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Just Collect Presents The Set of the Week - 1961 Fleer Basketball

Learn More About Sports Cards Sets Each Week!

June 23, 2025

Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson rookie cards - in the same set! The 1961 Fleer basketball set is iconic. Today, we'll teach you about these incredible treasures in our new series: The Set of the Week. While you join us, we'll share stories about collections we have purchased of this spectacular set.

Three of the greatest basketball players ever to step onto the court each have their rookie card in the same set: 1961 Fleer. Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West. Imagine opening a wax pack of cards and seeing three legendary rookies in the same pack! Today, we go back to a time when companies didn't release 10 products a year and boxes cost $100+. The days when you had to wait FOUR YEARS before a new basketball card set came out. When gas cost 31 cents per gallon and a new house was $12,500, we go back to 1961 and this beautiful Fleer set.

1961 FLEER BASKETBALL

Long before basketball cards were released every week, hoops fans had to wait YEARS for a new basketball card set. The first official basketball card set is 1948 Bowman. It wasn't until 1957 when Topps released a basketball card set. A few more years went by until we were given the 1961 Fleer set. Imagine going over a decade and just THREE basketball card sets were released.

1961 Fleer cards are the standard size you see today at 2.5" x 3.5". Player images are in black and white while the backgrounds have vibrant colors. The checklist totals just 66 cards in the whole set. Despite the small checklist, the names are a who's who of basketball greatness.

Wilt Chamberlain is on card #8. A four-time MVP (1960, 1966-68), Wilt won a pair of championships (1967 and 1972) for the San Francisco Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. When you hear the term "Double-Double Machine", think of Wilt; he averaged 30.1 points per game and 22.9 rebounds per game! In the 1961-62 season, Wilt averaged 50.4 points per game and 25.7 rebounds per game and even scored an record 100 points in a game on March 2nd, 1962.

Oscar Robertson is on card #36. Robertson was so well-rounded, he became the first player ever to average a triple-double in a season by leading the league in points, rebounds, and assists. One of the best passers of all-time, The Big O led the league in assists in six different seasons. An MVP in 1964 and NBA Champion in 1971, Robertson had always been amazing on the court. Before the NBA, Robertson lead the Nation for three consecutive seasons and was named player of the year all three seasons while playing for Cincinnati in college.

Jerry West is on card #43. A 14-time All-Star, West won an NBA Championship in 1972, led the league in scoring (1970) and assists (1972). How good was Jerry West as a player? The NBA logo is his likeness. Every player wears West on their jersey each game. After retiring, West became one of most notable executives by winning EIGHT NBA Championships in that role with both the Lakers and the Warriors.

Other Hall of Famers in the set include Elgin Baylor (3), Bob Cousy (10), KC Jones (22), Bill Russell (38), Dolph Schayes (39), and Lenny Wilkins (43).

High-grade examples are scarce and quite valuable! PSA has graded 46,322 cards from the 1961 Fleer set and only 114 have been graded Gem Mint PSA 10. There are four-known Wilt Chamberlain cards graded PSA 10 and the value is over one million dollars per card. One of the PSA 10 cards has been consigned to Heritage Auctions this month; we'll know if a new price record is set soon!

How did Fleer follow-up with this iconic set release? It took another 24 years, but Fleer gave us their second basketball card: 1986-87 Fleer. While it took over two decades, Fleer's second set brought us the rookie card of Michael Jordan!

Here are photos of the 1961 Fleer basketball set:

Just Collect is always buying 1961 Fleer cards! If you have these cards and are interested in selling, reach out for a FREE APPRAISAL any time. Just Collect flew from New Jersey to Washington to purchase the historic Silvercloud collection with complete sets of 1948 Bowman, 1957 Topps, and 1961 Fleer basketball cards that you can see HERE. The retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections. This is where we are happy to help you! We have purchased thousands upon thousands of collections and bought and sold over 50 MILLION dollars in cards.

We hope you enjoyed learning about the 1961 Fleer set! Make sure to come back next week to learn about our next Set of the Week.

WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1989 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.

We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:

We offer may ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.

Travel to Us

If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.

Come to convention

We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending. Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.

Meet in-person

If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.

Meet in New York City

If you're near New York City and would like to meet in a public place, our owner, Leighton, would be happy to meet you; read all the information here.

SHIP your collection

If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back shipping fees paid by us! We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.

OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!

Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.