This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/19/2016
Almost as if fate was smiling down upon the football card collecting world, Topps decided to extend the "tall boy" concept of the 1964 hockey set into their 1965 football collection, creating what is commonly thought of as the most important football card ever produced, a pasteboard so spectacular that it compares with the top issues of any sport for popularity. Of course, we're talking about Joe Namath's incredible rookie card. It's said that Topps just had no choice, that the larger-than-life persona of "Broadway Joe," the game's first-ever media megastar, was too grand to be contained by anything other than an oversized card. Adding to the mystique is the extreme difficulty in finding high-grade examples, with centering issues and stray print on the bright yellow backdrop being the greatest pitfalls. Offered here is a sensational PSA 8 example of this all-time classic, which features several above-grade characteristics that makes it not only worthy of any world-class collection but places it among the absolute best you can ever hope to find in the grade. First off, the issue of poor centering is largely overcome as the mild preference toward the southeast stays within tolerances for the lofty grade. Each corner also upholds NM/MT status with two or three of them extending to NM/MT+, but the real star is the unblemished presentation of the central image, featuring the young, brash signal-caller in the foreground of a eye-searing, sun-drenched backdrop that makes the red "NEW YORK" pop! The detail in Namath's face is surreal, his focused eyes and serious demeanor almost guaranteeing victory, something he delivered on just a few years later in Super Bowl III. The reverse is incredibly pack-fresh, with a deep salmon and black base on a bright white canvas that offers a detailed account of Namath's college heroics at Alabama. Just take a moment to admire the profound color quality and image clarity of this gridiron treasure and bask in the undeniable glow of this truly splendid "Broadway Joe" rookie card. Even if you're not a football card hobbyist, or you're a "baseball only" collector, if there's one example from the gridiron worth expanding your collection for, it's a museum-worthy PSA 8 example of the most spectacular football card ever made! Only 6 have graded higher.