Terry Bradshaw (True) Rookie Card

Terry Bradshaw has lived most of his life in the spotlight. First as a quarterback for the Pittsburg Steelers then as a lively television commentator. His claim to fame was leading the Steelers of the 1970s to one of the greatest dynasties winning four Super Bowl Championships. Terry Bradshaw has 1 true rookie card.

Terry Bradshaw’s Colorful Career

But fame doesn’t stop there for Terry. To this day you can find him giving his colorful, comedic commentary on Fox NFL Sunday. He’s an established actor and has appeared in many films and has even co-starred.

He’s made appearances on television sitcoms and game shows, I highly recommend checking out the episode on Family Feud, hilarious! And did I mention his multiple country music and gospel albums? That’s right folks he can sing too! Heck, he’s even got his own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

In 1970 the Steelers made him the #1 Pick. He had a horrible rookie debut season with 6 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. Trouble on the football field continued the first three seasons. He has testified that the first three years in the league have been the toughest of his entire life.

Bradshaw Snaps Out of It

At the start of the 1974 season, he found himself on the bench. Concerning his coach, Bradshaw has said, “Nothing was fun about playing for coach Chuck Noll he was a no-nonsense kind of guy.” Terry feared him, he needed a pat on the back and instead got an ass chewing.

His opponents and the media had labeled him as a dumb southern boy. He wanted everyone to just have fun and like each other. However, spending the first half of the 1974 season on the bench gave him time to reflect, Terry says, he finally realized that “the world doesn’t work that way.”

In essence, coach Chuck Noll helped him to grow up and toughened him up. Terry answered the call. He began to run the offense unselfishly, realizing what he had in his teammates he made the proper adjustments and focused his mind on winning.

Terry was at his best in the postseason and led the 1974 Steelers to a Super Bowl Championship!

Bradshaw Continued to Succeed

A key component to his game was running but it was never pretty, he galloped and you better be ready to make a tackle cause he knew how to receive one.

His wide receivers have given testimony that his throws were so powerful that you could actually hear them coming and the spinning on the ball was so tight that it would split your fingers. He had a knack for throwing the ball into tight places and finding his receivers.

He kept winning on the field and this gave him a lot of confidence, he seemed much more sure of himself on how to play the game and became better and better with every passing season. In 1978, he led the league in touchdown passes and was named MVP.

In the last four decades, Terry Bradshaw has presented the game of football like no one else can. He captivates a room. He’s a born entertainer, a performer and when the lights go on so does he.

The bigger the stage the more you can count on him to get it done. Already in his seventies the old soul remains young at heart and shows no signs of slowing down. Terry Bradshaw an All-Time Great indeed!

For Us Nerds!

Career Stats: Games 168 | QB Record 107-51 | Yards 27,989 (61st All-Time) | Pass Completion 51.9% | Touchdowns 212

• 4x Super Bowl Champion
• 3x Pro Bowler
• 1x All-Pro
• 1x MVP

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1971 Topps, #156 (RC)

This 263 card set was released in two series. Our featured HOFer can be found in Series 2 packs. Offered to collectors is a great portrait photo of young Bradshaw. Bold font letters give us names and teams.

A cartoonish little man at the lower left of the card front is my favorite feature. This all sits on bright red borders that are known to easily chip and make it challenging to find mint copies.

The card back has lots of good as well. Keep in mind Bradshaw was drafted in 1970, therefore, this rookie card has 1970 stats on it. Plenty of player commentary is also given.

Another cartoon character can be seen on the upper right side of the card. It tells us a bit of Terry’s high school career, it appears he’s always had a cannon for an arm and therefore was good at throwing the javelin and at one point set a national record.

As of the date of this post, PSA population reports show 3,520 have been graded. Beckett has graded a total of 1,170 and SGC has graded 456.

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1972 Topps, #120 (PRT)

A more viable option due to cost of the rookie card being out of reach or you’re just looking to add another early year card of Bradshaw are these second year cards. As you can see here this one is very in tune with the year.

Card design just reeks of 1972. Full size cartoon offering a bit of trivia on the card back is appropriate. I guessed Terry Bradshaw but apparently its C. Conerly of the Giants in 1948 with 22 TD passes as a rookie.

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1972 Topps, #150 (PRT)

I was taken a bit back with this one. Why? This thing is a beauty! Just a fantastic second year card of Bradshaw that is much more affordable. The football seems a bit touched up but overall the colors, pose and fonts just make this pop.

This card just doesn’t quit. The back side of this card is a thing of beauty as well. Blue/lime ink and a very well balanced card elements make this one a serious contender. You should see this thing in a slab. Wowza!

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Some Post-Rookie Theme Oddball Cards

Terry Bradshaw has some other post-rookie themed cards created in 1972. Some are stamps while others were not distributed properly, either way they fall into what is recognized within the hobby as odd ball cards.

Odd ball cards have never been considered as “true” rookie cards. However, these are absolutely collectible and would make fantastic additions to any collection. I consider them post-rookie theme because they were released early enough in Bradshaw’s career.

Left to right we have: 1972 NFLPA Iron-On, 1972 NFLPA Vinyl Sticker, 1972 NFLPA Wonderful World Stamp, and 1972 Sunoco Stamp.

Bradshaw is a fun spirited charismatic personality, he’s made an impact on and off the field and we he still graces us with his presence on Sunday mornings as a football commentator. He’s still ambitious and full of life.

I’ve gotta go now, need to go shopping. I just realized I didn’t have his rookie card in my collection yet.

Happy Collecting Collectors,

Learn. Collect. Enjoy.

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Sources:

Terry Bradshaw Stats | Football-Reference.com https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BradTe00.htm (accessed December 18, 2019).