmy the Greek would join the show in 1976. I remember reading The Greek would covertly give his picks against the spread by predicting the scores of the game to tip off gamblers. Pete Rozelle did not want the point spreads given, but he was friends with The Greek and did not have an issue with him predicting the scores.
The AFC division winners in 1974 were the Dolphins (11-3) in the East, the Steelers (10-3-1) in the Central, and the Raiders 12-2 in the West. In the NFC, the Cardinals (10-4) won the East, the Vikings (10-4) won the Central and Rams (10-4) won the West. The two Wild Cards were the Bills (9-5) with their first NFL playoff appearance and the Redskins (10-4).
The NFL MVP was Kenny “The Snake” Stabler who led the league with 26 touchdowns. He finished 5th in yards with 2469 and 2nd in QB Rating with a 94.9. Bengals QB, Kenny Anderson led the league in yards with 2667 and QB rating with a 95.7. Broadway Joe Namath was the comeback player of the year finishing 2nd in yards with 2616 and touchdowns with 20. He was also intercepted more than any passer with 22.
Broncos running back, Otis Armstrong led the league in rushing with 1407 yards and added 12 touchdowns. The Vikings Chuck Foreman was one of the early dual threat running backs rushing for 777 yards and catching 53 balls for 586. He led the league with 15 total touchdowns. OJ Simpson came off his 2000+ yard 1973 season and finished 3rd in rushing with 1125 yards.
The NFL’s best receiver in 1974 was the Raiders Cliff Branch who finished with 60 receptions, 1092 yards and 13 TDs. The latter two numbers led the league. The Cowboys Drew Pearson emerged as a top receiving threat in the 1970s with 62 receptions for 1087 yards. Branch and Pearson were the only 1000 yard receivers in 1974.
Chiefs HOFer Emmitt Thomas led the NFL with 12 Interceptions. Mean Joe Greene took his second DPOY award and Jack Lambert was the DROY. Chargers running back, Don Woods was the OROY with 1162 yards and 10 touchdowns. He broke the then rookie rushing record in only 12 games. Unfortunately, injuries ruined his career and he never duplicated the success of his rookie campaign.
Last month, I completed (for now) my post showing 30 of the top baseball cards from 1956-1985. Here is the link if you are interested: https://forums.collectors.com/messageview.aspx?catid=11&threadid=837896&highlight_key=y&keyword1=fun+collection.
I am now moving on to showing some of my football cards. For about the past 7 or 8 years I have been collecting 18 of the top football cards from 1959 to 1986. So far, I have completed 1960, 1961, 1963-1985. I actually have more than 18 for several of these years, but I am going to limit what I show to 18 from each year. From 1960-1967 I will be showing the NFL players only. I have been collecting 6 of the top AFL cards from 1962-1967, but I will wait to post those until I have completed the run. I have most of them, but the 1965 Namath will prove to be a challenge for my budget.
1963 - Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.24%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 762
Average Cost of new house $12,650.00
Average Income per year $5,807.00
Gas per Gallon 29 cents
Average Cost of a new car $3,233.00
Loaf of bread 22 cents
Bedroom Air Conditioner $149.95
1963 Topps football cards were available in five-cent wax packs, cello packs, one-cent wax packs and six-pack vending trays.
In the NFL, the nation and the NFL was mourning the loss of President Kennedy who died on November 24. In a decision he later regretted, the NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle decided to go through with the games in spite of the tragedy.
No NFL games were telecast, since on the afternoon of the 22nd, just after the president had been pronounced dead, CBS President Frank Stanton ordered that all regular programming be pre-empted until after Mr. Kennedy was buried. Normal programming, including the NFL, was replaced by non-stop news coverage, broadcast without commercials.
The New York Giants rolled to an 11-3 record behind 36 year old MVP Y.A. Tittle who threw 36 touchdowns That does not sound like a crazy number today, but in 1963 it was a pretty big number. The second highest total was from St Louis Cardinal QB Charley Johnson with 28. Tittle also had a 104 QB rating. The runner up Cleveland QB Frank Ryan has only a 90 rating. The Giants would ultimately fall short of winning the NFL championship as they fell to the Chicago Bears 14-10. The Bears finished with a 11-1-2 powered on offense by the original Rob Gronkowski - Mike Ditka and his 63 catches, 794 yards and 8 touchdowns. The Bear defense allowed a league best 10.9 points a game. 6' 8" 1st Team All Pro Defensive End, Doug Atkins anchored the defense.
The great Johnny Unitas led the league in passing yards with 3,481. His yardage total would have placed him 15th in 2014. Boy, how the game has changed!
Jim Brown led the league in rushing 1,863 yards which was nearly 850 more yards than runner up Jim Taylor. Brown also led the league in touchdowns with 15. The receptions leader was St. Louis Cardinals Bobby Joe Conrad with 73. His total would not even rank inside the top 25 in 2014.
Here is a fun fact, the AFL's Dallas Texans were so overshadowed by the new NFL Franchise the Cowboys that they relocated in 1963 to Kansas City and became the Chiefs.
I think the 1963 set has the greatest number of key defensive rookies of any set. It doesn't get any better than HOFers Bob Lilly, Ray Nitschke, Dave (Deacon) Jones, Willie Wood and Larry Wilson. Another notable defensive great is the famed Purple People Eater, the Vikings Jim Marshall.
1964 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.28%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 874
Average Cost of new house $13,050.00
Average Income per year $6,000.00
Gas per Gallon 30 cents
Average Cost of a new car $3,500.00
Loaf of bread 21 cents
United States Postage Stamp 5 cents
Ticket to the movies $1.25
- That is about $9.50 in today's money, so movies have not gone up quite as much as you think.
