If you thought last year was a lean one for basketball cards, be glad you weren’t a big hoops collector in the 1950s and 60s. Between 1950 and 1968, there was a grand total of one basketball card set issued. One. Now granted, the NBA was a distant fourth on the list of popular pro sports for much of the 1950s but it’s remarkable that no company—except for Topps one time—thought there was money to be made on basketball and bubble gum. But we digress. We’re grateful there was that one set at least so we can revel in cards like the SGC 80 Bob Cousy we are offering this week in our eBay listings. Even then, Topps called him "Mr. Pro Basketball" on the back of his card. Cousy was Maravich before Maravich. Skilled as a ballhandler but much more than that, he was a critical part of the Celtics’ amazing run of championships once Bill Russell came aboard (and had his first card in that same ’57-58 set). A Hall of Famer in every sense, Cousy was named as one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all-time. To say he’s on the top third of that list is obvious. If you like nice corners and clean images, this card is for you. It’s very sharp for the grade. Like a lot of 1957-58 Topps basketball cards, it’s bit off center (top to bottom), but that keeps pricing within reason for average collectors who still want nice examples. Basketball cards of the game’s all-time greats remain an excellent value. Considering the game’s worldwide popularity and the relatively few numbers of solid examples in the marketplace compared to their baseball and football counterparts, we don’t think you’d regret picking this one up.
