The Six Essential Cards of 1969 Topps Football

The 1969 Topps football set is loaded with football stars. It is the final set released before the AFL-NFL merger, and notable for having the only standalone card of Chicago Bears running Brian Piccolo and Larry Csonka's rookie card.

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The 1969 Topps football cards were simple. They featured the players in poses backed by solid colors. Some colors you would expect, like Starr’s green background complementing his darker Packers jersey. But other color choices surprise - like pink in Gale Sayers’ card or red as Csonka’s backdrop. Here we look at the essential 1969 Topps football cards, determined by the highest PSA submissions. All stats were referenced from GemRate and PSA.

6. 1969 Topps Bart Starr #215 (1,250 PSA Submissions)

In 1969, Starr was nearing the twilight of his career. He won five world titles from 1961 to 67, including the first two Super Bowls. Starr is considered a Top 10 all-time quarterback. Unlike many of the players on this list, Starr has several cards graded more often than his 1969 Topps release. But this card is still the set’s sixth-most graded by PSA.

There are no Gem Mint 10s and 34 PSA 9s. The most recent PSA 9 sold for $1,750.

5. 1969 Topps Gale Sayers #51 (2,211 PSA Submissions)

Sayers was coming off a disappointing 1968 season, by his standards, because he missed five games because of injury. But it was still spectacular and good enough to earn a first-team All-Pro selection. He finished 1968 with 6.2 yards per carry and 95.1 yards per game. 1969 would be his greatest year yet, though it would also be his last serviceable year. Sayers would appear in four more games from 1970 to 71 before retiring.

Besides his rookie card from the 1966 Philadelphia set, 1969 is Sayers' most-graded card. There is a single Gem Mint PSA 10. It sold in 2020 for $12,400. There are only 20 PSA 9s. The most recent sale of a PSA 9 was for $4,440 on Fanatics Weekly.

4. 1969 Topps Johnny Unitas #25 (2,710 PSA Submissions)

As of this writing, Unitas’ card edges out Brown by a single submission for PSA’s fifth-most graded 1960s football card. There is a single Gem Mint in existence. It is also his most-graded card by SGC. A PSA 9 sold for $1,700 in May 2025. The legendary quarterback strikes a pose in this card, coming off a 1968 NFL Championship, but also coming off a loss in Super Bowl III to Joe Namath and the New York Jets.

Unitas, along with backup quarterback Earl Morrall, would help lead the Colts to a Super Bowl title in 1971 against the Dallas Cowboys.

3. 1969 Topps Bryon (Brian) Piccolo #26 (2,757 PSA submissions)

1969 Topps Brian Piccolo — Image Courtesy of PSA

Despite the misspelling of Piccolo’s first name on the front and back, he remains one of football’s biggest legends. An undersized running back out of Kansas, Piccolo played for five seasons in the NFL, sharing the Chicago Bears backfield with Gale Sayers.

In Nov. 1969, his fifth season, Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer. After two surgeries to remove tumors, doctors found the cancer spread to his liver. He died on June 16, 1970. Brian's Song, a made-for-TV movie depicting Sayers' and Piccolos' friendship, premiered less than 18 months after his death. The movie had an initial audience of 55 million viewers.

2. 1969 Topps Larry Csonka #120 (3,254 submissions)

1969 Topps Larry Csonka #120 Rookie Card — Image Courtesy of PSA

Csonka’s rookie card is one of the most recognizable among football collectors. His friendly smile and pose betray the ferocity of his play on the field. Csonka was a cornerstone of the Miami Dolphins of the early 1970s, who went to three straight Super Bowls from 1971 to 73 and won back-to-back championships in 1972 and 1973.

There are 3,254 PSA submissions, yielding 2 PSA 10 Gem Mints. There are no records of the last public sale of a PSA 10, but a PSA 9 last sold for $4,200 on eBay in June.

1. 1969 Topps Joe Namath #100 (3,609 submissions)

Namath's 1965 Topps rookie card is one of the all-time iconic football cards. However, his 1969 Topps card is his most graded card. Namath became a superstar after leading the New York Jets to a stunning upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. It was the final Super Bowl before the AFL-NFL merger.

There are three PSA 10s in existence. One sold in 2016 for $15,000. PSA 9s, population 57, sell for $500-$600.