**Post your Vintage Basketball here**

Finally got a Hawkins rookie that I am happy with

And then picked up Hawk's last Topps card, it's a favorite of mine

@LarkinCollector said:

@JBrules said:
Never good to be posting after UFFDAH!!! That Wilt is beyond ridiculous. The image color and overall registration is just stunning. Not to mention the other qualities like centering and sharp corners.

Anyway thought I would post my latest addition to get this thread back on the front page. I guess this could be considered his rookie card since it is before his 69 Topps card.

Get out of my head, I saw an 8 of that card for the first time today and wanted one for some reason. Agreed on posting after UFFDAH

Kyle that is pretty funny. That Hayes card is a good price performer. I was amazed at how cheap I picked up the PSA 10.

@Kid4hof03 said:
Finally got a Hawkins rookie that I am happy with

Nice Hawk pickup for sure. I had my eye on that card and almost pulled the trigger. Very nice looking 7.5

@JBrules - that "Jack in the Box" Elvin Hayes is super sharp, cool card!!

@jay0791 said:
Never seen or even heard of the Houbregs card or set. Super nice card !!!!

I think the Wilt just trumped this thread.

Nice cards fellas. I love o see everyone else's collection.

That Wilt is special and a real treat to see. Here’s the only thing in my collection That comes close to being in the same league:

The 69 & 75 Connie's are absolutely beautiful. Trimmer Awesome 61 pack talk about hard to come by & especially with the main card of the set on the back bravo!

@45isodd said:
Here’s a 1976 McDonalds Sixers card of George McGinnis. The cards are similar to the Johnny Pro Phillies cards.

Very cool McGinnis card. I have never seen one before.

Added this Connie Hawkins a while back. Talk about showing some attitude on a card.

@LarkinCollector said:

@JBrules said:
Talk about showing some attitude on a card.

That's roughly the expression I would have if everyone started calling me "Connie". Great pickup!

Thanks. That was pretty funny!!!

@slum22 said:
Great cards being shared. This thread needs to stay on the front page. I guess I better start spending more on vintage cards, lol.

I agree. I'm football guy but can sure appreciate the look and styles of those vintage basketball cards.

That's a high-end 9. If it weren't for that teeny tiny fisheye at the bottom of the 'S' that thing would be sitting pretty in a 10. Gorgeous card.

Arthur

Manny, those are some great unopened material. Bobby and I proudly posted our 6's so don't be shy. It would be great to see your Wilt 8. The highest I have owned is a 7 and that looks to be floating out of my price range by the looks of recent sales. So it is fun to see your 8 and UFFDAH's 9 to live vicariously through you guys, lol.

Awesome stuff Manny and thanks for sharing. There are some great pieces on this board that are ultra drool worthy.

KC

[plotting in my head how I could get myself written into Manny's will]

Arthur

@flatfoot816 - great stuff ya got !!

My small contribution...

@Tecmo Boil said:
My small contribution...

Go big or go home!!!! Looks like you decided to go big. Chamberlain, Russell, Jabbar, Meadowlark, and Pettit. Major pickups congrats.

Awesome Bing, @JBrules

One more...

Wooooo! Some serious moof just got dropped. Great pickups everybody. It's funny how so many of the vintage basketball releases have one single make-or-break aspect to them. For the '69s it's all about the L/R centering. For the '74s, at least for me, it's all about the centering of the left side and the top side and how they come together on the top-left corner. My eye is automatically drawn to that corner every time I look at a '74.

Left/right centering seems to be impossible on the '70s. Top/bottom is pretty bad too but I can see past that much more than the L/R. the way those side borders are constructed it's nearly impossible to find a card that has 50/50 L/R centering and doesn't appear to have any tilt. The '71s are all about L/R centering to me, too. The '72s seem to have print problems and poor edge cuts.

I'm a fool for the '69s though. I love that Bing. I've found a Havlicek, Monroe, and Hayes that I love but it's taken me forever to find a Reed, Frazier, or Hawkins. I'm not going to start on the second tier until I finish the first, which is probably a mistake. The '69 & '70 Kareems are the bane of my existence.

Arthur

Sent these in for grading and hoping should be logged today or tomorrow. Looking forward to getting these back slabbed! (Secretly hoping for a 10 on the west, but will be happy with it no matter what 😁 )

Very sharp '70's! Good luck on the grades.

arguably the most underrated NBA player ever.

Man, I thought this was a cool card when I was a kid.

Vintage basketball is the bane of my existence. I feel like the hobby gods use vintage basketball to punish me for crimes and misdeeds I performed in a previous life. If I made a list of the 10 cards I've been looking for the longest and couldn't find in the condition that pleases me, I bet at least 8 of them would be vintage basketball.

I just want to say, too, that the 1974 Topps set was created by a goblin to drive centering-focused collectors insane.

I literally gave up on the two cards I wanted the most -- Iceman rookie and Dr. J. For 1974, my entire focus is centering and print job. You can find a well-centered copy but there's always fisheyes and vice versa. After years of searching I finally just said eff it and settled on these. Compromised a little on centering with the Iceman (but what a glorious print job) and took the qualifier on Dr. J (that's usually for snow but....?).

Arthur

Arthur, if you are being punished for crimes and misdeeds, they are definitely from this life

Really solid examples, I love how much care you put into choosing a card, your collection is always great quality. I hope you are well!