Basketball Cards & Memorabilia

1960 FERRERO I VINCITORI DELLE OLIMPIADI #76 PALLACANESTRO (ITALY)

This Ferrero set featured a variety of sports that were Olympic events. There were 100 cards in the set and this was the only basketball card. The back of the card mentions that the game was started in the United States and that the U.S. had won every Olympics basketball tournament up until then (1960).

Measurements: 1.375" x 1.75"

1960 MIO SPORT LOCATELLI #11 PALLACANESTRO (ITALY)

MIO was an Italian cheese company that occasionally released cards. The date of 1960 was determined by finding listings for the empty boxes that included these cards, with the same font and design, with 1960 being listed as the year in all descriptions. The back of the card mentions the invention of the game in America and briefly discusses the rules.

Measurements: 1.75" x 1.5"

1960 SPORT KWARTET #5D BASKETBALL JUMBO PLAYING CARD MET 36 KAARTEN (NETHERLANDS)

The Sport Kwartet set had 9 series of 4 cards, for a total of 36 cards, just one of which featured basketball (#5D) These cards feature the same images as the 1958 Ferd. Piatnik & Sohne Sports Quartet cards, so we know the set features the 1952 Olympic games in Helsinki.

​Measurements: 2.675" x 4.25"

1960 LIAM DEVLIN & SONS LTD, RIGHT OR WRONG #45 BASKET BALL (IRELAND)

Liam Devlin and Sons was an Irish candy company that primarily made candy cigarettes. The Right or Wrong card set consisted of 48 cards, all featuring various sports. The front of the cards would show a player(s) doing a particular sporting move or play and the back of the card would briefly explain if what they were shown doing was the right or wrong way.

Measurements: 2.25" x 3.125"

1960 CAISSE D'EPARGNE D'AMIENS BANK BASKETBALL CARD (FRANCE)

Amiens Savings Bank of France released sets of cards in 1960 that were produced to encourage young savers to join the bank and collect various sets of cards to complete albums for prizes. This was the only basketball card in their sports themed set, it's unknown how many sets they released and of what subjects.

Measurements: 1.875" x 1.625"

1960 TYPE IV PRESS PHOTOGRAPH OF A CLASSIC IMAGE OF JAMES NAISMITH

1961 WHEATIES GREAT MOMENTS IN CANADIAN SPORT #9 EDMONTON GRADS (CANADA)

The 25 card set was distributed in Wheaties cereal boxes in Canada. They featured illustrations on the front and highlights of athletic achievement on the back. The Edmonton Grads card is the only basketball card in the set.

Measurements: 2.25" x 3.5"

1961

1962 CHOCO BN CARD, TAKE PART IN THE COMPETITION #3 LONDON 1948 (FRANCE)

These cards were published Le Journal de Spirou, and removed from the comic section Histoires de l'oncle Paul between March and September of 1962. This is image #3 of a series of 12 hand cut cards, it is unknown if there are any other basketball cards in the series. It features the 1948 Olympic Basketball Games in London.

Measurements: 2" x 5" (card only)

1962

1962 EDITORIAL ROMA BARCELONA EL MUNDO EN QUE VIVIMOS, DEPORTES Y COMPETICIONES #17 BALONCESTO (SPAIN)

El Mundo en que Vivimos was a collection of 8 albums of cards that all featured different themes. Sports was featured in the 8th album, Deportes y Competiciones, which included this one basketball card. Each album included 24 cards and were meant to be hand cut from folded covers of the album and then to be glued inside the album to their corresponding spot. The basketball card was #17 in the Deportes subset and #185 in the entire Vivimos set of 192 cards.

Measurements: 2" x 2.75"

I have now found 3 variations of this card. The most common is the Dickson Orde & Co card (which measures slightly smaller). Dickson Orde was based in Farnham, Surrey and was a sweets company that produced candy cigarettes. A.C.W. Francis was a West Indies Tobacco company and seems likely to have released both a card bearing their name and the one with a blank back (both slightly larger then the Dickson and much rarer). These cards were released in a 25 card sports set featuring sports from different countries all over the world in 1962. Brazil (#12) was the only basketball card in the set. The Dickson Orde card mentions Brazil's bronze medal in the 1960 Olympic games, so the image on the card may be portraying that.

