My 1961 Fleer Basketball Set *Updated with scans 3/20/2014 on edited first post**

slum22

I wanted to give an update on my 1961 Fleer set. I have been working on this set since the end of 2012. This is my first registry set. I picked it because it has such a great checklist of players. So many HOFers including the RC's of four of the greatest basketball players ever. The blank spots in the scans represent the cards that I am still missing. My goal for this set is PSA 7 or better. If anyone has any of the cards I am missing and wants to work out a sale or trade just PM me. Thanks for looking.

Right off the bat, I am missing the first card of the set Al Attles. This is a tough one for this set. The Arizin is self submitted and I was happy to get it from a raw eBay purchase. I love the Baylor RC. Never thought I would be able to get this card when I was a kid.
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My Bockhorn is lonely This seems to be a very tough stretch in the set as I very rarely see the Boozer or Braun for sale. I just missed out on the Chamberlain PSA 7 that Probstein sold last week. I was second runner up on that card.
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Cousy! 2nd major release card of another all-time great. Very happy with this card. Excellent centering and high quality for the grade.
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I am missing the Hal Greer #16, but I am about to send a raw one in to PSA so keep your fingers crossed for me. I don't want to jinx it but I think it even has a good shot at an 8.
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Missing the Heinsohn. I have seen some 7's and 8's on eBay but I am going to be patient and wait for a well centered one at a fair price.
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Wish the KC Jones was a little better centered, but I got a pretty great deal on it so I can't complain too much on the price. Missing the Sam Jones. After the Wilt this is probably the highest price card I am missing on the set. So once I get that Wilt RC I will be pretty much home free.
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Four for Four! Got all 4 cards in this little quadrant.
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Another four for four! Wish the Meschery was better centered. Oh well, upgrading commons is low on my priority list.
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The Don Ohl was a self-submitted card. Always a little more satisfaction with self submitted cards for some reason. Did anyone hear the Bob Petit podcast with Bill Simmons. It was really cool to hear stories about how professional basketball used to be. What can I say about the Robertson RC. Definitely another dream card for me in high school. Very happy with it.
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Second major card of a concensus top 3 all timer. And another 4 for 4 run.
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The Logo! The last of the big 4 RC's. Another card I never thought I would own as a kid.
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Here is where I got busy on the set. I actually have all but one of the IA cards in PSA 7. The only one I am missing is the last card in the set, Jerry West IA, which I have in 6. Baylor IA and Chamberlain IA back to back. Again, what a great checklist for this set!
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[URL=http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/slum22/media/1961 Fleer Registry Set/Image29_zps6da2af70.jpg.html]The Howell IA is a self submitted 8. I was fired up to get that one back.
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Robertson and Russell back to back!
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The West IA is a self submitted card. I really thought it was a 7. It is a beautiful card in hand. My guess is the centering dropped it. But there are definitely 7's with worse centering.
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Thanks so much for checking out my set and my thread. These are the cards I still need. If you have any of these in PSA 7 or better and want to part with them, let me know.

1 Al Attles
6 Bob Boozer
7 Carl Braun
8 Wilt Chamberlain
11 Walter Dukes
13 Dave Gambee
16 Hal Greer
19 Tommy Heinsohn
23 Sam Jones
35 Frank Ramsey
38 Bill Russell
66 Jerry West IA

flatfoot816

great set!! I started my registry set about 6 years ago and finished a while back. Am presently #17 on the registry set, but just picked up a gorgeous PSA-8 Chamberlain and West from Memory Lane that will bring me to #13. Should have cards in hand next week!

My goal is straight PSA-8 cards and top 10.

My upgrades allowed me to start a 2nd set--which should crack the top 20 in another few months.

good luck--you'll never lose $$ on this set

jordangretzkyfan

Beautiful set Steve. This is the pinnacle of all basketball sets in my opinion...great design and loaded with HOF rookies. I love your Big O PSA 7! Please keep updating as you add to the set.

Chris

BruceinGa

Your set looks great! Also, lot of hard work putting together your post!

VitoCo1972

I had the best BGS set for awhile. My favorite set ever. I sold it about 6 months ago to finance the autographed 61 fleer set I'm working on. Presently at 40/66. Centering is just so tough . I think your Embry PSA 7 is better than the 8. Good luck!

1954

Great set you have there. I have upgraded around 10 cards since the last time we spoke so I might have a couple you need now.

Shane

Nathaniel1960

My best ebay purchase of all time was a near complete 61-62 fleer set. Missing only Chamberlain (both RC and IA), Sam Jones RC and ten commons. 4 graded cards all BVG - Baylor 6, Russell 6, West 4.5, Robertson 3.5 (undergraded Robertson IMO) - all 4 with GREAT centering. Ungraded came in at around a 5 or 6 each, with some better. Creases on maybe 3 cards including the Cousy. The kicker was there were 20 additional, most in nice shape, including extra Robertson, Baylor and Cousy IAs.

The seller had BIN of $450 or best offer. I thought about submitting a best offer then realized I was nuts and bought it outright.

