Card: 1970 Topps Football Card #59

Team/Position: Minnesota Vikings / Defensive Tackle

Cost: $9.00

Alan Page might be the most interesting man to ever play the game of football.  As a member of the Vikings, Page was a key part of the Purple People Eaters that lead the Vikes to 4 Superbowl Appearances.

Page’s rookie card was released shortly after the Minnesota Vikings met the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.  Topps put forth a solid effort in 1970, while the card wasn’t anything special, it was catchy and featured very beautiful close up photos.  Along with Alan Page, O.J. Simpson (haven’t bought it yet) and Lem Barney (on it’s way) were featured as rookies in this set.

If you’re hungry for an Alan Page RC, you can probably grab one off of ebay for 3 bucks or there are a couple over at CheckOutMyCards.com for under 6 bucks.

Page, my friends, is a very smart man.  In addition to playing football at Notre Dame, Page also went to class and if you’re observant you’ll realize Topps told us that Page was an outstanding student at Notre Dame.

“I’m Out…Standing!”

While playing for the Vikings, Page attended classes at the University of Minnesota where he eventually went on to get his J.D.

In 1992, Page was elected as an Associate Justice on the Minnesota State Supreme Court.  Page continues to sit, after being re-elected on two occasions (1998 & 2004)

As a member of the Vikings, Page was a dominant interior lineman.  In 1970, Page was named the NFL defensive player of the year, a feat he repeated in 1971 along with garnering the NFL MVP (the first time the award was given to a defensive player).

Other notable accomplishments include six first-team and three second-team All Pros, nine Pro Bowls, and induction into both the Pro and College Football Hall of Fames.

On his career, Page had 148.5 sacks split between the Vikings on the Bears. In 1976, Page notched 18 sacks and has been credited with 5 other seasons of at least 10 sacks.  Page also had 22 fumbles recovered and three safeties.

By the end of Page’s career, his weight had dropped from 260lbs in 1970 to 220lbs in 1979.  Page’s weight loss was attributed to his running routine of over 30 miles per week during the playing season.  Alan Page became the first professional football player to complete a marathon during his playing career.

Page did dabble in the typical career path for a retired player, working for TBS’ College Football broadcast, but for the most part, Alan Page has taken the road less traveled.