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This is why I collect. My 1976 Topps Walter Payton rookie card is one of the most meaningful football cards in my collection, not just because it features one of the greatest running backs in NFL history, but because of the story behind it. When I was a teenager, my grandpa gave me a zip lock bag of cards that once belonged to his son, my uncle Jody, who passed away from cancer as a teenager. Inside that bag was this Walter Payton rookie card, a piece of football history that instantly became priceless to me. It may not grade perfectly, but the memories and family connection make it one of the most valuable cards I will ever own. This card reminds me that collecting is about so much more than condition or price, it’s about the stories that live behind the cardboard.