The Measurements (Dickson Orde): 1.375" x 2.625" Measurements (A.C.W. Francis & Blank Back) 1.5625" x 2.75"

1962 SPORTS OF THE COUNTRIES BRAZIL, 3 VARIATIONS - DICKSON ORDE & CO #12, A.C. W. FRANCIS & BLANK BACK (U.K. & THE WEST INDIES)

*The blank back and ACW Francis variations are rarer.

1963 KAHN'S WIENERS JERRY WEST (U.S.A.)

The 1963 Kahn's set can be distinguished from other years as it in the only one to incorporate white borders on the front of the cards. The basketball set consisted of 13 cards, with all the cards featuring players from the Cincinnati Royals with the exception of this Jerry West card of the Los Angeles Lakers. The same photo of West's "stuff-shot" was used the year prior on his 1962 Kahn's card as well (no border, different facsimile signature). "

Measurements: 3.25" x 4.25"

1963

1963 CARR’S BISCUITS "SPORTS" CHAMPIONS ILLUSTRATED RECORDS HAND-CUT BASKET BALL CARD (U.K.)

These extremely rare hand-cut cards were issued by Carr’s of Carlisle Ltd Biscuit company of England. The set consisted of 48 cards total featuring a variety of sports. The cards were initially released on a strip, meant to be cut-out and affixed to an accompanying album. They also had tabs at the bottom that could be bent and folded to create a stand up model of the card. Each card would name the sport and then one interesting fact about it. They have been dated to 1963 due to the fact that the football card mentions the F.A. Cup Winners of 1962-63 and the basketball card mentions the last Olympics as 1960. ​The cards are numbered in the album, but no copy of the full album is available online, so the number for the basketball card is unknown (for now).

Measurements: 2.5" x 2.5"

1963 GAD FUN CARDS #76 NEW YORK GERMANS (U.S.A.)

The 1963 Gad Fun Cards were issued by a sports illustrator named Gad from Minneapolis, Minnesota. A sports cartoon was on the front of the card accompanied by a sports fact or statistic. The back of the card contained another unrelated cartoon with a joke or riddle. There were 84 cards in the set, with just one (#76) featuring basketball.

Measurements: 2.5" x 3.5"

1963 KTAV PUBLISHING JEWISH SPORTS CHAMPIONS HAND CUT CARDS (U.S.A.)

The KATV featured Jewish athletes and the cards were released in uncut sheets that were meant to be hand cut to create individual cards. There are 2 basketball players featured in the set, Dolph Schayes and Nat Holman. ​

Measurements: 2.375" x 3.125"

1963 CHOCOLATES LA ANTORCHA ALCOY EL MUNDO EN QUE VIVIMOS, SERIE 8a DEPORTES Y COMPETICIONES #17 BALONCESTO (SPAIN)

The Chocolates La Antorcha album used the same cards and numbering as the similar 1962 Editorial Roma release, but all 8 series were included in a single album, rather than individual albums, and the cards were also not hand cut like those of the Editorial Roma version. The Baloncesto card # 17 in the Deportes y Competiciones Serie 8a was the only basketball card in the 192 card sets.

Measurements: 2" x 2.75"

NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOMPANYING LETTERS

This rare annual report features a cover highlighting the first N.A.B.C. East/West All-Star Game. The report itself was sent to members and investors of the Hall of Fame, detailing the budget, plans and progress of the HOF building and memorial which eventually opened up 5 years later in 1968. The 20 page report also includes a lot of pictures, Hall of Fame Electees & Inductees and a full list of members and investors names. There are also 2 typed letters that accompany the report, one summarizing its contents and the other detailing the newly formed 12 member committee.

