Love of the Game Auctions Spring, 2024 Premier Auction

85. 1975 Topps #228 George Brett (HOF RC) - PSA MINT 9

87. 1986 Fleer Basketball #57 Michael Jordan (HOF RC) - PSA NM-MT 8

The most important baseball card of the 1970s, the rookie card of Hall of Famer George Brett, is certainly the key to the 1975 issue. While the card is certainly not scarce, the quality control issues with this set make it difficult to find high-grade examples, especially grading above the NM-MT level. Consigned from an extremely high-grade

Spectacular example of the most desirable of all postwar sports cards, from the landmark 1986 Fleer basketball issue. Very clean, with impeccable top and bottom edges and sharp corners. Very light wear at the right edge, along with some almost imperceptible diamond cutting keeps this tremendous, high-grade example from grading even higher.

MINIMUM BID: $1,500

88. 1986 Fleer Basketball Near-Complete Set (131/132)

1975 Topps collection, this example is nearly perfect. Some extremely minor color loss along the right edge and very faint foxing on the back are the only possible issues keeping this George Brett rookie card from grading even higher than the PSA MINT 9 ithas achieved here.

Sharp near-complete collection of the most important modern sports card issue, 1986 Fleer basketball. Chock full of important rookies and Hall of Famers, 1986 Fleer basketball has established itself as the benchmark for all modern sports card sets and continues to set the bar for prices realized. Missing just the rookie card of Michael Jordan (featured elsewhere in this auction), the set is an original owner collection built in the year of issue, carefully stored in nine- pocket pages until having been consigned higher-grade

MINIMUM BID: $1,500

86. 1975 Topps #660 Hank Aaron (HOF) - PSA MINT 9 - Just 1 Higher!

We have written much about the quality control issues with vintage Topps, but the mid-1970s were probably the worst of their run. Plagued by miscuts, well-centered examples are difficult to find; those without other print flaws even more so. Miraculously, this Aaron card has somehow avoided all of the issues, and has gone nearly half a century unscathed. There is only one

to Love of the Game. The primary condition flaws here relate to centering and occasionally slight print defects and factory imperfections, along with very light corner touching that occasional results in very minor chipping. The condition breakdown of the set would be approximately 16% NM-MT with a few better, 42% NM, 39% EX-MT with a few lesser. Key cards grade as follows: #1 Jabbar (EX-MT), #7 Barkley (EX-MT), #9 Bird (EX-MT), #12 Bol (NM), #31 Erving (EX-MT), #32 Ewing (NM), #53 Johnson (EX-MT), #68 Malone (NM-MT), #73 McHale (NM-MT), #84 Parrish (EX-MT), #109 Thomas (NM), #119 Walton (NM), and #121 Wilkins (EX-MT). We submitted card #82 Alajuwon to PSA and it graded PSA NM-MT 8. A very strong set, an excellent way for collectors to obtain a higher-grade near- set without paying six figures for grading company plastic, particularly appealing to collectors who may have a Jordan but would like to complete a sharp set without breaking the bank. 131 cards total.

example which has ever been graded higher than the PSA MINT 9 achieved by this one. This was the first Topps card issued after Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, meaning this is the first time a baseball card ever had a number in the home run column higher than 714. A superb card, nearly perfect in every way.

MINIMUM BID: $300

MINIMUM BID: $2,500

SPRING 2024 PREMIER AUCTION − CLOSES MARCH 30, 2024 43

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