For the first time in seven years, Topps included players from both the AFL and NFL in its football set. Also for the first time in as many years, they reverted to a two-series printing. At the same time, the practice of grouping teams together within the set was dropped. It would be the start of a 21-year monopoly for the company in the football card field.
Card fronts for all but two of the teams feature a picture of a player with a team logo in an upper corner. Beneath the player is a rounded box divided into two parts. One part contains the player's name and team, while the other has his position. Color schemes are set according to the team. A thin blue line runs up from each side of the rounded box to frame the picture, and a white border surrounds the card. Backs are vertically oriented. The card number appears in the upper left corner, with the player's name stretching across the top. His position, team, vital stats, year/life statistics (if necessary) and a short biography appear in a box below that. A football-shaped icon has a cartoon that highlights an event in that player's career. On some cards, a coin is needed to rub away the surface to see that cartoon.
There are a couple of exceptions to the basic card format. For all players from the Packers and Raiders (the Super Bowl opponents from the previous year) their cards are made horizontal and a yellow background with a cartoon of generic game action added. Some cards feature puzzle backs that form pictures of quarterbacks Bart Starr and Len Dawson.
The puzzle backs are all found in series two. The first series included cards #1-131, while the second series has cards #132-219. The final card is a checklist that was printed in both series and comes in two variations. Series 1 backs are printed in green ink, while Series 2 backs are printed in blue. Cards from the second series are slightly scarcer.
Key rookie cards in the set include Bob Greise, Jim Hart, Craig Morton, Floyd Little and Jim Nance.
Key 1968 Topps Football Cards:
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1968 Topps Football Card Checklist
| Card # | Player Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bart Starr |
| 2 | Dick Bass |
| 3 | Grady Alderman |
| 4 | Obert Logan |
| 5 | Ernie Koy RC |
| 6 | Don Hultz |
| 7 | Earl Gros |
| 8 | Jim Bakken |
| 9 | George Mira |
| 10 | Carl Kammerer |
| 11 | Willie Frazier |
| 12 | Kent McCloughan Error |
| 13 | Georgeuer Jr. |
| 14 | Jack Clancy |
| 15 | Jim Tyrer |
| 16 | Bobby Maples |
| 17 | Bo Hickey |
| 18 | Frank Buncom |
| 19 | Keith Lincoln |
| 20 | Jim Whalen |
| 21 | Junior Coffey |
| 22 | Billy Ray Smith |
| 23 | Johnny Morris |
| 24 | Ernie Green |
| 25 | Don Meredith |
| 26 | Wayne Walker |
| 27 | Carroll Dale |
| 28 | Bernie Casey |
| 29 | Dave Osborn RC |
| 30 | Ray Poage |
| 31 | Homer Jones |
| 32 | Sam Baker |
| 33 | Billul |
| 34 | Ken Willard |
| 35 | Bobby Mitchell |
| 36 | Gary Garrison RC |
| 37 | Billy Cannon |
| 38 | Ralph Baker |
| 39 | Howard Twilley RC |
| 40 | Wendell Hayes |
| 41 | Jim Norton |
| 42 | Tom Beer |
| 43 | Chris Burford |
| 44 | Stew Barber |
| 45 | Leroy Mitchell Error |
| 46 | Dan Grimm |
| 47 | Jerry Logan |
| 48 | Andy Livingston |
| 49 | Paul Warfield |
| 50 | Don Perkins |
| 51 | Ron Kramer |
| 52 | Bob Jeter RC |
| 53 | Les Josephson RC |
| 54 | Bobby Walden |
| 55 | Checklist |
| 56 | Walter Roberts |
| 57 | Henry Carr |
| 58 | Gary Ballman |
| 59 | J.R. Wilburn |
| 60 | Jim Hart RC |
| 61 | Jim Johnson |
| 62 | Chris Hanburger |
| 63 | John Hadl |
| 64 | Hewritt Dixon |
| 65 | Joe Namath |
| 66 | Jim Warren |
