October 24, 2024: Fall Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/24/2024
Complementing nicely with an adjacent lot of its predecessor, this amazing 1965 Philadelphia Gum Football issue boasts a similar Near-Mint to Mint pedigree, with 140 PSA 8 slabs, including many Hall of Famers, another four cards even above that, a half-dozen PSA 7s, and a raw-card lineup of a mere four dozen. The raw lineup condition matches up well with their slabbed counterparts, including the 14 listed below. With an SGC 7 No. 31 Jim Brown and an SGC 8 No. 41 Paul Warfield Rookie headlining an amazing array of a single PSA 9 No. 11 Szymanski, three PSA 8.5s (Nos. 86, 125 and 157), and six PSA 7s – No. 6, 19 Ditka, 48, 105 Eller Rookie, 132 Cross (7.5) and 180, it’s easy to understand why this set is nearly unimprovable; the pristine cards boast vivid colors and gloss on the front and uncommonly clean and attractive card backs, most notably with the vivid spot-color red. After several years of wrangling over exclusive player contracts between the entrenched National Football League and its new rival the American Football League, the contentious maneuvering spilled over into the cardboard realm as 1964 unfolded. After almost a decade of producing cards of the NFL, Topps lost that contract to the Philadelphia Gum Co., which would produce cards for the older league for four seasons starting that fall, with 1965 being the second year of the contract. Of such historic note comes this Year Two issue, a striking compilation of truly nice condition cards from that first-ever offering. Here’s the breakdown: PSA 8 (150), including any HOFers not otherwise listed, plus five Team cards and six Team Play cards; Raw cards of HOFers (15), including Renfro, Gregg, Wood, Olsen, Marshall, Tingelhoff, Johnson, Jurgensen, Huff, Krause and Taylor.
1965 Philadelphia Gum Super High-Grade Football Set, 140 PSA 8’s, Brown SGC 7 (198)
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