1968 Topps Football Card # 162 Mike Ditka (HOF)

Description: 1968 Topps Football Card # 162 Mike Ditka (HOF) - Chicago Bears (EX) 1960-1969 Football CardsThe 1960s football card sets elevated the football card hobby and collecting to a whole new level. This included a strong lineup of former greats and iconic card designs. The main card companies during this period consist of Topps, Fleer and Philadelphia Gum Company. They combined to offer collectors vintage 1960 football card sets for each year of the decade. Vintage football cards still rank behind baseball, but the 1960s helped close the gap.1961 was a great year for football cards as it ushered in a decade where collectors had a choice. In addition, two football leagues were now vying for fans across America as the fledging American Football League (AFL) emerged to compete against the established National Football League (NFL).The most valuable 1960s football rookie cards are available for Dick Butkus, Joe Namath and Mike Ditka. Other popular rookie options include Fran Tarkenton, Ray Nitschke, Gale Sayers, Fred Biletnikoff, Lance Alworth, Bob Lilly, Ernie Davis, Deacon Jones, Brian Piccolo, Larry Csonka, Don Meredith, Roman Gabriel, Jack Kemp, and Lenny Dawson.The 1968 Topps Football card set was the first release in seven years to include players from both the AFL and NFL. It would be the first of 21 consecutive years in which Topps was the exclusive licensee for professional football cards. To accommodate the additional players, the set was expanded to 219 cards, each measuring the standard 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches. The set checklist is dominated by Hall of Fame players, including Bart Starr (#1), Paul Warfield (#49), Joe Namath (#65), Gale Sayers (#75), Johnny Unitas (#100), Dick Butkus (#127), George Blanda (#142), Fran Tarkenton (#161), Mike Ditka (#162), and Len Dawson (#171). Key rookie cards in the set include Bob Greise (#196), Jim Hart (#60), Craig Morton (#155), Floyd Little (#173) and Jim Nance (#72). The 1968 Topps Football card set also saw the debut of players from the Cincinnati Bengals.1968 Topps Football Trading Card SetIncluding both NFL and AFL players for the first time in several years, 1968 Topps Football features a strong checklist. Top Hall of Fame veteran cards include Bart Starr, Joe Namath, Gale Sayers, Johnny Unitas, Jack Kemp and Dick Butkus. The key rookie card is Bob Greise. Design The front of the cards, for all but two of the teams, feature a posed player photograph with the team logo in an upper corner. Beneath the player is a design element that resembles a capsule and is divided into two sections. One part contains the player's name and team, while the other, his position. Color schemes of this portion of the card are team specific. A thin blue line runs up from each side of this section to frame the picture, and a white border surrounds the entire card. The card backs are oriented in a vertical layout. The card number resides in the upper left corner, with the player's name stretching across the top. Position, team, vital stats, year/life statistics (if necessary) and a short biography are displayed 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. All players from the Packers and Raiders, the Super Bowl participants from the previous year, feature horizontal-oriented card and a yellow background with a cartoon of generic game action. Some cards feature puzzle backs that form pictures of Bart Starr and Len Dawson.Printing and Distribution The 1968 Topps Football card set was printed in two series. The first series includes cards #1-131, while the second series is comprised of cards #132-219. The aforementioned puzzle backs were all printed in the second series. The well-used practice of grouping players on the checklist by team was abandoned. Cards from the second series are slightly more difficult to find and star players often command a premium. The cards from the 1968 Topps Football card set were also distributed in two separate series and came in traditional packaging consisting of wax and rack packs, as well as cellos. In addition to the cards and gum, 5c wax packs included an insert set. The first series was distributed with mini-posters. These 4-color inserts measure 5 by 7 inches and include stars like Gayle Sayers, Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas to name a few of the 16 different players available. In the second series, each pack contained one of 22 different Topps Stand-ups. The player image was perforated and an indented line running horizontally towards the bottom, allowed the player to be punched out and the card folded to create a base so that the player literally stands up. The base also serves as the nameplate of the card and displays the players name, team and position against a red background.Errors and Variations While no noteworthy errors have been documented within the 1968 Topps Football Card set, two variations have been identified. The final card in each series is a checklist that can be found with different ink colors. Series One backs are printed in green ink, while Series Two backs are printed in blue.Condition Issue and Test Products Experienced vintage collectors commonly complain about the horrendous centering that is common to the 1968 Topps Football card set. The red base of the Stand-Up inserts is also very susceptible to chipping and edge wear. These cards in general, because of their nature to be aggressively handled, can be very difficult to find in high grade.That same year, Topps also released, with limited