The Olympics
Cards, Photos, Ephemera & memorabilia that feature basketball at the Olympic games. From it's introduction in 1936 to the 1968 games.
Collection
The first year that basketball was introduced as an Olympic sport. The games were held in Berlin, then Nazi Germany. Team USA won the Gold medal by defeating Canada 19 to 8 in the final, which was played outdoors in the rain and mud, making it extremely difficult to dribble. Notable players included Joe Fortenberry and Bill Wheatley. The gold medal was presented by the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, who had traveled to Germany to witness basketball's first Olympic games.
I've been fortunate enough to obtain every known contemporary card of the 1930's that featured basketball at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. For a summary of that collection, you can read my article HERE or see below.
1936 GAMES
1935 MURATTI CIGARETTES BRENNPUKTE DES DEUTSCHEN SPORTS BAND II #196 BASKETBALL (GERMANY)
This set was released by Muratti cigarettes of Berlin and features sports and athletes of the 1936 Berlin Olympic games. There were over 700 cards in 3 subsets and there were 2 basketball cards in the set. This is the more common of the two and and shows the Wünsdorf team vs the Berlin team while training for the Olympics. This was the first basketball card ever produced in Germany.
Measurements: 2.5" x 3.5"
1935 PETER KÖLLN DEUTSCHE KÄMPFER FÜR OLYMPIA, SERIE 4, BILDER 60, KORBBALLSPIEL (GERMANY)
The Peter Kolln company is a German oatmeal company that has been in business since 1820. In 1935, they released this set that consisted of 60 cards that all featured athletes and games of the upcoming 1936 Berlin Olympics. This is the only basketball card in the set.
Measurements: 2" x 3.125"
1936 KOSMOS OLYMPIA #175 BASKETBALL (GERMANY)
The Kosmos Olympia cards are another German card that features Olympic games. The backs of the card give descriptions of the athletes and games and mention a special offer to redeem a larger 6"x9" card. I have yet to see an example of the 6"x9" basketball card from this set if it exists.
Measurements: 2.375" x 3.375"
1936 MUHLEN FRANCK OLYMPIA SERIE 20 #4 USA BASKETBALL (GERMANY)
Mühlen Franck was a coffee company in Berlin that also produced cards for the 1936 Olympics. This card featured the U.S.A. team and was in color, which many other German cards released for the games were not. The U.S.A. defeated Mexico in the final game to become the first team to win a gold medal in basketball.
Measurements: 2.75" x 4.125"
1936 PET CREMER OLYMPIA #76 USA BASKETBALL (GERMANY)
Pet Cremer was a soap detergent company in Germany that also produced cards for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Their set consisted of 144 cards, with 1 being basketball that featured the U.S.A. team.
Measurements: 2.5" x 3.25"
1936 REEMSTMA SAMMELWERK BAND 1&2 NR.13&14 CARDS #143 #156 #157 (GERMANY)
Reemstma released 2 sets (Band 1&2) of cards that were made to adhere to an accompanying album of the 1936 Olympic games. There were a total of 3 basketball cards in the 2 sets, with number #157 (Philippines vs Mexico) being larger than the other 2. These cards seem to be the most common of the 1936 German Olympic cards.
Measurements: 3.125" x 4.75" & 4.75" x 6.75"
1936 SIDOL-WERKE SIEGEL & CO, OLYMPIADE 1936, BILD 171, GRUPPE V, BASKETTBALL (GERMANY)
Sidol Werke was a German shoe polish company that released a 1936 Olympics set of 180 cards. This is the only basketball card and features the photo of The Philippines vs Mexico that was used in other releases as well. This set was in color, while most German releases were black and white.
Measurements: 2.5" x 3.5"
1936 ED. HAAS DIE SIEGER DER OYLMPIADE BERLIN, NR. 72, BASKET-BALL (GERMANY)
Ed. Haas was a baking powder company in Germany that produced these cards for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. This was the only basketball card in the set of 128 cards and features the photo of The Philippines vs Mexico that was also used in other card releases. The Haas cards are one of the more rare German sets from 1936 and are smaller than most others. There is also a black bordered variation of this, labeled #62, which is much rarer then #72.