1964 BOBBIE MILOU GUM, EDITION RIZLA, TOKIO 1964 #44 TEAM USA BASKETBALL (BELGIUM)

These Belgian Bobbie Milou Bubble Gum cards featured images from the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo. The accompanying album, Tokio 1964, was issued by Rizla, a tobacco rolling paper company that still operates today. I'm not sure why they co-branded this release or how the cards and album were distributed. There are 3 versions of the card backs. 1 in French, 1 in Dutch, and one in both languages. This example features both languages. There were 160 total cards in the set, with this card featuring the U.S.A. team being the only basketball card.

​Measurements: 2.5" x 1.25"

1964

1964 RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT! LIBRARY OF CARDS #263 SPORTS RUMMY SET, #P1 VERN GAUGUSH (NORTH AMERICA)

The Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Library of Cards sets were designed as a rummy-style game where players could learn unusual facts. The cards were released in both English and a bilingual English/French version, which leads me to believe they were likely released in both the United States and Canada. The sets included 32 cards and instructions. The #P1 Basketball Card in the Sports Set (#263), featured the Lewis College player Vern Gaugush, and a story of how his team won a game with his only successful shot in the 6th overtime. It was the only basketball card in the set. I have also seen sets that feature Animals, Ships and War.

Measurements: 2.125” x 3.1875”

1964 WELCOME-TARZAN et JOHNNY CHEWING GUM OLYMPIC FLASH #16 BASKETBALL (FRANCE)

This postcard sized card was the only basketball card in this set of 40 cards released by Welcome-Tarzan and Johnny Chewing Gum in France that commemorated the Olympic Games. The other cards featured various Olympic sports and events. The cards were released just prior to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and listed the winning country of the sport for the previous 5 Olympics on the reverse. 1964 was left blank with a note encouraging the card holder to write in the upcoming results of the winner for that year. I would assume the image on front depicts the 1960 (most recent) games. It's very similar to the positioning of the pictured Oscar Robertson photo and his defender, it even has the same jersey number, although not quite similar enough to make a determination.

Measurements: 3.5" x 5.5"

1960s IMPRIMERIE ATELIER LITHOGRAPHIQUE LES PLUS BELLES COLLECTIONS D'IMAGES, SERIE 1 LES SPORTS, NO 10 BASKET-BALL (FRANCE)

I cannot find much information about these sets online, so I'm limited to the information on the back and the few available exemplar images I could find. The year released is just an estimate. The Imprimerie Atelier Lithographique was a printing lithograph workshop in Loire France. This set was released in 4 series, with the 1st series, Les Sports, focused on Olympic sporting events. There were 15 cards in each series for a total of 60 cards. Back is stamped Bon pour Nougat (Good for Nougat), so I assume these ​could be traded in for a nougat candy. If this is featuring an Olympic event, it must be attributed to the 1936 Olympics, the only games where basketball was played outdoors.

​Measurements: 2.625" x 3.75"

1964 LAMBERTS OF NORWICH SPORTS & GAMES #22 NETBALL (U.K.)

Lamberts was a tea company in England and they distributed these Sports and Games cards in some of their tea blends in 1964. The set consisted of 25 cards, one of which being the popular European game of netball, an offshoot of basketball.

​Measurements: 1.5" x 2.675"

1964 HERBA-VERLAG OLYMPISCHER SPORT, BILD 86, BASKETBALL (WEST GERMANY)

The Olympischer Sport set consisted of 96 cards and featured the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo. The cards had variations with the text color on the reverse, being released in both blue and black text. This card features a semi-final game ​between Brazil and Czechoslovakia.

