In 1957, Topps went with an unusual design for its football card set. While making the cards in a horizontal format wasn't an entirely new concept, it had never been done for an entire set of football cards before that. However, every card was split into two parts on both the front and the back.
There are two player pictures on the front of every card. On the left side is a head shot, while an action shot occupies the right side. Both pictures are superimposed over solid background colors (different for each side), which are set according to the player's team. A box below the head shot names the player, and another one under the action photo gives his position and team name. The back is similarly bisected. The left side starts off with a red football that contains the card number, with the player's name printed beside it. Several lines of vital statistics follow, and then a write-up outlines the player's career. Where necessary, year and career stats are added to the bottom. The entire right side is devoted to a pair of cartoons that explain career highlights.
There were 154 cards in all, divided into two series. The first series contains 88 cards, while the second series had 66. It is said that 22 cards in the second series were double-printed to fill out the printing page. Generally, high-number cards are a little harder than low numbers and are therefore a little more expensive.
There was also a checklist card printed. It is found with two different color variations (one is red, yellow and blue; the other is red, white and blue), but neither variation is given a premium. Card #58 of Bill Sherman can also be found with the Rams name missing on the front, which is a scarce error card.
The 1957 set is well-known due to having a number of significant rookie cards. The key cards feature Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr and Paul Hornung, but other major first-time players include Dick Night Train Lane, Tommy McDonald, Raymond Berry and Earl Morrall.
Key 1957 Topps Football Cards:
- Johnny Unitas RC #138
- Bart Starr RC #119
- Paul Hornung RC #151
- Willard Sherman ERR #58
- Raymond Berry RC #94
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1957 Topps Football Card Checklist
| Card # | Player Name |
|---|---|
| BASEALT23 | M.McCormack / L.Elter / J.Caroline |
| 1 | Eddie LeBaron |
| 2 | Pete Retzlaff RC |
| 3 | Mike McCormack |
| 4 | Lou Baldacci |
| 5 | Gino Marchetti |
| 6 | Leo Nomellini |
| 7 | Bobby Watkins |
| 8 | Dave Middleton |
| 9 | Bobby Dillon |
| 10 | Les Richter |
| 11 | Roosevelt Brown |
| 12 | Lavern Torgeson RC |
| 13 | Dick Bielski |
| 14 | Pat Summerall |
| 15 | Jack Butler RC |
| 16 | John Henry Johnson |
| 17 | Art Spinney |
| 18 | Bob St. Clair |
| 19 | Perry Jeter |
| 20 | Lou Creekmur |
| 21 | Dave Hanner |
| 22 | Norm Van Brocklin |
| 23 | Don Chandler RC |
| 24 | Al Dorow |
| 25 | Tom Scott |
| 26 | Ollie Matson |
| 27 | Fran Rogel |
| 28 | Lou Groza |
| 29 | Billy Vessels |
| 30 | Y.A.Tittle |
| 31 | George Blanda |
| 32 | Bobby Layne |
| 33 | Billy Howton |
| 34 | Bill Wade |
| 35 | Emlen Tunnell |
| 36 | Leo Elter |
| 37 | Clarence Peaks RC |
| 38 | Don Stonesifer |
| 39 | George Tarasovic |
