This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/6/2021
Until Michael Jordan's 1986 Fleer rookie card came along, you could make a strong argument that the 1957 Topps Bill Russell rookie card was the most significant and important basketball card ever produced. And that's a big statement given the popularity of rookie cards featuring Wilt Chamberlain and Lew Alcindor that arrived later as well as the debut card of George Mikan before it. Russell may not rank as the greatest player of all time but his career was the most successful. He never led the league in scoring; in fact, he never averaged more than 20 points per game in any season. What he did do was win. A five-time MVP and 12-time all-star, Russell won an unprecedented 11 NBA championships over his 13 seasons. Though solid on the offensive end of the court, Russell excelled as a rebounding specialist, leading the NBA five times in the category while averaging 20 or more boards for 10 consecutive seasons. Not only was Russell a consummate winner in the NBA, but he also led his University of San Francisco college team to back-to-back NCAA championships. Drafted by the St. Louis Hawks, Russell was traded to the Boston Celtics. In the trade, the Hawks received Celtics center Ed Macauley, a six-time All-Star who had roots in St. Louis and asked to be traded to the Hawks to be with his sick son, and forward Cliff Hagan. 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. The 1957 Topps rookie card of Bill Russell is a scarce short print usually plagued with centering problems, but the PSA 8 specimen offered here is a true marvel that has been spared all of the pitfalls common to the issue, amazingly well-centered with a minimal amount of stray print that often dominates the surface of lower graded examples. The endpoints easily reach NM/MT status while the clean reverse, also impressively well-centered, gives no cause for concern. This is a tremendously solid specimen that would be a worthy addition to the most advanced of collections.