In 1964 the Philadelphia Gum Company took over the NFL licensing from Topps and produced sets from 1964 to 1967. They were available in 5 cent wax packs and 10 cent cellos.
I found this interesting oddity from the Cardboard Connection website: There is a pink Cadillac that appears in the background of all the cards of players on the Cleveland Browns. Hobbyists have claimed it was a car that Jim Brown owned, others say it was a car his dealership sold, and others insist that the pictures were merely taken next to a parking lot. Whatever the reason for it being included, it makes those cards stand out.
In the NFL, it was the second year in a row the league MVP led his team to the title and lost as Johnny Unitas and the 12-2 Colts fell to the 10-3-1 Browns 27-0.
The Cardinals Charley Johnson led the league in passing attempts (223), completions (420), yards (3,045) and interceptions (24). Cleveland’s Frank Ryan threw a league leading 25 TD passes and Bart Star was the leader on passer rating with a 97.1.
Jim Brown rushed led the league in rushing with 1,446 yards but only scored 7 TDs. Baltimore’s Lenny Moore only rushed for 584 yards, but scored a league high 16 TDs. Chicago receiver Johnny Moore had a career year catching the ball with 93 catches 1,200 yards and 10 TDs. He never even caught 60 balls before or after.
Per Wikipedia, 1964 was the year the uniform rules changed. Since 1957 the home team must wear a colored jersey and the visitors a white one, teams were now given the option of wearing their white jerseys at home. As a result, the Browns, Cardinals, Colts, Cowboys, Rams, Redskins, Steelers (for one game) and Vikings (except for most of one game in which the Lions forgot to bring their blue jerseys) [1] did so; while the rest reverted to home colors the following year, the Cardinals would not wear red at home until 1966, the Rams would not do so again until 1972, the Browns only once until 1975, and the Cowboys, aside from an unwilling use of their blue tops as the "home" team in Super Bowls, have since continuously worn white at home.
The 1964 set has a pretty simple design and I find it attractive. I always liked the Bob Lilly and Don Meredith cards. The blue Cowboys uniforms go nicely with the yellow background on the bottom of the card. Key rookies of 1964 include HOFers Herb Adderley, Merlin Olsen, John Mackey, Willie Davis and Jim Johnson.
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
1965 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.59%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 969
Average Cost of new house $13,600.00
Average Income per year $6,450.00
Gas per Gallon 31 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,650.00
A Stereo System with AM / FM Stereo Receiver and Amplifier, 2 Bookcase Speakers, Automatic Record Deck cost $249.95. That is $1,883 in today's money.
Loaf of bread 21 cents
Average Rent per month $118.00
The 1965 Philadelphia set has a pretty plain white card front with a red back. The photo of the player has a pretty prominent place on the card which makes them visually appealing even though they are plain. What makes the issue particularly interesting is that it is the first set that has the NFL logo on the front. It may be due to their rivals Topps having the rights to the AFL. They were distributed in nickel packs and ten-cent cellos.
The war between the NFL and AFL rages on with one of the main battlefronts being draft picks. The NFL was able to wrestle Gale Sayers from the AFL when the Bears triumphed over the Chiefs in the sweepstakes to sign the talented back from Kansas. However, it was the AFL who gained the upper hand when Joe Namath selected the New York Jets over the St. Louis Cardinals. It is hard to picture Broadway Joe in Cardinal red.
The Cleveland Browns rolled to a 11-3 record in the East as they ran roughshod over their competition. The next best records were held by Giants and Cowboys who each finished 7-7. In the West, the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts each had a 10-3-1 record. In another year where the MVP led their team to the championship only to lose, Jim Brown and his Browns fell to the Packers of Lombardi 23-12. It would be the last championship before the Super Bowl era.
In what seemed like commonplace, Jim Brown leads the league in rushing with 1,544 yards and finishes 2nd with 20 touchdowns. The second place rusher, Gale Sayers had only 867 yards. That's right! Jim Brown nearly doubled him. However, Sayers was the talk of the season with his league leading 21 touchdowns and his ability to kill you running, catching and returning kicks. He had 14 rushing, 6 receiving and 1 kickoff return touchdown.
John Brodie quarterbacked the 49ers to a mediocre 7-6-1 record and in the process led the league with 30 touchdowns and 3,112 yards passing. He was the only 3,000 plus yard passer in 1965. Johnny U led the league in quarterback rating with a 97. San Francisco 49er receiver Dave Parks shows why he was the 1st overall pick in the 1964 draft as he went on to earn the receiver triple crown leading the league in receptions (80), yards (1344) and tied in touchdowns (12). Parks never even came near those numbers again. Bullet Bob Hayes put Tom Landry and Gil Brant's great draft prowess on display as the former track star finished 2nd in yards per a catch and scored 12 TDs.
The 1965 set has 6 HOF rookies including Paul Warfield, Mel Renfro, Dick LeBeau, Carl Eller, Paul Krause, and Charley Taylor. All but LeBeau and Krause are pictured below. Though the HOF selection does not contain any superstars it is a nice group nonetheless. My favorites are Johnny Unitas, Don Meredith, Paul Warfield and Charley Taylor.
1966 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 3.01%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 785
Average Cost of new house $14,200.00
Average Income per year $6,900.00
Gas per Gallon 32 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,650.00
Dishwasher $119.95 which is $878.66 in today’s dollars. A 19” Black and White Television was also $119.95
A 25” Color Television and Entertainment Center was $869.95 which is $6,372 in today’s money. Wow!
In 1966, Philadelphia Gum Company issued what I think was the nicest of their 4 sets between 1964-1967. They were colorful and had the marquee rookie cards of Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and speedster, Bob Hayes. The first Atlanta Falcons cards are featured as well as the last regular issue of Jim Brown.
