Basketball Cards – Post War Cards

The NBA Hall of Famer Who Pitched for the Chicago White Sox

March 17, 2025 by John

Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson are two of the most famous, “modern,” two-sport professional athletes. But did you know there is an NBA Hall of Famer who also pitched for the Chicago White Sox? Among the 13 athletes to play in the NBA and MLB, Dave DeBusschere was undoubtedly the most successful at basketball. Still, many of today’s collectors may not know a lot about him, so in this piece, I’ll share his professional accolades and history along with every baseball and basketball card Topps printed for him.

Dave DeBusschere attended the University of Detroit between 1959 and 1962. He averaged 24 points per game, making the NIT twice and the NCAA tournament once. He also pitched for the baseball team, leading them to 3 NCAA tournament appearances.

He was signed as a free agent by the White Sox in 1962. The same year, he was a territorial draft selection in the 1962 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He played for the White Sox in the majors from 1962-1963, in the NBA for the Pistons between 1962 and 1968, and for the New York Knicks between 1968 and 1974. After two more years of minor league pitching, he eventually gave up baseball to concentrate on playing and coaching basketball.

He had a career 3-4 win/loss record as a pitcher with a 2.90 earned run average as a baseball player.

His first baseball card was in the 1963 Topps set, with two variations.

He also had cards in the 1964 and 1965 Topps baseball sets.

DeBusschere had an impressive NBA career. He was known as an elite defensive player, which resulted in his election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983. Over his career, he averaged 16.1 points per game, 11 rebounds per game, and 2.9 assists per game. He was a two-time NBA champion with the Knicks, made 8 All-Star games, and was a six-time All-Defensive First Team member.

His first basketball card was in the notoriously rare 1968 Topps Test release, so his 1969 Topps Tall Boy is more classically considered his first Topps basketball card.

Topps also printed cards for him in 1970, 71, 72, and 73, and he was on the Knicks Team Leaders card in 1974.

1974 Topps #93 New York Knicks Team Leaders

Today, most athletes commit to a single sport long before going professional, though some successful two-sport athletes play multiple sports in college. Like Tim Tebow or Michael Jordan, others have tried to transition between sports, but few have had Dave DeBusschere’s success.

PS: The 13 men who have played in the NBA and MLB are: Danny Ainge, Frank Baumholtz, Hank Biasatti, Gene Conley, Chuck Connors, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Groat, Steve Hamilton, Mark Hendrickson, Cotton Nash, Ron Reed, Dick Ricketts, and Howie Schultz.

Happy collecting!

The Ones That Got Away: 1978 Topps Basketball Uncut Sheets

March 13, 2025 by John

I used to have a ridiculous 1978 Topps basketball collection: two complete high-grade PSA Sets, wax boxes, packs, trays, vending, display cases, wrappers, etc. But one thing that always eluded me was an uncut sheet, like this blank-back proof that Mastro auctioned off in December 2007.

The auction included a sister item, a blank-back proof sheet of the card backs.

Here’s the full description:

These 66-card proof sheets present, respectively, the front and back sides of 66 entries in Topps’ 1978/79 Basketball series. Virtually never found in this form, these items are printed on bright white cardstock of standard thickness; both have an unusual glossy character of a type that’s only observed on selected Topps proof relics from this era. The sheets measure about 22″ x 28-3/4″ (each with an irregular border cut at one edge) and display their subject designs in 6-card-by-11-card arrangements. Highlights among the sheets’ content include Bing, Frazier, Gervin, Gilmore, Goodrich, Hayes, King and Malone. The sheets feature alignment marks and color notes in their margins, and both exhibit a number of editorial marks placed in grease pencil. Overall EX display quality with a few small creases and wrinkles, along with occasional surface cracks in their glossy coating.

I’ve only been able to track down a few sales. The following sheet sold on eBay in 2019; I want to say it closed at $565, too.

And Mile High Card Co. sold the following sheet for $424 in December 2024.

Also, check out The Uncut Sheet Archive for more items like these, and happy collecting!

The Three Original Topps Tall Boy Sets

March 4, 2025 by John

Variety is the spice of life, and Topps definitely mixed things up with the introduction of tall boy sized cards with their 1964 Hockey set. The cards must have been pretty popular because the following year, in 1965, they released tall boy football cards to stand out against their competition. Then, when they decided to re-enter the basketball card market, their 1969 release was, once again, of the tall boy variety. In this article, I’ll run down these three incredibly popular sets.