Measurements: 1.625" x 2.375"
1936 ED. HAAS DIE SIEGER DER OYLMPIADE BERLIN, NR. 62, BASKET-BALL (GERMANY)
1936 MURATTI CIGARETTES BRENNPUKTE DES DEUTSCHEN SPORTS BAND III #196 PHILIPPINES-MEXICO (GERMANY)
This set was released by Muratti cigarettes of Berlin and features sports and athletes of the 1936 Berlin Olympic games. There were over 700 cards in 3 subsets, with 2 basketball cards, one in Band II (released in 1935) and this far more rare Band III card featuring an image from the Olympic match between the Philippines and Mexico.
Measurements: 2.5" x 3.5"
1936 YRAMOS DRESDEN SOMMER-OLYMPIADE SERIE E #64 PHILLIPINES VS MEXICO (GERMANY)
Yramos cigarettes was another issuer of 1936 Olympics cards and released two different series (E&F) dedicated to the summer Olympic games. This card (#64 in Series E) is the only card featuring basketball in either series and features a game between the Philippines and Mexico. This rare card uses the same image that is used on the even rarer 1936 Muratti cigarettes card.
Measurements: 3.5" x 4.75"
1936 BRAEMER & GULL OLYMPISCHEN SPIELEN #106 MEXICO VS PHILIPPINES (GERMANY)
Braemer & Gull was a press photo company and their 1936 Olympic set were numbered photo cards with blank backs. There was no accompanying album for the cards and they were released in packs. The set consisted of 204 cards, with this being the only basketball card and it featured the often used iconic image from the Philippines vs Mexico match.
Measurements: 1.75" x 2.625"
1936 DIE OLYMPISCHEN SPIELE STEREOSCOPIC CARD #54 BASKETBALL (GERMANY)
The Die Olympischen Spiele cards were stereoscopic cards had images meant to be used with a stereo viewer, which was included in the accompanying album. The cards featured different sports from the 1936 Olympics, one of which was a basketball card, #54, which features a scene from the Poland vs. Mexico game in which they were playing for the bronze medal. The cards came in a numbered set of 100 and the photographs were taken by Heinrich Hoffmann, the official photographer of the Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party. Hoffman was arrested by the United States army in 1945 and was sentenced to prison for war profiteering.
Measurements: 2.25" x 5"
1936 KAISER'S COFFEE KAMPFREGELN FUR DIE OLYMPISCHEN SPIELE (RULES OF COMBAT FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES) #33 BASKETBALL (GERMANY)
Beginning in November of 1935, 2 of these collective cards were issued weekly featuring descriptions and rules for different Olympic sports and events leading up until the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. The complete set consisted of 50 cards.
Measurements: 4.125" x 5.75"
1936 THEODOR GRÜNEIS PASSAU XI. OLYMPIADE BERLIN 1936, BILD NO. 17, BASKETBALLTURNIER, PHILLIPINEN VS MEXIKO (GERMANY)
I cannot find any information online for this set. I've inquired with other collector's and some have heard of it but never actually seen them before, it is considered to be the rarest of the 1936 German Olympics sports card releases. I've included an image of the only other card examples I could find from the set. These cards were released by Theodor Grüneis Tobacco of Passau, Germany in 1936. Like many German Berlin Olympic sets of that year, I assume the set consisted of a variety of athletes and games. This basketball card is number 17 in a series of 60 cards and features the 2nd round match between the Philippines vs Mexico on August 9th, 1936, in which the Philippines won 32-30.
Measurements: 1.75" x 2.625"
1952 OLYMPIA QUARTETT #5D PLAYING CARD, MANNSCHAFTSSPIELE BASKETBALL BY BIELEFELDER SPIELKARTEN G.M.B.H. (GERMANY)
This card was part of a card playing game that featured summer sports that commemorated the 1936 Olympic Games. There were 48 cards in total.
