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The 1961 Fleer Basketball "A New Series... A Sure Hit" promotional piece stands as a pivotal moment in the history of basketball trading cards. Produced by Fleer Corporation, this promotional piece introduced an exciting new series of basketball cards that would go on to become a cherished collectible among sports enthusiasts.
There are a few interesting facts about the promo sheet. Most obvious is that all 8 of the color combinations below were changed in the officially released cards making these promos unique. Further, the sheet contains a misspelling of the most important card in the whole set Wilt Chamberlain card (#8) ... as well as Wilt Chamberlain's In Action card (#47). Chamberlain is spelled Chamberlin in both. Next, the Elgin Baylor In Action and Jack Twyman In Action cards are very different than their officially released counterparts. Details below. Finally, the Elgin Baylor and Elgin Baylor In Action cards do not have a Lakers logo in the sheet. This omission is likely due to the team's then recent move from Minneapolis and the team's failure to finalize its new branding at that time. Ultimately, Fleer used a Giraffe logo which was apparently never officially the Laker's logo! Perhaps, someone at Fleer just called an audible and inserted it to fill the space.
This is the final version of the Elgin Baylor IA card. Only 2 copies have achieved a PSA 10 grade and only 20 in a PSA 9 grade making it a very tough card to obtain in a high grade. Given that Elgin is wearing a Lakers jersey with stars flanking his number 22, we know that the photo was taken during a different game than the promo photo.
The promo version of this card omits the Lakers "Giraffe" logo, contains a different photograph and the new phrase "Pops A Basket". Depicted in the promo image is also Elgin's Lakers teammate "Hot" Rod Hundley (#33) and they are playing against the NY Knicks.
This is the final version of the Jack Twyman IA card. Only 1 copy has achieved a PSA 10 grade and only 26 in a PSA 9 grade making it a very tough card to obtain in a high grade. The light versus dark uniforms in the two cards shows that the photos were taken on different days. Here, Twyman is guarded by Boston Celtics Frank Ramsey #23.
The promo version of the Twyman IA card contains a different photograph but includes the same "Drives To The Basket" phrase. Here, Twyman is guarded by Boston Celtics Tom Heinsohn #18. Interestingly, Twyman is wearing his official #31 jersey number in the promo card but #37 in the officially released card (left).
Original photo used for promo version of the Elgin Baylor IA card.
Original photo used for promo version of the Jack Twyman IA card.
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