​Measurements: 2.375" x 3.375"

1964 BRUGUERA ENCICLOPEDIA DESPORTIVA COLECCION DE 250 CROMOS (SPAIN)

The Enciclopedia Deportiva set consisted of 250 cards depicting various Olympic games. There was a total of 10 basketball cards. These were meant to be glued to an accompanying album, so they are often found with residue on the back. ​Measurements: 2.25" x 3.25"

1964 DISGRA ATLETAS TOKIO BASKETBALL CARDS (SPAIN)

The Disgra Atletas Tokio 1964 set consisted of a variety of sports, with 13 cards featuring basketball. Many of the same images in this set were also used in both the 1966 Fher Konga set & the 1967 La Cibeles Curiosidades Del Mundo set. The basketball cards include many FIBA Hall of Fame players, most notably the first true rookie card of both FIBA & Naismith Hall of Fame player Radijov Korac. These cards are typically glued to an album, so they are often found with glue residue on the reverse. Measurements: 1.625" x 2.375"

1964 RUIZ ROMERO OLIMPIADA DE TOKIO #161 BALONCESTO (SPAIN)

There were 298 cards in this set that all featured Olympic games and sports from the 1964 games. This is the only card that features basketball to the best of my knowledge. These were typically glued to an accompanying album, so they are difficult to find in nice condition. ​

Measurements: 1.875" x 3"

1964 NESTLE LOS JUEGOS OLIMPICOS TOKIO 1964 #306 BALONCESTO (SPAIN)

There were 343 cards in the Albumes Nestle Los Juegos Olimpicos set and they all featured 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo. #306 is the only basketball card to my knowledge. These were often glued to the accompanying album, so they are harder to find in nice condition. ​

Measurements: 1.5" x 2.25"

1964 CAMPIONI DELLA XVIII OLIMPIADE DI TOKIO CARDS BY EDIZIONI LAMPO (ITALY)

There were 114 cards in this set and they featured Italian athletes that were participating in the 1964 Olympic games. There were 6 basketball players/cards. ​

Measurements: 2.25" x 3"

1965 SAMALLI EL BUEN CHOCOLATE COLECCIÓN ALBUM 2 EDUCADOR, SERIE 8, NUM. 5 (SPAIN)

Samalli Chocolates of Spain produced these cards and corresponding album as an education and learning series. Album 1 was released in 1963 and this basketball card is from Series 8 of the 2nd album, which was released in 1965. The 2nd album set consisted of 100 cards, this is the only basketball card in the set.

​Measurements: 2.75" x 2.125"

1965

1965 JENKKI GUM HELLAS OLYMPOS #144 TEAM U.S.A. 1964 OLYMPICS CARD (SWEDEN)

There were a total of 150 cards in this set that featured individuals and teams that competed in the 1964 games. The exact number of cards dedicated to basketball is unknown, but I do know of at least 2, #144 Team USA (shown) & #66 USA vs France (not in collection). ​

Measurements: 2" x 3"

1965 CRACK GOLAZO TARJETONES (ARGENTINA)

The majority of these Argentinian cards featured soccer but there were a total of 5 basquet (basketball) cards that are all shown here. These cards seem difficult to find in nice condition. ​Measurements: 2.5" x 3.5"

1965 FLEER WEIRD-OHS (U.S.A.)

The Weird-Ohs set consisted of 66 cards featuring "weird" monsters playing a variety of sports. There were 3 basketball cards all featuring "Francis the Foul". His basketball image was also used on the back of every card in the set. Fleer released the cards and they were based off of toy models made by the Hawk Model Company.

Measurements: 2.5" x 3.5"

1960s VARI-VUE LENTICULAR FLICKER CARD A S-18 (U.S.A.)

Vari-Vue produced lenticular flicker cards of all types of subjects throughout the 1960s. This is the only basketball example I've seen. It's similar to the lenticular cards that were distributed by Cracker Jacks at the time.

Measurements: 1.25" x 1.125"

1960s COCA COLA BASKETBALL ILLUSTRATED TRADE ADVERTISING CARDS W/ REF SIGNALS ON REVERSE

Konga was a Spanish soda company and they produced this 264 card set featuring various popular sports that was distributed with their products. The majority of the cards featured soccer but there were 11 basketball cards as well. These typically have residue on the back as they were often glued to the accompanying album.

