Rookie cards of the top 6 all-time wide receivers
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The receiver position is known for players with a little extra attitude. It requires elite footwork and hands; if not equipped with good speed, quickness is certainly necessary. It also requires the bravery to go across the middle where linebackers and safeties are often lurking to deliver some pain.
There's also the matter of worth. Does a good quarterback make a good receiver, or the other way around? One thing is certain: one knows a good receiver when they see one, but especially when that receiver is missing. Route-running, outsmarting defensive backs, and catching a ball while getting ready to take a hit is both the work of a gladiator and an artist.
The NFL passing game has undergone significant changes over the past 10 seasons, marked by a meteoric rise in passing and receiving yards. Still, some receivers transcend eras. We look at the rookie cards of the six greatest receivers ever.
In this list, we look at the rookie cards of the greatest receivers of all time. Disclaimer: This list is subjective and includes other deserving Hall of Famers in the Honorable Mention section.
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6. Lance Alworth (1963 Fleer #72)
The great Alworth spent the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Chargers of the AFL, where his all-world talent would've easily translated to the NFL. Today, the records he set in the AFL are recognized in the NFL, where he still holds the records for fastest receiver to 5,000, 6,000, 7,000, and 8,000 career receiving yards. He also shares the record with several modern-day receivers for most consecutive seasons with 11, 12, and 13 touchdown receptions.
Alworth's standing in the statistical categories has diminished over the years, but very few receivers in football history dominated over a seven-year stretch like Alworth did from 1963 to 1969. Alworth spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Chargers before finishing his final two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. In 1971, near the end of his career, he caught two passes for 28 yards in the Cowboys' Super Bowl VI triumph over the Miami Dolphins.
1963 Fleer cards are relatively scarce, driving up values. For a Hall of Famer like Alworth, rookie cards can get expensive. PSA has graded 687 of these cards, with only one PSA 10 and 17 PSA 9s in the population. There's no record of the PSA 10 being sold, but the most recent sale of a PSA 9 was for $7,015, according to Card Ladder. A PSA 5 recently sold for $500.
5. Larry Fitzgerald (2004 Topps Chrome Refractor #215)
Fitzgerald is second all-time in receiving yards and receptions, and he's also sixth in touchdown receptions. He is an 11-time Pro Bowler, the second-most for a wide receiver behind only Jerry Rice's 13 selections. He played his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals, with only a Super Bowl ring missing from his legendary career. In his lone championship appearance, a thrilling loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 43, Fitzgerald caught seven passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Fitzgerald's 2004 Topps base card is widely available, as is his Topps Chrome rookie card. For this list, we're going with the base Refractor from Topps Chrome (there are variations of the Refractor). It's a low population card, with PSA having graded a total of 167. Of those, there are 28 PSA 10s and 104 PSA 9s. The most recent PSA 10 sold for $2,125, but a PSA 9 recently sold for $250.
4. Don Hutson (1955 Topps All-American #97)
Maybe Hutson couldn't dominate in today's game like he did in the 1940s. Or maybe he could. Standing at 6'1" and 185 pounds, he'd probably be a perennial Pro Bowl slot receiver. Hutson is often regarded as the "father" of the wide receiver position. His dominance is difficult to put into words.
Hutson set the record for career receiving touchdowns in 1940 with 37. He extended the record to 99 until his retirement in 1948. It wasn't until 1989, when Steve Largent caught his 100th career touchdown pass, that Hutson's 49-year record was broken. Hutson became the all-time receiving yards leader in 1937, a position he would hold until 1963 when his 7,991 career yards were passed by Billy Howton.
Maybe Hutson is too low on this list, maybe not. Regardless, Hutson is one of the giants on whose shoulders others like Jerry Rice and Randy Moss stood to see further out. The graphic below compares how ahead of his time Hutson was. In the same number of games for the Packers, Hutson had 26 more touchdown receptions and just 130 fewer yards than six-time Pro Bowler and likely Hall of Famer Davante Adams.
Hutson's primary rookie card comes from the college-themed 1955 Topps All-American release, 10 years after Hutson's retirement. It is a short-print in the set, which further drives up the value of this card. PSA has graded 1,114 of these cards, resulting in two PSA 10s, 20 PSA 9s, and 118 PSA 8s (there are five PSA 8.5s). A PSA 8 recently sold for $1,695, and a PSA 9 sold for $5,546.
