This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/22/2010
A Pop 8 with none graded higher! Soda-pop-sippin' Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton will forever be remembered as the first black American to sign a contract to play in the NBA. A rookie at age 27, by today's measures he was well past his prime, and although his 10-point, 9-rebound career average over 8 years served him well enough to earn an All-Star appearance in 1957 at age 34, he is remembered more these days for breaking the NBA color barrier, and also for taking the poll position in the famous 1957 Topps basketball issue. Proudly offered here is one of just 8 total examples of said card to climb the PSA grading ladder to the pinnacle position of NM/MT 8, as no unqualified examples have ever grader higher. Easily among the top-five most challenging 1957 Topps basketball cards to locate in top grades, this scarcely encountered #1 issue shows a self-evident centering inclination for the northwest, counterbalanced by an impressively clean obverse for the issue, almost entirely devoid of any PD whatsoever, which any '57 Topps hoops collector well knows is the main challenge to finding suitable high-grade specimens. Edges appear MINT on all sides but the marginally rough NM/MT to NM/MT+ bottom boundary, while the corners appear NM/MT+ to MINT at all points but the NM/MT top left. In terms of 1957 Topps key card status, this hardwood jewel is second only to the famous Bill Russell short-print, and with only 7 competitors in its class and no superiors, chances are that a comparably "sweet" specimen won't surface again anytime soon!