| 1. Johnny Unitas, 1957 Topps Rookie Card |
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Johnny Unitas made his debut in one of the most collected sets of all time, 1957 Topps. Great looking set and the reverse of this card is featured on the front-page of Pigskincardboard.com. The clean-cut Unitas is easily one of the most collected players of all-time. A fan-base in Baltimore and Indianapolis keep Unitas’ rookie cards out of reach for most people. |
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| 2. Joe Montana, 1981 Topps Rookie Card |
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The people that grew up watching Montana are finally coming into large amounts of disposable income. Montana’s record in the playoffs is enough to cast him into the discussion for the greatest quarterback of all time. |
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| 3. Otto Graham, 1950 Bowman Rookie Card |
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This is clearly one of my favourite sets, and I have no problem including Otto Graham’s AAFC statistics when considering his greatness. All Otto Graham did was win football games. |
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| 4. Fran Tarkenton, 1962 Topps Rookie Card |
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Fran Tarkenton finished with some of the best statistics ever. However, it seemed as though Tarkenton was always the second best quarterback while he played. In the ’60s, it was Unitas that set the mark and in the ’70s it was Roger Staubach. Tarkenton scrambled with the best of ‘em, and it was always a thing of beauty. The ‘62 set is one of the few that features a black border, and in my opinion; it looks damn good. |
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| 5. Joe Namath, 1965 Topps Rookie Card |
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I’m not a huge Joe Namath fan, but the 1965 Topps set is one of the most unique out there. The New York market keeps this card priced way out of my range, considering the value. Namath was great, but if he were in Kansas City rather than New York, this card would barely make the top-20. |
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| 6. Bart Starr, 1957 Topps Football |
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Along with Unitas, Bart Starr is the crown-jewel of the 1957 Topps set. The Packers are always amongst the most collected teams out there and there’s an argument to be made for Star being the best Quarterback and Leader of all-time. |
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| 7. Terry Bradshaw, 1971 Topps RC |
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I love Terry Bradshaw’s country-bumpkin appeal on the Fox pre-game show, but this has to be the ugliest card in the top-20. Bradshaw didn’t put up the greatest statistics, but he did win a whole hella lot of Championships. |
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| 8. Dan Marino, 1984 Topps RC |
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One of the greatest, if not the greatest, passers of all time. All Marino had to do was win a Superbowl to cement him in the top one or two, but he just couldn’t get over the hump. 1984 is yet another Topps set that’s just loaded with Hall of Fame Rookie Cards… |
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| 9. Roger Staubach, 1972 Topps Football |
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Staubach is the perfect storm of football cards. He played for America’s team. He won Superbowls. He played his college football at the Naval Academy. After Notre Dame, the stars that came out of ARMY/NAVY are amongst the most collected players of yesteryear. |
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| 10. Sammy Baugh, 1948 Bowman Rookie Card |
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Slingin’ Sammy Baugh was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s charter induction class. Baugh was one of the first great passers of all time. The ‘48 Bowman card features a great black and white photo, and can occasionally be had at a reasonable price. |
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| 11. Len Dawson, 1963 Fleer Rookie Card |
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Len Dawson doesn’t get the love that other great quarterback’s seem to get. Dawson has every right to be in the same conversation with Bart Starr after winning two AFL titles and one superbowl. Like Johnny Unitas, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted and discarded Len Dawson before he went onto greatness. While Fleer produced some great AFL cards, Len Dawson’s their only entry on the Quarterbacks list. |
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| 12. Dan Fouts, 1975 Topps Rookie Card |
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Fouts definitely knew how to sling it with the best of ‘em and Don Coryell knew exactly how to use Fouts. Fouts threw one of the greatest deep-balls of all-time and should be remembered as more than just an excellent quarterback in a pass-happy offense. Fouts should be remembered as one of the Greatest! Quarterback’s of all-time. Fouts does get a downgrade unfortunately due to Topps’ half-assed effort in ‘75. |
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| 13. John Elway, 1984 Topps Rookie Card |
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As I’ve mentioned, I don’t like John Elway. However, Elway and Marino like Starr and Unitas combine to make their rookie-year sets one of the greatest of all-time. |
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| 14. Norm Van Brocklin, 1951 Bowman Rookie Card |
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My collection of ‘51 Bowmans is starting to grow at a pretty solid pace and this is one of the few cards that’ll set me back a couple hundred bucks. 1951 has trouble competing with the ‘50 or ‘52 offerings, but Norm Van Brocklin’s still one of the greatest QBs of all time. On an early fall day in late September, 1951, Norm Van Brocklin set a record that’s yet to be broken: 554 passing yards in one game. It’s mind boggling that this record’s continued to stand despite pass-happy offenses in every proceeding era. |
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| 15. Sid Luckman, 1948 Bowman Rookie Card |
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Luckman, like Baugh, made his debut in the ‘48 black and white Bowman set. Luckman did everything from his debut in ‘39 through his retirement just two years after this card was produced, in 1950. When Baugh and Luckman met in the 1940 Playoffs, the Bears destroyed the Redskins in a 73-0 rout which is said to be the most lopsided game in the history of the NFL. |
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| 16. Brett Favre, 1991 Stadium Club Error RC |
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It’s pretty unfortunate that so many players made their debut during the Junk-Wax era: However, an error in the spelling of ‘Favre’ makes Topps’ Stadium Club effort at least moderately sought after. |
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| 17. Y.A. Tittle, 1950 Bowman Rookie Card |
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Y.A. Tittle is remembered best by “The Photograph“. As cards weren’t produced for the AAFC, Tittle like Graham, made their cardboard debut in 1950. Tittle was by no means a consistent performer, but when he was on — he was among the best of all-time. |
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| 18. Tom Brady, 2000 Playoff Contenders Rookie Auto |
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I needed a Playoff Contenders Autograph somewhere in this list, as it’s been one of the best modern rookie card brands out there. Brady and Manning will both finish their career’s in the top-5, but until they retire, I have a hard time rating them any higher. |
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| 19. Ken Anderson, 1973 Topps Rookie Card |
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Ken Anderson is definitely the forgotten one. His numbers put him among the greats. Everyone seems to forget that Bill Walsh installed the west-coast offense in Cinci before heading west to San Francisco. If not for the dull-ness of mid-70’s cards, Anderson would be higher. |
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| 20. Sonny Jurgensen, 1958 Topps Rookie Card |
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Sonny Jurgensen is loved in Washington, but that’s about it. Jurgensen’s rookie card is from the same set as Jim Brown’s — the 1958 Topps. While ‘58 Topps isn’t quite as nice as ‘57, it ain’t all that shabby. Jurgensen had a couple terrific years in Philadelphia, but started to post consistently great after becoming a Redskin. |
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| 21. Warren Moon, 1985 Topps |
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Some say that Moon was a system quarterback, but numbers are numbers. The Run and Shoot doesn’t exist without a quarterback as skilled and versatile as Warren Moon. |
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