In the world of football, the brokering of the peace between the NFL and AFL started in 1966 when the two leagues agreed to merge on June 8th. The two teams would maintain separate schedules through 1969, but would play an AFL-NFL Championship game starting in January 1967 (later known as Super Bowl I).
The Atlanta Falcons began their inaugural season finishing 3-11 which was better than only the hapless New York Giants who were 1-12-1. The Giants allowed 501 points which is an NFL record for a 14 game season.
The Dallas Cowboys finished 10-3-1 to begin their record run of 20 consecutive winning seasons. They fell short of reaching the first Super Bowl losing 34-27 to the Green Bay Packers. The Packers went 12-2 and defeated the AFL Champion Kansas Chiefs 35-10 to win Super Bowl I.
The average ticket price for Super Bowl I was $6 and the game did not sell out. The average ticket price to Super Bowl 50 is $5,525 with the lowest price being $3,749. Adjusted for inflation, the $6 Super Bowl Ticket would now be $43.95.
Leroy Kelly took over for Jim Brown in the Cleveland backfield and rushed 1141 yards and scored 16 total TDs. The leading rusher was the Kansas Comet, Gayle Sayers who was spectacular with 1278 yards and a league high 1678 yards from scrimmage. The only other 1000 yard rusher was the Rams Dick Bass with 1090. In 2015, there were only 6 running backs who gained more than a 1000 yards and that is in a 16 game season. There were 16 in 2012. My friends, it looks like the times may be changing! Is 2015 an anomaly or is the single running back becoming less and less relevant?
The original Red Rifle (sorry Andy) Sonny Jurgensen leads the league passed completed (254), attempts (436) and yards (3209). He finished second in TDs (28) to Cleveland’s Frank Ryan who led the league with 29. The league MVP, Bart Starr had a 105.0 passer rating which was 17 points higher than Ryan. Johnny “U” led the league in Interceptions with 24.
Bob Hayes caught a league leading 13 touchdowns to go along with 64 catches and 1232 yards. Washington’s Charley Taylor caught a league leading 72 balls and Detroit’s Pat Studstill led the league in yards with 1266. Studstill was a one hit wonder and never came close to those numbers again.
On the other side of the ball, Cardinals great, Larry Wilson picked off 10 passes. The NFL did not keep sacks as an official stat until 1982. However, Deacon Jones was believed to have had 18 sacks in 1966.
It was fun acquiring the star cards for this set. The Dick Butkus rookie was a bear (pardon the pun). They are commonly diamond cut. I got mine in a PSA 6 and am very happy with it.
1967 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 2.78%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 905
Average Cost of new house $14,250.00
Average Income per year $7,300.00
Average Monthly Rent $125.00
Gas per Gallon 33 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,750.00
The Aurora 4 lane slot car racing set (remember those) with 19’of track was $29.95. That is $212 in today’s money. I guess slot car sets were the PlayStation of their time.
8 Track Cartridges were a $1.29 which is $9.17 today. Cheaper than a CD, but the quality and number of songs was far less.
The Philadelphia Gum Company released their last Football set and in my opinion, the least aesthetically pleasing of the four. The cards were a drab yellow and overall uninspiring. Though, the Johnny Unitas card is one of my favorite of his issues. It is cool seeing him with his helmet on. The rookie crop was lacking with HOFer Leroy Kelly leading the way. Other HOFers include Jackie Smith, Chris Hanburger and Dave Wilcox.
1967 was the last year cards were issued in team order until 1982.
In the NFL, the league was realigned into 4 divisions. The Capitol (Dallas, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Washington) and Century (Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh and St. Louis) Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central (Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota) and Coastal (Atlanta, Baltimore, Los Angeles and San Francisco) Divisions in the Western Conference.
New Orleans was awarded an expansion franchise bringing the total teams to 16.
Though 1967 would again be the year of the Packer. Not many people realize that the Rams and Colts both finished 11-1-2 and the Packers finished 9-4-1. The funny thing is the Colts did not make the Playoffs since they were in the same division as the Rams and lost the tie breaker due to point differential. I am not sure if there is another instance where a 1 loss team missed the playoffs. In the Conference Championship games the Packers won 28-7 over the Rams and Cowboys beat the Browns 52-14. The stage was set for the famed “Ice Bowl” where the Packers won 21-17 in -36 degrees with the wind chill. The Packers would cap another storied season with a 33-14 win over the Raiders.
The NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards were created. The Lions swept the awards with Running Back, Mel Farr winning OROY with 860 yards rushing and Hall of Fame Cornerback, Lem Barney taking home the DROY with 10 interceptions.
The only 1000 yard rusher was Leroy Kelly who finished with 1205 yards to go with 13 TDs.
Johnny Unitas won his 3rd and final MVP with 3428 passing yards and 20 TDs. Sonny Jurgensen was again tops in yards passing with 3747 and also led in touchdown passes (31) and QB Rating (87.3). Fran Tarkenton in his first season with the Giants throws for 3088 yards and 29 TDs. The latter is his career high.
The Giants Homer Jones caught only 49 balls, but had 1209 yards and an NFL leading 14 TDs. Tight End Jackie Smith had 56 receptions for 1205 yards and 9 TDs. Redskins great Charley Taylor led the NFL in receptions with 70.
1968 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.27%
Year End Dow Jones Industrial Average 943
Average Cost of new house $14,950.00 ($101,821 in 2015)
Average Income per year $7,850.00
Gas per Gallon 34 cents Average
Cost of a new car $2,822.00 ($19,220 in 2015)
Hourly Minimum Wage is $1.60 an hour ($10.90 in 2015)
In 1968, a $1 could buy you a hamburger, salad, french fries, salad and desert or a 6 pack of beer.
