1955 Topps All-American Football Set Guide: Key Cards, Rookies, and Checklist

The 1955 Topps All-American football set was a remarkable accomplishment. Bowman had the license to feature players from pro teams at the time.  Topps wanted to get into the football card space but had to be creative.  The Topps team came up with the idea to print a series of football cards consisting of legends from the early days of football, plus a few recently retired superstars of the 1950s.  Included in this set were names such as Jim Thorpe, The Four Horsemen (1924 Notre Dame backfield), Knute Rockne, and Otto Graham, just to name a few. Many of these players were never featured on cards before, so even though some had retired some 30 years prior, the set would contain their rookie cards. The design featured horizontal and vertical cards, with a colorized photograph of the player and a black and white field or action pose behind them.  The player's name and position were printed on the bottom.  The college logo is placed in the upper right hand side of the card, and an All-American shield on the lower left. The set was a huge hit, and helped transition Topps into the football market for years to come.