Gridiron Grails: Chasing Joe Namath's PSA 9s in the 1968 Topps Stand-Up Set
There’s no doubt that one of the most visually distinct and condition-sensitive football card sets ever produced is that of the 1968 Topps NFL Stand-Up set. Billed as one of the earliest known “insert” sets, these cards were found in wax packs of 1968 Topps Football and featured die-cut pop-out cards of 22 NFL Stars who ranged in notoriety. Although these inserts were a great eye-catcher for collectors of that era, they were extremely difficult to grade.
There are 22 NFL Legends that make up this set and it includes names like Billy Kilmer, Jim Hart, Art Graham, Sid Blanks, and none other than New York Jets Quarterback, Joe Namath, of whom I’m focusing on for the purposes of this article. But before we get into the scarcity of higher graded Joe Namath’s, let examine why these cards are so difficult to grade.
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Simply put, the answer comes in the form of the construction of these cards. For starters, the cards were perforated at the waist for the stand-up fold and then scored at their base so that fans and collectors could experience the “Pop-Up”. At the time, most football fans, card collectors, and hobbyists were intrigued by the capability and unbeknownst to the bearing it would have on card condition, popped these out.
In addition to the cards having the ability to be “popped-out” they were also made from a softer card stock, were known for notorious centering issues, contained production-wide chipping problems and print blemishes. When all of the above are taken into account, they make for the perfect storm of condition-based flaws, hence the rarity of both PSA 9 and PSA 10 (there are only four (4) throughout the entire set) graded versions of these cards.
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With that said, let’s turn our attention to the Joe Namath card, not only because of the star power it contains but because of the fact that grades are so rare, they’re practically ghosts among men. From a graded population perspective, there are 352 PSA graded versions of this particular card, of which there are only five (5) PSA 9 graded versions, and for those of you counting at home that’s 1.42% of the card’s graded population. As of April 9th, 2025, there are no PSA 10 versions of this card.
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From a broader market pricing perspective you can find PSA 4s starting at about $30 and PSA 8s selling for roughly $180-$270, but for those of you in the market the super rare PSA 9 version of this card, you can expect to spend anywhere between $1,200 and $1,700. If there were ever a PSA 10 version of the card to enter the marketplace, I’m pretty sure that would easily be valued in the $10,000 - $15,000 range or possibly even higher given the extreme scarcity of the set.
For vintage football collectors, this is certainly a set for the ages and one that doesn’t disappoint when it comes to such elements as the overall graded population of the cards, the scarcity of higher graded within that population, and their ability offer collectors a great point of entry into the vintage market or enhancement of a current collection.
Passionate sports card collector and writer based in Queens, NY. Lifelong fan of the New York Mets, Jets, and Rangers. Covering sports cards and collectibles with deep industry knowledge and enthusiasm, while bringing a fresh perspective to the ever-evolving hobby world on http://SI.com/collectibles.
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