1964 Topps Hockey

The first year that Topps didn’t have to compete with Parkhurst in the hockey card market, they released their set in a tall boy format (2-1/2″ x 4-11/16″) for the first time in any sport. From a historical perspective, some collectors think going with larger cards (Topps printed “GIANT SIZE” on the wrappers) was a “triumphalist call,” but no one knows for sure.

The set has 110 cards of players from all 6 NHL teams and was the first set in 10 years that included all the teams. The set is nearly double the size of previous Topps hockey sets and was released over two series. Hockey collectors consider 1964 Topps to be one of the greatest hockey sets of all time, and it’s the toughest of these three tall boy sets to complete in high grade.

1965 Topps Football

The football market in 1965 was a little different than the hockey market. Philadelphia Gum had the rights to the NFL’s licensing for cards, so Topps, to expand its AFL release (less interesting content) and compete for sales, released their set in the tall boy format to stand out. Remember, the larger size format worked with 1952 Topps baseball in competition with Bowman too.

The 176 card set would end up being the only football card tall boy set Topps made. Maybe tall boys were too expensive to print/machine? It does, however, feature one of the most recognizable football cards in the hobby, Joe Namath’s card #122.

Topps knew they didn’t have the best content because the packs didn’t advertise the AFL specifically, just “Pro Football.”

1969 Topps Basketball

Topps returned to the basketball card market in 1969 with their 99-card set. Again, Topps must have been trying to make a splash and have the cards stand out on shelves with their larger size as “10 GIANT CARDS” was printed on the wax boxes.

1969 Topps basketball is loaded with stars enhancing its popularity. But you may not know that Topps couldn’t use team logos on the cards due to licensing issues, so some players posed for photos wearing their jerseys backward. Still, it’s an incredibly eye-appealing set due to the tall boy format and choice of colors.

Topps did follow up the 1969 Topps basketball set with another tall boy set in 1970, but they never did publish a baseball tall boy set (1964 Topps Giant-Size All-Stars being the closest we have). The drawback of the tall boy format is that the cards’ size makes them more condition sensitive since they were tougher to store and more prone to miscuts in the factory.

Regardless of your desire to collect high-end cards or not, a trio of all three original tall boy sets would be a great addition to anyone’s vintage card collection. Let me know down in the comments which is your favorite, and happy collecting!

A Few Ways Topps Distributed Uncut Sheets Directly To Customers

February 20, 2025 by John

I love uncut sheets of sports cards. They make awesome display pieces, they’re often scarce, they provide set education, finish “master” collections, and provide hobby integrity. So, despite the storage problem, they continue to be really popular. But how did these sheets make their way to the market if cards were meant to be cut up and put in boxes for sale? The conventional wisdom is that they came from Topps employees or out the backdoor of printing facilities. But the reality is a bit more complicated than that, particularly in more modern times, as Topps provided uncut sheets via direct sales, instant winner programs, marketing add-ons, and a few other planned/legitimate means.

You can see the code #945-84 sell sheet for Topps 1984 Uncut Baseball Card Sheets when it comes to direct sales. Topps offered six different sheets of 132 cards (132 * 6 = a complete 792 card set). Topps realized there was a market for uncut sheets and responded as any business would.

1984 Topps Baseball Uncut Card Sheets Sell Sheet

One collector on a forum had written that they had bought some sheets in the mid-1980s from local stores (not card stores), and the sheets came wrapped in plastic. So Topps sold some of these, though perhaps not through hobby stores. Another collector responded that as early as 1982, they bought sheets like this from ToysRUs. They were in a large box with the top cut off, left in the aisle for display, and sold for around $6. Others surmise this sales method may have happened as early as 1981

There are also examples of complete boxed sets of 6 uncut sheets of 1987 Topps that are still widely available. Whether they were sold by Topps or a 3rd party is less clear.

1987 Topps Uncut Sheets Complete Box Set

1987 Topps Uncut Sheets Complete Boxed Set Zoomed In

3 Boxes of 1987 Topps Uncut Sheets Baseball Card Collections

Topps also used to provide sheets to collectors through add-ons. In 1989, as the code #325 sell sheet indicates (courtesy of 4192Cards), if any store purchased a case of Bazooka Gum, they got two uncut sheets of Topps baseball cards. It’s believed this happened between 1986 and 1990.

In 1984, OPC inserted instant winner cards into packs, and one of the prizes was the three sheets that made up a complete set.

Earlier in the 1980s, for $4 ($5 in 1982), collectors could receive a full-sized uncut sheet of 1981 or 1982 Topps baseball and 1981 Topps football cards through a promotion with Coca-Cola (through the header card packed with team sets). Many of the sheets the distributor sent to collectors had errors. So, this tactic may have been a way for Topps to make some money rather than throwing away printer errors or allowing staff to walk off with them.

