The long history of the Green Bay Packers also offers football card collectors and Packer fans the chance to chase rookie cards of some NFL all-time greats who appear on some of the best card sets of all-time.
The earliest Packer rookie card is the 1935 National Chicle Clark Hinkle. Card number 24 in this rare set belongs to one of the early Packer greats.
Don Hutson, considered the greatest receiver in the first fifty years, never had a football card, but one of his late-career contemporaries did. Tony Canadeo appears in the 1950 Bowman set as card number 9. This is the first post-War color card set, small in size but an icon to football card collectors.
Two Packers highlight the 1957 Topps rookie crop. Bart Starr is card number 119 and it is somewhat surprising that he had a football card considering he was such a low-round draft pick. Starr, of course, went on to a Hall of Fame career, and his 1957 Topps card signified the pre-Lombardi beginning for the Alabama native. Sharing top billing in that set is the Paul Hornung rookie card. Paul is number 51 in the set, fresh from a Heisman Trophy-winning college career at Notre Dame. The 1957 Topps set features an in action photo along with a head shot of the player.
In 1959, Topps tried to picture Jim Taylor, the Packers great young running back, but instead showed an image of another player named Jim Taylor. The back is correct but the front is not the budding star. It is a little crazy to say you have got a Jim Taylor rookie card without actually seeing Jim Taylor of Green Bay, but such is life for the card collector who often runs into errors and variations that rolled off the card company presses. 1959 is also the Max McGee rookie card year. Max is card number 4 in the set, and quite a bargain at around $10-20, considering he will live on in NFL and Packer history as the first Super Bowl MVP.
In 1963, Topps created the Ray Nitschke rookie card. Card number 96 signifies the beginning of the incredible career of the fan favorite. The 1963 Topps set is a little hard to find in high grade because of the color borders, but the clear photography makes it a beautiful set.
The biggest impact player of the 1970s was John Brockington. Packer rookie card collections can add this card easily. Brockington blasted onto the scene in the early 70s and put together three outstanding seasons, but faded quickly as Dan Devine and Bart Starr had difficulty maintaining the success the Packers enjoyed in 1972.
There are two Reggie White rookie cards. His 1984 USFL card chronicles the start of his career. Number 58 in the set is unique in that it was only available as part of a boxed set issued by Topps. His first NFL rookie card was in 1986, when he adorned card number 275 as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. LeRoy Butler, another popular Packer from the glory days of the 1990s, appears on a few different cards as well, the toughest likely being number U97 in the 1990 Fleer Update set.
By the early 1990s, football rookie cards included multiple manufacturers and multiple sets so it can be a little confusing. Brett Favre rookie cardscan include one of several issues, but the favorite Favre rookie is really the 1991 Topps Stadium Club, number 94.
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