(LOT 137)
1957 Topps #77 Bill Russell Rookie PSA 7 NM
RUSSELL ROOKIE!!! Any list of "Greatest Basketball Players Ever" has to include the immortal Hall of Famer Bill Russell who along with Jordan, Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar and Robertson stand tall as the finest players in NBA history. While choosing one of those all-timers as the "best of the rest" is a seemingly impossible task, there are many historians who select Bill Russell based on his unparalleled winning legacy. The iconic center won an unfathomable 11 NBA Championships in his 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics, tying the Montreal Canadians Henri Richard for the most professional championships accumulated by a North American athlete.

Even before his five League MVPs and 12 All-Star appearances left his indelible mark on NBA history, he was winning NCAA college championships, capturing titles in 1955-56 as well as winning a gold medal with the 1956 USA Basketball team. Bottom line is no North American athlete, save for Henri Richard, has ever enjoyed Bill Russell's level of winning success; not Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio, Gretzky, or even Michael Jordan, with Russell's legacy forever enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts' Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. It is for all of these reasons that serious hobby enthusiasts seek his highly coveted 1957 Topps rookie card, presented here in a nice PSA 7 holder.

The classic Russell pose donning his white #6 Celtic jersey shows clean white borders. Relatively clean surfaces, right-angled corners and fine resolution complete this Russell rookie that merits a final resting place in any high-end 1957 Topps compilation!

MIN BID $17,500
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