In the football card world, 1968 saw the reemergence of Topps in the NFL game. They would dominate for the next 21 years. It’s the first time since 1961 that AFL and NFL players were included together. The design was colorful and had the team logos in the upper left or corner. A wax pack in 1968 would run you a whopping 5 cents. The key rookies were Bob Griese, Jim Hart, Craig Morton and HOFer Floyd Little.
1968 was the year of Joe Namath. He was arguably becoming football’s biggest star. He won both the AP and Super Bowl MVPs as he led the New York Jets to a huge upset of the NFL Powerhouse Baltimore Colts who finished 13-1 and allowed only 144 points. The Jets were no slouch finishing 11-3 and scoring 419 point, the second highest total in the AFL. Namath didn’t post MVP numbers even for that time with 3147 yards passing (3rd in the league), 15 TDs (5 in the league) and 17 Interceptions (2nd worse in the league). It is hard to compare football stats across generations, but Joe Namath was more than just a football player, he was a cultural icon. Don Maynard was his star receiver catching 57 balls for 1297 yards and 10 TDs. Chargers QB, John Hadl lead the league in passing TDs with 27 and yards with 3473, but he threw a league worse 32 interceptions. This was nearly twice as many as Namath. The great Lance Alworth led the league in catches with 68, yards with 1312 and was tied for 3rd in touchdowns with 10.
In the NFL, the Cowboys finish with a 12-2 record in the Eastern Conference, but fall to the 10-4 Browns, 31-20. They Browns ended up facing the Colts for the right to appear in Super Bowl III and were destroyed 34-0.
The NFL MVP was Earl Morrall, who finished second in the league with 2909 yards passing, 1st in TDs with 26 and 1st in passer rating with 93.2. John Brodie was the only passer to break the 3000 yard mark by only 20.
On the ground, Cleveland’s Leroy Kelly was the class of the running backs again, winning the rushing title with 1,239. No other player even broke a 1000. Writing this made me realize just how good Kelly’s numbers were. Kelly also scored a league leading 20 TDs, which was 6 more than the second place finisher.
49ers Receiver, Clifton McNeil caught a league high 72 balls for 994 yards and 7 TDs. Arguably the best receiving year was had by Brown’s HOFer, Paul Warfield who had 50 receptions, 1067 yards and 12 TDs. Pittsburgh’s Roy Jefferson had a career year with 58 receptions, 1074 yards and 11 TDs.
The OROY was Detroit Wide Receiver, Earl McCullouch who finished with 40 receptions, 680 yards and 5 TDs. The DROY was HOF Cornerback, Claude Humphrey. Detroit Cornerback, Lem Barney did not have a sophomore slump with 7 interceptions and 5 fumble recoveries.
I really enjoyed putting the top cards for 1968 together. The Packers and Raiders cards had an interesting horizontal design. My favorite cards in the set are Joe Namath, Jack Kemp and Lance Alworth.
1969 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 5.46 %
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 800
Average Cost of new house $15,550.00
Average Income per year $8,550.00
Average Monthly Rent $135.00
Average Cost New Car $3,270.00
Gas per Gallon 35 cents
A Schwinn Stingray was $54.99 which is $355 in 2015 money.
Potatoes were 8 cents a pound which is about 54 cents in 2015 money. Potatoes are about that much today depending on where you live.
The Federal Debt was $365.8 billion
The 1969 Topps set is one my favorite football sets of the 60s. Normally, I prefer cards with natural backgrounds, but the 1969 Topps cards have such bright and rich colors that they really stand out. I also like the team logos. It was the last year Topps used team logos on football cards until 1982. Topps doubled the price of their wax packs from 5 cents to 10 cents. The key rookie card is the bruising Miami fullback, Larry Csonka and Brian Piccolo of Brian’s Song fame. It is that movie that singlehandedly made the card valuable. My favorite cards from the set are Joe Namath, Ray Nitschke (cool pic of him holding his Packers helmet) and Gale Sayers. The Sayers is special to me because it was one of the first 60s football cards I bought in the late 80s. I also think the pink background goes well with the image on the card.
1969 was the last year before the AFL-NFL merger. In the AFL, the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs were the class of the league. The Raiders were 12-1-1 and the Chiefs were 11-3. It was fitting the two met in the AFL Championship Game with the Chiefs prevailing 17-7. The Chiefs had a great team at that time, Defensive Tackles Buck Buchanan and Curly Culp; Linebackers Bobby Bell and Willie Lanier; Cornerback Emmitt Thomas; Running Back Mike Garrett and the great Quarterback, Len Dawson. The Chiefs would go on to Super Bowl IV to face the 12-2 Vikings. The Vikings were a 12.5-13 point favorite and the Chiefs Defense would pull the upset by dominating with 5 turnovers in a 23-7 route.
Raiders Quarterback, Daryl Lamonica led the league in passing yards with 3302 and TDs with 34. He would share the MVP with Joe Namath who was second with 2734 passing yards and 19 TDs.
Bills rookie and USC standout, OJ Simpson finished with 697 yards rushing. The AFL leader was Chargers Dickie Post who had a pedestrian 873 yards.
Oakland’s Warren Wells may be one of the greatest receivers no one has heard of. He was quite possibly on his way to a Hall of Fame career before off field problems cut his career short after just 5 season. In 1969, Wells had only 42 catches, but for 1260 yards and 10 TDs. He averaged 26.8 yards per catch!!! Wells never had a Topps card issued in spite of putting together 3 good to great seasons. Oakland’s other standout receiver Fred Biletnikoff caught 54 balls for 837 yards and 12 TDs.
