15 Most Valuable 1981 Topps Football Cards

1981 Topps #216 Joe Montana Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $60,000

Midway through the 1980 season, Joe Montana replaced Steve DeBerg as the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback and changed the franchise's direction forever.

However, things didn't change immediately with Montana as the starter in 1980, as he still finished with a terrible 2-5 record in his new role.

But, he routinely showed flashes of greatness and better days ahead.

And a 38 - 35 overtime win against the New Orleans in Week 10 after the 49ers were trailing 35-7 at halftime marked the first time Montana showed his uncanny ability to remain cool and lead a team to an improbable comeback.

After finishing 6-10 in 1980, things changed drastically for Montana and the 49ers during the 1981 season as they finished with an NFL-best 13-3 record with him as the full-time starter.

Montana played brilliantly in the Divisional Round against the Giants, passing for 304 yards and two touchdowns in the team's 38 - 24 victory.

And, thanks to a come-from-behind charge that saw Montana connect with Dwight Clark in the back of the endzone for "The Catch," San Francisco escaped with a one-point victory over Dallas in the NFC Championship.

Joe and the rest of the 49ers rode that red-hot momentum right into Super Bowl XVI to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 26 - 21 to earn the first title in franchise history.

After starting the previous season as a backup quarterback, Montana earned Super Bowl MVP honors to cap his improbable ascension to NFL glory.

Today, Montana's rookie card is one of the most recognizable and sought after in the hobby.

1981 Topps #400 Walter Payton

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $2,500

The Chicago Bears were still several seasons away from their dominant 1985 season and looking to improve on both sides of the ball heading into the 1981 season.

Unfortunately, they didn't get too far and finished in last place in the NFC Central Division with a terrible 6-10 record.

Out of 28 teams in the league, the offense and defense ranked 27th and 14th, respectively.

Yet, like always, Walter Payton remained a bright spot for the Bears at the running back position.

By season's end, Payton had gained 1,222 yards rushing on 339 carries for an average of 3.6 yards per carry, one of the lowest of his career.

That shows you how hard he had to grind that year as he nearly had to drag the Bears offense with him every game.

After five straight Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections, Payton was left off of both and simply finished the season looking to prepare for the next. 

1981 Topps #316 Dan Hampton Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $1,500

Like Walter Payton, Dan Hampton spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears and was one of the figureheads of their incredible run to a Super Bowl XX championship.

When the Bears drafted Hampton out of Arkansas in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft, they knew they were getting a special player who could help build an outstanding defense.

The race for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1979 was close, but ultimately Hampton finished third in the running just behind linebackers Jerry Robinson and Jim Haslett.

Undeterred and unshaken, Hampton kept his foot on the gas during his sophomore campaign in 1980 and finished with 11.5 sacks and his first of four career Pro Bowl selections.

Unfortunately, like Payton again, despite playing exceptionally well on a personal level in 1981, there would be no All-Pro or Pro Bowl selections for Hampton as the Bears struggled all year long.

Hampton would start all sixteen games at the left defensive end for the third straight season and finish with nine sacks.

After an incredible twelve-year career in Chicago, Hampton retired after the 1990 season as a Bears icon and was later elected to the Hall of Fame in 2002. 

1981 Topps #202 Walter Payton Super Action

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $1,200

Topps was always looking for creative ways to showcase the top players in their sets and their "Super Action" subset in this set was no exception.

Of course, Walter Payton was among the players they chose to include.

The reverse of the card presents an excellent write-up of his 1980 season in which he led the NFC in rushing for the fifth-straight year with 1,460 yards.

The front of the card appears to capture Payton taking a hand-off from quarterback Mike Phipps during Week 5 of the 1980 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Chicago blew them out that game 23-0 and Payton roasted them on the ground with 133 rushing yards on 28 carries.

1981 Topps #422 Dwight Clark Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $950

Before Jerry Rice came to town in 1985, Dwight Clark played the role of the 49ers' number one receiver for five straight seasons from 1980 through 1984.

That's not bad, considering the 49ers drafted him in the tenth round of the 1979 NFL Draft and many in the organization outside of Bill Walsh had low expectations for Clark.

It was the 1981 season, though, where Clark etched his name into the memories of San Francisco 49ers fans and football fans across the world.

During the NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, the 49ers trailed 27-21 late in the fourth quarter with less than one minute to play.

But, after leading them to the Cowboys' six-yard line, Joe Montana rolled out and threw a beautiful pass placed perfectly in the back corner of the end zone where only Clark could catch it.

After hauling in that pass, Ray Wersching kicked the extra point to give San Francisco an incredible 28-27 victory to advance the team to Super Bowl XVI.

Clark's catch in the end zone against the Cowboys has since been immortalized as one of the most recognizable moments in NFL history, known simply as "The Catch."

Things got even better for Clark and the 49ers after that game, as they would defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21 in Super Bowl XVI to earn the first Super Bowl victory in franchise history.

1981 Topps #194 Art Monk Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $750

After an excellent career at Syracuse University, the Washington Redskins drafted Art Monk in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft, hoping the young receiver could give quarterback Joe Theismann a new weapon.

