1972 Topps Football Cards

To my knowledge, 1972 Topps cards were the only vintage football cards to be released in three series. The first series contained cards 1-132, the second contained cards 79 and 133-263, and the third contained cards 264-361. Topps included card number 79, the second series checklist, in both the first and second series, so it is a double print.

Third series 1972 Topps cards were released late in the football season (I remember getting a pack from my brother for Christmas), and apparently many of them went unsold. Because relatively few of them made in into circulation in 1972, the price guides have them valued much higher than cards from the first two series. However, many (or most) of the excess third series cards were not destroyed in 1972; rather, a large dealer bought them from Topps and stored them. The dealer has been selling the unopened cards in recent years, and the cards are no longer difficult to find. Of course, since the cards were recently opened, most of them are in top condition. There are still plenty of unopened third series cards available, and their prices continue to decline. Perhaps because the multiple series did not work well in 1972, Topps released its 1973 football cards--all 528 of them--in a single series.

Rookie cards of Pro Football Hall of Famers in the 1972 Topps set: Charlie Joiner, Emmitt Thomas, Gene Upshaw, John Riggins, Larry Little, Rayfield Wright, Roger Staubach, Ron Yary, Ted Hendricks.

Rookie cards of Heisman Trophy winners in the 1972 Topps set: Jim Plunkett, Steve Owens, Steve Spurrier.

To see a large picture of any card, pick the small picture or the card title.

Picture	Set	#	Card	Team	Position	College	Honors	Notes	Est. NM Value (?)
	1972 Topps	1	1971 AFC Rushing Leaders						$4
			Floyd Little	Denver Broncos	running back	Syracuse	Broncos Ring of Fame 1984, College Hall of Fame 1983, Hall of Fame 2010
			Larry Csonka	Miami Dolphins	fullback	Syracuse	College Hall of Fame 1989, Dolphins Honor Roll 1990, Hall of Fame 1987
			Marv Hubbard	Oakland Raiders	running back	Colgate
	1972 Topps	2	1971 NFC Rushing Leaders						$4
			John Brockington	Green Bay Packers	running back	Ohio State	Packers Hall of Fame 1984
			Steve Owens	Detroit Lions	running back	Oklahoma	College Hall of Fame 1991, Heisman Trophy 1969
			Willie Ellison	Los Angeles Rams	running back	Texas Southern
	1972 Topps	3	1971 AFC Passing Leaders						$4
			Bob Griese	Miami Dolphins	quarterback	Purdue	College Hall of Fame 1984, Dolphins Honor Roll 1990, Hall of Fame 1990
			Len Dawson	Kansas City Chiefs	quarterback	Purdue	Chiefs Hall of Fame 1979, Hall of Fame 1987
			Virgil Carter	Cincinnati Bengals	quarterback	Brigham Young
	1972 Topps	4	1971 NFC Passing Leaders						$6
			Roger Staubach	Dallas Cowboys	quarterback	New Mexico Military Institute, Navy	College Hall of Fame 1981, Cowboys Ring of Honor 1983, Hall of Fame 1985
			Greg Landry	Detroit Lions	quarterback	Massachusetts
			Bill Kilmer	Washington Redskins	quarterback, halfback	UCLA	College Hall of Fame 1999, Redskins Ring of Fame, Saints Hall of Fame 1990
	1972 Topps	5	1971 AFC Receiving Leaders						$4
			Fred Biletnikoff	Oakland Raiders	end	Florida State	College Hall of Fame 1991, Hall of Fame 1988
			Otis Taylor	Kansas City Chiefs	end	Prairie View	Chiefs Hall of Fame 1982
			Randy Vataha	New England Patriots	wide receiver	Stanford
	1972 Topps	6	1971 NFC Receiving Leaders						$4
			Bob Tucker	New York Giants	tight end	Bloomsburg State
			Ted Kwalick	San Francisco 49ers	tight end	Penn State	College Hall of Fame 1989
			Harold Jackson	Philadelphia Eagles	wide receiver	Jackson State
			Roy Jefferson	Washington Redskins	wide receiver	Utah
	1972 Topps	7	1971 AFC Scoring Leaders						$4
			Garo Yepremian	Miami Dolphins	kicker	none
			Jan Stenerud	Kansas City Chiefs	kicker	Montana State	Chiefs Hall of Fame 1992, Hall of Fame 1991, Packers Hall of Fame 1991
			Jim O'Brien	Baltimore Colts	kicker, wide receiver	Cincinnati
	1972 Topps	8	1971 NFC Scoring Leaders						$4
			Curt Knight	Washington Redskins	kicker	Coast Guard
			Errol Mann	Detroit Lions	kicker	North Dakota
			Bruce Gossett	San Francisco 49ers	kicker	Richmond
	1972 Topps	9	Jim Kiick	Miami Dolphins	running back	Wyoming			$2
	1972 Topps	10	Otis Taylor	Kansas City Chiefs	end	Prairie View	Chiefs Hall of Fame 1982		$2
	1972 Topps	11	Bobby Joe Green	Chicago Bears	kicker	Florida			$2
	1972 Topps	12	Ken Ellis	Green Bay Packers	defensive back	Southern	Packers Hall of Fame 1998		$4
	1972 Topps	13	John Riggins	New York Jets	running back	Kansas	Hall of Fame 1992, Redskins Ring of Fame	Rookie card	$25
	1972 Topps	14	Dave Parks	New Orleans Saints	end, flanker	Texas Tech	College Hall of Fame 2008		$2
	1972 Topps	15	John Hadl	San Diego Chargers	quarterback	Kansas	Chargers Hall of Fame 1983, College Hall of Fame 1994		$4
	1972 Topps	16	Ron Hornsby	New York Giants	linebacker	Southeast Louisiana		Rookie card	$2
	1972 Topps	17	Chip Myers	Cincinnati Bengals	wide receiver	Northwest Oklahoma State		Rookie card	$2
	1972 Topps	18	Bill Kilmer	Washington Redskins	quarterback, halfback	UCLA	College Hall of Fame 1999, Redskins Ring of Fame, Saints Hall of Fame 1990		$2
	1972 Topps	19	Fred Hoaglin	Cleveland Browns	center	Pittsburgh		Rookie card	$2
	1972 Topps	20	Carl Eller	Minnesota Vikings	defensive end	Minnesota	College Hall of Fame 2006, Hall of Fame 2004, Vikings Ring of Honor 2002		$4

	Listing Title	Listing Type	Price	Time Left
	1972 TOPPS F/B HI SERIES WAX BOX GIA 9.5 GEM MINT	Fixed Price	15000.00 obo	18 days 7 hrs