Football · REFERENCE ENTRY
Johnny Unitas
1957 · Topps Football · #138
Unitas’s #138 is the recognized rookie identified by PSA CardFacts.
- Sport
- Football
- Year / season
- 1957
- Set
- Topps Football
- Number
- #138
- Format
- Card
- Issue status
- Rookie card
About this card
Johnny Unitas’s 1957 Topps Football card is number 138 in that release. This is a vintage Topps issue. Topps sold its cards in wax packs, usually with a slab of gum, and cut them from large printed sheets, so centering and edges vary from copy to copy.
The catalog labels this a rookie card, based on the source cited below.
How to identify it
Centering, corner wear, stains and print marks are the first things to check on a card this old. Famous cards from the era have been reprinted, so compare the card stock, printing and size with a known original.
In Johnny Unitas’s run
Johnny Unitas has 2 entries in this catalog, from 1957 to 1958, and this is the earliest of them. Nearby entries are listed below, so you can compare the releases that sit around this one.
In the 1957 checklist
The catalog’s selected checklist for the 1957 Topps Football release also includes Emlen Tunnell, Bart Starr and Joe Perry. It is a partial checklist of cataloged cards, not the full release.
- Emlen Tunnell, 1957 Topps Football #35
- Bart Starr, 1957 Topps Football #119
- Joe Perry, 1957 Topps Football #129
What to know about this issue
- PSA identifies this issue as a rookie card.
- The 1957 Topps issue and #138 are both needed to identify the reference.
Inspect the source
Source reviewed 2026-10-07. The source describes this issue; it does not verify any item offered by a third party.
No assigned grade, market value or verified offer is supplied by this reference entry.
Read the football collecting guideRaw or graded. Inspect the actual copy.
The issue stays 1957 · Topps Football. These are research checks, not a condition assessment of a specimen.
Raw / ungraded
- Match the issue
- Match the full year or season, release, number and named edition to this reference. Ask for readable images of the actual item’s front and back.
- Record visible condition
- Inspect corners, edges, centering and surface in suitable photographs or in person. Record damage or unanswered questions without assigning a predicted professional grade.
- Keep authentication separate
- Ungraded does not establish authenticity or mean “never authenticated.” A protective case alone does not establish a professional condition grade.
Professionally graded
- Read the complete label
- Record the grading company, exact issue, card grade and any qualifiers or designation. Keep an autograph grade separate from the card’s condition grade. An authentication-only designation may have no numeric condition grade.
- Compare the certification record
- Use the company’s official lookup and compare its issue details and available images with the actual item, label and holder. A matching certification number alone does not establish that an offered item is genuine.
- Compare within the stated scale
- Retain the company’s exact grade name and number. Different companies and grade designations are not automatically equivalent; a numeric label does not establish a current price.
A source-linked reference or historical scan does not authenticate the card you are considering. CardRoster supplies no assigned grade, certification or price for it.
