1961 Fleer #1 Al Attles Rookie Card

Alvin A. “Al” Attles (November 7, 1936-) led the San Francisco Warriors to the 1975 NBA Finals Championship and became the second African-American coach to lead a team to a league title. Though he never reached the Promised Land as a player, despite playing in the NBA Finals twice, Attles team which was led by Hall of Famer Rick Barry and All-Stars Butch Beard and Jamaal Wilkes compiled a regular season record of 48-34 and swept the Washington Bullets 4-0 in the finals. Al’s playing career began when he was the Philadelphia Warriors fifth round pick in the 1960 NBA Draft out of North Carolina A&T University. Al Attles played his entire 11-year career with the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (1960-1971).  Playing alongside Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond, the Warriors reached the 1964 NBA Finals but were dispatched by the potent Boston Celtics 4-1. In 1969, Attles began being groomed to take over the head coaching position in San Francisco and took over the reigns following his retirement from playing in 1971. Al Attles finished his playing career with 6,328 points, 2,463 total rebounds and 2,483 assists. During Attles' 14 seasons calling plays from the bench with the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors (1969-1983), he compiled a record of 557-518 in 1,075 games. His teams made six playoff appearances and won the 1975 NBA Finals Championship. Following the 1982-83 season, Al retired from head coaching but remained with the Warriors in the front office until 1997.

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Paul Joseph Arizin (April 9, 1928 - December 12, 2006) was named college basketball’s Collegiate Player of the Year in 1950 as a senior, despite not playing in his freshman year of college. Arizin did not play high school basketball and his talent was not recognized until Villanova’s head coach saw Paul playing in a CYO game in Philadelphia. Pitchin’ Paul, renown for his line-drive jump shots, scored 85 points in a game during his junior season against the Naval Air Materials Center and unofficially scored 100 points in a game that was not recognized by the NCAA due to the fact that Nova’s opponents were a junior college. Paul was the Number 1 overall pick in the 1950 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia Warriors, where he played his entire professional career (1950-1962). He led the league in scoring twice (1951-52, 1956-57) and minutes played, led the league in field goals three times and free throws once. In 1956, he helped guide the Warriors to the NBA Championship over the Fort Wayne Pistons. The ten-time All-Star selection (named the 1952 NBA All-Star Game MVP) was also a three-time All-NBA First Team player. As a member of the Warriors, Arizin played with future Hall of Famers Tom Gola and Wilt Chamberlain at the beginning and end of his career, respectively. Refusing to move with the team to San Francisco, Arizin retired from the NBA. He played two seasons with the Camden Bullets of the EPBL, winning the 1964 championship before retiring for good from the game of basketball. Paul Arizin finished his career with 16,266 points, 6,129 total rebounds and 1,665 assists. Paul Arizin was indicted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. In 1996, Paul Arizin was named to the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list.

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Elgin Gay Baylor (September 16, 1934-March 22, 2021) was the Number 1 overall pick, held by the Minneapolis Lakers, of the 1958 NBA Draft, the 1958-59 NBA Rookie of the Year and Lakers’ franchise savior guiding them from a last place finish in 1958 to the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics in his rookie season of 1959. And so began the most storied rivalry in NBA history. Having led the Seattle Chieftans to the NCAA championship game in 1958, Baylor was highly sought after for his basketball ability, but his struggles with academics nearly derailed any potential career on the court. Baylor was convinced to forego his final collegiate season at the University of Seattle to play for Minneapolis, virtually keeping the club from going bankrupt. Baylor averaged more than 34 points per game from 1960-1963, and in the 1962 NBA Finals, he set a scoring record when he dropped 61 in an NBA Finals game against Celtics while also grabbing 22 rebounds. Elgin was an 11-time All-Star game selection, was a ten-time All-NBA First Team player and an eight-time Western Conference champion. Baylor injured his knee during the 1963-64 season, and as his career progressed, nagging knee pain led to fewer and fewer games each season until he retired nine games into the 1971-72 season. Elgin Baylor retired after 13 seasons with the Lakers in Minneapolis and Los Angeles with 23,149 point, 11,463 total rebounds and 3,650 assists. In 1996, he was named to the NBA’s All-Time Fifty Greatest Player list. Elgin Baylor was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977. Baylor coached the New Orleans Jazz from 1974-1979 before becoming the Vice President of Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers for 22 years. In 2006, he was elected NBA Executive of the Year.

