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Dan Hajducky, ESPNSep 6, 2024, 09:56 AM ET
- Hajducky is an associate editor for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities.
A 1961-62 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain rookie card recently sold for $1.7 million in a private deal brokered by Goldin Auctions. It’s the most money ever paid for a vintage (pre-1980) basketball card.
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The previous record was a 1980-81 Topps Larry Bird/Magic Johnson rookie card, which sold in August 2021 for $840,000, also with Goldin.
The Chamberlain card sat in a grocery store closet in Crosby, Minnesota, for “more than 60 years,” according to a press release, where a family member of the store’s owners found it.
Sent to grading just weeks ago, it received a perfect “10” from card grader SGC, the only 10 ever given to a 1961-62 Fleer card.
While notably the hobby debut of Chamberlain, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, the 1961-62 Fleer set is historically known for factory and printing defects — making the grade all the more impressive considering it sat untouched for six decades.
“As soon as I saw the card in person, I knew this would be life-changing,” Caleb Baker, the card’s consignor, said in a statement. “[I’m] still in a state of shock that I was the one who got to send for grading and put this monumental and historic card on the market with Goldin.”
Chamberlain’s 1959-60 photo-matched, rookie-season-home-white jersey also set the record for most expensive vintage basketball item in June 2023 when it sold for, ironically, $1.792 million at SCP Auctions.