The NFL celebrated their 50th anniversary. The four divisions were easily won by the Cowboys, Browns, Rams and Vikings. The Browns would once again end the Cowboys championship hopes 38-14 and the Vikings edged the Rams 23-20. In the NFL Championship, the Vikings beat the Browns 27-7.
The league MVP was Rams QB, Roman Gabriel led the league in TD passes with 24 and was second to Fran Tarkenton in passer rating with an 86.8. Sonny Jurgensen was the only 3000 yard passer with 3102.
Gale Sayers was healthy and led the league in rushing with 1032 yards. Colts Running Back, Tom Matte had a nice year with 909 yards and 13 total touchdowns.
The Eagles Harold Jackson caught 54 balls for a league high 1116 yards. The leader in catches was New Orleans Danny Abramowicz with 73.
Dallas HOFer Mel Renfro led the league with 10 interceptions.
The NFL OROY was Cowboys Running Back, Calvin Hill and the DROY was the great Mean Joe Greene who was the first building block to the eventual Steelers Dynasty of the 70s. NFL Legend Chuck Noll also began his tenure as Steeler Head Coach. They finished a terrible 1-13.
1970 Key Indicators:
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 5.84%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 838
Average Cost of new house $23,450.00
Average Income per year $9,400.00 ($57,421).
Average Monthly Rent $140.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 36 cents ($2.20 in 2015)
Cost of La-z-Boy Recliner $188 ($1148 in 2015)
Back To College Typewriter $28.88 ($177 in 2015)
Lava Lamp $19.99 ($122 in 2015)
The 70’s begin with a pretty good offering from Topps. Like its 60’s predecessors, the 1970 set sticks to predominately head shots or posed, helmetless photos. The pictures are oval shaped and have a colorful flag flowing on the bottom with a football on the right. The cards present well in a PSA holder and many of the photos are pretty sharp. There are several rookie hall of famers including Jan Stenerud, Elvin Bethea, Lem Barney, Tom Mack, Claude Humphrey, Alan Page and the great running back (but not so great person) O J Simpson. A couple of semi-famous actors are in the set – Police Academy Star Bubba Smith and Fred Dryer star of the 80s NBC Detective Drama Hunter. Grant Hill’s father, Calvin Hill also has a rookie card in the set. He was a pretty good running back with the Cowboys. My personal favorites in the set are Johnny Unitas (Got to love the flattop!) and Alan Page.
In the NFL, the merger took effect and the divisions were laid out as follows:
NFC East: Dallas, New York (Giants), Philadelphia, St. Louis, Washington
NFC Central: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota
NFC West: Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco
AFC East: Baltimore, Buffalo, Miami, Boston (New England), New York (Jets)
AFC Central: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Pittsburgh
AFC West: Denver, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego
The divisions have the feel of the NFL that many of us grew up on and remember. The playoffs consisted of each division winner and a wildcard from each conference. The divisions were won by Baltimore (11-2-1), Cincinnati (8-6), Oakland (8-4-2), Dallas (10-4), Minnesota (12-2) and San Francisco (10-3-1). The first wild card teams were Miami (10-4) in the AFC and Detroit (10-4) in the NFC. The AFC Championship saw the Colts beat the Raiders 27-17 and the NFC Championship went to the Cowboys as they beat the 49ers 17-10. Super Bowl V was remembered for sloppy play as the two teams combined for 11 turnovers (7 for the Colts and 4 for the Cowboys). The Cowboys were up 13-6 going into the 4th quarter, but gave up 10 points and lost 16-13. Cowboys Linebacker, Chuck Howley became the first non-QB and losing team player to win the MVP. He refused to accept the award.
The format where one station shows primarily one conference and another shows a different conference came about in 1970. CBS handled primarily NFC games and NBC broadcasted AFC games.
1970 also saw the debut of ABC’s Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell, Keith Jackson and Don Meredith. The debut game saw the Cleveland Browns beat the New York Jets 31-21.
On November 8, New Orleans Saints placekicker Tom Dempsey, who had no toes on his right foot or fingers on his right hand, kicked a record 63-yard field goal. The record stood for 43 years (tied in 1998, 2011 and 2012) until it was broken in 2013 by Denver Broncos' Matt Prater.
A rule was adopted from the AFL where a player’s name was placed on the back of his jersey.
49ers QB, John Brodie won the NFL MVP as he led the league with 2941 yards, 24TD and a 93.8 QB Rating. Fran Tarkenton was second in yards with 2777 and added 19 TDs. Rookie QB Terry Bradshaw did not start his NFL career off on a good note as he led the league with 24 interceptions. Sonny Jergensen was the league leader in completion percentage with 59.8%. In 2015 that would not even come close to cracking the top 10. Kurt Cousins led the league with nearly 69.8%.
Redskins Running Back, Larry Brown led the NFL in rushing with 1125 yards and the Giants Ron Johnson was the only other 1000 yard rusher with 1027. The St. Louis Cardinals MacArthur Lane scored a league leading 11 touchdowns on the ground.
Chicago’s Dick Gordon caught 71 balls for 1026 yards and a league leading 13 TDs. The 49ers Gene Washington had 53 receptions for 1100 yards and 12 TDs.
Chiefs Cornerback Johnny Robinson led the NFL with 10 interceptions. Hall of Famer Dick Lebeau was second with 9. The great Alan Page recovered a league leading 7 fumbles.
The offensive ROY was Bills QB Dennis Shaw and the Defensive ROY was 49ers Cornerback Bruce Taylor. Dennis Shaw had 10 TDs, 20 INTs and threw for 2505. I can’t say it enough, the game has certainly changed!
