On January 12, 1969, the New York Jets made history with the AFL squad’s landmark win over the Baltimore Colts. Super Bowl III memorabilia is among the most popular from any of the games that have been played since.
In terms of historical significance, there are not many games that are more important or had a greater influence on the NFL than the one played in Miami that day. At the time, the AFL and NFL were three years into their four-year merger plan. Vince Lombardi and his Packers had defeated the best that the AFL had to offer in Super Bowls I & II, and NFL dominance over “The Other League” was on most people’s minds when the heavily-favored Colts lined up against the Jets for the third interleague championship.
Most of America, however, did not give proper respect to the Jets, and when Joe Namath gave his now-famous guarantee, his audacity made headlines across the country. The AFL’ers made news again just three days later when the Jets in fact stunned the world by beating the Colts by a score of 16-7. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Minnesota Vikings the following year in Super Bowl IV, and so the leagues merged with two Super Bowl victories each; total parity.
The Super Bowl was not like it is today. There were not any commemorative football card sets, limited edition lithographs, pennants, and every other trinket imaginable for fans to collect. In fact, in comparison there is very little for standard collectors (re: collectors without limitless budgets) to acquire that would be contemporary to the actual game, and not a collectable made decades later as some sort of “throwback” piece.
Fortunately, for those interested there does not seem to be much difficulty in locating game programs and ticket stubs. A quick run through eBay, while somewhat rarer, are also available and very popular.
Publications are another avenue in which affordable, vintage material is available. Sports Illustrated featured Joe Namath on two covers that pertained to Super Bowl III, including the ‘Super Hero, Super Joe‘ cover. Either magazine is often for sale in the $20-$30 range but at last check, there weren’t many available. Newspapers, though even more difficult to find, run about the same or a little higher, depending on quality.
Fanatics.com offers some nice 1969 Jets and Namath autographed memorabilia as well as Namath replica jerseys.
As with most themes in our hobby, quality pieces pertaining to early Super Bowl games can be collected in a variety of price ranges. The challenge is placed upon the collector to be creative and diligent in their searches. And isn’t that what makes it fun to begin with?
Todd Tobias is an American Football League author, historian and collector. You can read more about this historic league, and view Todd’s collection of autographed cards on his blog and website, Tales from the American Football League. You can also view more of his display work at www.tobiassportsprojects.com.
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