Thursday May 19, 2011

It's Thursday morning and I am waiting for the mail. I have a half dozen cards coming a a nice deal with my friend Sgt. Bruce for 4 more cards on Monday. Every day I check my auction finder to locate 1968 Topps Football PSA cards being offered.
Some of the big cards in this set include Bob Griese's rookie card, Joe Namath, Bob Lilly, Gale Sayers and Mike Ditka. I have most of the stars, but I am waiting for the right grade and price on the Griese and Namath cards. These key cards should be especially nice for inclusion in my set.
Storing my set has developed into a simple yet protective project. I take each card and place it in a zip lock poly bag that fits the card and has a little extra room. These bags serve to protect my cards as well as gives me the option to write notes on the bag if needed. The bags with cards are then placed in numerical order in my long white storage boxes. I label each box as to the contents.
I keep track of the cards i have as well as ones I need with the PSA web site's set registry. When a card arrives I enter the serial number and then make notes about the purchase such as price paid and purchaser. I enjoy this simple process and it is a great way to track your inventory.
As a seven year old, I watched the 1968 Football season with my Dad for the NFL games because he was an old school NFL fan. I watched the AFL games with my Uncle Louie because he was of the younger generation and a fan of the fairly new AFL. The day of the Super Bowl came and I was happy to watch the game with my Dad, Uncle and several members of the press from our local newspaper, The Marlboro Enterprise. My Father worked there after the Korean War was over. It was a great game.
As I look back and watch the game at age 49, I realize that the Jets ability to control the ball and thus the clock was a key factor in their victory.
Some of the players in the Super Bowl 3 are represented in this set including Namath, Maynard, Lammons, Snell, and Gordon.  Among the Colts are pictured with Unitus, Matte, Richardson and Mackey.
My good friend and price guide author, Bob Lemke, has made some cards in the 1968 design of missing players from the set including Brian Piccolo. I plan to add these to the set, too.. Feel free to leave comments. Thanks, Bill

Here's a picture of the 1968 Topps Test Issue of Team cards!