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Walter Jones Bellamy (July 24, 1939 - November 2, 2013) holds the record for most games played in a season (88) after being traded from the New York Knicks to the Detroit Pistons when offsetting schedules allowed the center to play more games – 35 with New York and 53 with Detroit. Bellamy won the gold medal for basketball in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, alongside fellow Hall of Famers Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. Walt was the Number 1 pick for the Chicago Packers in the 1961 NBA Draft, and put together one of the greatest rookie seasons in NBA history averaging 31.6 points and 19.0 rebounds per game running away with the 1962 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. The well-traveled Bellamy played 14 seasons with the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs, Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Jazz. Bellamy retired after the 1974-74 season with the New Orleans Jazz with 20,941 points, 14, 241 total rebounds and 2,544 assists. Walt Bellamy was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

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Arlen Dale “Bucky” Bockhorn (July 8, 1933-) was the third round pick of the Cincinnati Royals out of the University of Dayton in the 1958 NBA Draft. A stand out point guard in college, Cincinnati added Bockhorn to a team amidst transition. The Royals struggled early on during Bucky’s first few season, but began to turn around with the addition of Oscar Robertson in the 1960-61 season. He played his entire seven-year career with Cincinnati, never making the NBA Finals, but making playoff runs in three of final seasons. Bucky Bockhorn retired following the 1964-64 season with 5,430 points, 2,234 total rebounds and 1,645 assists.

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Robert Lewis “Bob” Boozer (April 26, 1937 - May 19, 2012) was the Number 1 overall pick for the Cincinnati Royals in the 1959 NBA Draft out of Kansas State University. Boozer delayed his NBA debut for a season in order to remain eligible to play for the United States in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where the U.S. team eventually brought home gold. Joining rookie sensation Oscar Robertson in Cincinnati the following season, the two helped turn the Royals around to become viable contenders for years to come. Boozer played 11 seasons in the NBA with the Royals (1960-1964), the New York Knicks (1964-1965), the Los Angeles Lakers (1965-66), the Chicago Bulls (1966-1969), the Seattle SuperSonics (1969-70) and the Milwaukee Bucks (1970-71). Bob played power forward alongside numerous Hall of Famers throughout his career including Robertson, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Elgin Baylor and others. In 1968, he received his first and only selection to the NBA All-Star Game. Playing with Kareem Abdul Jabbar and a second time with Oscar Robertson, Boozer’s 1970-71 season was capped off with an NBA Finals Championship over the Baltimore Bullets in a four-game sweep. Bob retired on top after the 1970-71 championship season compiling 12,964 points, 7,119 total rebounds and 1,237 assists over eleven years with six different franchises.

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Carl August Braun (September 25, 1927 - February 10, 2010) left Colgate University in 1947 for the Basketball Association of America where he became one of the best shooting guards during the 1940s and 1950s. A native of Brooklyn, Braun began his professional career with the New York Knicks (1947-1950, 1952-1961) and finished his career with the Boston Celtics (1961-62). With the Knicks, he was named to two All-BAA (1948) or All-NBA (1954) Second Teams and was selected for 5 NBA All-Star Games from 1953-1957. In 1962, Carl helped the star-studded Boston Celtics capture the NBA Finals Championship over the Los Angeles Lakers. Carl Braun ended his career with 10,625 points, 2,122 total rebounds and 2,892 assists. 

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Wilton Norman “Wilt” Chamberlain (August 21, 1936 - October 12, 1999) is the only player in NBA history to score more than 100 points in a single game or average 40 and 50 points a game for an entire season. At 6’11” as a high school freshman, Wilt earned the nicknames that stuck with him throughout his career such as Wilt the Stilt, Goliath and the Big Dipper, because he had to dip his head when walking through doorways. He led his high school team to two city titles and a 56-3 record in his ion three seasons becoming one of the most sought after college freshmen drawing interest from over 200 colleges and universities before choosing the University of Kansas. Chamberlain left Kansas after two seasons disheartened from losing a heart-breaking NCAA Championship game in 1956 and the new tactics of triple-teaming him and stalling by holding the ball for minutes at a time to preserve leads. He joined the Harlem Globetrotters for the 1958-59 season because the NBA did not accept players who had not completed college.

Wilt was a territorial pick out of the University of Kansas and the Harlem Globetrotters in 1959 by the Philadelphia Warriors. Chamberlain was immediately the most dominant player in the NBA, leading in numerous categories including total rebounds, field goals and points. He was named the 1960 NBA Rookie of the Year and the league’s Most Valuable Player and began a string of six consecutive seasons leading the league in points. In the 1961-62 season Chamberlain averaged an unheard-of 50.4 points per game and followed that season averaging 44.8 points per game. Wilt was a 7-time All-NBA First Team player, two-time NBA All-Defensive First Team player, 13-time All-Star selection and was named the 1960 NBA All-Star Game MVP after scoring 23 points and pulling down 25 rebounds. He led the league seven times in points, 11 times in total rebounds, seven times in field goals and attempts, eight times in minutes played, five times in games played and one time in assists. During his 14-year career with the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (1959-1965), the Philadelphia 76ers (1965-1968) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1968-1973), Wilt was without a doubt the most dominant player in any league and possibly the history of basketball. He won his first NBA Championship with the 76ers teaming with fellow Hall of Famers Billy Cunningham and Hal Greer to defeat his former team, the San Francisco Warriors. He won three NBA Most Valuable Player Award as a 76er (1966-1968) before heading to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1968. Wilt won another NBA Championship with the Lakers in 1972 and was named NBA Finals MVP for his performance.

