1970 Topps Football Cards

1970 began what football collectors call the airbrush era with Topps sets. Up to that point, the company occasionally used team logos as part of its designs and the few players who had helmets showing in their pictures had the logos intact. However, the company lost the right to use them for future sets. The problem wasn't all that evident in the first couple of years because the pictures were largely helmetless portraits. A few years later - after Topps began using game-action shots - the airbrushing would be extremely obvious.

The card fronts used an oval-shaped frame matting the player's picture, similar to the design used in 1958. This time, however, there is a solid-colored banner that contains the player's name and team. A football in the lower right gives his position. A tan/brown color surrounds the player's photo and a white border surrounds the card. There are two back styles depending on the player. For most, a white circle contains the card number, and a box extending across the top gives Year/Lifetime statistics. For linemen, there are no stats, so the card number is moved down and placed inside a purple-colored ball. The player's name is rendered in a script format, with some vital stats to the right. The rest of the card is split into two parts. The left side features a biography, while the right side features a cartoon about the player. A few cards have the cartoon covered so a coin's edge can reveal it.

Once again, the cards were printed in two series, with a checklist card #132 printed in each series. Since there were no variations with the checklist card as in the past couple years, it is considered to be a double printed card.

The most infamous card in the set is O.J. Simpson's rookie card. Always one of the keys to the set, its value has been impacted due to the issues in Simpson's personal life. There are other rookies in the set as well, including Hall of Famers Alan Page, Elvin Bethea, Jan Stenerud, Lem Barney and Tom Mack. Other notable rookies include future actors Fred Dryer and Bubba Smith.

Key 1970 Topps Football Cards:

• O.J. Simpson RC #90
• Joe Namath #150
• Alan Page RC #59
• Bubba Smith RC #114
• Johnny Unitas #180

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1970 TOPPS FOOTBALL- 5 CARD SET #s 85, 87, 100, 116, 1162- VG+-NrMT- L@@K! $12.95

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