The distributor in Connecticut included an additional offer to get every sheet from 1981 for $4 a sheet or $24 for an entire print run.

There’s another example of acquiring uncut sheets as far back as 1972 for Topps basketball in partnership with Wheaties. The Topps Archives wrote about getting 132 player sheets for $2 plus two Wheaties proof of purchase panels. I’ve included the photos from the Topps Archives blog post below, just in case that site ever goes down and we lose access to its incredible history of articles.

Wheaties Box with 1972 Topps Basketball Uncut Sheet Offer

I’m sure there are dozens of more legitimate examples of how Topps distributed uncut sheets of cards in addition to the methods discussed in this post. If you know of any others, share the details in the comments below.

Happy collecting, and don’t forget to check out the Uncut Sheet Archive, too!

23 1991 Upper Deck Heroes Jerry West Autos in One Case? The High Series Surprise

February 8, 2025 by John

The 1991 Upper Deck Jerry West Heroes autograph card is a hobby classic. West signed and numbered 2,500 of card #9, but unopened cases surfaced late in the release cycle with shocking clusters of autos—one in Texas had 23!

Sold by 4SharpCorners on eBay for $308 in October 2024

I discovered the tale of these loaded Upper Deck high series boxes from the September 1992 issue of Sports Collectors Digest’s Sports Card Price Guide Monthly, which had a few paragraphs of basketball commentary. The story begins with the last sentence of the first image below and continues through the start of the text in the second image.

Here’s the text from the article in case the images are a bit too small for you to read on your device:

Some of the later cases of Upper Deck high series cards contained pleasant surprises. One case that turned up in Texas in May wielded 23 autographed Jerry West cards, including six in one box. Another sent to a drugstore in North Carolina in mid-May included six autographed cards. In each case, the cards were numbered either sequentially or within one or two numbers of each other. It’s believed that when the final cases were prepared, an overrun of autographed West cards was discovered and the cards were simply packed close together.

Happy hunting, and I hope someone picks up one of these hot boxes someday soon! Happy collecting!

PSA’s Alleged 1964 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry Lucas Variation: Real or Not?

February 3, 2025 by John

I’m a big fan of the Kahn’s Wieners series of basketball cards, printed each year from 1957 through 1965, and I’ve highlighted Jerry West’s Kahn’s Wieners cards in a dedicated article. But the 1964 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry Lucas card has piqued my curiosity lately.

You see, PSA’s checklist says there are windows open and no windows visible versions of the Lucas card. And in their article about the series of Kahn’s Wieners cards, regarding the 1964 Jerry Lucas cards, PSA writes that “There are also two variations of the Lucas card. One pictures him in a shot with windows open in the background, while a second doesn’t have the windows. The “no windows” version is so rare that there hasn’t been an example submitted for grading to PSA and it’s not part of the Master Set on the PSA Set Registry.”

But here’s the thing: I don’t think the card exists; I’ve never seen one.

The hobby hasn’t written much about vintage basketball cards, particularly oddball ones. One guide I’ve used for research showed two Lucas cards, but they listed one version as Three Windows Showing and the other as Four Windows Showing. This makes sense to me, given that all the cards that have been on the market for the last few years are cropped a little differently. Here are a few examples of the 1964 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry Lucas card, each showing the windows a little differently in the background.

You can see that each card has at least some windows open as if the photographer snapped two photos from slightly different distances that were then each “miscut” a little when printed. When you compare the two raw images above, in the one with four windows visible, Lucas’ left arm appears higher (even with his chin), and his left arm is lower than his chin in the three windows visible raw copy; however, that’s not a consistent fact when you look at the graded copies (the second graded card has a partial fourth window with a lower left arm).

Another collector described the cards as follows: “There are clearly two different shots here: the ball is positioned differently in each, along with Lucas’ eyeline and chin. Different croppings result in 4 windows vs. 3, but the real variation is in the ball position.”

It’s also possible vintage catalogers mixed up a few Kahn’s sets. As I said earlier, there hasn’t been a lot of vintage basketball card documentation like there has been for baseball. That has led to a few mistakes by the major third-party graders. A few Kahn’s Wieners basketball cards have the wrong year printed on the flip since, many times, Kahn’s only made subtle changes to their design year to year. And, if you look at the 1965 Kahn’s Wiener Jerry Lucas card, you can see that no windows are visible (however, the 1965 card is slightly smaller and has red text, instead of black, on the back).

A photographer could have shot the photos for the two cards (1964 and 1965) on the same day. They have a similar general appearance, so perhaps someone making a price guide or catalog mistakenly thought they were part of the same set.