Though Chamberlain remained in top physical condition as he did during throughout his playing days, he retired after the 1972-73 season holding many of the NBA all-time records, some of which remain unbroken. He played occasionally for the International Volleyball Association for which he was the president off the organization. Wilt Chamberlain was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. In 1984, Wilt was cast in the major motion picture Conan the Destroyer. In 1996, Wilt was named to the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list. Despite his superior fitness, Chamberlain was diagnosed with heart problems and in 1999 he died of congestive heart failure. 

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Lawrence Ronald “Larry” Costello (July 2, 1931 - December 13, 2001) won two NBA Finals Championships within a five year span, one as a player and one as a coach. Drafted out of Niagara University, the Philadelphia Warriors picked Costello in the second round of the 1954 NBA Draft. Larry played point guard for twelve seasons in the NBA with the Warriors (1954-55, 1956-57), the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers (1957-1968). He was a six-time NBA All-Star selection and was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1961. Playing with Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham, Costello helped the 76ers capture the 1967 NBA Finals Championship over the San Francisco Warriors four games to two. After the 1967-68 season, Larry retired from playing compiling 8,622 career points, 2,705 total rebounds and 3,215 assists. Larry Costello was made head coach of the expansion Milwaukee Bucks immediately following his playing days and led them to a 56-26 record in his second season at the helm. In his third season, the relatively young team that included future Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Oscar Robertson won the NBA Finals Championship 4-0 over the Baltimore Bullets. Larry Costello was the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks nine seasons (1968-1977) before becoming the head coach of the Chicago Bulls for 56 games of the 1978-79 season. Costello compiled a record of 430-300 in 730 games over a 10-year NBA coaching career. He retired from the NBA following the 1978-79 season, then coached in the Women’s Professional Basketball League and eventually coached in the college ranks to finish his basketball career.

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Robert Joseph “Bob” Cousy (August 9, 1928-) was born in New York to French immigrants, not speaking English until the age of 5, was cut twice from his high school basketball team, road the bench at the College of the Holy Cross and became the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. After his early struggles at Holy Cross, Cousy led the Crusaders to the NCAA National Championship in 1947. Underrated by the Celtics organization as the 1950 NBA Draft approached, Bob was chosen by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks as the third overall pick in the draft. Refusing to report, Cousy would eventually be given to the Celtics, to their dismay, via dispersal draft after the Blackhawks refused Cousy’s salary demands and the Chicago Stags folded. Bob Impressed early one eventually hitting his stride in the 1952-53 season when he began a string of eight consecutive seasons that he led the NBA in assists. Cousy became a 13-time All-Star selection (named the All-Star Game MVP in 1954 and 1957) and 10-time All-NBA First Team player. In 1957, Bob captured the NBA Most Valuable Player Award as he guided the Celtics to the first of his six NBA Championships (1957, 1959-1963).   His innovative style of dribbling, ambidextrous ball handling and shooting, and no-look, behind the back and half-court passing made Cousy a fan favorite and key component around which Red Auerbach could build a team. He earned the nickname of “Houdini of the Hard-court” because of this unique and new style of play and was also called “The Cooz” and most notably, with all due respect to George Mikan, “Mr. Basketball.” Cousy finished his career with 16,960 points, 6,955 assists, 4,786 total rebounds, 4,624 free throws and 6,168 field goals. Cousy retired after the 1963 season, but made a brief comeback during the 1969-70 season as player/coach of the Cincinnati Royals. As a coach for the Cincinnati Royals (1969-1974), Cousy compiled a record of 141-209 in 350 games. Bob Cousy was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971. In 1996, Cousy was named to the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list. In retirement, Bob was the Commissioner of the American Soccer League during the late 1970s and has been a color analyst for the Celtics since the 1980s.

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Walter F. Dukes (June 23, 1930 - March 13, 2001) holds the record for highest career percentage (21.9%) of games fouled out for anyone playing over 400 games. Dukes was taken, out of Seton Hall University, as a territorial pick by the New York Knicks in the 1953 NBA Draft. He also received a law degree from New York Law School. He player center for the Knicks for one season (1955-56) before moving to the Minneapolis Lakers (1956-57) for one season. In 1957, Dukes found a home with the Detroit Pistons where he played the remainder of his NBA career (1957-1963. In his first two seasons with Detroit, he led the league in games played and personal fouls. He was elected to two NBA All-Star Games in 1960 and 1961. Walter Dukes finished his career after the 1962-63 season with 5,765 points, 6,223 total rebounds, 608 assists and 2,260 personal fouls. His is second in career disqualifications behind only Vern Mikkelsen. Walter played with various teams in the Continental Basketball Association (then the Eastern Professional Basketball League) before retiring from basketball altogether in 1969.

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