All Vintage Cards Mid Cap Value Football Portfolio

Total Value (as of 6/30/2021) = $19,600
Average Price Per Card = $1,960

1933 Goudey Sports Kings Red Grange 

Estimated Cost - VG/EX Condition: $2000

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio:  1933 Goudey Sports Kings set featured the best of the best players across many sports, including major sports like baseball and basketball, but dog-sledding and pilots as well.  Red Grange aka 'The Galloping Ghost' was a three time All-American at The University of Illinois before becoming the spark that would help breathe life into the struggling NFL.  His 1933 Sports Kings card is in my mind one of the coolest looking football cards of all time. The design appeal and the legend of Grange make this one a must have for vintage football card collectors. 

Current PSA Population: PSA has graded less than 400 copies, and while we've chosen a VG/EX copy at around $2000, more cost conscious collectors can sometimes find a lower graded copy at $1000 or less. 

1933 Goudey Sports Kings Jim Thorpe

Estimated Cost - VG Condition: $2,800

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio:  Considered to be one of the world's greatest multi-sport athletes, Jim Thorpe was a legend among legends in nearly everything he put his mind to.  Ranging from winning two Olympic gold medals to becoming a star baseball, basketball and football player.  His 1933 Goudey Sports Kings card is maybe even cooler than the Red Grange card, and features an illustration of an ever confident Thorpe at the prime of his career.  

Current PSA Population:  PSA has graded around 360 copies of Thorpe's Sports Kings card and we selected a VG condition card at less than $3000 for this portfolio.  I think this card in any condition deserves another look by vintage football card collectors. 

1948 Leaf Sammy Baugh (RC)

Estimated Cost - EX-MT Condition: $1500

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio:  ‘Slingin’ Sammy Baugh is well regarded as one of the best quarterbacks of all time. Baugh played his entire professional career with the Washington Redskins, winning two championships, garnering six All-Pro nominations and leading the league in completion percentage eight different years. Baugh’s 1948 Leaf rookie card is a prized card for all vintage football collectors.

Current PSA Population:  A high grade condition Baugh will set you back big bucks, but we've chosen an EX-MT copy at $1500 which I think makes for a good investment.

1950 Bowman YA Tittle (RC)

Estimated Cost - NM-MT Condition: $1800

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio:  Tittle had a tremendous career lasting 17 years, reaching 33,070 passing yards and 242 touchdowns.  Tittle never won an NFL Championship, but he was the first of only seven quarterbacks in NFL history to have achieved consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons.   

Current PSA Population:  Tittle’s rookie card is one of the key cards in the 1950 Bowman set and one of my favorites, although the card is hard to find in mint condition.  The card isn’t exactly scarce, as PSA has graded over 500 copies, although only 3 have received a PSA 9 (Mint) grade.  Excellent condition copies of Tittle’s rookie card can often be found for less than $500.  

1957 Topps Paul Hornung (RC)

Estimated Cost - NM Condition: $1100

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio:  The ‘Golden Boy’ played ten years for the Green Bay Packers with Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi calling him “the most versatile man who ever played the game.”  In a set filled with big-time stars, Hornung’s  1957 Topps rookie card isn’t the most valuable but still one of the most desired cards in the set

Current PSA Population: Once again, not exactly a scarce card (PSA has graded over 1200 Hornung rookies) but typically a must-have for vintage football card collectors.  We've gone with a harder to find NM copy although lower graded copies can me much more affordable. 

1970 Topps OJ Simpson (RC)

Estimated Cost - NM/MT Condition -  $1400

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio:  This is admittedly a pretty tough selection for reasons that you can probably guess.  But on pure football talent alone, "The Juice" was one of the best.  And I do think his rookie card is probably undervalued due to the major black cloud surrounding him, so if you wanted to leave this one off the list, just go for it.  

Current PSA Population:  The card is readily available--PSA has graded over 3000 copies, thus I think the real investment potential will definitely be in higher graded copies.  Thus, we went with a NM/MT copy, of which PSA has graded about 750 or so.  Note they have graded about 230 PSA 9's so about 1000 cards graded at 8 and above, or 1/3 of the total graded population. 

1972 Topps Roger Staubach (RC) 

Estimated Cost - NM/MT Condition: $2500

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio:  Staubach played 11 seasons for the Dallas Cowboys, winning two Super Bowls, finishing his career as the second highest rated passer of all time.  Staubach was an aggressive player and often got hurt due to his reckless play.  But ‘Captain Comeback’ led an amazing 15 fourth-quarter comeback victories. 

Current PSA Population: PSA has graded nearly 4000 Staubach cards, thus not rare.  I went with a NM/MT copy--notably PSA has graded only 850 Staubach rookie cards at PSA 8 or higher. 

1981 Topps Joe Montana (RC)

Estimated Cost - MINT Condition:  $2500

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio: Joe Montana played for fifteen seasons in the NFL, thirteen years as a member of the San Francisco 49ers and two as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.  Montana is often recognized as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game of football.  Thus, from a collector standpoint, the Montana rookie card is one of the 'must-own' collectibles for football fans. 

Current PSA Population:  The Montana rookie card is quite easy to find, with over 30,000 graded copies in circulation. So, that's a seriously high population for a card, thus one of the reasons, Montana's rookie, even up mid to higher grade condition is not all that expensive.  

We've chosen a Mint copy of which roughly 10% of the total PSA population (or around 2500 copies) have been graded by PSA.  Still, not a scarce card, but a player with still significant collector demand make this a solid investment in my opinion.

1986 Topps Jerry Rice (RC)

Estimated Cost - MINT Condition: $2,800

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio: When we talk about the best wide receivers of all time, Jerry Rice is usually the consensus #1 pick. And while we are slightly outside of the 'vintage' definition, I think higher grade Rice rookie cards will remain highly sought after by vintage card collectors.   

Current PSA Population:  Overall, PSA has graded nearly 24,000 copies of Rice's Topps rookie card, so let's just say there is no lack of supply for the card.  Where this is a lighter supply is in MINT (or Gem Mint) PSA copies, which is where we think the biggest potential lies.  Of the 24,000 PSA Population, only 4% (or 1000 or so copies) have garnered a MINT (PSA 9 grade)

1989 Score Barry Sanders (RC)

Estimated Cost - GEM-MINT Condition: $1200

Why We Selected It For The Portfolio: Yes, 1989 is slightly outside of our definition of VINTAGE, but we are making an exception for what we consider to be one of history best running backs of all-time.  Hard to make a solid vintage card portfolio without Sanders as a part of the list. 

Current PSA Population: Amazingly, the graded population via PSA on the 89 Score Barry Sanders rookie card is slightly below that of the Jerry Rice rookie card -- PSA has graded roughly 22K copies of the Barry Sanders rookie.  However, the numbers are much more limited at GEM MINT perfect PSA 10 copies--with only ~1850 copies graded by PSA. Not rare, but a limited enough supply relative to its overall population to make this a likely solid investment for the long run.