Card: 1950 Bowman, Card #45

Team/Position: The Cleveland Browns / Quarterback

Cost: $15.50 for this snowed in version of one of the greatest rookie cards of all time

There were three or four cards that I genuinely thought I’d have no chance in hell of acquiring for a reasonable price.  The two big boys from the 1957 set, Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr, are almost impossible to acquire on the cheap regardless of condition — so they’ve been back-burnered.  Then there’s Topps’ 1965 version of Joe Namath, which literally offers no hope for eventual purchase.  Namath’s numbers don’t jump out at you, but when you’re the quarterback of the New York Jets and you captivated a nation of young people, your rookie card’s going to sit at 250 bucks with 24 bids and 4 days left in an eBay auction as a PSA5 .

Finally, there’s the 1950 Bowman rookie card of Cleveland’s Otto Graham. If you’re of the belief that a quarterback is the field general and should be judged based on his accomplishments rather than statistics: Otto Graham is the best quarterback of all-time, with very little room for argument.

Some people look at Montana and Bradshaw’s four Superbowls a piece or maybe Bart Starr’s epic courage under fire, but all Otto Graham did was win — something the Cleveland Browns haven’t done since his departure.  Graham’s career started with the Browns in 1946 after he finished his service with the U.S. Navy’s coast-guard division.  The legendary Paul Brown signed Graham to a 2-year deal paying him $7,500 per year to play with the AAFC’s Cleveland Browns.

Football History doesn’t look back kindly upon AAFC statistics, as it was generally considered an inferior league that produced meaningless statistics.  From 1946 until the 1950 merger, Otto Graham and his Cleveland Browns won four consecutive AAFC championships through utter domination.  In 1950 when the leagues merged, Otto Graham finally got his rookie card — a beautiful small Bowman, colour and all.

Graham also provided vindication for the AAFC in 1950 by leading the Cleveland Browns to the NFL Championship Game in their inaugural season.  Cleveland finished up the 1950 regular season with a 10-2 record with both loses coming courtesy of the New York Giants’ Umbrella defense (see. Emlen Tunnell). Graham would gain his revenge in the playoffs by defeating the Giants before leading a masterful drive against the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFL Championship for the Cleveland Browns.

In Graham’s six years with the Cleveland Browns of the NFL, he lead the team to six consecutive championship games (winning three).  If his AAFC career’s included, Graham lead the Browns to the title game in each of his 10 professional seasons: An accomplishment that’ll live on in the history books for eternity.

Graham’s four AAFC and three NFL titles place him amongst the most successful quarterbacks of all time; even if he is technically one NFL Championship short of matching Montana and Bradshaw.  Graham’s 57-13-1 record as a starter in the NFL represents the greatest winning percentage (81%) of all time for a starting quarterback.

Automatic Otto Graham or Otto-matic, also won an NBL Championship with the Rochester Royals, who would eventually become the Sacramento Kings,  in his only season of Professional Basketball.  Graham had an uncanny ability to excel in whatever athletic pursuit he engaged in, which will forever remain his legacy.

Graham was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965 along with Sid Luckman, Steve Van Buren and Bob Waterfield, forming one of the best NFL HOF classes of all-time.

Graham’s statistics are nowhere near those of the great quarterbacks, but nary a soul could match his proficiency on the field.  It’s unfair to Graham to limit him solely to his NFL statistics, eliminating some of his best years because they occurred in the AAFC.  With Lou Groza and Marion Motley at his side, Otto Graham was the perfect vessel for Paul Brown’s version of Football.