PHILLY FINALE

THE PHILADELPHIA CHEWING GUM COMPANY’S DISTINCTIVE FINAL NFL CARD SET REFLECTS A DEFINING ERA OF PRO FOOTBALL

The NFL and AFL battled for pro football supremacy through the mid-1960s. In the trading card industry, the battle was between Topps and Philadelphia Gum, with Philadelphia securing the NFL rights while Topps had the AFL. Philadelphia’s quick four-year run ended with its nal o ering in 1967, immediately following the rst NFL-AFL World Championship Game and three years before the two leagues nally merged. Because of their similar, uniform design, it can be tough to distinguish between the ’64, ’65 and ’66 sets. But the ’67 is easy to mark. Its unmistakable yellow border makes it the most distinctive of the four. e 1967 set has the same numbering strategy as the previous three: 198 cards, numbered in alphabetical order rst by team, then by 10 players per team, with a team photo card and logo card for each team. More than 60 cards were double-printed. Two checklists, a referee signs card, and three play cards cap the set. Key cards include Rookie Cards of Leroy Kelly (#43), Dan Reeves (#58), Dave Robinson (#80), Dave Wilcox (#178), Tommy Nobis (#7), Lee Roy Jordan (#54) and Jackie Smith (#165). However, the most valuable in the set are second-year cards of Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers. Both feature the same photo as their RCs, yet cropped sightly closer. And of course, the yellow borders. Philadelphia was proud to slap the NFL shield at the top of each card. “O cial Pro National League” the wrapper boasted. Cards were distributed in six-card nickel packs and 10-cent cello packs. e card backs featured the Rub-a-Quiz trivia game, which can be a source of surface condition issues if coins were used to reveal the cartoon and answer the question.

COLLECTOR PERSPECTIVE

“I built all four issues and three of the 1967, which is my favorite,” says collector Wendell Bell, an active member of the Vintage Football Cards group on Facebook. “e ’67 Philly set was more colorful and had better photography. e other three sets were way too similar in design. e 198 cards made it fairly easy to build. e colored borders and inconsistent centering make it a little harder to collect in the higher grades. Ten players from each team was just about right in the day.”

“For me, it’s mostly corner wear and creasing—typical handling issues,” collector Nathan Leslie says about common condition issues. He recently completed the ’67 set. “Also, the backs can have a stained appearance. Sometimes they show some browning as a result of the light color. Centering is not too much of an issue with this set in my experience.”

Leslie lists #23 Unitas, #29 Ditka, #43 Kelly, #46 Warfield, #54 Jordan, #57 Meredith and #82 Starr among the toughest cards to find, especially in mint condition. “This is the nicest-looking Philadelphia set of the ’60s, in my opinion.” he says. “It’s much more colorful than the others because of the yellow borders. The 1964-66 Philadelphia all look the same to me.

The team insignia cards in 1967 Philadelphia are unique and have great eye appeal.”

NEW TEAM FOR NEW ORLEANS

Speaking of team insignias, you’ll nd an extra New Orleans Saints helmet logo card in place of a team photo card. at’s because the Saints were the NFL’s newest team in 1967 and a team photo didn’t exist. e back of the card is a terri c marker of the times, listing the players chosen from the 14 existing NFL teams in the 1967 NFL expansion dra , including Packers legend Paul Hornung. He never played a down for the Saints, retiring in the preseason. His retirement created the opportunity for

“THIS IS THE NICEST LOOKING PHILADELPHIA SET OF THE ’60S, IN MY OPINION. IT’S MUCH MORE COLORFUL THAN THE OTHERS BECAUSE OF THE YELLOW BORDERS. THE 1964 66 PHILADELPHIA ALL LOOK THE SAME TO ME. THE TEAM INSIGNIA CARDS IN 1967 PHILADELPHIA ARE UNIQUE AND HAVE GREAT EYE APPEAL.” Nathan Leslie

the NFL’s expansion team to add Hornung’s backfield teammate and southern Louisiana native Jim Taylor.

The back of the regular Saints logo #132 card (incorrectly numbered 121 on the back) claims, “The New Orleans Saints, the newest edition to professional football, has been a long time coming. New Orleans football buffs have wanted a team of their own for years. Now their wish has come true. They’ll support their team all the way.” The Saints had 20 straight non-winning seasons, at best going 8-8 twice during that time.

Philadelphia’s last NFL card set may not feature high-dollar Rookie Cards as the previous year’s offering, but it marks the end of a tumultuous time in the trading card industry and reflects the struggle for power in pro football at the time. After 1967, Topps resumed creating cards of both NFL and AFL players and enjoyed a 20-year run as the NFL’s only official trading card manufacturer.