Monk immediately delivered on those expectations and led the team in receptions (58) and receiving yards (797) during his rookie campaign.

Unfortunately, the offense overall sputtered and finished 25th among the 28 NFL teams in points scored, while the Redskins finished third in the NFC East with a 6-10 record.

During the 1981 season, Monk again led the team in receiving yards (894) while he also hauled in a team-leading six touchdown passes for the 8-8 Redskins.

By 1982, the Redskins began to pick up steam and found themselves Super Bowl champions during the strike-shortened season after a 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII.

It was the first of three career Super Bowl rings for Monk as a member of the Redskins.

Monk was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008 alongside his former Redskins teammate, Darrell Green, with a legacy as one of the top receivers of his era.

1981 Topps #150 Kellen Winslow Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $650

When Kellen Winslow returned healthy and ready to go in 1980, hardly anyone could've predicted the kind of numbers he would produce.

With Dan Fouts at quarterback airing it out under head coach Don Coryell's vertical offense, Winslow led a three-headed monster that saw himself, John Jefferson and Charlier Joiner each finish with over 1,000 receiving yards.

Winslow's 89 receptions not only led the team but the entire NFL and set the new single-season record for most catches by a tight end.

And he did it again during the 1981 season, as his 88 catches edged out Dwight Clark's 85 for the most in the league.

Thirteen of those 88 receptions came against the Chargers' division rivals, the Oakland Raiders, during Week 12, when he also tied an NFL record with five touchdown receptions.

Many will remember Winslow's incredible 1981 season for "The Epic in Miami" against the Dolphins in the AFC Divisional Round in which he suffered a pinched nerve in his shoulder, dehydration, cramps and even stitches in his lip.

After the Chargers escaped with a 41-38 victory, thanks largely to Winslow's thirteen catches, 166 receiving yards and one touchdown, his teammates had to carry him off the field.

1981 Topps #155 Jack Lambert

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $350

Though many teams in the NFL didn't think Jack Lambert was big or strong enough to be successful in the league, the Pittsburgh Steelers took a chance on him when they drafted him in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft.

In hindsight, it wasn't a risk at all.

For eleven seasons, Lambert helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense as arguably the top linebacker of his era.

Right out of the gate, he proved his value to the team by helping lead them to a Super Bowl IX win over the Minnesota Vikings and winning 1974 Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

He would go on to help the Steelers win three more Super Bowls while making the Pro Bowl nine times, earning All-Pro honors six times, and being named the 1976 Defensive Player of the Year.

During the 1981 season, Lambert tied a career-high with six interceptions while recovering two fumbles and notching two sacks.

Jack Lambert could hurt opposing offenses in so many ways and it turned out he had plenty of strength and quickness to prove all of his original doubters incredibly wrong.

1981 Topps #375 Terry Bradshaw

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $300

The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the 1970s perhaps better than any other team has over an entire decade.

They remain the only team to win four Super Bowls during a six-year span and the only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls (IX and X; XIII and XIV).

And since the Steelers drafted Terry Bradshaw with the first overall pick of the 1970 NFL Draft, he was there for all of that 1970s glory.

Though they were still good during the early 80s under Bradshaw, it was clear that their better days had been left behind in the previous decade.

With 2,887 passing yards and 22 touchdowns on 370 attempts, Bradshaw led a decent Steelers team to a second-place finish in the AFC Central with an 8-8 record but missed on the playoffs.

He'd make the postseason one more time during the strike-shortened 1982 season before retiring after an injury-shortened 1983 season.

1981 Topps #100 Billy Sims Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $275

Long before Barry Sanders was tearing up the field for the Detroit Lions in his #20 jersey, Billy Sims began doing that right out of the gate during his 1980 rookie campaign.

After a standout career at Oklahoma playing for head coach Barry Switzer during which he took home the Heisman Trophy in 1978 and finished runner-up in 1979, Sims set his eyes on the NFL.

The Detroit Lions selected Sims with the number one overall pick of the 1980 NFL Draft, fully expecting him to make a seamless transition to the pros.

And, that he did, rushing for 1,303 yards while notching a league-leading 13 rushing touchdowns to earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, a Pro Bowl selection, and a Second-Team All-Pro nomination in his rookie debut.

Sims got right back to work in 1981, matching his previous season's rushing touchdown total with 13 scores while increasing his rushing yards to 1,437 on an eye-popping 102.6 yards per game average.

For the first four seasons of his NFL career, Sims consistently ranked among the best running backs in the league.

And, he was on his way to continuing that reputation for a fifth-straight season before suffering a career-ending knee injury during Week 8 of the 1984 season on a road game against the Minnesota Vikings.

It was a sad ending to an explosive and fantastic career.

Sims was a pass-catching threat, too, as he retired with 2,072 receiving yards to go with his then-Detroit-record 5,106 rushing yards.

1981 Topps #342 Mark Gastineau Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $275

Few defensive ends of his era possessed the strength and quickness that Mark Gastineau brought to the New York Jets' defensive front.

