Thanks to a pair of Hall of Fame quarterbacks, the 1984 Topps football set remains one of the most popular sets of the 1980s.
The 1983 NFL draft was truly the year of the quarterback, with six signal-callers chosen in the first round. John Elway was the overall No. 1, while Dan Marino was the last quarterback drafted in the first round at No. 27. By 1984, these quarterbacks would begin to make an impact, with two standing out — Elway and Marino.
Elway would end up with a pair of Super Bowl rings, was named to nine Pro Bowls and was the NFL’s MVP in 1987. Marino only reached one Super Bowl — the Miami Dolphins lost to the San Francisco 49ers and another future Hall of Fame quarterback, Joe Montana, in Super Bowl XIX — but he led the NFL in passing five times and was the league’s MVP in 1984.
Both quarterbacks are the anchors for a Topps football set that is now 40 years old and introduced a new design. It also boasted several stars and Hall of Famers like Eric Dickerson, Roger Craig, Howie Long, Darrell Green and Curt Warner.
The Basics
The 1984 Topps set contained 396 cards, measuring 2½ inches by 3½ inches and all were distributed in one series. There are several subsets, with the first six cards of the set devoted to record breakers. Card Nos. 7-9 recap the conference title games and Super Bowl XVII. Card Nos. 202-207 list the conference leaders in passing, receiving, rushing, scoring, interceptions and punting. The final three cards of the set are checklists.
Unlike other years, the 1984 set tilts a little bit to the left when it comes to card front design. The player’s color photograph is bordered by his team’s primary color. The team logo and name are anchored at the bottom of the card, with the player’s name in the upper corner.
The tilt comes when displaying the player’s name, team name and logo.
While most cards are readily available in raw form for a few cents, graded set collectors have found some challenges because of the propensity for off-centered cards, those with “snow” on the surface and others with touches of corner wear right out of the pack.
The card backs are horizontal, with the player’s name and vital statistics placed at the top.
The middle of the card contains year-by-year player statistics where applicable, along with an explanatory paragraph detailing career highlights and fun facts. Some players, like defensive stars, have no stats but longer paragraphs about their careers. The far right side of the card contains a cartoon with another fun fact about the player.
Checklist
The set is broken up numerically by teams, and players are listed alphabetically by their last names. The teams also are sorted alphabetically by conference. The lone exception is the Colts, who had moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis before the 1984 season. They are listed first, as if they were still in Baltimore.
Key Cards
It is no surprise that Elway and Marino are the most sought-after cards in the 1984 set. More than 30,000 Marino rookies (card No. 123) have been submitted to PSA for grading. Of those, 417 are graded Gem Mint 10 with 4,287 PSA 9s.
Marino was a star from the start and accumulated record-setting pass numbers in 1984 — 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns, leading the Dolphins to a 14-2 regular-season record and the AFC title.
Elway’s rookie (No. 63) has had a similar amount of submissions to PSA, but only 190 have been graded gem mint. There are 2,969 PSA 9 versions of the card.
Elway had a breakout sophomore season in 1984, throwing for 2,598 yards and 18 touchdowns as Denver went 13-3 and reached the playoffs.
The third most popular rookie card is that of Dickerson (card No. 280). Over 10,000 have been submitted to PSA with only 138 being awarded a 10.
The running back, who led the NFL in rushing in 1983 with 1,808 yards, would break O.J. Simpson’s single-season mark of 2,003 yards in 1984 when he gained 2,105 yards.
Warner (card No. 198) was an explosive star for Seattle in 1983, rushing for 1,449 yards and 13 touchdowns. In the AFC Divisional playoff game against Miami, he scored a pair of touchdowns, including a go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter. He tore an ACL during the first week of the 1984 season but returned to rush for more than 1,000 over the following two seasons.
Long (card No. 111), Green (No. 380) and Jim Covert (No. 222) are other key rookies in the set, along with Mark Duper (No. 116) and Willie Gault (No. 224).
Among established stars, Walter Payton (No. 228), Joe Montana (No. 358) and Roger Craig (No. 353) are coveted cards in the set.
Payton would rush for 1,684 yards during the 1984 season, his second-best single-season output as a member of the Chicago Bears. Montana, who led the 49ers to a 15-1 record and victory in Super Bowl XIX against Marino and the Dolphins, would throw for 3,630 yards and 28 touchdowns during the regular season. He would throw three touchdowns and rush for another in the 49ers’ 38-16 victory in the Super Bowl.
1984 Topps Rack Pack Glossy Inserts
Rack packs from the 1984 football set included a Topps NFL Stars card. This 11-card insert set featured a glossy card, with an action photograph of a player framed in blue. The cards were printed on heavy, white cardboard stock.
The set included Marino, Dickerson, Warner, Lawrence Taylor, Mark Gastineau, Todd Christensen and Fred Dean.
Another insert was the Topps Play Cards set. This 27-card set was also included in packs of 1984 Topps football. Card fronts described potential prizes collectors could win, along with yards gained on a particular play. Card backs contained game rules.
Collectors who collected cards that gained 25 or more yards were entitled to receive five Glossy inserts.
1984 Topps Glossy Send-In Set
Topps released a 30-card set of Glossy cards that was available only through a mail-in order. Action photos of players were set against a dark blackboard diagram. The player’s name, team and position were placed at the bottom of the card front.
A total of 1,440 Glossy cards have been submitted to PSA for grading. There are 156 gem mint cards; the most are Montana cards. Thirty-four of the 297 cards sent to PSA came back as PSA 10s. Payton, with 358 cards, has the most submissions — but only five have been graded a PSA 10.
You can see 1984 Topps Football singles, sets and more for sale and auction here.
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