distribution, a product call Team Patches. The set includes a total of 44 patches, one for each of the 26 NFL and AFL, plus 18 patches of various letters and numbers designed so that kids could create their own jerseys. Also included in each pack of patches was a black and white team card of an NFL or AFL team. Because of their limited availability, they are considered a test issue.How We Grade: Gem Mint (GMT): (10.0) A flawless card. To be in Gem Mint condition, a card’s borders must have a ratio of 50/50 side to side and top to bottom. Mint (MT): (9.0-9.5) A perfect card. Well-centered with parallel borders which appear equal to the naked eye. Four sharp, square corners. No creases, edge dents, surface scratches, paper flaws, loss of luster, yellowing or fading, regardless of age. No imperfectly printed cards – out of register, badly cut or ink flawed – or card stained by contact with gum, wax or other substances can be considered truly Mint, even if new out of the pack. Generally, to be considered in Mint condition, a card’s borders must exist in a ratio of 60/40 side to side and top to bottom. Near Mint/Mint (NM/MT): (8.0-8.5) A super high-end card that appears Mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may exhibit a very slight wax stain on reverse, slight fraying at one or two corners, or a minor printing imperfection. Centering must be app. 65/35 to 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. Near Mint (NM): (7.0-7.5) A nearly perfect card at first glance, but upon closer inspection, may have slight surface wear, slight fraying on some corners, slightly out-of-register picture focus, a minor printing blemish or slight wax stain on reverse. Centering must be 70/30 to 75/25 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. Excellent/Near Mint (EX/NM): (6.0-6.5) Card may have visible surface wear or a printing defect. A very light scratch. Corners may have slightly graduated fraying. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. Card may have minor wax stain on reverse, may have very slight nothing on edges. Centering must be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. Excellent (EX): (5.0-5.5) Corners are still fairly sharp with only moderate wear. Card borders may be off center as much as 85/15. No creases. May have very minor gum, wax or product stains, front or back. Surfaces may show slight loss of luster from rubbing across other cards. Dark bordered cards may have one or two small nicks. Very Good/Excellent (VG/EX): (4.0-4.5) Shows obvious handling, but still looks nice. Corners may be rounded or have minor creases. No major creases, tape marks or extraneous markings or writing. Surfaces does exhibit loss of luster, but the printing is intact. May have paper wrinkles. May show major gum, wax or other packaging stains. All four borders visible, though the ratio may be as poor as 95/5. Exhibits honest wear. Very Good (VG): (3.0-3.5) A well-worn card, but exhibits no intentional damage or abuse. May be “Mis-cut or Off-Center” with no border visible. May have major or multiple creases, however, creases are not so deep as to show the underlying paper. This card is completely readable, has not been written on, and has no tape marks or holes. Corner rounding may extend well beyond the border. Good (GD) (2.0-2.5) Shows excessive wear, along with damage or abuse. Will show all the wear characteristics of a Very Good card, along with such damage as thumb tack holes in or near margins, evidence of having been taped or pasted, perhaps small tears around the edges or creases so heavily as to break the cardboard. Backs may show minor added pen or pencil writing or be missing small bits of paper. Still basically a complete card. Poor (P): (1.0-1.5) A card that has been tortured to death. Corners or other areas may be torn off. Card may have been trimmed, show holes from a paper punch or have been used for BB gun practice. Front may have extraneous pen or pencil writing, or other defacement. Major portions of front or back design may be missing. Not a pretty sight. We believe that all our listings are 100% Original and Authentic unless otherwise noted. They are all covered by a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, if for whatever reason you are not happy with your purchase we will exchange it, replace it, discount it or you can return it for a full refund. Standard/Combined Shipping via USPS Ground Advantage is $3.95 for the first card and $0.15 for each additional card, with a max. of (40) items per invoice. Subject to change as postal rates continue to increase. Estimated delivery is 3-5 days. Subject to change as postal delivery schedules continue to increase. Please see shipping tab for current postage rates. All cards will ship in penny sleeves, top loaders, team bag & bubble wrap envelopes. Please see all of our other ads & visit our store for some great deals on both New & Vintage cards, comics and more. If you do not see what you are looking for, do not hesitate to ask. If we do not have it, we will get it. Our goal is to be your number one source for all collectibles. Get your copy of the DC Rebirth or the All New, All Different Marvel Series before they are gone! Yes! We are always buying & accepting consignments. We are trying to establish a Brand and grow our business within the E-bay cyber world, so please Join/Follow us, you never know what we will list next, because: We are: The Toy Collector 4 U 2 C

Price: 34.95 USD

Location: Madison, Alabama

End Time: 2024-12-14T21:54:28.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3.95 USD