​Measurements: 1.5" x 2.375"

1966

1966 KONGA DEPORTE Y PREMIOS (SPAIN)

1966 EDICIONES INFANTILES CRACK CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL LONDRES 66 (URUGUAY)

The Londres 66 set consisted of around 400 cards that featured various sports including basketball. The exact number of basketball cards is unknown but I've compiled 10 examples thus far. These were typically glued to their accompanying album, so they are difficult to find in nice condition. Measurements: 1.125" x 1.75"

There is not much information online about this set but they initially came in sheets and were meant to be hand-cut into cards. The football cards came in team specific sheets, I assume the basketball cards were similar but the exact number of basketball cards is unknown. ​

Measurements: 1.75" x 2.375"

1966-67 BAGGIOLI PALLACANESTRO FIGURINA CARDS (ITALY)

These colorful cards featured caricature-style images of athletes from all different types of sports, with notable cards of Pele and Muhammad Ali. I cannot find a full checklist for the set but do know it's at least 162 cards, the exact number of basketball cards is unknown, although I have seen a couple other players.

Measurements: 2.5" x 3.5"

1967

1967 CRACK FIGURITAS SPORT # 160 ERNESTO GHERMANN BASQUETBALL (ARGENTINA)

1967 EDICIONES CRACK ALBUM LOS TRICO Y LOS PEÑA (URUGUAY)

The Los Peña album was large, with hundreds of cards, that had a diverse array of different designs (illustrated, photo, double cards). The majority of the set featured soccer, although there were many basketball cards included, the exact number of which is unknown. Some photo cards were joined together, to create a single image, like that of card #130 & #131, which feature a photo of the 1964 USA Olympic Basketball team. These cards were typically glued to an album, so to find them without residue or in good condition is difficult. Measurements: 1.5" x 1.875"

1967 NESTLE EL DEPORTE VISTO POR SUS ASES BALONCESTO

The El Deporte Visto Por Sus Ases featured 12 different sports, all of which had their own small album to accompany them. Baloncesto was album #3 and there were 24 basketball cards in total (all shown here). These can be more difficult to find without residue, loose from an album. Measurements: 2.25" x 1.5"

La Cibeles was a chocolate company and their 1967 album "Curiosities of the World" consisted of 120 cards featuring the sciences, transportation, geography, plants and sports. Card #85 featured basketball and was the exact same image used on the 1966 Konga Deporte Y Premios release, with the only difference being the addition of the La Cibeles logo in the upper right corner.

Measurements: 1.5" x 2.375"

1967 ¿SABIAS QUE... CURIOSIDADES DEL MUNDO, LA CIBELES, EDITORIAL FHER, S. A. (SPAIN)

1967-68 PANINI CAMPIONI DELLO SPORT PALLACANESTRO COMPLETE SUBSET (ITALY)

The 1967 Panini Campioni Dello Sport Cards were a 534 card set featuring a variety of different sports. There were 51 total basketball cards in the set (all seen here). These cards can be more common to find, although they often come with residue on the back as they were meant to be glued into an album. ​Measurements: 1.625" x 2.625"

This card featuring the Belgian basketball club, Racing Bell Mechelen, or Racing Club Marines, has no makers mark and I'm unable to find any information about it. ​The club were the champions of the Belgian League in the 1966-67 season.

Measurements: 3.5" x 5.875"

1967 RACING BELL MECHELEN TEAM PHOTO CARD, UNKNOWN MAKER (BELGIUM)

This set includes 64 cards that all feature photographic images from the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The cards were meant to be glued into the accompanying hardcover album. There is 1 basketball card in the set that spotlights the final game between the United States and Yugoslavia. Spencer Haywood (#14) is in the foreground, so this card pre-dates his 1971-72 Topps rookie card. Team USA went on to beat Yugoslavia, earning their 7th consecutive gold medal.

