Basketball fans know the late Bill Russell as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, setting a record for NBA championship wins. Now he has another honor: third-most expensive vintage basketball card to sell at auction. His iconic 1957 Topps rookie card sold for $660,000 at a recent PWCC Marketplace auction.
Courtesy PWCC Marketplace
Previously, a 1948 Bowman George Mikan rookie card sold for $800,000 in March 2022 and a 1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain rookie card sold for $670,000 in June 2022.
During his elite basketball career, Russell won two NCAA titles at the University of San Francisco; 11 NBA championships in 13 years with the Boston Celtics; and a gold medal as captain of the men’s basketball team at the 1956 Summer Olympics. Russell, considered by many as the greatest defensive center in basketball history, won five Most Valuable Player awards while playing for the Celtics from 1956-1969. He also coached the Celtics from 1966 to 1969, becoming the first Black coach in the NBA. A 12-time NBA All-Star, Russell was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (1968), and The Sporting News Athlete of the Decade (1970).
Courtesy Getty Images
Russell was more than simply a basketball player. He was active in the civil rights movement, marching with Martin Luther King Jr. and standing with Muhammad Ali when he was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing induction into the U.S. Army for religious reasons. Russell received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
In 2021, an auction of Russell’s personal collection of NBA memorabilia, including championship rings, jerseys, photos, and trophies, sold for more than $7.4 million dollars in an event conducted by Hunt Auctions. Proceeds from the auction were donated to Boston based nonprofits.
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