Football Memorabilia

About Football Memorabilia

The roots of contemporary American football can be traced to the late 19th century, when, in 1875, Harvard lost to Tufts. The first professional football league game followed in 1903—the Massillon Tigers won that year’s all-Ohio championship.

Almost from the beginning, marketers tried to capitalize on the popularity of college football. In 1888, cigarette maker Goodwin & Co. published the first football card, an illustration of Henry Beecher, who was the captain of the Yale Bulldogs...

The Beecher card was part of a set of 50 cards celebrating athletes from a variety of sports. In 1894, chewing-tobacco company Mayo Cut Plug released the first actual set of football cards, each bearing a sepia photograph of one of 35 players from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. One Princeton player with the last name of Poe is thought to be the nephew of poet Edgar Allen Poe.

The precursor to the National Football League didn’t arrive on the scene until 1920 and football cards were not produced in sets until after World War II when, according to football-card collector Mike Thomas, Leaf and Bowman began making cards for players such as John Nolan and Larry Olsonoski. Topps cards dominated the 1950s (the Johnny Unitas rookie card from 1955 is a much-traded collectible) and 1960s (ditto Joe Namath’s rookie card from 1965). In that decade, Fleer also entered the picture.

Players were not the only things depicted on cards. In 1960, Fleer issued a set of cards with decals of college-team pennants (Nebraska paired with Purdue, Stanford with Navy, etc.), as well as a set of cards bearing decals of American Football League logos (the gun-toting, cowboy-booted Texans player running for a touchdown in his ten-gallon hat is a collectible classic).

Beyond cards, collectors gravitate to just about anything with a player’s signature on it, from jerseys to helmets to footballs. As with music, unused tickets and ticket stubs are also fairly popular. But one of the most collectible football memorabilia categories is the Super Bowl.

For football fans, it doesn’t get any better than the Super Bowl. Football memorabilia collectors feel the same way about the objects and ephemera commemorating any of the Super Bowls that have been played since 1967, when Bart Starr led the Green Bay Packers to victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Signed Super Bowl helmets and footballs are particularly prized, as are signed jerseys. Reproductions of Super Bowl rings have become quite popular in recent years, and the card companies have been diligent about making sure that fans can add special Super Bowl cards to their collections—many are auto-signed to replicate the signatures of players.

Rounding out Super Bowl memorabilia are the actual programs and ticket stubs from the games themselves, for those fans not fortunate enough to actually attend. And then there are the patches, lapel pins, snowglobes, and bobblehead caricatures of players standing next to oversized reproductions of the coveted Super Bowl ring.

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview with Vintage Football Card Collector Mike Thomas

I collected football cards when I was a kid, back in the late ’60s, early ’70s. Then I set them in the closet for a… [more]



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Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Vintage Football Card Gallery

Vintage Football Card Gallery

This great database of pro and collegiate football cards from the 1950s and 1960s offers scanned images of cards fo… [read review or visit site]

U. Michigan Football Ticket Museum

U. Michigan Football Ticket Museum

Brian Powers' excellent gallery of over a century of Wolverines ticket stubs (1900 to 2005), not to mention a lot o… [read review or visit site]

University of Washington Football Publications

University of Washington Football Publications

While missing a few editions, this gallery of University of Washington football game program cover art is must-see … [read review or visit site]