For a rarer Hutson card, boxes of 1935 Wheaties came with the pictures of various All-Americans on the back of their boxes. Hutson's "card," which could be hand-cut, was oversized at 6" x 6 1/4" and is incredibly rare, with PSA only having graded 10 of the hand-cut cards.
Davante Adams leaves Green Bay after 116 games, exactly as many as Don Hutson (1935-1945) played. Here are their career stats as Packers. pic.twitter.com/RWkFdlx2gk
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) March 18, 2022
2b. Terrell Owens (1996 Upper Deck SP #7)
When I saw Owens play for the first time, on television during the 1998 NFC Wild Card Playoffs, I thought he was the worst receiver I had ever seen. He dropped a couple of passes in critical moments of the game, and I thought he would get benched. Then, he caught the game-winning pass, got crushed, held on, and won the game for the 49ers. The rest is history.
At the height of his powers, Owens was an unstoppable force. His combination of speed, size, and precise route running made him impossible to defend when his team needed him most. Owens is third all-time in receiving yards and touchdowns, and eighth in receptions. Owens was a six-time Pro Bowler and had a love-hate relationship with the media. An all-timer at the receiver position, Owens wasn't inducted into the Hall of Fame until his third year of eligibility.
There are several Owens rookie cards, but they're not all created equal. While rarer parallels of base versions can be bought at higher price points, some base cards are more valuable than others. The choice for this list is the 1996 SP #7. The card features Owens in his 49ers uniform, facing forward, clutching the football he was so famous for snatching out of the air.
It's been graded 1,486 times by PSA, resulting in 75 PSA 10s and 417 PSA 9s. The most recent PSA 10 sold for $1,220, and PSA 9s sell for much less, with a recent sale of $137.
Owens was every bit as good as Moss, but if there's one skill separating Moss from Owens, it was that Moss was the biggest deep-threat weapon in league history.
2a. Randy Moss (1998 SP Authentic /2000)
Moss is only 19th all-time in career receptions, just below Davante Adams and just above Brandon Marshall. However, he's second all-time in receiving touchdowns and fourth all-time in receiving yards. That's how best to explain Moss; he was the most explosive and dangerous deep threat the league has ever seen.
His 2007 season with Tom Brady in New England was legendary. Moss led the league in receiving touchdowns with 23 (the current record) and first downs received with 74. He also had 98 receptions and 1,493 yards. The Patriots were 18-0 heading into Super Bowl 42, where they dropped their first and only game of the season, 17-14, to the New York Giants. In the Super Bowl, Moss's only appearance, he caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.
The 1998 SP Authentic rookie card is particularly valuable due to its limited production, with only 2,000 copies issued. It has been graded 1,062 times by PSA, resulting in 69 PSA 10s and 508 PSA 9s. The most recent PSA 10 sale was for $4,440, and the most recent PSA 9 sale was for $625. A PSA 5 just sold for $103.
1. Jerry Rice (1986 Topps #161)
No suspense in this list for number 1. Jerry Rice is the undisputed all-time greatest receiver in football history. It's not just that he teamed up with Joe Montana to win four Super Bowls, or that he has records in all the major receiving categories, but it's how much better he is than number two.
His 192 career receiving touchdowns are 41 more than the number 2, Randy Moss. His 22,895 career receiving yards are 5,403 more than the next on the list, Larry Fitzgerald. The yards and touchdown records are impressive, considering that while Rice is the all-time receptions leader with 1,549, it's a relatively modest 117 more than Fitzgerald, who ranks second on the list. Rice didn't just catch a lot of passes; he made them count.
Rice was prolific in both his production and career. The window of peak performance for receivers is relatively small. But Rice excelled there, too, playing in 20 seasons and making the Pro Bowl at the age of 40 with the Oakland Raiders.
Rice's 1986 Topps rookie card is one of the most iconic in all of football. His PSA 10, population 67, recently sold for nearly $77,000. His PSA 9, population 1,131, last sold for $3,239. A PSA 8 last sold for $217.
Honorable Mention: Calvin Johnson, Marvin Harrison, Isaac Bruce, Cris Carter, Steve Largent, Don Maynard, Raymond Berry
Horacio is an avid sports card collector and writes about trending card auctions and news across several major hobby sites, including Sports Collectors Daily and Collectibles on SI.
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