1961 Topps Football Cards

In 1961, Topps expanded the size of its set to accommodate players from both the National Football League and the upstart American Football League, which had only begun play the previous season.

Card fronts featured a player photo that was either a close-up head shot or a posed action picture. The player is superimposed over a solid-colored background. A black box at the bottom includes the player's name, position and team. A white border surrounds the card. The backs are once again split into two parts. In the upper left-hand corner, a card number appears. It is followed by the player's name, position and team. A few lines of vital stats appear between two thin lines. What appears below that depends on the player; some have a box of year and lifetime statistics, while others have a short biography. The rest of the card features a cartoon that had to be scratched off with the edge of a coin to see.

Each NFL team was featured on a team card, which had a team photo surrounded by a gridiron design that looked like the markings on a football field. There were also cards that spotlighted highlights from the 1960 season scattered throughout the set; once again, these only appeared among the NFL teams. Cards were arranged by team, with the quarterback first, then the running backs and others. The team card appeared numerically after the last player from each NFL team, with a highlight card (if one was there) following that. The only exception to the rule is card #132, which features Milt Stock of the Cleveland Browns but follows the Redskins numerically. There are also three checklist cards among the set.

The set was released in two series. NFL teams made up cards #1-132, while AFL players appeared from that point through #197 (and a checklist was #198). The AFL players are slightly scarcer than the rest. Key rookies in this set include Don Maynard, Jim Otto, Tom Flores, John Brodie and Henry Jordan.

Key 1961 Topps Football Cards:

• Jim Brown #71
• Johnny Unitas #1
• Checklist #198
• Don Maynard RC #150
• Jim Otto RC #182

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