1959 Topps Football Cards

There are 176 cards in the 1959 Topps football card set; they were released in two series of 88. The second series cards, numbers 89-176, appear to have been printed in larger numbers than the first series cards. This is unusual: in most sets, the earlier series were printed in greater numbers. The Gallery's virtual uncut sheet of 1959 Topps cards shows how the uncut sheets from the two series were configured. As often seen in vintage sets, the cards that were along the edges of the sheets tend to be the most challenging to find in high grades.

It is well known that the Jim Taylor rookie card in the 1959 Topps set pictures the wrong Jim Taylor. You can see that card and others that picture the wrong player on the Gallery's Mistaken Identities page.

The 1959 Topps set includes both a team card and a pennant card for each of the twelve NFL teams of 1959. If a team's pennant is in the first series, its team card is in the second series, and vice versa. Each team card has either a first or second series checklist on the back. One peculiarity of the set is that all of the Chicago Bears cards are in the second series.

You can see pictures of 1959 Topps football card wrappers on the Gallery's wrapper page, and of 1-cent and 5-cent display boxes on the Mile High Card Company web site.

Rookie cards of Pro Football Hall of Famers in the 1959 Topps set: Sam Huff, Alex Karras, Jerry Kramer, Bobby Mitchell, Jim Parker, Jim Taylor. Rookie cards of Heisman Trophy winners in the 1959 Topps set: John David Crow.