Cards From the Best QBs of the Decade
Pro football in the 1960s continued the rapid development seen forming in the late 1950s: namely, a focus on one player at the QB position instead of teams using multiple quarterbacks in one game. Forward passing was massively improving, and offenses were becoming dependent on more intricate playbooks. In the ’60s, the 49ers introduced the shotgun formation, and a few teams used it to achieve great success, like the Jets protecting Joe Namath’s knees. And, of course, the most crucial change was the merging of the AFL and NFL.
The ’60s were also a decade full of championship near misses for great passers. Bart Starr and his Green Bay Packers dominated, winning five total championships, including the first two Super Bowls. This left out Fran Tarkenton, Y.A. Tittle, Don Meredith, and plenty of other franchise QBs who would ultimately never win the big one.
Painting with broad strokes, air yards would finally define the game. QBs were always important, but teams would now begin to live and die by the play under center. Considering how hard-hitting and brutal the game was at the time, having a long career as a quarterback was a true challenge. The legends below not only had extensive, history-making careers, but they would create the quarterback position as we know it today. And, of course, the most famous quarterback of the decade also stood above all in the 1950s: Johnny Unitas. He was the man who set the standard for what a quarterback could be and was the holder of just about every meaningful passing record in the books by the time he retired in 1973.
These quarterbacks remain some of the greatest of all time. These are just a few of their iconic Topps cards you need to collect.
The Top QBs of the 1960s
1965 Topps Football #122 Joe Namath Rookie Card
Player info
• two-time ap league mvp and rookie of the year
• First qb to win a college and pro championship
Set info
• 176 total cards with 132 of them short prints
• featured “tall boy” cards
card back
• Vitals and a bio recapping his illustrious college football career at Alabama while also questioning if his then-injured knee would hold up his rookie year. Plus – a cartoon depicting his 255-yard passing game in the ’65 orange bowl
1962 Topps Football #90 Fran Tarkenton Rookie Card
Player info
• career lasted 18 seasons from 1961-1978, and played in nine pro bowls
• at the time of his retirement in 1978, he led lifetime passers in attempts (6,467), completions (3,686), passing yards (47,003), and TD passes (342).
set info
• 176 card set
• set included $1, $5, $10, $20 “Topps bucks”
card back
• vitals, previous season stats, and a short blurb saying fran was possibly the most exciting rookie in 1961, with a piece of league trivia set upside down on the bottom of the card
1961 Topps Football #96 Sonny Jurgensen
Player info
• led the league in yds passed five times
• fourth passer in history to have a 99-yard pass play
Set info
• 198 card set
card back
• vitals, previous year and lifetime stats, as well as a scratch-off football picture
1968 Topps Football #1 Bart Starr
Player info
• 1966 ap league mvp
• won 5 total championships: three league titles and two super bowls
set info
• 219 total cards and the first set in seven years to include both afl and NFL players
card back
• Vitals, career stats, and a short bio describing his passing prowess as the main reason the packers won the super bowl, plus a “football highlight” piece of trivia that says “starr won the league mvp in 1966”
1969 Topps Football #25 Johnny Unitas
Player info
• Three-time league mvp winner
• three-time league champion and one-time super bowl champion
set info
• 132 card set
• set includes metallic stickers of each team
card back
• vitals, career stats, and a bio about the “fancy flinger” who held at the time a league record with a TD throw in 47 straight contests and the record for most completions