Gastineau was an integral part of the Jets' infamous "New York Sack Exchange" that included Jo Klecko, Marty Lyons, and Abdul Salaam.

And, during the 1981 season, the group combined for an incredible 66 sacks, with Gastineau chipping in 20 by himself.

Behind their eighth-ranked defense and ninth-ranked offense, the Jets finished second in the AFC East in 1981 to earn their first trip to the playoffs since 1969.

Unfortunately, the Buffalo Bills defeated them 31 - 27 in the Wild Card, but Gastineau and company would see the postseason multiple times before he retired after the 1988 season.

From 1981 to 1985, few players dominated their position the way Gastineau did as he finished with 20 sacks in 1981, and led the NFL in sacks in 1983 and 1984 with 19 and 22, respectively.

During that five-season stretch, Gastineau made the Pro Bowl team each year and earned All-Pro honors in four of them.

Gastineau may not have made it into the Hall of Fame, but he will forever be a New York Jets icon.

1981 Topps #500 Tony Dorsett

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $250

Though his 1981 season may have come to a crashing halt when Joe Montana connected with Dwight Clark for a touchdown that set up the game-winning extra point in the NFC Championship, it was arguably Tony Dorsett's best on a personal level.

The Cowboys relied on Dorsett's legs more than in any other year as they fed the ball to him for a career-high 342 carries.

And, he certainly made the most of those carries as he established career highs for yards-per-carry (4.8) and total rushing yards (1,646).

Amazingly, those 1,646 rushing yards weren't enough to lead the league as New Orleans' George Rogers narrowly edged him out with 1,674 of his own.

Still, Dorsett was a big reason the Cowboys finished atop the NFC East with a 12-4 record with a fantastic shot at making a Super Bowl run.

Unfortunately, a second Super Bowl ring wasn't in the cards for Dorsett that season.

For his efforts, Dorsett finished third in the MVP vote while earning a second Pro Bowl selection and the only First-Team All-Pro nomination of his Hall of Fame career.

1981 Topps #225 Franco Harris

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $225

For the first nine years of his career, Franco Harris was selected as a Pro Bowler in each of those seasons as he carved out a reputation as one of the best running backs of his era.

But, despite another solid year during the 1981 season in which he ran for 987 yards and eight touchdowns while adding 250 receiving yards and a touchdown, he couldn't make it ten in a row.

Instead, Joe Cribbs, Joe Delaney, Earl Campbell and Chuck Muncie would represent the AFC during the Pro Bowl.

There would be no postseason All-Star game for Harris, nor would there be any postseason for the Steelers as they finished with an 8 - 8 record for second place in the AFC Central.

Though it may have been a down year of sorts for Franco compared to all the other success he had enjoyed for so many years, he'd still come back for two more with Pittsburgh before finishing his career on a one-year stint with Seattle in 1984.

1981 Topps #138 Tony Dorsett Super Action

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200

Like Walter Payton, Tony Dorsett is another superstar running back whose cards are typically among the most valuable in every set in which he appeared during his playing days.

The reverse of the card mentions how Dorsett rattled off four-straight 1,000+ rushing yards seasons to start his career.

He'd make it five in a row during the 1981 season when he tallied a career-high 1,646.

Had the 1982 season not been shortened by a strike, he would've more than likely ran for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first nine seasons as he crossed the milestone again from 1983 - 1985.

Dorsett was simply one of the most prolific runners in NFL history.

1981 Topps #495 Joe Greene

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200

Arguably one of the most outstanding defensive linemen in NFL history, Joe Greene's importance to the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise cannot be understated.

Greene immediately put the league on notice when he earned 1969 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after recording 9.5 sacks in fourteen games.

And, throughout the 1970s, Greene led the Pittsburgh defense as the centerpiece of the legendary "Steel Curtain" that caused countless nightmares for opposing offenses.

After his thirteenth season with the Steelers, Joe Greene retired after the 1981 season in which he played seven games and recorded 4.5 sacks.

With four Super Bowl rings, ten Pro Bowl appearances, two Defensive Player of the Year honors, and four All-Pro selections, Greene goes down in history as one of the game's greatest defenders.

1981 Topps Football Cards In Review

While there are several great rookies in this set like Dan Hampton, Mark Gastineau, Dwight Clark, Art Monk and Billy Sims, there is no question that the Joe Montana rookie card rules them all.

It's the most iconic card in the set and stands as one of the top rookie cards of any era to collect.

But, aside from the Montana rookie and the rest of the solid rookie crop, there are so many great stars and Hall of Famers in this set.

Guys like Walter Payton, Tony Dorsett, Terry Bradshaw, and Joe Greene are just some of the big-name cards that are must-haves.

Within the 528-card checklist, there are also some decent subsets, including:

• League Leaders (#1 - 6)
• Record Breakers (#331 - 336)
• Playoff Highlights (#492 - 494)

For any fan of football cards, this set offers plenty to keep you occupied and is easily one of the top football sets of the 1980s.