| 67 | Curtis McClinton |
| 68 | Bob Talamini |
| 69 | Steve Tensi |
| 70 | Dick Van Raaphorst Error |
| 71 | Art Powell |
| 72 | Jim Nance RC |
| 73 | Bob Riggle |
| 74 | John Mackey |
| 75 | Galeyers |
| 76 | Gene Hickerson |
| 77 | Dan Reeves |
| 78 | Tom Nowatzke |
| 79 | Elijah Pitts |
| 80 | Lamar Lundy |
| 81 | Paul Flatley |
| 82 | Dave Whitsell |
| 83 | Spider Lockhart |
| 84 | Dave Lloyd |
| 85 | Roy Jefferson |
| 86 | Jackie Smith |
| 87 | John David Crow |
| 88 | Sonny Jurgensen |
| 89 | Ron Mix |
| 90 | Clem Daniels |
| 91 | Cornell Gordon |
| 92 | Tom Goode |
| 93 | Bobby Bell |
| 94 | Walt Suggs |
| 95 | Eric Crabtree |
| 96 | Sherrill Headrick |
| 97 | Wray Carlton |
| 98 | Gino Hatpelletti |
| 99 | Tommy McDonald |
| 100 | Johnny Unitas |
| 101 | Richie Petitbon |
| 102 | Erich Barnes |
| 103 | Bob Hayes |
| 104 | Milt Plum |
| 105 | Boyd Dowler |
| 106 | Ed Meador |
| 107 | Fred Cox |
| 108 | Steve Stonebreaker RC |
| 109 | Aaron Thomas |
| 110 | Norm Snead |
| 111 | Paul Martha RC |
| 112 | Jerry Stovall |
| 113 | Kay McFarland |
| 114 | Pat Richter |
| 115 | Rick Redman |
| 116 | Tom Keating |
| 117 | Matt Snell |
| 118 | Dick Westmoreland |
| 119 | Jerry Mays |
| 120 | Sid Blanks |
| 121 | Al Denson |
| 122 | Bobby Hunt |
| 123 | Mike Mercer |
| 124 | Nick Buoniconti |
| 125 | Ron Vanderkelen RC |
| 126 | Ordell Braase |
| 127 | Dick Butkus |
| 128 | Gary Collins |
| 129 | Mel Renfro |
| 130 | Alex Karras |
| 131 | Herb Adderley |
| 132 | Roman Gabriel |
| 133 | Bill Brown |
| 134 | Kent Kramer |
| 135 | Tucker Frederickson |
| 136 | Nate Ramsey |
| 137 | Marv Woodson |
| 138 | Ken Gray |
| 139 | John Brodie |
| 140 | Jerry Smith |
| 141 | Brad Hubbert |
| 142 | George Blanda |
| 143 | Pete Lammons RC |
| 144 | Doug Moreau |
| 145 | E.J. Holub |
| 146 | Ode Burrell |
| 147 | Bob Scarpitto |
| 148 | Andre White |
| 149 | Jack Kemp |
| 150 | Art Graham |
| 151 | Tommy Nobis |
| 152 | Willie Richardson RC |
| 153 | Jack Concannon |
| 154 | Bill Glass |
| 155 | Craig Morton RC |
| 156 | Pat Studstill |
| 157 | Ray Nitschke |
| 158 | Roger Brown |
| 159 | Joe Kapp RC |
| 160 | Jim Taylor |
| 161 | Fran Tarkenton |
| 162 | Mike Ditka |
| 163 | Andy Russell RC |
| 164 | Larry Wilson |
| 165 | Tommy Davis |
| 166 | Paul Krause |
| 167 | Speedy Duncan |
| 168 | Fred Biletnikoff |
| 169 | Don Maynard |
| 170 | Frank Emanuel |
| 171 | Len Dawson |
| 172 | Miller Farr |
| 173 | Floyd Little RC |
| 174 | Lonnie Wright |
| 175 | Paul Costa |
| 176 | Don Trull |
| 177 | Jerry Simmons |
| 178 | Tom Matte |
| 179 | Bennie McRae |
| 180 | Jim Kanicki |
| 181 | Bob Lilly |
| 182 | Tom Watkins |
| 183 | Jim Grabowski RC |
| 184 | Jack Snow RC |
| 185 | Gary Cuozzo RC |
| 186 | Billy Kilmer |
| 187 | Jim Katcavage |
| 188 | Floyd Peters |
| 189 | Bill Nelsen |
| 190 | Bobby Joe Conrad |
| 191 | Kermit Alexander |
| 192 | Charley Taylor Error |
| 193 | Lance Alworth |
| 194 | Daryle Lamonica |
| 195 | Al Atkinson |
| 196 | Bob Griese RC |
| 197 | Buck Buchanan |
| 198 | Pete Beathard |
| 199 | Nemiah Wilson |
| 200 | Ernie Wright |
| 201 | Georgeimes |
| 202 | John Charles |
| 203 | Randy Johnson |
| 204 | Tony Lorick |
| 205 | Dick Evey |
| 206 | Leroy Kelly |
| 207 | Lee Roy Jordan |
| 208 | Jim Gibbons |
| 209 | Donny Anderson RC |
| 210 | Maxie Baughan |
| 211 | Joe Morrison |
| 212 | Jim Snowden |
| 213 | Lenny Lyles |
| 214 | Bobby Joe Green |
| 215 | Frank Ryan |
| 216 | Cornell Green |
| 217 | Karl Sweetan |
| 218 | Dave Williams |
| 219BASE | Checklist Green |
| 219 | Checklist Blue |
Top 25 Singles
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