This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/7/2022
With the possible exception of Michael Jordan's first mainstream appearance in the iconic 1986 Fleer series, the 1957 Topps rookie card of Hall of Famer Bill Russell is the most significant production dedicated to the hardcourt. No offense to Wilt Chamberlain or Lew Alcindor, whose rookie cards arrived later, or George Mikan, whose debut card came before it, but the Bill Russell rookie card is one of the hardest "finds" in the hobby, especially in high-grade due to the overall poor centering of the series. Russell may not rank as the greatest player of all time but his career is arguably the most successful. A five-time MVP and 12-time all-star, Russell won an unprecedented 11 NBA championships over his 13-year career, and that's after he led his University of San Francisco college team to back-to-back NCAA championships as well. Drafted by the St. Louis Hawks, Russell was traded to the Boston Celtics for Celtics center Ed Macauley, a six-time All-Star who had asked for the trade to be with his sick son back in St.Louis, and forward Cliff Hagan, also a six-time All-Star participant. Both Macauley and Hagan had Hall of Fame careers, and the Hawks made it to the NBA finals four times from 1957-61, facing the Celtics all four times and winning just one. Following the Hawks championship in 1957, the Celtics won the title for eight consecutive seasons. This 1957 Topps rookie card of Bill Russell is a scarce short print from the series, a BVG 7.5 specimen that has largely sidestepped the pitfalls common to the issue, adequately centered with a minimal amount of stray print that traditionally dominates the surface of lower graded examples. The endpoints come close to NM/MT status while the clean reverse, almost perfectly centered, gives no cause for concern. This is a tremendously solid specimen for the grade!