| 40 | Darrel Brewster |
| 41 | Bert Rechichar |
| 42 | Billy Wilson |
| 43 | Ed Brown |
| 44 | Gene Gedman |
| 45 | Gary Knafelc |
| 46 | Elroy Hirsch |
| 47 | Don Heinrich |
| 48 | Gene Brito |
| 49 | Chuck Bednarik |
| 50 | Dave Mann |
| 51 | Bill McPeak |
| 52 | Kenny Konz |
| 53 | Alan Ameche |
| 54 | Gordy Soltau |
| 55 | Rick Casares |
| 56 | Charlie Ane |
| 57 | Al Carmichael |
| 58BASE | Willard Sherman Error |
| 58 | Willard ShermanR |
| 59 | Kyle Rote |
| 60 | Chuck Drazenovich |
| 61 | Bobby Walston |
| 62 | John Olszewski |
| 63 | Ray Mathews |
| 64 | Maurice Bassett |
| 65 | Art Donovan |
| 66 | Joe Arenas |
| 67 | Harlon Hill |
| 68 | Yale Lary |
| 69 | Bill Forester |
| 70 | Bob Boyd |
| 71 | Andy Robustelli |
| 72 | Sam Baker RC |
| 73 | Bob Pellegrini |
| 74 | Leonford |
| 75 | Sid Watson |
| 76 | Ray Renfro |
| 77 | Carl Taseff |
| 78 | Clyde Conner |
| 79 | J.C. Caroline |
| 80 | Howard Cassady RC |
| 81 | Tobin Rote |
| 82 | Ron Waller |
| 83 | Jim Patton RC |
| 84 | Volney Peters |
| 85 | Dick Lane RC |
| 86 | Royce Womble |
| 87 | Duane Putnam RC |
| 88 | Frank Gifford |
| 89 | Steve Meilinger |
| 90 | Buck Lansford |
| 91 | Lindon Crow Double Print |
| 92 | Ernie Stautner Double Print |
| 93 | Preston Carpenter RC Double Print |
| 94 | Raymond Berry RC |
| 95 | Hugh McElhenny |
| 96 | Stan Jones |
| 97 | Dorne Dibble |
| 98 | Joe Scudero Double Print |
| 99 | Eddie Bell |
| 100 | Joe Childress Double Print |
| 101 | Elbert Nickel |
| 102 | Walt Michaels |
| 103 | Jim Mutscheller Double Print |
| 104 | Earl Morrall RC |
| 105 | Larry Strickland |
| 106 | Jack Christiansen |
| 107 | Fred Cone Double Print |
| 108 | Bud McFadin RC |
| 109 | Charley Conerly |
| 110 | Tom Runnels Double Print |
| 111 | Ken Keller Double Print |
| 112 | James Root |
| 113 | Ted Marchibroda Double Print |
| 114 | Don Paul DB |
| 115 | George Shaw |
| 116 | Dick Moegle |
| 117 | Don Bingham |
| 118 | Leon Hart |
| 119 | Bart Starr RC |
| 120 | Paul Miller Double Print |
| 121 | Alex Webster |
| 122 | Ray Wietecha Double Print |
| 123 | Johnny Carson |
| 124 | Tom. McDonald RC Double Print |
| 125 | Jerry Tubbs RC |
| 126 | Jack Scarbath |
| 127 | Ed Modzelewski Double Print |
| 128 | Lenny Moore |
| 129 | Joe Perry Double Print |
| 130 | Bill Wightkin |
| 131 | Jim Doran |
| 132 | Howard Ferguson Error |
| 133 | Tom Wilson |
| 134 | Dick James |
| 135 | Jimmy Harris |
| 136 | Chuck Ulrich |
| 137 | Lynn Chandnois |
| 138 | Johnny Unitas RC Double Print |
| 139 | Jim Ridlon Double Print |
| 140 | Zeke Bratkowski Double Print |
| 141 | Ray Krouse |
| 142 | John Martinkovic |
| 143 | Jim Cason Double Print |
| 144 | Ken MacAfee E |
| 145 | Sid Youngelman RC |
| 146 | Paul Larson |
| 147 | Len Ford |
| 148 | Bob Toneff Double Print |
| 149 | Ronnie Knox Double Print |
| 150 | Jim David RC |
| 151 | Paul Hornung RC |
| 152 | Tank Younger |
| 153 | Bill Svoboda Double Print |
| 154 | Fred Morrison |
| BASEALT21 | Al Doro With Harlon Hill / Bert Rechich |
| BASEALT22 | B.Watkins / G.Marchetti / C.Peaks |
| None1 | Checklist Bazooka SP |
| None2 | Checklist SP |
Top 25 Singles
Here are the real time rankings of the 25 Most Popular Singles currently being sold on eBay:
