Help us celebrate 50 years of cards, collectibles and Sports Collectors Digest

EDITOR’S NOTE: To help celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Sports Collectors Digest, we invite you to tell us about your favorite cards and collections, your most memorable moments as a collector, and what you think of the current state of the hobby. Also tell us how SCD has impacted your hobby journey over the years. Select letters and comments will appear in a new Letters section of the magazine or in our special 50^th Anniversary issue later this year. Send your letters to jowens@aimmedia.com.

When Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a victory in Super Bowl LVII, it brought back memories of the great Chiefs teams and players from the 1960s and ’70s.

The Chiefs played in the very first Super Bowl in 1967, a 35-10 loss to the dominant Green Bay Packers. Three years later, Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson led them to their first Super Bowl victory — 23-7 over the Minnesota Vikings — to earn MVP honors.

Mahomes, the Super Bowl MVP, led KC to a third Super Bowl appearance in four years and surpassed Dawson by leading the Chiefs to a second Super Bowl victory and the third championship in franchise history.

Also See: Popular 1987 Topps Baseball set leads to interesting TTM project 

As collectors, we love sports history, particularly historic moments, significant milestones and key anniversaries.

In our Feb. 15 issue of SCD, we celebrated the 50-year anniversary of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team in NFL history to cap an undefeated season with a Super Bowl victory.

Also See: Stars of ’72 Dolphins adds to popularity of 1972 Topps Football set 

In December, we highlighted the 1972 Oakland A’s, another dynasty that dominated baseball in the early ’70s. And 50 years ago, the New York Knicks won their first NBA championship.

Each of those historic championship teams bring back memories of iconic players (and their cards) like Dawson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and Reggie Jackson, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed.

2023 will no doubt bring back more memories of historic teams and memorable players.

The 1973 Dolphins won their second straight Super Bowl, the first team to do so since the Packers won Super Bowls I and II. With Mahomes in his prime, the 2023 Chiefs will have an excellent chance to match that feat.

The ’73 A’s also won their second straight championship, as did the 1972-73 Knicks, while John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins won its seventh straight NCAA basketball championship behind a red-headed center named Bill Walton.

1973 was dominated by Hall of Famers and remarkable performances by sports immortals. Rod Carew led MLB in hitting with a .350 average (Pete Rose led the league with 230 hits), while Willie Stargell had a league-leading 44 home runs and Lou Brock stole 70 bases. On the mound, Tom Seaver had a sterling 2.08 ERA while Nolan Ryan fanned 383 batters.

Also See: 1972 Topps Baseball cards as vivid and colorful as ’72 Oakland A's 

In the NFL, O.J. Simpson led the league with 2003 rushing yards, while Roger Staubach and Roman Gabriel each had 23 touchdown passes and Harold Carmichael (who represented the Eagles at Super Bowl LVII) had an NFL-best 67 receptions for 1,116 yards.

The NBA witnessed two performances for the ages in 1973 as Tiny Archibald led the league with 34 points per game and Wilt Chamberlain hauled down 18.6 rebounds while shooting 72 percent from the field.

1973 also saw the birth of Sports Collectors Digest as the hobby’s premier collectibles publication. We will celebrate our 50^th anniversary this year by remembering the great stories, collections, collectors and sports moments that have appeared in these pages over the years.

We hope you will join us for our look back through 50 years of sports collectible history. Drop us a line and tell us about your collecting adventures and how SCD has impacted your hobby journey over the years.

— Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD and sportscollectorsdigest.com. You can reach him at jowens@aimmedia.com or on Twitter at @jeffowens_jeff.