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1969 Super Bowl Iii Full Ticket Psa 3 Vg Mk$2,600 Ends Sunday 6 bids 23 watchers
1972 Topps Football Unopened Wax Pack Box Series 2 Or 3$2,000 Ends Saturday 21 bids 80 watchers
Govnernor's Cup For Florida & Florida State Football$1,400 Ends Saturday 1 bid 1 watcher
2010 Lsu Football Season Tickets North Enzone- 2 Ea$1,250 Ends Sunday 2 bids 7 watchers
1984 Topps #63 John Elway Rc (hofer) Psa 10 Gem Mt$1,136 Ends Thursday 7 bids 17 watchers
2007 Dan Weldon Kansas Race Win Helmet$1,000.00 Ends Monday 1 bid 12 watchers
1972 Topps Football Very High Grade Near Set$830.00 Ends in 5 hours 22 bids 44 watchers
1927 Notre Dame Football Program Vs Coe$600.00 Ends Saturday 1 bid 6 watchers
1925 Rose Bowl Program$570.00 Ends in 12 hours 15 bids 18 watchers
2000 Sp Authentic Tom Brady Rookie Card$560.02 Ends in 13 hours 13 bids 26 watchers
1965 Topps Football Near Complete Set *nice*$522.00 Ends in 10 hours 11 bids 35 watchers
1981 Joe Montana Topps Rookie Rc #216 Bgs 9.5 Gem Mint!$510.01 Ends Wednesday 8 bids 7 watchers
1960 Topps Nfl Football Set Psa Graded 7-8-9's$510.00 Ends Sunday 11 bids 14 watchers
Drew Bledsoe Football Card Collection$500.00 Ends in 11 hours 1 bid 2 watchers
1959 Baltimore Colts Team Signed Football$500.00 Ends Sunday 1 bid 8 watchers
1881 Football Championship Program - Yale Vs Princeton$499.99 Ends Friday 1 bid 16 watchers
1956 Chicago Bears Team Autographed Football Psa/dna$450.45 Ends Monday 9 bids 12 watchers
Mid 1950's Duke Official Nfl Game Football-bert Bell$406.00 Ends Sunday 23 bids 15 watchers
1984 Topps #123 Dan Marino Rc (hofer) Psa 10 Gem Mt$405.00 Ends Thursday 9 bids 19 watchers
Tom Brady 00 Sp Authentic Rookie #0989/1250 Patriots$402.00 Ends Friday 6 bids 14 watchers
1972 Miami Dolphins Super Bowl Championship Ring$355.00 Ends in 3 hours 3 bids 9 watchers
David Pollack Game Used Worn Georgia Bulldogs Helmet$342.00 Ends Monday 7 bids 6 watchers
Huge Auto Game Used Football Baseball Basketball Lot $315.00 Ends Sunday 7 bids 7 watchers
2009-10 New Orleans Saints Team Signed Helmet$315.00 Ends in 5 hours 12 bids 12 watchers
Vintage 1986 Topps Football 36 Pack Unopened Wax Box$308.77 Ends in 15 hours 8 bids 16 watchers
Dan Marino Hand Painted Jersey Uda Artist Ltd Ed 4/4 $305.10 Ends Friday 11 bids 18 watchers
2009 Playoff National Treasures Football Hobby Box$305.00 Ends Friday 5 bids 6 watchers
1953 Bowman Football Complete Set 28 Psa Graded Cards!$305.00 Ends Sunday 6 bids 15 watchers
1967 Super Bowl I Ticket Stub Gb Vs. Kc Psa 4 Vg-ex $305.00 Ends Sunday 10 bids 15 watchers
Titans Oilers Tony Brown Afl Game Worn Jersey Nfl Coa$299.95 Ends Friday 1 bid 2 watchers
Alex Rodriguez Signed Baseball Batting Helmet Autograph$299.00 Ends Sunday 11 bids 23 watchers
Vikings Autographed Proline Helmet- Randy Moss$299.00 Ends Sunday 1 bid 1 watcher
1957 Topps #138 Johnny Unitas Rookie Psa 7 Nm Colts$280.99 Ends in 15 hours 10 bids 39 watchers
Walter Payton Upper Deck Hof Bears Autograph Auto /2800$260.00 Ends in 14 hours 3 bids 10 watchers
Full Unopened Box 1978 Football, Topps Cello Packs$255.00 Ends Sunday 6 bids 16 watchers
Uda Albert Pujols Cardinals Helmet Auto/signed Mvp$250.00 Ends Sunday 11 bids 48 watchers
1975 Topps Baseball #616 Jim Rice Rookie Hof Psa 9 Mint$235.51 Ends Sunday 15 bids 6 watchers
1967 Topps Football High Grade Set *nm/mt*$227.50 Ends Friday 8 bids 33 watchers
2006 Upper Deck Exquisite Football Factory Sealed Box$224.50 Ends Sunday 4 bids 4 watchers
2000 Brett Favre Barry Sanders Thurman Thomas Autograph$222.50 Ends Monday 3 bids 10 watchers
Drew Brees Autographed New Orleans Saints F/s Helmet$218.05 Ends in 17 hours 20 bids 8 watchers
1957 Topps Cello Pack 2nd Unitas, Starr, Hornung Gai 6$217.50 Ends Sunday 13 bids 10 watchers
1968 Nfl Championship Super Bowl Ii Program - Superbowl$210.50 Ends Sunday 6 bids 29 watchers
Gu Auto Patch 1/1 Baseball Football Basketball 650 Ct$210.39 Ends Thursday 9 bids 6 watchers
Derek Jeter Robinson Cano Signed Helmet Steiner Coa$209.50 Ends in 14 hours 12 bids 10 watchers
1955 Topps A.a. Football Jim Thorpe #37 Psa 7$207.50 Ends Thursday 7 bids 11 watchers
2008 Exquisite Brett Favre Aaron Rodgers Quad Auto 2/10$207.50 Ends Sunday 11 bids 50 watchers
Jim Rice H&b Game Used Signed Bat Boston Red Sox Hof$206.50 Ends in 5 hours 8 bids 17 watchers
1981 Topps #216 Joe Montana Rookie Rc Psa 9 Mint $202.51 Ends Thursday 12 bids 23 watchers
Triple Threads Walter Payton Auto Jersey Patch Lot Rare$202.51 Ends Saturday 9 bids 21 watchers
Incredible Huge Auto Sports Montana Jordan Favre Mannin$202.50 Ends in 11 hours 3 bids 8 watchers
Huge 100 Card Football Jersey Patch Auto Lot Manning $202.49 Ends Sunday 8 bids 9 watchers
1998 Topps Peyton Manning Autograph Rc $201.01 Ends Sunday 28 bids 4 watchers
1969 Topps Football Set Piccolo Csonka Rcs Namath $600$200.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 1 watcher
1973 Topps Football Set Nmt Mint Harris Rc Bradshaw$200.00 Ends Saturday 1 bid 3 watchers
1998 Topps Stars Supernova Gold Peyton Manning S5 $199.50 Ends in 8 hours 4 bids 5 watchers
Rare 1960 Eagles Vs Giants Team Signed Football Program$195.00 Ends in 14 hours 4 bids 13 watchers
Vikings Adrian Peterson Signed Pro Bowl Jersey Auto$180.00 Ends Friday 2 bids 1 watcher

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Recent News: Football Memorabilia

Source: Google News

Wildcatter Moffett adds to legend with new discovery
Houston Chronicle, March 17th

Longhorn football memorabilia is on prominent display in his New Orleans office, and Moffett now lives in Austin. But his business interests and...Read more

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Sitting in an office crowded with Bear Bryant football memorabilia, Leon Smith, the mayor of Oxford since 1984, was not keen to discuss the issue further...Read more

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