Rookie cards of posthumous Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees

It must be a bittersweet feeling; a player’s family receiving a phone call notifying them of their loved one being honored with the greatest recognition of their life. Except, their loved ones aren’t alive to experience the moment for themselves. The Pro Football Hall of Fame has needlessly made deserving members wait years, decades, for enshrinement. Sometimes, it comes too late for the inductee.

The members of institutions built to remember the past shouldn’t shape it in their vision. But they need to honor football’s history without becoming gatekeepers. Players who wait all their lives to reach the Hall of Fame don’t become Hall of Famers through years of voting. A Hall of Famer is a Hall of Famer.

Consistent, durable and excellent. Ken Riley is @Bengals royalty and now Hall of Famer No. 368. pic.twitter.com/HCS2kyR1XF
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) August 5, 2023

Recently, Hall of Fame voters have done a better job of recognizing this. In 2020, as part of its Centennial Class, the Pro Football Hall of Fame voted in 10 seniors, including four living members. In 2022, pioneering referee Art McNally was inducted when he was 96. He died one year later. In 2024, Steve McMichael, near the end of his battle with ALS, made it the only year he was a finalist as a senior inductee. He died less than a year later. Gene Hickerson was enshrined in 2007, and he died in 2008.

Snake Ken 🐍Stabler was never rattled.....he was at his best when...#raiders #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/v88R8sqZqk
— Raiders History (@Oaklraiders1976) July 21, 2025

Hopefully, more players who have been finalists for years will get inducted before they pass away; players like Lester Hayes, Ken Anderson, Lemar Parrish, and Jim Plunkett. While it’s too late for deserving players like Bob Kuechenberg, L.C. Greenwood, Tommy Nobis, and Jim Marshall, the Hall could do a better job of voting in more senior cohorts, like it did in 2020. Below are some of the recent players who had Hall of Fame careers but enshrined posthumously.

1. Ken Riley (Died June 2020, Inducted 2023)

1973 Topps Ken Riley rookie card | Image Courtesy of PSA

Riley is tied with Charles Woodson for fifth all-time in interceptions with 65. He was a first-team All-Pro in 1983 and twice a second-team All-Pro. According to Pro Football Researchers, "Ken Riley may be one of the most underrated defensive players in NFL history. Riley was a quarterback at Florida A&M and switched to cornerback with the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL. He kept a detailed journal on each receiver he played against, and his talent and studious approach separated him from his peers. Riley and Lemar Parrish were teammates for eight seasons and they were one of the best cornerback duos of the 1970s."

Riley was never a Hall of Fame finalist until 2023. There are three PSA 10s in existence. According to Card Ladder, the last PSA 10 sale occurred in 2014, when his card sold for $455. A PSA 9 sold for $563 in March 2025.

2. Cliff Branch (Died Aug. 2019, Inducted 2022)

1975 Topps Cliff Branch rookie card | Image Courtesy of PSA

Branch was a finalist for the Hall of Fame in 2020 (first time, after his death) and 2022. According to PSA, "Branch was a four-time Pro Bowl member, three-time First-Team All-Pro, led the NFL in receiving yards in 1974 and in touchdown receptions in 1974 and 1976. One of the great receiver of his era, Branch won NFL championships with the Raiders in Super Bowl XI, XV and XVIII."

There are 21 PSA 10 Branch rookie cards. According to PSA, a Gem Mint copy sold for $670 in 2020.

Cliff Branch, born 77 years ago today

Many mistakenly associate the #Raiders great with having only been a deep, vertical receiving threat — which of course he was.

But Cliff's after-the-catch speed on intermediate routes was unparalleled in that era — the likes of which the… pic.twitter.com/S7HZ6Cc7Pu
— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) August 1, 2025

3. Winston Hill (Died April 2016, Inducted 2020)

1965 Topps Winston Hill rookie card | Image Courtesy of PSA

Hill was never a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame until 2020, when he was elected as a senior member of the Centennial Class. According to the Professional Football Researchers Associaton, "Hill started 174 consecutive games on his way to four AFL All-Star Games and four Pro Bowls in a 15-year career. His consecutive game streak was good for tenth all-time when he retired. Not only was he known for his durability, but his abilities landed him to the AFL All-Time second team. Hill was the lynchpin of the Jets offensive line as they won back to back AFL East titles in 1968-69 and Super Bowl III. When the Jets began their Ring of Honor in 2010, Hill was part of the first class honored, along with Joe Klecko and Hall of Famers Weeb Ewbank, Joe Namath, Don Maynard and Curtis Martin."

The highest-graded Winston Hill rookie is a PSA 9, with only one in existence, excluding qualifiers. According to PSA, the last time the PSA 9 sold was in Jan. 2020 for $9,500. There are 40 PSA 8s and one PSA 8.5, excluding qualifiers. The most recent public sale of a PSA 8 occurred in Aug. 2025 for $1,010 on eBay.

4. Alex Karras (Died Oct. 2012, Inducted 2020)

1959 Topps Alex Karras rookie | Image Courtesy of PSA

Karras was only a finalist once, when he was voted in as a senior as part of the Centennial Class. According to PFRA, "Well-known for his post-football acting career, Alex Karras was also one of the great defensive tackles of all time. Green Bay’s Hall of Fame guard Jerry Kramer, who played against Karras twice a season for 10 years, regularly spoke about how great an opponent Karras was. Though a contemporary of all-time greats Bob Lilly and Merlin Olsen, plus Hall of Famer Henry Jordan, Karras nonetheless was a consensus first-team all-pro four times in 1960-62 and 1965. He earned second team honors five other times and missed one of his peak years in 1963 when he was suspended for gambling. That suspension...likely kept him out of the Hall of Fame, though he was one of three defensive tackles selected to the all-decade team of the 1960s along with Lilly and Olsen."

There are four PSA 10 Alex Karras rookie cards, 38 PSA 9s, and 11 PSA 9s with qualifiers. According to Card Ladder, the most recent PSA 10 sale occurred in Oct. 2024 for $5,760 at Heritage Auctions. A PSA 9 sold in June at Goldin for $884.50.

5. Ken Stabler (Died July 2015, Inducted 2016)

1973 Topps Ken Stabler rookie card | Image Courtesy of Card Ladder

This one is particularly painful because Stabler was voted in less than a year after his death. Stabler was a four-time finalist until he reached Canton in 2016. According to PFRA, "He finished first in touchdown passes in 1974 and 1976, completion percentage in 1973 and 1976 and in yards per attempt in 1976. In addition, he ranked first in passer rating in 1976, a year he led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory. In Stabler's first five seasons as Oakland's starting quarterback, the Raiders won four AFC West titles and earned one wildcard berth. The AP and NEA named Stabler MVP/Player of the Year in 1974 and the Pro Football Writers of America did likewise in 1976. He was first team all-pro twice including unanimously in 1974 and was also named to four Pro Bowls. When the Hall of Fame voters named the all-1970's team, Stabler was picked as the second team quarterback."

There are five PSA 10s in existence, 109 PSA 9s, and 29 PSA 9s with qualifiers. According to Card Ladder, the most recent PSA 10 sale was for $42,000 in Dec. 2024. The most recent PSA 9 sale was for $1,350 in August on eBay.