There’s one less 1961-62 Fleer basketball pack in the world, but there are a few more truly pack-fresh cards in the population.
Pack-breaker Just Rip It celebrated the 4th of July with a 3-hour online broadcast that included multiple vintage products including a 1961-62 Fleer basketball wax pack.
Priced at six card for a nickel, it was one of only two NBA trading card bubble gum card products issued during the entire decade. Featured in the set are rookie cards for several NBA icons including Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. On rare occasions when complete, authenticated unopened boxes of 24 packs come up for auction, they often sell for $80,000 or more.
Just Rip It sold spots in the break as part of its “Equity Pack” program, which means the cards are graded once opened, then sold, with participants splitting the proceeds. They sold 40 shares at $350 per share which gave those who participated a 2 1/2 percentage ownership stake.
The nickel pack had been graded many years ago by GAI as a 7.5 and while five of the six cards inside would remain a mystery until it was cracked out and opened, there was a Robertson rookie showing on the back.
After pulling an In-Action Hall of Famer Paul Arizin and a John McCarthy, host Charlie Parrino explored the rest of what had been packed inside since the Kennedy administration:
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