1971 Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.3%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 890
Average Cost of new house $25,250.00
Average Income per year $10,600.00
Average Monthly Rent $150.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 40 cents
Tape Cassette Recorder $29.88 ($174.87 in 2015 dollars)
Rock Em Sock Em Robots $8.99 ($52.61 in 2015 dollars)
Side By Side Fridge $704.95 ($4,125.56 in 2015 dollars)
1971 is one of my favorite years for card design. The Topps issues for football, baseball, hockey and basketball are all sharp looking. The 71 football set is colorful and has great photography. My favorite cards are Len Dawson, Lance Alworth, Joe Namath and Gayle Sayers. In what signified a cardboard changing of the guard, the last cards of the greatest defensive and offensive players of Lombardi’s Packers Dynasty – Ray Nitschke and Bart Starr were issued in the same year as the first cards of the two key players in the Steelers Dynasty – Terry Bradshaw and Mean Joe Greene. The traditional wax packs, costing 10 cents, came with eight cards, one game card, one poster and one stick of gum.
Besides Bradshaw and Greene, other key rookies include Willie Lanier, Charlie Sanders, Ken Houston and Roger Wehrli.
In the NFL, the 6 division winners were Miami (10-3-1), Cleveland (9-5), Kansas City (10-3-1), Dallas (11-3), Minnesota (11-3) and San Francisco (9-5). The Baltimore Colts (10-4) earned the Wild Card in the AFC and the Redskins (9-4-1) were the Wild Card recipient in the NFC. The Cowboys once again defeated the 49ers 14-3 in the NFC Championship, but did not get a rematch against the Colts as they fell to the Dolphins 21-0 in the AFC Championship. Tom Landry and Cowboys went on to win their first Super Bowl as they easily defeat Don Shula’s Dolphins 24-3.
The MVP and first ever Defensive Player of the Year Award went to Alan Page. Page was also the first defensive player to win the league MVP. The OROY when to Green Bay Packers Running Back John Brockington, who finished with 1105 yards and 5 total touchdowns. The DROY was Isiah Robertson, Linebacker, L.A. Rams.
1971 was another year with only one 3,000 yard passer as the Chargers John Hadl led the league with 3,075 yards and also 21 touchdowns. “Captain America” – Roger Staubach came on to the scene as a full time starter and led the league in passer rating by 14 points with a 104.8 over the runner up Bob Griese.
The 5 thousand yard rushers in 1971 were Floyd Little, Denver (1,133 yards), John Brockington, Green Bay (1,105 yards), Larry Csonka, Miami (1,051 yards), Steve Owens, Detroit (1,035 yards) and Willie Ellison L.A. Rams (1,000 yards). Cowboys temperamental running back Duane Thomas led the league with 13 rushing/receiving touchdowns and the underrated Leroy Kelly was second with 12.
The leader in receptions was the Raiders Fred Biletnikoff with 61. He was also 3rd in yards with 929 yards and 2nd in receiving TDs with 9. The Chiefs Otis Taylor was the only 1,000 yard receiver with 1,110 yards. The Dolphins Paul Warfield also had a great year with 996 yards, 11 touchdowns and 24.0 yards a catch.
[/URL] 1972 – Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 3.27%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 1020
Average Cost of new house $27,550
Average Income per year $11,800
Average Monthly Rent $165.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 55 cents
Ford Pinto $2,078 ($11,787 in 2016)
Hellman’s Mayonnaise $1.39 ($7.88 in 2016)
Strawberries 0.31 cents a pound ($1.76 in 2016)
In 1972, Topps Football issued another great design. It sported large block lettering and an array of colors: blue, red, pink, green, yellow, purple etc. It was the last a football card set by Topps that was released in multiple series. The first two were available in wax and rack packs as well as cellos and vending boxes. The third series, however, was released in smaller quantities and was not widely available, but regionally, could be found in both wax and rack packs. At 351 cards, it was the largest football set issued at the time. The set features a great assortment of rookies, John Riggins, Charlie Joiner, Rayfield Wright, Ted Hendricks, Emmitt Thomas, Gene Upshaw, Ron Yary, Larry Little, Archie Manning and the great Roger “Captain America” Staubach. My favorite cards are the Staubach, Bradshaw, Joe Greene and Unitas.
In the NFL, 1972 was a history making year as the Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins would run the table and finish 17-0 becoming the first undefeated team in league history. Of course, they won the Super Bowl beating the Redskins 14 to 7. It seems that the Dolphins do not get the credit they deserve because they didn’t have many big name players, especially on defense. However, they led the league in both points scored and allowed.
The 6 division winners were the Dolphins (14-0) in the AFC East, Steelers (11-3) in the AFC Central, Raiders (10-3-1) in the AFC West, Redskins (11-3) in the NFC East, Packers (10-4) in the NFC Central and the 49ers 8-5-1 in the NFC West. The wildcards went to the Browns (10-4) and the Cowboys (10-4).
1972 saw the rise of the Steelers as a major power in the AFC. They took part in one of the most memorable playoff games in the history of the league, when rookie Franco Harris makes the “Immaculate Reception” as the Steelers beat the Raiders in the Divisional Playoff Game for their first ever playoff win. Harris’ controversial catch appears to be legal as it bounces of Raiders safety Jack Tatum before Harris seizes it out of the air. They were not quite yet ready to claim their title as team of the 70s as they fell to the Dolphins in the AFC Championship 21-17.
The league MVP and OPOY went to Washington Running Back Larry Brown who finished 2nd in the league in rushing with 1216 yards and 3rd in touchdowns with 12. The DPOY went to Steeler’s great Mean Joe Greene. The OROY was Hall of Famer Franco Harris who ran for 1055 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Packers cornerback Willie Buchanan was the DROY.
