1965 Topps Football Joe Namath ROOKIE #122 SGC 8.5 NM-MT+

Joe Namath inserted himself into the record books with his underdog Super Bowl III victory in 1969, but his Topps rookie card made history a few years earlier in 1965. The Philadelphia Gum company had the license to produce NFL trading cards in 1965 and thus proudly placed the NFL logo on the front of their issues. Topps secured a license to produce cards for the AFL players, an adjacent league that included teams like the Bills, Patriots, and Raiders. Acutely aware of their competition, Topps mixed it up that year by using their “Tall Boys” concept from their 1964 Hockey set for their ‘65 Topps football release. Although Topps only had the rights to manufacture AFL cards, the Jets also played in the AFL. As luck would have it, the St. Louis Cardinals waited until the 12th pick to select Namath in the NFL Draft, which did not entice him to suit up. The Jets selected him first with their pick in the AFL Draft, paving the way for them to sign the rookie phenom from the University of Alabama to a record-breaking rookie contract for any sport. Fresh off a college national championship performance, Jets Coach Weeb Ewbank did not constrain his optimism over the 22-year-old slinger. “I see in this young man the same qualities as Johnny Unitas. He has size, quickness, courage, and a wonderful arm.” But Namath did not come to the Jets without risk. He badly injured his knee in a game against North Carolina State on October 10, 1964, while playing quarterback with the Crimson Tide. He described the pain as feeling like he had been shot. Although he finished the season, he suffered another knee injury against Florida the following week, eventually leading to surgery at a New York hospital in January 1965. His doctor said he “had the knees of a 70-year-old man,” and in that same hospital, photographer Bob Olen snapped the photo that appears on Namath’s 1965 Topps rookie card. Olen shot the photo shortly after Namath underwent surgery. The Jets’ quarterback explained the circumstances around his rookie photograph, offering insight into his gaunt appearance: “I had my first knee operation at Lenox Hill Hospital. I’d lost 27 pounds; I was in bed for eight days and our media director came into the room carrying shoulder pads and a jersey and the football. He said, ‘Joe, the show must go on.’ They took me out of bed on crutches. I went out in the hall, leaned up against the wall and we took that picture.” Years after his retirement, interest in football cards ascended as the card market broadened in the 1990s. Namath’s Topps rookie card began its rise in popularity as collectors acquired the inaugural issues of the game’s best players. The reasons why some of the cards from the ‘65 set were short- printed remains an unsolved mystery, but Namath’s card fell in that camp and thus remains significantly scarcer than its peers. The short-printed cards appeared to have been randomly selected, possibly based on how they were organized on pre-cut sheets during printing. Notorious for its uneven centering resulting from its thin borders and challenging color preservation, this card rarely appears in high grade. Of the 825 times that SGC has assessed the Namath rookie, just eight have received NM-MT+ 8.5 grades with only two higher. This card has also earned Fanatics Collect–E Eye Appeal designation. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 12/05/2025.