1973 Topps Football Cards

Topps drastically increased the size of its football card issue in 1973, going to 528 cards. (The 1971 Topps set contained 263 cards, and the 1972 Topps set contained 351.) I have not seen an uncut sheet of 1973 Topps cards, but I assume they were printed on two 264-card sheets. For the first time since 1967, Topps released its football cards in a single series.

Because the set was so much larger than previous football card issues, many of the players made their first appearance on a card in this set. By my rough count, the 1973 Topps set contains 197 rookie cards. The set also contains an odd feature I have not seen in another set: three "boyhood photo" cards. I am curious how the boyhood photos came about, and why there are only three of them. Maybe Topps just needed some filler cards to make it to 528?

Rookie cards of Pro Football Hall of Famers in the 1973 Topps set: Art Shell, Bob Brown, Bob Brown, Dan Dierdorf, Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Jack Youngblood, Jim Langer.

Rookie cards of Heisman Trophy winners in the 1973 Topps set: Pat Sullivan.

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 (?)
	1973 Topps	1	1972 Rushing Leaders
			Larry Brown	Washington Redskins	running back	Kansas State	Redskins Ring of Fame
			O.J. Simpson	Buffalo Bills	running back	USC, City College of San Francisco	Bills Wall of Fame 1980, College Hall of Fame 1983, Hall of Fame 1985, Heisman Trophy 1968
	1973 Topps	2	1972 Passing Leaders
			Norm Snead	New York Giants	quarterback	Wake Forest
			Earl Morrall	Miami Dolphins	quarterback	Michigan State
	1973 Topps	3	1972 Receiving Leaders
			Harold Jackson	Los Angeles Rams	wide receiver	Jackson State
			Fred Biletnikoff	Oakland Raiders	end	Florida State	College Hall of Fame 1991, Hall of Fame 1988
	1973 Topps	4	1972 Scoring Leaders
			Chester Marcol	Green Bay Packers	kicker	Hillsdale	Packers Hall of Fame 1987
			Bobby Howfield	New York Jets	kicker	none
	1973 Topps	5	1972 Interception Leaders
			Bill Bradley	Philadelphia Eagles	defensive back	Texas	Eagles Honor Roll 1993
			Mike Sensibaugh	Kansas City Chiefs	defensive back	Ohio State
	1973 Topps	6	1972 Punting Leaders
			Dave Chapple	Los Angeles Rams	punter	UC Santa Barbara
			Jerrel Wilson	Kansas City Chiefs	punter, running back	Southern Mississippi	Chiefs Hall of Fame 1988	Error: name misspelled Jerrell
	1973 Topps	7	Bob Trumpy	Cincinnati Bengals	tight end, wide receiver	Utah
	1973 Topps	8	Mel Tom	Philadelphia Eagles	defensive end	San Jose State		Rookie card
	1973 Topps	9	Clarence Ellis	Atlanta Falcons	defensive back	Notre Dame		Rookie card
	1973 Topps	10	John Niland	Dallas Cowboys	guard	Iowa
	1973 Topps	11	Randy Jackson	Chicago Bears	tackle	Florida		Rookie card
	1973 Topps	12	Greg Landry	Detroit Lions	quarterback	Massachusetts
	1973 Topps	13	Cid Edwards	San Diego Chargers	running back	Tennessee State		Rookie card
	1973 Topps	14	Phil Olsen	Los Angeles Rams	defensive tackle	Utah State		Rookie card
	1973 Topps	15	Terry Bradshaw	Pittsburgh Steelers	quarterback	Louisiana Tech	College Hall of Fame 1996, Hall of Fame 1989	Bradshaw's brother Craig, also a quarterback, played one season for the Houston Oilers.
	1973 Topps	16	Al Cowlings	Houston Oilers	defensive end	USC		Rookie card
	1973 Topps	17	Walker Gillette	St. Louis Cardinals	wide receiver	Richmond		Rookie card
	1973 Topps	18	Bob Atkins	Houston Oilers	defensive back	Grambling		Rookie card
	1973 Topps	19	Diron Talbert	Washington Redskins	defensive tackle	Texas		Rookie card
	1973 Topps	20	Jim Johnson	San Francisco 49ers	defensive back	UCLA	Hall of Fame 1994

	Listing Title	Listing Type	Price	Time Left
	1973 TOPPS #487 KEN STABLER RC PSA 10 GEM MT Pop 1 HOF?	Store	7500.00 obo	1 day 3 hrs