Basketball card collectors will often identify a group of players and collect their rookie cards. Sometimes it’s a collection of Hall of Famers or simply a favorite player. Team collectors will focus one on franchise. Another option is to collect the best players at the pinnacle of their careers: rookie cards of the NBA Finals MVPs. These players are … [Read more...] about NBA Finals MVPs of the 1970s and Their Rookie Cards
1970s basketball cards
Bill Walton Talked Cards, Dr. J, Classic Playoff Series at 1995 National
I heard the sad news about Bill Walton’s passing and I looked on my Ikea shelf filled with binders of cards, boxes of cards, and various pieces of memorabilia. One of my favorites has always been the mini Spalding basketball with a Topps logo, and a personalized autograph from Bill Walton. I don’t know how much time I spent staring at that ball in the hours after learning of … [Read more...] about Bill Walton Talked Cards, Dr. J, Classic Playoff Series at 1995 National
Not All Dreams Have A Happy Ending
It was the first basketball single card I ever purchased. I stood there in the small hotel conference room in Watertown, NY. It was one of the first shows I had ever gone to. I don’t remember the hotel. Maybe it was a motor hotel – you know, the two-story ones that bad guys always stay in on TV shows and movies, with the big promotional sign reading, “Free Cable!” At … [Read more...] about Not All Dreams Have A Happy Ending
50 Years Ago: David Thompson’s Final Four Heroics Made Him a Legend
Fifty years ago, an era came to an end. David Thompson and the NC State Wolfpack ended the long run of Bill Walton, Coach John Wooden, and the UCLA Bruins in the 1974 NCAA Tournament. Now, 50 years later, many fans, especially older fans, call it the best college basketball game ever played. The high-flying Thompson, who actually held the Guiness Book of World Records … [Read more...] about 50 Years Ago: David Thompson’s Final Four Heroics Made Him a Legend
Big, Sticky, Quirky: 1970s Topps Basketball Inserts Ran the Gamut
To many collectors, many of whom are still a little hobby wet behind the ears, insert cards are a modern invention; something to push sales of modern packs. Vintage card collectors know that’s not true. Like their baseball and football brethren, basketball packs were full of unique little bonuses that are somewhat elusive today, waiting for new collectors to … [Read more...] about Big, Sticky, Quirky: 1970s Topps Basketball Inserts Ran the Gamut
Ten 1970s Basketball Cards for the Hoop History Lover
They went from tall to small, then back to small again. 1970s Topps basketball cards were all over the board in the decade in which they dutifully produced sets each and every season. They're far from fancy and some years Topps didn't have the rights to show logos so the players wore shirts backwards when the photographer snapped. It was like it or lump it for basketball … [Read more...] about Ten 1970s Basketball Cards for the Hoop History Lover
1970s Basketball Rookie Cards of College Hoop Heroes
College basketball tournaments will create their own stars over the next four weeks. For some, it will be the greatest moment of their athletic lives and we'll never see them on an NBA court. For others, it will be a springboard to a great pro career. Even though some will spend years at the next level, what they accomplished in college may … [Read more...] about 1970s Basketball Rookie Cards of College Hoop Heroes
New ABA Card Packs Honor League’s Top 30 Players
If you'd like to do a little sports card time travelling and have a fondness for old school hoops, there's a new product that might be right in your three-point range. The Dropping Dimes Foundation and Lana Sports have released a new set of cards honoring the top 30 players in the history of the American Basketball Association and to put a set together you'll have to open … [Read more...] about New ABA Card Packs Honor League’s Top 30 Players
Overlooked and Underrated Rookie Cards of NBA Greats – Part 4, the Late 1970s
In the third leg of this journey through some underrated gems from hoops hobby history (Part 1 looked at four greats from the dawn of the pro game; Part 2 examined four under-heralded greats from the 1960s), we discussed the monumental challenges – rooted predominantly in false perceptions and demographic bias – that faced the NBA for most of the 1970s. The NBA struggled to … [Read more...] about Overlooked and Underrated Rookie Cards of NBA Greats – Part 4, the Late 1970s
1970-71 Topps Basketball Set Loaded With Stars, Key Rookies
Basketball cards seemed like a tall order for Topps during the 1960s, but the card company came up with back-to-back “tall boy” sets and an intriguing product. The tall boys were similar to the design used for the 1965 Topps football set. The ’65 set revolved around one star — Joe Namath — and the 1970-71 Topps basketball set also was notable for the hottest rookie to … [Read more...] about 1970-71 Topps Basketball Set Loaded With Stars, Key Rookies