Nowbatting19.net presents... The Basketball Page
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Updated as of 11/6/2023
1971 Topps 121 Gail Goodrich
Gail Goodrich was "only" 6'-2," but became became a Hall of Famer and also had his jersey retired by the Lakers!
The Basketball Page
The Basketball Page
Basketball does not have the long history of trading cards like baseball, or even football. Even mainstream hockey cards have been around since before basketball cards became popular. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. produced a basketball set in 1957, which included stars like Bob Cousey & the rookie card of Bill Russell, but it wasn't until 1969 that they did another. In the meantime, Frank H. Fleer produced sets in early 1961-62, featuring young stars Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson & Jerry West, to name a few. Topps came back with a classic set in 1969. The 1969 (and also 1970) Topps basketball cards were "Giant" size, fitting for "giant" size players like Wilt Chamberlain & rookie Lew Alcindor (soon to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Topps continued to produce basketball cards up to 1981, which seems pretty ridiculous. It also opened the door for Fleer to come back. And they came back with a SLAM DUNK with their 1986 Fleer Basketball series. Because there were no mainstream basketball cards from 1982-1985 (though STAR Company came out with "bagged" sets of cards), the 1986 Fleer set included "rookie cards" of Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dominique Wilkins, James Worthy and the iconic card no. 57, Michael Jordan.
Fleer dominated the hoops trading card market until Topps came back again in 1992. That set featured a Shaquille O' Neal rookie and the last card of Celtics legend Larry Bird (card no. 1). Other companies produced basketball cards in the early 1990's including NBA Hoops & Skybox. However this was a period when all the card companies essentially make too many cards, far exceeding demand. This happened not only with basketball, football, & hockey, but non-sports cards as well. This is when I stopped collecting cards, & you can still find a glut of unopened boxes, cases, and packs out there.
So, on this page we will present some favorite basketball cards of mine, plus other cards I find of interest on the www. Personally I think the best era was when Bird & Magic came into the NBA, so you will see a few cards of those two. Of course, Dr. J & Kareem, & maybe even Jordan. Maybe even "World B. Free," which might be the coolest name ever.
Julius Erving "Dr. J"
1986 Fleer 31 Julius Erving
1992 Topps Basketball Cards - First since 1981!
1992 Topps 1 Larry Bird
1992 Topps GOLD 1 Larry Bird
1992 Topps 141 Michael Jordan
1992 Topps GOLD 141 Michael Jordan
I really like the 1992 Topps basketball cards. It includes many major stars who went on to the Basketball Hall of Fame, including these two legends, Michael Jordan & Larry Bird. The 1992 Topps 141 Michael Jordan is actually his very first TOPPS card. It does not get the hoopla of his 1986 Fleer "rookie," but it should! The 1992 Topps 1 Larry Bird is his LAST regular TOPPS card. It's a shame Topps dropped the ball from 1982-1991. Topps later came out with a "retro" card design to make up for it, but still...
In 1992 Topps also did a parallel "GOLD" set. These were inserted randomly in factory sets and in single wax packs, so they are much scarcer than the regular Topps cards. The Topps GOLD cards have the players name & team in a gold leaf panel. Also the back kind of obscure is a large white "Topps Gold" logo in the bright yellow background. Above are both Topps versions, regular and gold, of Larry Bird & Michael Jordan.
Basketball Superstars Card Gallery 1
1972 Topps 159 NBA Championship
(Wilt Chamberlain)
1973 Topps 130 Pete Maravich
(Note wearing his grey floppy socks!)
1981 Topps 109 Magic Johnson In Action
(Note Kareem in background)
1987 Fleer 118 Dominique Wilkins
(2nd year card)
Here are some examples of some Topps & Fleer basketball cards. The 1981 Topps 109 Magic Johnson Super Action card depicts a joyful, young Erving about to score 2, with teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spectating in the background. 1981 Topps 21 Magic Johnson is his regular card, it is also his 2nd year card. There is no shortage of 1981 Topps basketball cards out there, but high-grade cards (especially PSA 10s) do get a hefty premium.
The 1987 Fleer 118 Dominique Wilkens is also his second (regular) card. His nickname was "The Human Highlight Film," and if you check on youtube you will have to agree.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1970 Topps 75 Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
Well, Kareem's All-Time Points Scored record has been broken by LeBron James (2023), and congratulations to James. But that does not diminish Jabbar's impact on the game. College basketball changed the rules & banned the slam dunk because of Lew Alcindor, as he was known at that time. That's impact. Kareem won NCAA National Titles with every team he played with: UCLA, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers. He won every major award and then some. Kareem is a living legend. I can go on and on but that would take a book and it's already been done.
Pictured is a 1970 Topps 75 Lew Alcindor basketball card. It is Kareem's 2nd year card, and a very popular card with collectors, including myself. I actually got this card on OfferUp last year for a really good price. I was really jazzed to add it to my collection!
Watch Kareem vs. Bruce Lee in epic fight scene from "Game of Death"
“The Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump-Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam, Glass-Breaker-I-Am-Jam.”
Daryl Dawkins "Chocolate Thunder 1957-2015
1977 Topps 132 Darryl Dawkins ROOKIE
1986 Fleer 24 Darryl Dawkins
1971 Topps ABA/NBA Basketball Stickers - or 1971 Topps "Trio's" for short
1971 Topps Stickers 31 Jerry West, 32 Willis Reed, 33 Chet Walker
1971 Topps Stickers 37 Connie Hawkins, 38 Jeff Mullins, 39 Lew Alcindor
1971 Topps Stickers 22 Pete Maravich, 23 Bob Kauffman, 24 John Havlicek
1971 Topps Stickers 43 Wilt Chamberlain, 44 Gus Johnson, 45 Norm Van Lier
The 1971 Topps Basketball Stickers is a small set of just 22 cards, each containing 3 players. There are also 4 ABA/NBA Team Sticker cards, for a total of 26 cards in the set. Because the 1971 Topps regular basketball cards feature a larger picture of the player, and are extremely colorful, perhaps these black-bordered sticker cards were not as appealing. I don't know, I think they are both great. But the stickers were printed in far less quantities than the regular cards. Add to that the fact that if they were used as intended, as stickers, there are even fewer examples. And lastly, the black borders are extremely condition sensitive, meaning that they show the slightest 'hints" of wear. This is why high grade examples are so rare.
1980 Topps Larry Bird Julius Erving Magic Johnson Does it get any better than this?
1980 Topps 34 Larry Bird, 174 Julius Erving Scoring Leader, 139 Magic Johnson
Perhaps inspired from their own idea of the 1971 Topps Stickers, the 1980 Topps Basketball issues are very similar in that they feature 3 players per card. Not stickers, these cards were intended to be pulled apart at the perforations to make "single" cards ("singles"). Luckily, most kids did NOT pull these cards apart, as that essentially makes them undesireable in today's hobby. And how could you ever think of pulling this card apart???
This 1980 Topps Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Magic Johnson is the rookie cards of both Bird & Magic. Whoever thought this card up at Topps deserved some sort of promotion or award. He or she had the insight to add these two rookies, who were going to have a huge impact on the NBA. And sandwiched in-between BIrd & Magic? "The "Doctor," Julius Erving, who impacted the ABA & NBA himself. I know about Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan & now LeBron James. They are all certainly, the All-Time best, and they all have iconic cards themselves. But to me, this is the most important hoops card in the hobby.
(Back view)
More HOOPS cards coming soon including Wilt Chamberlain & Bill Russell!
Questions? Comments? Contact Nowbatting19.net by email - Nowbatting19@yahoo.com
1986 Fleer 35 World B. Free
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