Measurements: 2.5" x 4"
1954 CAJA DE AHORROS DE ASTURIAS, CROMOS CULTURALES, SERIE 5, NO. 15 BALONCESTO - PARTIDO MEJICO-ITALIA, EN LA OLIMPIADA DE BERLIN (SPAIN)
Caja De Ahorros De Asturias was a Savings Bank in Oviedo, Spain. They gave out these cards to children every time they put a peseta (coin) into their savings account. The cards were meant to be glued into an accompanying album, Album de Cultura y Arte. The set consisted of 15 Series of 20 cards each for a total of 300 cards. The 5th series was sports and included this one basketball card (#15) with a famous image of a match between Mexico & Italy in the 1936 Olympics. The same image was used on many 1936 Olympic German card releases.
Measurements: 1.50" x 2.125"
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"
TAGES-PROGRAMM, XI. OLYMPILCHE SPIELE BERLIN, AUGUST 14TH, 1936
This daily program from the 1936 Olympic Games features the 1st final Olympic Basketball tournament between the U.S.A. and Canada on August 14th of 1936. Below is a well written description of that day and event from a recent Goldin auction for this same program. The weather had held out perfectly for most of the Berlin Olympics, but Aug. 14th opened with a driving rain. That afternoon, the United States was scheduled to play Canada for the very first Gold Medal in basketball. The game's inventor, Canadian James Naismith, was even on hand to award the medals, but as the morning progressed, the rain continued, turning the outdoor clay court into a mud pit. That the Canadian team even made it to Germany that summer was a minor miracle - the depths of the depression had left Canada's winning team, the Windsor Alumni, without the funds to travel to Europe. The Alumni came up with the bright idea to change their name to the "Windsor Ford V-8's" and secured the financial backing from Henry Ford that allowed them to travel to Berlin. Led by the team's young captain, Jimmy Stewart, the Canadians defeated Brazil, Latvia, Switzerland, and Uruguay on their way to the finals. From the stands, Stewart's wife Mary cheered on Team Canada as they edged past Poland in the semi-final round. Now, as the rain poured from the skies over Berlin, the United States team was the only thing standing in the way of the first Gold Medal for Basketball.
PHOTOGRAPH OF THE 1936 USA BASKETBALL TEAM FROM THE PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT AT CONVERSE CIRCA 1970s/1980s
I’m finding it difficult to find any information on this. I do see that Converse Headquarters was at the address listed on the letter until the mid 1980s but cannot find a comparable of any kind to determine exactly when, how many of these letters/photos were produced and for what purpose.
Measurements: Photo is 8" x 10", Newsletter is 8.5" x 11"
1936 SWISS SOMBOL ANTIQUE POCKET WATCH, SPECIALLY MADE FOR THE 1936 OLYMPIC GAMES IN BERLIN
The watches were awarded to the athletes who participated in the Olympic Basketball competition. The player this watch was gifted to is unknown. All original parts in working order.
ORIGINAL STEREOSCOPIC GLASS PLATES (POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE), PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE 1936 OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAMS TRAINING FOR THE GAMES
These images were taken by Olympic Fencing Champion Jacques Coutrot, when he himself was training for the French Olympic Fencing team. Refer to images for the auction descriptions and provenance.
There were no Olympic games in 1940 or 1944 due to World War II. The 1948 games were held in London, England. Team USA won the gold medal that year, defeating France 65 to 21, and going undefeated with an 8-0 record. The USA team was a mix of players from the University of Kentucky and AAU teams, including the Phillips 66ers. Notable players included Alex Groza, Bob Kurland, and Don Barksdale, who became the first Black player to represent the USA in Olympic basketball.
1948 GAMES
There are very few (known) card issued for the 1948 games. It is the scarcest year for cards out of any of the basketball Olympic years since inception.
