The best thing about 1991 Topps football cards is that you didn’t have to work too hard to understand them.
I mean, these things might as well have been called “1991 Topps Baseball Cards – Extra Point Edition,” because the design was nearly identical. You know, modulo a baseball logo here and an “ALL PRO” designation there.
If you liked the 1991 Topps baseball design, you were in luck.
If not, well, at least there was plenty of 1991 football to go around.
And these most valuable of the 1991 Topps football cards hold enough Hall of Fame firepower to satisfy just about any gridiron taste.
(Prices culled from recent eBay sales of PSA 10 cards.)
Hike!
1991 Topps Joe Montana (#73)
By the time this card was issued, Montana had only one start with the 49ers ahead of him … even if no one knew it.
A preseason elbow injury knocked him out all of 1991 and until the second half of the final regular-season game in 1992.
Joe suited up again the NFC Championship game, but he was the third-stringer behind Steve Young and Steve Bono.
Never mind that, though, because Montana was and is a football god and lines up here at $15 in PSA 10.
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1991 Topps Jerry Rice (#81)
Didn’t seem to matter much to Rice who was under center, because the NFL’s greatest receiver just kept grabbing balls and making everyone around him look good.
Rice holds just about every receiving record there is, won Super Bowls with both Montana and Young, and was about as easy of a Hall of Fame selection as there has ever been.
Jerry’s 1991 Topps card pushes $10 in perfect graded condition.
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1991 Topps Emmitt Smith Rookie Card (#360)
Is Smith the greatest running back of all time?
The record book says yes, seeing as how Emmitt owns most of the career rushing marks that mean anything, and he’s second to only Rice in total yards from scrimmage.
Those three Super Bowl wins with the Cowboys don’t hurt anything either, and Smith’s RC sells for about $25 in PSA 10.
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1991 Topps Barry Sanders (#415)
If you don’t like Smith as the greatest RB ever, then how about Barry Sanders?
These two guys passed the rushing title trophy back and forth for years before Barry retired unexpectedly at age 30 in 1998.
Lions fans are still reeling from that decision, and the “what-if” factor keeps Sanders strong in the hobby.
This early-career card sells for around 20 bucks in PSA 10.
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1991 Topps John Elway (#125)
Elway was just trudging along at this point in his career after three Super Bowl blowouts in his first seven seasons.
He was still throwing for big yards and tossing about as many touchdowns as interceptions, but his story had been told — great talent, couldn’t win the big game.
But then … he did, in 1997. And again in 1998.
And, yep, a stronger defense and guys like Shannon Sharpe and Terrell Davis made the wins possible, but the Broncos wouldn’t have been Super Bowl champs without Number 7.
Today, this Elway card from his “lost years” sells for about $5.
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1991 Topps Troy Aikman (#371)
Is there any position in sports more glamorous than quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys?
I mean, sure, long reliever for the Orioles is pretty heady, but … other than that?
Aikman played the role to the hilt, too, winning three titles in the 1990s and punching his card to Canton.
For that, his 1991 Topps is a $5 card in PSA 10.