Standout years were had by Joe Namath who led the league in passing with 2816 yards and touchdowns with 19. Though the Saints were awful, 2nd year QB, Archie Manning finished 2nd in passing with 2781 and 3rd in passing touchdowns with 18. Dolphins QB Earl Morrell started 9 games and led the league in quarterback rating with a 91.0.
The Bills O.J. Simpson won the rushing title with 1251 yards. Giants running back Ron Johnson had a nice year with 1182 yards rushing and tied for a league leading 14 TDs with Emerson Boozer.
The Eagles Harold Jackson was only one of two receivers to break the 1000 yard mark. The other was the Vikings John Gillam. Jackson also led the league in receptions with 62. Fred Biletnikoff was 2nd with 58. The 49ers Gene Washington was the league leader with 12 receiving TDs.
On the defensive side of the ball, legendary Steeler Linebacker Jack Ham had 7 interceptions and forced 5 fumbles The Eagles Bill Bradley led the league with 9 interceptions.
1973 – Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 6.16%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 850
Average Cost of new house $32,500.00
Average Income per year $12,900.00
Average Monthly Rent $175.00 ($934 in 2016 Dollars)
Cost of a gallon of Gas 40 cents (2.14 in 2016 Dollars)
Men’s Paisley Slacks $23.49 ($125 in 2016 Dollars)
Crock pot Cooker $17.79 ($95 in 2016 Dollars)
It seems like 1973 was the first year when the Football, Baseball and Basketball sets all had the same feel. It was a plain, white design where the picture mainly did the talking. Like the baseball, basketball and hockey issues, there was a greater amount of sideline and action shots. Due to not having the NFL license, Topps had to airbrush the logos out of the pictures. At 528 cards, it was the largest issue up to that time. There was a nice assortment of rookies, Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Art Shell, Kenny Stabler, Ken Anderson, Jim Langer, Jack Youngblood, Dan Dierdorf and Curly Culp. It also feature the last year card of Joe Namath who was never featured on a Topps card again during his playing days due to an “alleged” contract dispute. He was one of the originators of branding his name as his picture shows the cool wool hat with “Joe” on it. My favorite cards are the Namath, John Riggins (love the white man afro), Fran Tarkenton, and O.J. Simpson (bad guy, but cool action shot).
1973 saw the advent of the jersey number system. It want as follows:
1–19: Quarterbacks and specialists
20–49: Running backs and defensive backs
50–59: Centers and linebackers
60–79: Defensive linemen and offensive linemen other than centers
80–89: Wide receivers and tight ends
Numbers 0, 00, and 90–99 are no longer allowed to be issued, even though these numbers were rarely issued anyway. Numbers 90–99 would be allowed again in 1984 for defensive linemen and linebackers in addition to the above-mentioned numbers.
Up until the 1972 season, all NFL games (including championship games and Super Bowls) were blacked-out on television in each team's home city. In 1973, the league changed their policy to black out games in the team's home city only if tickets to the game had not sold out. This expanded the league's television presence in teams' home cities on game day.
1973 would see the Miami Dolphins win the AFC East with a 12-2 record and then roll through the playoffs, ultimately winning a 2nd Super Bowl with a 24-7 beating of the 12-2 Vikings. Larry Csonka was the game’s MVP with 145 yards rushing.
In addition to Miami and Minnesota, the other division winners in 1973 were the Bengals (10-4) in the AFC Central; the Raiders (9-4-1) in the AFC West; the Cowboys (10-4) in the NFC East and the Rams (12-2) in the NFC West. The two Wild Cards went to the Steelers and Redskins both who finished at 10-4. The Vikings beat the Cowboys 27-10 in the NFC Championship and the Dolphins also beat the Raiders by the same score in the AFC Championship.
The Buffalo Bills powered by their Offensive Line known as “The Electric Company” released “The Juice”, O.J. Simpson as he ran for a league record 2003 yards on his way to league MVP honors. He also took home Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Defensive Play of the Year went to Dolphins Safety, Dick Anderson who finished with 8 interceptions with 2 being returned for a touchdown.
The Eagles Roman Gabriel was the league’s only 3,000 yard passer finishing with 3219 yards and also tied for the lead with 23 touchdowns. Roger Staubach also threw 23 touchdowns and led the league with a 94.6 QB Rating. As mentioned before Simpson rushed for 2003 yards. The second place runner Green Bay’s John Brockington only had 1144 yards. That shows how amazing Simpson's record really was. The other 1000 yard rushers were Calvin Hill of the Cowboys – 1142 yards, Lawrence McCutcheon of the Rams with 1097 yards and the Dolphins Larry Csonka with a 1003 yards. The rushing touchdown leader was Redskins running back Larry Brown who had 14.
The Eagles Harold Carmichael led the NFL in receiving yards (1116), catches (67) and touchdowns (13). He was the only thousand yard receiving in the NFL.
The Offensive Rookie of the Year was Minnesota Running Back, Chuck Foreman who finished with 801 yards and 6 combined rushing/receiving touchdowns.
1974 – Key Indicators
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 11.3% - The economy is really starting to slide around this time.
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 616
Average Cost of new house $34,900.00
Average Income per year $13,900.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 55 cents ($2.65 per gallon in 2016 dollars)
Cost of a gallon of Milk $1.57 ($7.55 per gallon in 2016 dollars. Hopefully, no one is paying that today.)
Cost of a Super Bowl ad in 1974: $103,000. A Super Bowl ad in 2016 was $5,000,000!!!!
Big Mac 0.65 cents (3.13 in 2016 – the average price of a Big Mac now is $4.93).