Measurements: 2.875” x 4.25”

1968 RHEINISCHER BRAUNKOHLENBRIKETT-VERKAUF MEXICO IXX. OLYMPISHE SOMMERSPIELE SERIE 4 #57 USA VS. YUGOSLAVIA (GERMANY)

1968

There were 72 cards in this set that featured participants in the 1968 Olympic games. There were a total of 4 basketball cards. These were meant to be adhered to a corresponding album, so they are hard to find without residue.

Measurements: 1.75" x 2.5"

1968 CHOCOLATES SULTANA HISTORIA DE LOS JUEGOS OLIMPICOS COLECCION DE 72 FOTOCROMOS (SPAIN)

This set was produced by Coled Educational Collections and featured 310 cards showcasing a variety of different sports. I believe there are 9 total basketball cards. These were often glued to an album, so they are hard to find without residue on the back.

Measurements: 3" x 4"

1968 CONTAMOS CONTIGO PROMOCION DEPORTIVA (SPAIN)

1968 FHER/DETERGENTE WILCO LAVANDO, YO DESCANSANDO (SPAIN)

These Fher issued cards were released in Wilco Laundry Detergent boxes. There were 4 subsets of 40 cards each, for a total of 160 cards. The sets came in 4 colors with the color green representing the sports series. The 40 card green set featured a variety of sports including 3 basketball cards (all seen here). Measurements: 1.5" x 2.5"

1968 JUEGOS OLIMPICOS DIFUSORA DE CULTURA (SPAIN)

This was a multi-sport set that consisted of 240 total cards. The exact number of basketball cards is unknown but does ​include cards of the Harlem Globetrotters and the USA Olympic basketball team. These were often glued to their album, so they are difficult to find without residue. Measurements: 2.75" x 4"

1968 LA REVISTA AMA SERIE DEPORTES (SPAIN)

These hand-cut cards were originally published in Ama Magazine. ​They are often found miscut or without the yellow bordering. There are 14 total basketball cards.

Measurements: 2.25" x 2.375"

1968 VICTORIA PARADE DES VEDETTES ALBUM 2 (BELGIUM)

There were a total of 13 Basketball cards in this Album #2 set of 208 total cards. Album #1 was released 3 years earlier, in 1965 and also featured 13 Basketball players. These were meant to be adhered to an accompanying album, so finding them without residue is more difficult. Measurements: 1.675" x 2.5"

1968 ALBUM FIGURINE NANNINA (ITALY)

The Nannina set consisted of 350 cards, most of which were football, but it also included 10 basketball cards (8 players & 2 coaches). The cards were not numbered and had blank backs. These were meant to be adhered to an album, so they are difficult to find without residue on the back. Measurements: 1.625" x 2"

NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME OFFICIAL ENSHRINEMENT NEWSPAPER, APRIL 14th, 1968

Published by The Springfield, Massachusetts Sunday Republican. Includes inductees, the opening ceremony events, basketball history and photographs and commemoration themed advertisements with historical images.

1969 S.D. KAS BASKETBALL TEAM (SPAIN)

These cards were manufactured and distributed by S.D. KAS Soda company which sponsored the team featured. The exact number of cards in the set is unknown but I assume the set includes the entire team. ​Measurements: 3.5" x 5.5"

1969

1969-70 PANINI CAMPIONI DELLO SPORT PALLACANESTRO COMPLETE SUBSET (ITALY)

The 1969 Panini Campioni Dello Sport Cards were a 436 card set featuring a variety of different sports. There were 40 total basketball cards in the set (all seen here). These cards can be more common to find, although they often come with residue on the back as they were meant to be glued into an album. ​Measurements: 1.125" x 1.625"

The Campioni Dello Sport set of 1969-70 also had subsets of Vignetta Autoadesiva (self-adhesive stickers), that included team sports, metallic coat of arms, and illustrations of individual athletes of various sports (seen here). ​There were 2 basketball player stickers included in the illustrated athlete stickers.

Measurements: 1.125" x 2.625"

1969-70 PANINI CAMPIONI DELLO SPORT VIGNETTA AUTOADESIVA (ITALY)