The Chicago Bears of the 1970s had an awful lot in common with 1976 Topps football cards.
Or at least one thing … they were — and in the case of ’76 Topps, still are — carried on the shoulders of one man.
More on that dude below, but just know that the Bears may have never developed into the 1985 Bears if not for the same guy who transformed the 1976 Topps set from $10 afterthought to a price driver for an entire decade’s worth of cardboard.
Of course, there’s more to any set of cards than just one player, and that’s true for ’76 Topps FB, too.
Here, then, are the most valuable 1976 Topps football cards, as listed in the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide for copies in PSA 8 condition.
Hut! Hut!
1976 Topps Walter Payton Rookie Card (#148)
So, yeah, this is the guy that makes the 1976 Topps set equivalent — in some ways, at least — to the 1970s Bears.
Beyond Payton, both the set and team were a bit lackluster in terms of player selection, but that doesn’t matter much when you have the greatest running back of all time on your side.
(Yes, I said it — he’s the greatest. To me, at least.)
Anyway, by the time the hobby was ready to boom in earnest in the mid-1980s, Sweetness was on the cusp of breaking Jim Brown‘s all-time record for rushing yardage.
And, even though Emmitt Smith has since topped Payton, and even though Barry Sanders probably could have, too, Walter’s rookie card remains a hobby key.
Today, you can expect to pay close to $500 for a graded NM-MT copy.
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1976 Topps Jack Lambert Rookie Card (#220)
Lambert already had a couple of seasons — and a couple of Super Bowl rings — to his name by the time Topps got around to issuing his rookie card.
And, while linebackers have a hard time keeping up with running backs in terms of hobby appeal, Lambert is a stone-cold Steelers legend.
He’s also a Hall of Famer, which helps keep his RC at $50+ in PSA 8 condition.
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1976 Topps Super Bowl X (Bradshaw) (#333)
Speaking of the Steelers and the Super Bowl, the one guy who ties those entities together like no other is Terry Bradshaw.
The quarterback for each of the Steelers’ first four titles, Bradshaw was on a path headed straight for Canton by the time this card commemorating Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl X victory hit collectors’ hands in 1976.
Today, this is about a $50 buy in PSA 8 condition.
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1976 Topps Robert Brazile Rookie Card (#424)
Playing in Houston with the old Oilers didn’t help Brazile’s visibility much, but the man was a standout at linebacker for a full decade, all in Houston.
With two All-Pro selections and seven Pro Bowl games to his name, Brazile finally made the Hall of Fame in 2018, which helped nudge his card values northward.
This 1976 rookie card sells for $35 or so in PSA 8 condition these days.
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1976 Topps Randy White Rookie Card (#158)
Are you seeing a pattern here?
White is a guy who didn’t play a glamour position, but then every position for the 1970s Dallas Cowboys came with a fair amount of glitz and glam.
For his part, White stepped into the starting right defensive tackle slot in 1977 and terrorized opposing QBs and other ball-handlers for the next 11 seasons.
Another Hall of Famer, White’s 1976 Topps RC hammers down around $30 in PSA 8.
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1976 Topps Roger Staubach (#395)
By 1976, Staubach had long since shaken off any QB rust that accumulated during his days in the Navy, and he was well on his way to becoming a Cowboys legend.
I mean, is there any more visible or desirable position in all of sports than signal-caller for the Dallas Cowboys?
Not many, for sure, and that was especially true in the 1970s.
Staubach led the ‘Boys to two titles on his way to Canton, and stopped just long enough to pose for this (now) $25 card as 1976 dawned.