Last weekend's six-figure sale of the PSA 10 1969-70 Topps John Havlicek rookie card was quite a jaw dropper. The price, of course, was incredible for a relatively modern basketball trading card of someone not named Jordan but kind of funny since it's not really a "rookie" card. No, Hondo had spent seven years with the Boston Celtics before Topps and … [Read more...] about Editor’s Blog: Hondo Has Us Pining for Cards from “The Missing Years”
vintage basketball cards
1974-75 Topps Basketball Set Offers Value
The 1974-75 Topps Basketball set marked the last in a three-year run of tidy 264-card sets and welcomed some new stars who’d be active in the game long after their playing careers had ended. The first thing kids noticed in the late fall of 1974 was that the price increase was apparently here to stay. The ten-cent packs of baseball had given way to 15-cent wax when … [Read more...] about 1974-75 Topps Basketball Set Offers Value
Ultra-Rare 1950-51 Scott’s Lakers Complete Set Up for Auction
George Mikan was the NBA’s first big man. Standing 6’ 10” tall, the late Basketball Hall of Famer helped redefine the center position during his glory years playing for the Minneapolis Lakers. Mikan broke the mold, so to speak, and along with his emergence as the NBA’s top draw during the league’s early days, regional distributions of the man’s likeness were being distributed … [Read more...] about Ultra-Rare 1950-51 Scott’s Lakers Complete Set Up for Auction
Odd Anniversary: Wilt Held Scoreless
How could one possibly describe Wilt Chamberlain to the generations to come? Born in 1936 in Philadelphia, Wilt is generally recognized as one of the greatest centers in the history of the NBA. His play on the court was legendary. Fellow league players described him as virtually unstoppable. His 100-point game in March of 1962 is one of sports' most unbreakable … [Read more...] about Odd Anniversary: Wilt Held Scoreless
5 Value Plays in the 1957-58 Topps Basketball Set
It’s easy to rattle off reasons why the 1957-58 Topps basketball set is expensive: Limited distribution thanks to modest national interest in the NBA, Bill Russell’s rookie, notoriously off-center cards…the list goes on. Heck, one out of every four cards in the set pictures a Hall of Famer. That alone lets you know you're in for a battle. Chasing a complete … [Read more...] about 5 Value Plays in the 1957-58 Topps Basketball Set
Topps’ 1981-82 Basketball Had A Regional Flavor
Topps put a different spin on its 1981-82 NBA set, which would turn out to be the last basketball product the company issued until the 1992-93 season. The company released a national run of 66 cards, and then curiously added three 44-card regional subsets to complete a 198-card base set. The subsets were labeled East, Midwest and West and were numbered from 67 to 110, … [Read more...] about Topps’ 1981-82 Basketball Had A Regional Flavor
1975 Carvel Disc Set a Blast from NBA’s Past
If you were a basketball card collector over 40 years ago, there wasn’t much to chase after once you bought enough packs to put the annual Topps set together. The 1974-75 Carvel NBA disc set was a little oasis in that winter desert—as long as you could get your hands on them. Carvel Ice Cream was—and still is—a regional product. The company, which had grown from a one man … [Read more...] about 1975 Carvel Disc Set a Blast from NBA’s Past
Five Affordable, Cool Vintage Basketball Cards
Unlike baseball cards--and even their football cousins--basketball cards don't even begin to cover the game's history. There were no mainstream complete sets before 1957 and only one in the first nine years of the '60s. There's even a gap in the 1980s when the pro game struggled so much, the NBA Finals were on tape delay and the league couldn't score a trading … [Read more...] about Five Affordable, Cool Vintage Basketball Cards
1973-74 Topps Basketball Set Low on Rookies; High on HOFers
The 1973-74 Topps Basketball set may never measure up to the sets produced during the golden age of basketball cards — the emergence of 1980s stars Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, followed by Michael Jordan, was a big turning point for collectors. But the set gave basketball card collectors another taste of the two-league war being waged by the NBA and the upstart ABA, … [Read more...] about 1973-74 Topps Basketball Set Low on Rookies; High on HOFers
Best Vintage Hoops Bargain? 1972-73 Has Doc, HOF Horde
The Doctor was in and so was the Zen Master. The ABA was back. Wheaties were in the mix and Wilt tipped it all off. The 1972-73 Topps Basketball set is a gold mine of 70s hoop goodness, even if some of the players still had their shirts on backwards. After pushing out a 233-card issue in 1971, Topps kicked it up another notch in ’72 with a tidy, 264-card … [Read more...] about Best Vintage Hoops Bargain? 1972-73 Has Doc, HOF Horde