The 5 Most Valuable Johnny Unitas Football Cards
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We are continuing our mission to find the most historic and valuable football cards ever by looking at the top 5 cards across some of the best players of all time. Today, we spend time with Johnny Unitas's top 5 most valuable cards. Johnny Unitas won Super Bowl V and is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He is considered by many to be the prototype of the modern-day quarterback with his groundbreaking hurry-up offense and big-time throws.
We have recently paid homage to other top players like Gale Sayers, Roger Staubach, and Joe Namath, who had bested Unitas's Colts in Super Bowl III.
5. 1959 Topps Johnny Unitas #1
Top Sale Info: PSA 9 Sold for $20,400 on December 4th, 2024 through Heritage.
PSA 9 Population: 13
The number five card on our list features Johnny Unitas on the 1957 Topps card, famous for the alternating colors on the player's name. Also, as one of the more recent cards on our list, it features Unitas's name as "Johnny" vs. "John," and it's a fun detail to follow for the rest of the list.
4. 1962 Topps Johnny Unitas #1
Top Sale Info: Sold for $21,433 on August 31, 2025 through eBay.
PSA 8.5 Population: 2
1962 Topps Cards are a fantastic part of football and collector history.
Johnny Unitas played his college ball at the University of Louisville and made his mark early on in his football career with his never-give-up mentality, and was celebrated by his teammates and coaches. 'Unitas We Stand..." became the unifying cry of the Louisville Cardinals football squad. Below is a picture of a statue that honors Unitas at his alma mater, taken during a Rolling Stones tour.
3. 1963 Topps John Unitas #1
Top Sale Info: PSA 9 Sold for $27,799 on May 6, 2017 through Memory Lane.
PSA 9 Population: 4
The number three card on our list features Unitas with the camera straight on and positioned like we, the viewer, are part of the team as a center for the Baltimore Colts, looking back, while snapping the ball to one of the greatest of all time.
2. 1966 Philadelphia John Unitas #24
Top Sale Info: PSA 9 sold for $29,280 on September 18, 2026 through Heritage.
PSA 9 Population: 4
We are at the penultimate card on our countdown, and Mr. Unitas is posed in an intense quarterbacking stance with eyes downfield. His iconic crew cut is in full view, as Abraham Simpson aptly declared, "...a haircut you could set your watch to."
1. 1957 Topps John Unitas #138
Top Sale Info: PSA 9 sold for $167,300 on Nov. 16, 2016 through Heritage.
PSA 9 Population: 9
There are 14 sales of Johhy U's 1957 Topps Football rookie card before you get to the 2nd card on our list. His rookie card from Topps is a fantastic demonstration of Unitas's youthful smile, with his portrait on the left and him throwing the football, wearing his #19 Colts jersey, on the right side of the card.
Thank you for joining us on our journey down memory lane and remembering one of the greatest of ever- Johnny Unitas. We hope to see you next time.
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D. Allen Thompson is a contributing collectibles writer with eclectic tastes. He provides enthusiastic commentary on the ever-evolving world of trading cards against the backdrop of the broader historical, economic, and societal contexts in which they exist. He is on a journey to find fascinating stories and meet interesting people while using trading cards as the guideposts to lead the way to the American Dream.