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)
1951 ALBOSPORT EDITRICE DIDASCO PALLACANESTRO CARDS (ITALY)
There was a massive 675 cards in the Didasco set and they featured a variety of popular sports at the time. There were 15 total basketball cards, the majority of which showing Italian matches vs. other world teams. Due to the teams involved in the matches, these cards have been determined to feature the 1948 Olympic games in London. The Albosport album has many cards that highlight the 1948 games and the Olympics symbol is featured on the cover. There are also 3 cards that feature the Harlem Globetrotters. Two of them are of the team and one is a solo card for one-armed Globetrotter, Boyd Buie, which I believe is the only card ever featuring him as a player. Measurements: 1.25" x 1.5"
The 1952 games were held in Helsinki, Finland. The USA team won the gold medal that year, defeating the Soviet Union, who made their debut in basketball at the 1952 games. The USA team was a mix of talent from the NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawks, the Peoria Caterpillars AAU team, and the Phillips 66ers. Notable players included Bob Kurland, Wayne Glasgow, and Bill Hougland.
1952 GAMES
1952 DORAMIN MANDELA OLYMPISCHE SPIELE VORSCHAU AUF HELSINKI, BAND 1 #69 PERU OLYMPIC COMMITTEE BASKETBALL (GERMANY)
Doramin Mandela was a margarine product in Germany that released this set of cards that were given away as singles with purchases of their products. The cards featured countries and players of the 1952 Helsinki Olympic games and were meant to be glued into the accompanying album, Vorschau Auf Helsinki (Preview of Helsinki). There were a total of 80 cards in the set, 40 in color representing the participating countries, and 40 black & white photos of individual athletes. This card featuring the Peruvian Olympic Committee was the only basketball card.
Measurements: 1.875" x 2.75"
1952 BALAS SELEÇÕES SÉRIES ESPORTIVAS (BRAZIL)
This 1952 Brazilian card set and album was released by Selecoes chocolates. It features 284 cards of athletes from a variety of sports. There were 12 basketball cards in the set, numbers 117 thru 128. These cards are difficult to find without residue on the back or in good condition. At least two of the players featured were on the 1952 Brazilian Olympic basketball team, including Alfredo da Motta & Algodão. Brazil finished 4th overall at the games. Measurements: 1.375" x 2"
1952 OLYMPIA-SAMMELBILDER XV. HELSINKI SUMMER GAMES #89 CHILE VS. BRAZIL (HAND CUT) (GERMANY)
The cards from this set were printed on paper and hand cut into individual cards. It is unknown how many cards are in the set but this is the only one featuring basketball that I've seen. There were a variety of 6 advertisers listed as publishers on the back of these cards, so examples will vary.
Measurements: 2.375" x 3.625"
1952 KOSMOS-ZIGARETTENBILDER OLYMPISCHE SPIELE HELSINKI #195 (GERMANY)
The Kosmos tobacco company released this 200 card set featuring athletes and sports from the 1952 Olympic games in Helsinki. There were 2 basketball cards in the set, #4 featuring Clyde Lovellette towering over Mehmod Mamdjou and #195 featuring the Basketball final between Russia & America (also showing Lovellette).
Measurements: 2.875" x 4.25"
1954 VEB VOLKSKUNSTVERLAG XV. OLYMPISCHE SOMMERSPIELE HELSINKI NO. 72 - SOVIET UNION VS. URUGUAY (EAST GERMANY)
This is card 72 out of a 100 card set published by Der Volkseigenen Zigarettenindustrie (The nationally owned cigarette industry) featuring various athletes and games from the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. These cards were meant to be adhered to the XV. Olympische Sommerspiele album by Veb Volkskunstverlag. This is the only basketball card that I'm aware of from the set, I'm unsure if there are others.
Measurements: 2.25" x 3.125"
The Piatnik Sport Kwartet set had 9 series of 4 cards, for a total of 36 cards, just one of which featured basketball (#5D) I have determined that this set features the 1952 Helsinki Olympics by looking at some of the other playing cards. The discus throw card, #1D, features 1952 Soviet Gold medal winner Nina Romashkova, and the figure skating card, #8C, features the 1952 British Gold medal winner Jeannette Altwegg.
