Basketball cards were once so lightly regarded that the only company that made them decided to take a pass, even when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were young, Michael Jordan was an explosive rookie and Dr. J was still flying high and winning titles. That pendulum swung back in the 1990s, though, and now the sport with worldwide appeal is building a pretty … [Read more...]
Notes: Record Price for College Jersey; Topps NOW ROYs; Brady Signing
The sale of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 1966-67 game worn UCLA Bruins home jersey for $137,849 back on November 5 at SCP Auctions set a new record price for a college jersey. The previous auction record for a college gamer belonged to Christian Laettner’s 1992 Duke Blue Devils home jersey which sold for $119,500 in 2014. The record-setting jersey was worn by … [Read more...]
Rocky Statue, Vintage Basketball Jerseys Tops at SCP Auctions Sale
The online bidding in SCP Auctions’ 2017 Fall Premier auction ended early Sunday morning with Lot #1 – an original 12-foot-tall, 1,800-pound “Rocky” bronze statue, one of two identical examples created by noted sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg for use in the 1982 film “Rocky III” – leading the way with a final realized price of $403,657. Next up was a rare 1966-67 … [Read more...]
Early Alcindor UCLA Jersey Among Hall Auction Headliners
On the weekend of the annual Naismith Hall of Fame inductions, we’ve learned SCP Auctions will be offering a jersey that would be at home in Springfield, MA. A 1966-67 UCLA game-worn home jersey worn by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during his sophomore season—the first of three straight NCAA Championships won by the Bruins—will appear in the Second Annual Hall of Fame Auction. … [Read more...]
The Phone Call That Brought Basketball Cards Back
It was an experiment that would bring basketball cards into the mainstream for collectors. The venerable Sy Berger at Topps may have been the mad professor in this experiment, but the card company's executive needed a willing subject. And Nick Curran, along with NBA commissioner Walter Kennedy, was more than willing to test it out. The result: the iconic 1969-70 Topps “tall … [Read more...]
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...]