The 1975 Topps Football set is known for its unique front-of-card design with features a wavering flag, team names printed in an array of bright colors in the middle of the flag, and each player’s name in black block text right below the wavering flag. The set, with contains a total of 528 cards, features its fair share of rookies and stars and of those subsets, however there are three rookie cards that are still in high demand a full half century later.
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Lynn Swann (Pittsburgh Steelers) (Card No. 282) – Taken in the 1st Round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Lynn certainly turned heads as a leading punt returner, by leading the league in return yardage, with 577 in his rookie campaign. From a pricing perspective the raw version of this card sells for $20-$22 while the most recent public sale of its PSA 10 counterpart (as noted on PSA’s website) was an earth-shattering $10,359 and facilitated by Memory Lane, Inc.
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Dan Fouts (San Diego Chargers) (Card No.367) – Although technically the ’74 season was his second year, Fouts was taken in the 3rdRound of the 1973 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. Fouts certainly turned heads as a leading field general in both the ’73 and ’74 season by throwing for combined 2,858 yards and 14 TDs in his first two years. From a pricing perspective the raw version of this card sells for $$15-$17 while the most recent public sales of its PSA 10 counterpart was $11,400 in December of 2024.
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Joe Theismann (Washington Redskins) (Card No. 416) – Known for one of most infamous injuries to ever occur in NFL history, Theismann actually started his career in CFL for two seasons before stepping onto an NFL field. From a pricing perspective the raw version of this card sells for $18.50-$21 while the most recent public sale of its PSA 10 counterpart (as noted on PSA’s website) was a head-turning $3,500 and facilitated by eBay.
When it comes to the rookie cards of Lynn Swann, Dan Fouts, and Joe Theismann, there’s no doubt that the 1975 Topps Football set remains a cornerstone of 1970’s Football Card Sets especially since the PSA 10 versions of these rookie cards continue to command top dollar nearly a half century later.