Still looking for a EXish centered Chamberlain.

slum22

flatfoot816--Congratulations on the Wilt and the West. Those are some premium cards. I agree this set and those star RC's in particular should remain relatively safe investments for collectibles. Congratulations on your registry. Good luck on getting in the top 10. I am in the 40's somewhere. I am guessing once completed I end up in the 30's maybe late 20's. I don't much care about my ranking as much as I do just the completion of the set.

Chris--Thanks. I agree it is just about the pinnacle in my eyes. I think one of the registry leaders named their set something like "More stars than the heavens" (or something like that). And with the incredible roster of HOFers and HOF RC's and the cool, brightly colored look of the cards I couldn't agree more. Fun set to do. Thanks for your unopened post as it inspired me to post this thread and share my collection. Great having a new member here who is bringing some fun and postivity to the boards (which can sometimes run towards the snarky or less positive). I am even modeling my replies in this thread to what you have been doing in yours.

BruceinGA--Thanks for the kind words. It was fun putting the post together. I think it is harder work reading all of it. So thanks for checking it out and commenting.

VitoCo1972--Centering is tough. I think trading in the BGS set for an auto set is a pretty great move. I imagine the autos can get tough to find as the players are getting older (and some have passed). We are about at the same place in terms of completion. I think I have a few more in my set. Best of luck finding what you need!
Also great eye on the Embry. I was wondering if anyone would notice that. I actually didn't notice that until I scanned the two next to each other. I guess that's why they say buy the card and not the holder. I will probably end up trying to sell or trade the 8 to get further in completing the set. Goes to show at the end of the day even the best TPG are just opinions.

Shane--I will send you a PM and if any of your upgrades are on my list maybe we can finally make a deal.

Nathaniel 1960--Yes, that sounds like just about the best deal you could hope for on eBay. Great job. Those deals are why we are always scouring eBay, just in case, right?

slum22

Message removed. Scans moved to different thread for easier viewing.

slum22

I picked up four more cards for my set. I am very happy with the centering for the Howell which is pretty good for a 7. I am mainly trying for 7's to keep the cost down but I couldn't pass up the Petit IA 8 because I got a pretty great price on it. Inching closer to completion. Currently at 47/66!

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slum22

I picked up three new cards to get closer to completion. I have been picking up a lot of 8's lately despite my stated intention to avoid them and only go after 7's. I can't help myself when the value is there. I got the Hagan IA 8 for about what PSA 7's normally go for, so I couldn't pass it up. The Cousy I picked up for under the lowest recorded value in VCP for an 8 in my first offline deal for a card from this set. Got good value on the Heinsohn IA PSA 7 too. Trying to stay patient and only go after good deals. May have a line on one of the remaining big 4 RC's that I don't have in 7 yet. Should find out tomorrow if I have a deal for it.

50/66 PSA graded (need to upgrade 2 PSA 6's)
48/66 PSA 7 or better

Getting closer!

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jbox

Love this set. It may be on my list to start in 2014. Great job!!!

bishop

Great set. It is my only basketball set. I am from St Louis originally and went to Hawks games until they moved to Atlanta. The Hawks traded the draft rights to Bill Russell to get Cliff Hagan.

There were some great salesman samples from this set sold in one of the recent auction house auctions .

PSASAP

I just got this one back from PSA today:

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slum22

jbox--Thanks! I highly recommend the set. It is really fun to do. Since it has a small set size it always feels like you are close to finishing. It also has a star studded, HOF heavy checklist including RC's of 4 of the greatest players to ever play. If you decide to go for the set, let me know as I have some extra 7's and 8's that I have accumulated along the way. Maybe a starter set for you

bishop--This is the only set I have period as I have taken a break from going for a graded 1986 Fleer set, largely to go after completing this set and to add to my ever growing unopened collection. I couldn't decide between PSA or BGS for my 86 set and I stalled on both so I have started selling off most of my Gem Mint commons to help fund my other two projects. Very happy with my decision for now. I did not know about the Russell for Hagan trade. Interesting piece of trivia.

PSASAP--Whoa. That is a big time hit on your part. Congratulations. That has been a tough card to find for me. One of the toughest in the set. Checking the population report there are none higher than yours. If you don't mind me asking where did you pick up such a nice raw card to submit (ebay, LCS, show, other)?

Thanks for the posts. As an update. I mentioned yesterday I was close to picking up a major RC. Today it's official. I have just purchased a well centered PSA 7 Elgin Baylor RC. Merry Christmas to me! Very happy to have sold off some 86 Fleer BGS 9.5 commons to essentially fund a major card in my set. 3 of the big 4 in this set down (Baylor, Robertson and West) and 1 to go (Wilt). Can't wait to get it in the mail. I will post scans when it gets here. Happy Holidays!

Steve

slum22

It finally came in the mail today! My upgraded Baylor RC to PSA 7. Very excited to end my year on this card. Just need 16 cards in 2014 to complete the set.

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slum22

Bump for new message and scans in the updated first post. Thanks for looking.

bishop