There is also the possibility that a card cataloger meant that the No Windows version of the 1964 card was really a No 4th Window Visible (cropped in) version.

Anywho, a collector on Net54 also speculated that the two 1964 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry Lucas card variations should be Three Windows Open and Four Windows Open. If we have to differentiate these subtle variations, that’s a viable pick, or we could use arm/ball position. But I don’t think a 1964 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry Lucas No Windows variation exists. If you have more information, please let me know in the comments.

Happy collecting!

Collecting the Jerry West Kahn’s Wieners Basketball Cards

January 31, 2025 by John

Basketball fans know Jerry West as a great player and a highly successful NBA executive. And a lot of collectors treat his 1961 Fleer basketball as his rookie card. However, others feel the 1960 Kahn’s Wiener card, which predated the Fleer release by a year, to be his true rookie card. Whether or not a regional oddball qualifies as a rookie card, the Kahn’s card is pretty incredible. They went on to make three more Jerry West basketball cards as well. Still, they can be tough to classify when in raw form, so I’m going to run down Kahn’s basketball sets, explain the differences between each of the four cards, and discuss a few more details about West’s four Kahn’s Wieners basketball cards.

Kahn’s Wieners released basketball sets between 1957 and 1965. They’re one of the few basketball food issues of the era and are pretty rare, particularly in excellent condition. That’s because Kahn’s was a Cincinnati-based meat processing and distribution company (now owned by Tyson Foods) that packaged the cards with hot dogs.

Given their regionality, Kahn’s sets featured players of the Cincinnati Royals. However, for four years, they also included a card of Jerry West (1960-1963). It’s suspected because he was from the area (West Virginia) or as a brilliant marketing move, as West was a really popular player.

The first Jerry West card that Kahn’s Wieners released was in 1960.

1960 Kahn’s Wiener’s Jerry West – Reverse

The front of the card features a black-and-white photo, West’s facsimile autograph, and Kahn’s slogan along the bottom. The rest of the 1960 Kahn’s cards had player vitals, a short biography, and statistics. But the back of West’s 1960 Kahn’s basketball card had vitals and a more extended biography because he hadn’t yet played a season. I like how they projected West being a star for years to come.

The 1960 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry West is a BIG card for major basketball collectors, particularly those who consider it his true rookie card. The PSA 8 pictured above sold for $21,600 in Robert Edward Auctions’ Spring 2017 auction. PSA has graded 33 of these Jerry West cards.

The 1961 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry West card used the same photograph as the 1960 card but has a smaller facsimile autograph in black ink. Also, the backs of 1961 Kahn’s Wieners cards are blank.

1961 Kahn’s Wiener’s Jerry West – Reverse

The 1961 Jerry West card is slightly less scarce than the 1960 card; PSA has graded 43 of them. Here are a few historical sales: $540 for a PSA 1 in September 2022, $900 for a PSA 2 in March 2022, $244 for a PSA 2 (MK) in October 2020, $179 for a PSA 6 (MK) in September 2018, and $3861 for a PSA 9 back in 2012.

In 1962, Kahn’s Jerry West card used a new image. The back of West’s card has a short biography but no statistics, like the other Kahn’s cards that year.

1962 Kahn’s Wiener’s Jerry West – Reverse

PSA has only graded 34 1962 Kahn’s Jerry West oddball basketball cards, and the last public sale I could find was a PSA 3 at Robert Edwards Auctions for $930 in July 2021.

In 1963, Kahn used the same photo of West as they did in 1962. However, the 1963 Kahn basketball cards have a white border around the front. Also, the facsimile autograph on the front of the card is in white text in 1963, instead of the black used on West’s 1962 card. Be aware that I have seen a mislabeled Kahn’s Jerry West basketball card on the market where PSA got the year wrong.

1963 Kahn’s Wiener’s Jerry West – Reverse

PSA has authenticated 29 1963 Kahn’s Wieners Jerry West basketball cards. In September 2022, Memory Lane Inc. sold a PSA 1 for $300, which Goldin had also sold (the exact same card) for $300 in January 2022. A PSA 3 sold for $300 in May 2017, and a PSA 9 sold for over $5k in December 2014.

While these Kahn’s cards don’t get as much respect in the market as Fleer and Topps do, the Jerry West cards are great, and it’s undeniable that Kahn’s had successful regional runs with these sets. So, if you’re looking for a challenge in the hobby, getting your hands on all four of Jerry West’s Kahn’s cards is probably just behind the difficulty of getting a bunch of the in-era George Mikan oddballs.

Happy collecting!