Top Thanksgiving Football Cards to Collect
Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and friends, eat way too much delicious food, and watch great football games. It’s an American tradition, and there’s something about watching a player who just had a dominant performance chomp into a massive turkey leg that just feels right.
With Thanksgiving Day hosting games between Detroit and Chicago, Dallas and New York, and Green Bay and Miami, it will be a packed day of football fun. So, we’re providing stats and data on the most outstanding Thanksgiving football performances that you can spout around the dinner table to impress your fellow fans – featuring some vintage cards, classic Topps Turkey Red selections, and the newly released Topps Motif Football and Topps Composite Football sets.
The Best Thanksgiving Performance Football Cards
2023 Topps Composite Football Chrome® Auto Gold #TCA-BG Bob Griese /50
Player info
• led the undefeated Miami team to an undefeated season and league championship
• led the league in touchdown passes in 1977 (22)
set info
• 425 card base set featuring iconic Topps brands such as Allen & Ginter, Topps chrome black, and midnight
Thanksgiving performance
• tied the record for most passing tds in a game on Thanksgiving 1977, with seven tds in a 55-14 win over St. Louis
1998 Bowman Football #182 Randy Moss RC
Player info
• holds the league record for Most touchdown receptions by a rookie in a season: 17
• Holds the league record for Most touchdown receptions in a season: 23 (2007)
set info
• 220 card set featuring 71 rookies
Thanksgiving performance
• thanksgiving 1998: Rookie Randy Moss catches three total passes from Randall Cunningham for 163 yards and three touchdowns against Dallas
2023 Topps Composite Football Chrome Black Autos #TCBA-TA Troy Aikman
Player info
• three-time league champion
• finished his career WITH 32,942 PASSING YARDS (no.44 all-time)
set info
• chrome black features 25 players, with each card getting six parallels
Thanksgiving performance
• in a shootout with Minnesota in the 1998 Thanksgiving game, Aikman tossed for 455 yards, one touchdown, and set personal records for completions (34) and attempts (57)
1979 Topps Football #390 Earl Campbell
Player info
• two-time league offensive player of the year
• rushed for 1,934 yards in 1980
set info
• 528 card set featuring league leaders (Campbell also featured on a rushing leaders card with Walter Payton)
Thanksgiving performance
• rushed 33 times for 195 yards and two scores in a win against Dallas (this rushing performance is second all-time)
2006 Topps Turkey Red Orange Sky #315b Peyton Manning
Player info
• The only player to win five MVPs
• one of eight quarterbacks who have thrown seven touchdowns in a game
set info
• 316 card set (two peyton manning versions with different colored skies)
Thanksgiving performance
• Thanksgiving 2004: Manning demolishes Detroit with a line of 23/28 for 236 yards and six touchdowns
2023 Topps Motif Football Canvas Champions Auto #CCA-TB Tom Brady
Player info
• holds the record for the Most career touchdown passes: 649
• holds the record for the Most seasons as the passing touchdowns leader: 5
set info
• Canvas Champions autos features 33 players
• one of 16 auto sets in 2023 Topps motif football
Thanksgiving performance
• New England and Brady beat Detroit 45-24 on Thanksgiving 2010, led by Brady’s line of 21-27-341 with four touchdowns. This is one of two perfect passer-rating games in Thanksgiving history (Dave Krieg 1994)