Measurements: 2.75" x 4.25"
1958 FERD. PIATNIK & SOHNE WIEN XIV No. 294 SPORTS QUARTET #5D BALL GAMES, BASKETBALL (AUSTRIA)
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"
The Semi-Final game was won by the United States 85 to 76. Clyde Lovelette scored 27 points for Team USA, his highest points total of the series. Team USA won all 8 of their matches and went on to defeat Russia for the gold medal.
JULY 31st, 1952 HELSINKI XV OLYMPICS BASKETBALL SEMI-FINAL GAME TICKET, USA VS. ARGENTINA
The 1956 games were held in Melbourne, Australia. Team USA was dominant and went undefeated with an 8-0 record. They beat the Soviet Union in the final, 89 to 55, to win yet another gold medal. Notable players were Bill Russell and K.C. Jones. Russell was the team's leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points per game.
1956 GAMES
1956 OLYMPIAD MELBOURNE COLE SWAP BASKETBALL CARD (AUSTRAILIA)
These Australian cards featured illustrations of Olympic sports. The number of cards in the set is unknown. Measurements: 2.25" x 3.5"
1956 COLE SWAP WOMENS BASKETBALL CARD (AUSTRAILIA)
This Cole Swap card is similar in design as the 1956 Melbourne Olympics card but has different bordering on the front and no Cole markings on the back. It seems to be quite a bit rarer than the 1956 Olympics Cole Swap card. Measurements: 2.25" x 3.5"
The Olympische Sommerspiele card set was produced by Veb Sport-Toto of Berlin and consisted of 100 cards featuring various athletes and events of the 1956 Olympic games in Melbourne, Australia. There were two sizes of cards, 50 large cards and 50 jumbo cards in the set. This card featuring Team USA vs the USSR was the standard large size and the only card featuring basketball in the set. Bill Russell was notably part of the USA team just prior to making his debut in the NBA. The cards were meant to be adhered to the (pictured) accompanying album, so finding them without residue can be difficult.
Measurements: 3.25" x 4.75"
1956 VEB SPORT-TOTO BERLIN OLYMPISHE SOMMERSPIELE MELBOURNE USA VS. USSR BASKETBALL CARD (GERMANY)
These cards were released by Comet Sweets Cigarettes before the 1960 Olympic games. There were 50 cards in 2 sets that depicted different Olympic achievements up until that point. Number 12 is the only basketball card in the set and features Team USA in the 1956 Olympic games in Melbourne.
Measurements: 1.375" x 2.5"
1959 COMET SWEETS OLYMPIC ACHIEVEMENTS #12 BASKETBALL (U.K.)
1956 OLYMPIC GAMES BASKETBALL TICKET (MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, NOVEMBER 30TH, 1956)
The 1960 games were held in Rome, Italy. The USA team that year is considered one of the greatest amateur teams ever assembled. They dominated and went undefeated with an 8-0 record, winning by an average of 42.4 points per game. Notable players included Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Jerry Lucas. 10 players on the team went on to have NBA careers, and the entire team was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2010.
1960 GAMES
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"
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.
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"
The 1964 games were held in Tokyo, Japan. Team USA once again defeated the Soviet Union for the gold medal, marking their sixth consecutive gold medal since basketball was introduced to the Olympics in 1936. Notable players included Bill Bradley, Larry Brown, Walt Hazzard, and Jerry Shipp.
1964 GAMES
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 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 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"
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"
The 1968 games were held in Mexico City, Mexico. Team USA won the gold again, defeating Yugoslavia in the final game. They had another perfect record of 9-0 during the tournament. Notable players included Spencer Haywood, Jo Jo White, and Ken Spain. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was supposed to play, but boycotted the Olympics to protest racial segregation in the United States. The U.S. team set an Olympic record for the most points scored in an Olympic game that year, defeating Nigeria with a score of 156 to 73.
1968 GAMES
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)
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"
