November 17, 2022: Fall Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/17/2022
For collectors of one of the most attractive and important of the early 1960’s Topps football issues, this is a nice, collectible example of this groundbreaking issue, an array that is broadly Very Good to Ex-Mt, with ½ dozen above to the range to Near-Mint and a similar number below to Good. With a roster of all the legendary figures from the NFL and their fledgling rival AFL, the issue boasts vivid colors with the striking red, green, yellow and blue panels, all with good gloss and clean backs. The coveted issue marked the first year that Topps produced cards for the American Football League, expanding the set size to 198 cards to do so, making it the company’s largest to that point in time. The offered set comes out to roughly 26 percent Ex-Mt, 25 percent Excellent and 43 percent Very Good; perhaps 40 percent of the array has the kind of centering that might typically prompt thoughts of an upgrade, though not all of those would be severe enough to dictate a formal off-center designation. The breakdown: No. 1 Unitas – VG-Ex, 2 Moore – Ex-Mt, 3 Ameche – VG-Ex, 4 Berry – Ex-Mt, 6 Parker – Good, 7 Marchetti – Ex-Mt o/c, 8 Lipscomb – Ex-Mt, 14 Jones – Ex-Mt, 15 Atkins – Ex, 16 George – Ex-Mt, 35 Karras – VG-Ex, 36 Schmidt – VG-Ex, 39 Starr – Ex-Mt-Plus, 40 Hornung VG m/c, 41 Taylor – Ex-Mt o/c, 44 Ringo – VG-Ex, 50 Matson – Ex o/c, 58 Tittle – VG-Ex, 63 St. Clair – Ex-Mt, 64 Nomellini – Ex, 67 Checklist – Ex (mk), 70 Mitchell – Ex-Mt o/c, 71 Brown – Ex o/c, 79 McElhenny – Ex, 85 Conerly – Ex-Mt, 88 Brown – Ex, 90 Robustelli – Ex-Mt, 91 Huff – Ex-Mt, 95 Jurgensen – Ex o/c, 96 McDonald – VG-Ex o/c, 101 Bednarik – Ex-Mt, 104 Layne – Good, 105 Johnson – Ex-Mt, 122 Checklist – Ex (mk), 139 Robinson Rookie – Good, 145 Blanda – Poor, 150 Maynard – VG-Ex, 166 Kemp – Near-Mint, 167 Lowe – Ex-Mt-Plus o/c, 182 Otto – Ex, 186 Flores Rookie – Ex and 198 Checklist – Ex o/c (mk).
1961 Topps Football Complete Set (198)
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