March 25, 2021: Spring Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/25/2021
For your consideration: a pristine complete set and two (2) near sets of the iconic 1960 Fleer Football issue, the major mainstream issue that welcomed the players of the brand-new American Football League to the world of card collecting. These are remarkably crisp cards, mostly Near-Mint to Near-Mint to Mint, and boasting razor-sharp corners, incredibly vivid colors and gloss and super-clean card backs with bold red and gold spot color. These classic cards reveal the coveted “vending bend” that historically denotes uncirculated cardboard, and the lot is easily the nicest array of cards from this issue that we’ve handled in years. As the inaugural AFL issue, the set has nearly two dozen Rookies, along with some important cards of transplanted stars from the rival NFL like Hall of Famers Sammy Baugh and George Blanda. As Fleer’s first foray into professional football, there are some of the distinctive “rough cuts” more commonly associated with O-Pee-Chee’s north-of-the-border efforts; as is typical with vending accumulations, there are some of the centering vagaries that are common to the genre. The first near set is missing only six (6) cards and is in largely Near-Mint to Near-Mint to Mint condition, with perhaps a bit more deviation in the centering, with roughly 28 percent having the kind of centering that might prompt thoughts of an upgrade, though not all of those would be severe enough to dictate a formal off-center designation. The partial set included in the lot, missing 23 cards, is in virtually the same pristine condition as its complete counterpart, perhaps only a whisper below with an emphasis to Near-Mint overall. Breakdown of the complete set (132): No. 1 White Rookie – Near-Mint, 7 Gillman – Near-Mint to Mint, 17 Dubenion Rookie – Nr-Mt, 18 – Good, 19 – Nr-Mt, 20 Baugh – Nr-Mt-Plus, 26 – Nr-Mt, 38 Lee Rookie – Nr-Mt, 55 Saban Rookie – Nr-Mt to Mt, 58 Blanda – Nr-Mt to Mt, 66 Cannon Rookie – Nr-Mt-Plus, 73 Haynes Rookie – Nr-Mt, 76 Lowe Rookie – Nr-Mt to Mt o/c, 79 – Nr-Mt, 80 – Ex-Mt-Plus, 84 – Very Good, 97 – Nr-Mt, 98 – Nr-Mt, 102 – Nr-Mt, 107 – Excellent, 116 Stram Rookie – Nr-Mt to Mt, 118 Mix Rookie – Nr-Mt-Plus, 120 – Ex-Mt, 124 Kemp Rookie – Nr-Mt-Plus and 128 McGuire – Nr-Mt-Plus; Breakdown of near set (126/132): No. 1 White Rookie – Ex-Mt, 7 Gillman – Nr-Mt to Mt, 17 Dubenion Rookie – Nr-Mt, 20 Baugh – Nr-Mt to Mt, 48 – Ex-Mt, 55 Saban Rookie – Nr-Mt, 66 Cannon Rookie – VG-Ex, 73 Haynes Rookie – VG, 76 Lowe Rookie – Nr-Mt m/c, 79 – Nr-Mt m/c, and 101 – Nr-Mt m/c; missing numbers from first near set (6) – Nos. 82, 84, 99, 118, 124 and 128; Breakdown of partial set (109/132): No. 1 White Rookie – Excellent-Plus, 7 Gillman – Ex-Mt, 11 – Ex-Mt-Plus, 17 Dubenion Rookie – Very Good, 20 Baugh – Ex-Plus, 23 – Ex-Mt, 66 Cannon Rookie – Near-Mint, 73 Haynes Rookie – VG-Ex and 76 Lowe Rookie – Nr-Mt-Plus; Missing numbers from partial set: No. 3, 24, 58, 79, 84, 101, 102, 105, 106, 108, 110, 111, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 123, 124, 128, 130 and 132.
1960 Fleer Football High-Grade Set and Near Sets (3)
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