Joe Namath and the 1965 Topps set

[Econteachert205]

I just think it's one of those iconic status symbol cards. It has the "it" factor. Illogical consumerism at its finest. I have to say that if I were to make a list of vintage football rookies I want jim Brown would be 1 and Namath 2. Why? Why don't I want Bart Starr or Johnny U or Staubach? I can't really tell you other than it doesn't do anything for me to have those cards.

[HRBAKER]

Never really understood it either, larger than life figure and card I guess.
Would he be a Top 25 all-time QB?

[pawpawdiv9]

I think the variety of flambouyant colors on the 65 big boys are eyecatching. The size alone is another factor. It is an appealing set, a fellow board member (Blackie) did this set -not sure if he completed it or not. But i seen most of them on the SGC board and its amazing. I dont know why its important to have the Namath, maybe becasue he was a icon during when we watched Brett Farve so many years. Along with his shazzy fur coat and Yorker slang and swagger, he is up there on my list with the other ol' Joe.

[skelly]

Personally the card does nothing for me. I sold my 65 set a few years ago and haven't missed it one bit, while I've regretted selling my 63 set. To be fair it does seem a little rarer than your Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas Rookies. For whatever reason, even at big shows, you won't find many dealers that have the Namath Rookie on them, maybe storage is just a pain, I don't know, but even when dealers have stacks of 50's and 60's, you just don't see a lot of 65 football. Similar to Mantle cards being worth more than Mays, Aaron, etc... I think the New York factor plays big. The college career at Alabama can't hurt either.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Great replies! Some intangibles I didn’t think of like the "it" factor. And I don’t make it to shows, but I can see how the cards not showing up much could create some mystique around the set.

Someone asked about the top 25 - there’s lots not to like about ranking lists - difficulty of comparing across eras, football being a team game, statistics can be much more deceptive than say baseball where there really is a large individual aspect especially on offense, etc.

But, for the sake of discussion, the NFL top 100 ranked 19 QBs (I was a bit surprised it wasn't the most at any position - there were actually 20 RB on the list):

1. Joe Montana
2. Johnny Unitas
3. Otto Graham
4. Sammy Baugh
5. John Elway
6. Dan Marino
7. Sid Luckman
8. Roger Staubach
9. Bart Starr
10. Terry Bradshaw
11. Brett Favre
12. Peyton Manning
13. Tom Brady
14. Steve Young
15. Fran Tarkenton
16. Troy Aikman
17. Norm Van Brocklin
18. Kurt Warner
19. Joe Namath

So it would take 7 guys to squeeze Joe out of the top 25. I guess a case could be made, but I don’t think I would make the case. Here is what HOF says:

http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/me...tab=Highlights

If I did have to choose 7 more QBs though, off the top of my head: Bobby Layne, Ken Anderson, Len Dawson, Dan Fouts, Sonny Jurgenson, Jim Kelly, and John Brodie make 7. I'm sure I forgot some.

And I just realized, what about some of the guys from the early days? (Dutch Clark, Paddy Driscoll, Benny Friedman, Arnie Herber, etc.) I think they mostly threw out of the single-wing, so may be considered more tailback than quarterback, but shouldn't players from every era be on the list? That would make it interesting, not sure what the methodology would be for say comparing Dutch Clark and Drew Brees.

[sockwell123]

I wouldn't mind having this card.. tho it's out of my price range.

There's a decent little wikipedia article on Namath talking about when the AFL and NFL merged and Super Bowl 3.. it's got some good info in it if remotely interested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Namath

I can remember the flexall 454 commercials as a kid... and watching Super Bowl 3 highlights with the John Facenda narration.!

[Footballdude]

The Namath RC is what is stopping me from pursuing the 65 set. Along with some of the reasons given, I also was under the impression that prices for the Namath RC stay on the high side because high grade examples are hard to find. The large size of the cards really makes even a slight diamond cut seem really bad.

[jefferyepayne]

Some cards are the perfect storm for enhanced value: iconic player, nice looking/popular set, short print. Namath fits this as does the Chicle Nagurski. T206 Wagner is of course the grand daddy of the perfect storm.

What are some other football cards you think fit this 'perfect storm' equation to some degree? While he wasn't popular, the Mayo Anonymouns/Dunlop card is in an iconic set and an error card that seems to have reduced its existing population and raised it's profile to near mythical proportions (for a football card, anyway).

jeff