Happy 80th birthday to Randy Jackson! Jackson played tackle from 1967 to 1974 with the Chicago Bears. A starter from his rookie season on, Jackson missed only seven games in eight years. Unfortunately, the Bears never finished above .500 in that span, so he never got to play in a playoff game.
Today’s card of the day is Jackson’s rookie card, a 1973 Topps. The card, issued in Jackson’s seventh year in the league, is one of about 200 rookie cards in the 1973 Topps set. Why did the 1973 set have so many rookie cards? Because, at 528 cards, it was far bigger than its predecessors, and there was room for a lot of players who hadn’t been on a card before.
Jackson appeared on a few other cards, too. You can see them all in the Gallery.