The 1974 Topps Set is a pretty basic, uninspiring design, but I still like it for nostalgia reasons. It features a player photo in between a goal post graphic. I really like the All-Pro cards. They stand out with their white borders filled in with black and the words All-Pro in bold red letters. The set contains a pretty poor rookie crop with Joe DeLamielleure, Ray Guy, Harold Carmichael and John Hannah leading the way. My favorite cards are O.J. Simpson, Roger Staubach and Ken Stabler. 1974 saw the last regular issue cards of three legends Dick Butkus, Deacon Jones and Johnny Unitas.
1974 saw the Pittsburgh Steelers win their 1st of 4 Super Bowls in the 1970s as they defeat the Minnesota Vikings in an ugly game, 16-6. The game was originally to be played in the Louisiana Super Dome, but due to a delay in its opening, it was played under rainy, cold conditions at Tulane stadium. The temperature was 46 degrees. The game still has the record for lowest halftime score as the Steelers led 2-0. That may be a record that is never broken. They also drafted 4 future hall of famers in the 1974 draft – Lynn Swann (1st Round, #21), Jack Lambert (2nd Round, #46), John Stallworth (4th Round 82nd Pick) and Mike Webster (5th Round, #125).
The year also saw the release of the following classic poem written by Steve Sabol for an NFL Films production on the atmosphere of football in the autumn. Make sure you read this with the voice of John Facenda in your head.
The Autumn Wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea,
With a rollicking song, he sweeps along,
Swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten.
He wears a hooded sash,
With a silver hat about his head,
And a bristling black mustache.
He growls as he storms the country,
A villain big and bold.
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake,
As he robs them of their gold.
The Autumn Wind is a raider,
Pillaging just for fun.
He'll knock you 'round and upside down,
And laugh when he's conquered and won.
Go to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPLmxtiVOe0 if you want to hear it read by the legendary Facenda. Also premiering was the modern format for the NFL Today on CBS. It changed the way pregame shows were done. Before 1974, the pregame coverage was prerecorded. The new show had a live pre-game show, halftime highlights of other games televised by CBS, and the first to wrap-up as a post-game show. In 1975, the show would be hosted by Brent Musburger, Irv Cross and Phyllis George. Jimmy the Greek would join the show in 1976. I remember reading The Greek would covertly give his picks against the spread by predicting the scores of the game to tip off gamblers. Pete Rozelle did not want the point spreads given, but he was friends with The Greek and did not have an issue with him predicting the scores.
The AFC division winners in 1974 were the Dolphins (11-3) in the East, the Steelers (10-3-1) in the Central, and the Raiders 12-2 in the West. In the NFC, the Cardinals (10-4) won the East, the Vikings (10-4) won the Central and Rams (10-4) won the West. The two Wild Cards were the Bills (9-5) with their first NFL playoff appearance and the Redskins (10-4).
The NFL MVP was Kenny “The Snake” Stabler who led the league with 26 touchdowns. He finished 5th in yards with 2469 and 2nd in QB Rating with a 94.9. Bengals QB, Kenny Anderson led the league in yards with 2667 and QB rating with a 95.7. Broadway Joe Namath was the comeback player of the year finishing 2nd in yards with 2616 and touchdowns with 20. He was also intercepted more than any passer with 22.
Broncos running back, Otis Armstrong led the league in rushing with 1407 yards and added 12 touchdowns. The Vikings Chuck Foreman was one of the early dual threat running backs rushing for 777 yards and catching 53 balls for 586. He led the league with 15 total touchdowns. OJ Simpson came off his 2000+ yard 1973 season and finished 3rd in rushing with 1125 yards.
The NFL’s best receiver in 1974 was the Raiders Cliff Branch who finished with 60 receptions, 1092 yards and 13 TDs. The latter two numbers led the league. The Cowboys Drew Pearson emerged as a top receiving threat in the 1970s with 62 receptions for 1087 yards. Branch and Pearson were the only 1000 yard receivers in 1974.
Chiefs HOFer Emmitt Thomas led the NFL with 12 Interceptions. Mean Joe Greene took his second DPOY award and Jack Lambert was the DROY. Chargers running back, Don Woods was the OROY with 1162 yards and 10 touchdowns. He broke the then rookie rushing record in only 12 games. Unfortunately, injuries ruined his career and he never duplicated the success of his rookie campaign.
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Comments
Vintage Rookies
"Molon Labe"
Congratulations on an awesome collection, and thanks for sharing it!
Jim
I appreciate running across this ....to be sure.
Right Up My Alley!
I can't quite make out the grades, are most of the examples PSA 8's & 9's?
They look very sharp.
On a side note, I was helping my 7 year old son sort through his 2015 Topps football set today that he got for Christmas. It was neat seeing him start to learn the players in the game. Topps did a real nice job listing the top 60 players, all pro and even fantasy studs. The cards help him both learn who is on each team and who the great players are. He had to decide whether to put them in number order or team order. He went with putting them alphabetically in team order (that's my boy : )).
He also got a Super Bowl 50 board game for Christmas. It is teaching him about play action, draw plays, sacks, first downs etc. It is a great way for a kid to learn the game. Today had me feeling really good about our hobby. It brought me back to the days when I would have late 70s and early 80s football and hockey cards strewn all around my room. I always got a special feeling inside when I came across Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Sabres cards. I could tell you the images on every Cowboy card from 79-81. Names like Danny White, Ed Too Tall Jones, Pat Donovan, Cliff Harris, Charlie Waters, Jay Saldi, Benny Barnes...aww the memories. I relived it today as my son was getting excited looking at Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Darren McFadden.
I do have a lot of money tied up in my cards, but I was reminded today that it is a hobby first. We are only caretakers for these little cardboard treasures and I look forward to the day I can pass them on to my children to enjoy.
I love everything about this thread.
That's an awfully nice card collection you have there
Thanks!!!