Only signed PSA/DNA 1961 Fleer Basketball Complete Set EVER!

[vthobby]

I finally did it! Since that day I got my starter set on here from Jerry G many moons ago till today. 100% complete!

Quick facts:

- 1 card is a pop 1 making this set nearly impossible! Carl Braun welcome to my set!
- No one has EVER built a complete set on the PSA Registry of this 1961 Fleer Signed Basketball set until today
- About 40% of this set that I compiled is the highest ever graded for that card
- Wilt Rookie is trimmed at top but has a beautiful sig (only 6 ever slabbed that were signed)

Here is the breakdown on the lowest population signed cards: numbered of total graded in ( )

#7 Carl Braun (only 1)
#8 Wilt Chamberlain Rookie (6)
#11 Walter Dukes (2)
#15 Sihugo Green (3)
#24 Phil Jordon (3) ~ died in rafting accident in 1965
#27 George Lee (5)
#37 Guy Rodgers (5)
#47 Wilt Chamberlain In Action Rookie (3)
#48 Larry Costello In Action (3)
#50 Walter Dukes In Action (2)

It is clear that to try for a complete set is daunting to say the least. Especially when 2 of the low pops include Wilt Chamberlain Rookies!

Phew! Thank you Jerry G for starting me on this journey with your starter set many years ago!

I'll post a few of the best of the best!

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[egri]

Congratulations! You give the rest of us building sets some inspiration. I remember when you first picked up that set and announced you weee going to complete it. Great work; you must be over the moon!

[frohme]

Congrats, Mike - amazing accomplishment!

[ALBB]

that's a feat !

[sportscardpete]

Mike, well done!!

[x2drich2000]

Congrats! Not a basketball guy, so any idea why Braun has a a single graded example? Looks like he lived until 2010 so there was plenty of time to sign even after basketball cards became popular again in the 90s.

[rjackson44]

I have a near set not signed only a few cards auto form..but wow ,,

[tjisonline]

Congratulations

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

So cool. I know how long you've bee trying to track down a Braun from reading threads about the autographed set!

[Jerry G]

Way to go Mike! I love your persistence and determination. There are several toughies in that set but, old Carl is the toughest and you got them all! Wow.

[Hxcmilkshake]

Amazing

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

[CurtisFlood]

Outstanding job! Congrats. Wonder why Braun was so tough, one of the oddities of autograph collecting.

[Jay Wolt]

Mike Man that's impressive! Congrats!

.

[Scott L.]

Incredible accomplishment.....congratulations!!!!

[Jewish-collector]

Mazel Tov Mike !!! You did well you old geezer. Most of the new breed collectors nowadays are working on and/or have worked on the 1986 Fleer basketball set. It's nice to see someone work on a vintage set. For those that asked, Carl Braun just would not sign autographs, not sure exactly why, he just wouldn't. Bill Russell wouldn't sign for a long time, then did a lot of public & private signings in his last 25 years of his life.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Amazing accomplishment and awesome set!

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by Jerry G

Way to go Mike! I love your persistence and determination. There are several toughies in that set but, old Carl is the toughest and you got them all! Wow.

Jerry,

Here is the breakdown on the lowest population signed cards:

#7 Carl Braun (only 1)
#8 Wilt Chamberlain Rookie (6)
#11 Walter Dukes (2)
#15 Sihugo Green (3)
#24 Phil Jordon (3) ~ died in rafting accident in 1965
#27 George Lee (5)
#37 Guy Rodgers (5)
#47 Wilt Chamberlain In Action Rookie (3)
#48 Larry Costello In Action (3)
#50 Walter Dukes In Action (2)

It is clear that to try for a complete set is daunting to say the least. Especially when 2 of the low pops include Wilt Chamberlain Rookies!

Thanks again Jerry or starting me on this amazing journey!

[sbfinley]

Amazing accomplishment and set!

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by x2drich2000

Congrats! Not a basketball guy, so any idea why Braun has a a single graded example? Looks like he lived until 2010 so there was plenty of time to sign even after basketball cards became popular again in the 90s.

It is a bit of a mystery since he died in 2010. Phil Jordon died tragically in 1965 so he only had 3 or 4 years to sign and there are 3 known examples (I have 2 of them).

Braun however died in 2010 giving him literally decades to sign his card but yet only 1 exists in a PSA/DNA Red Label. (the one in my set of course). Red labels if you did not know are the only PSA/DNA slabs you can enter onto a Registry. The old blue labels can't be entered for Registry purposes. They have to be reslabbed in Red labels so its possible there might be a Braun or 2 out there in blue labels!

I have heard rumors that the last 20 or 30 years of his life he did not sign fan mail and he was a bit elusive. He was also not a Hall of Famer and I would think most people would not think to have his 1961 card ready to sign if they met him. This was not his Rookie card (2nd year) so that also lends credence as to why it might not have been a big deal to try and get him on the 1961 card.

Just a few thoeries but I feel they make sense. I'm sure a few will pop out of the woodwork at some point. Thanks!

[vthobby]

I appreciate all the nice comments:

Here are some more goodies from my set!
(The Hal Greer Rookie is the highest ever graded and is a vintage sig):

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[Hankphenom]

Mind-boggling! How many in the set total?

[oldjudge]

Great accomplishment, Mike!

[jbsports33]

Outstanding!

[MuncieNolePAZ]

Wow! Absolutely amazing. Well done.

Chad

[jcmtiger]

Wow!!!! How many years did it take to complete?

[slightlyrounded]

Fantastic work - I hope you fine a beautiful (and safe!) way to display this accomplishment.

[philliesfan]

That is insane! Great job and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Mazel Tov Mike !!! You did well you old geezer. Most of the new breed collectors nowadays are working on and/or have worked on the 1986 Fleer basketball set. It's nice to see someone work on a vintage set. For those that asked, Carl Braun just would not sign autographs, not sure exactly why, he just wouldn't. Bill Russell wouldn't sign for a long time, then did a lot of public & private signings in his last 25 years of his life.

Thanks for the Braun info, I've heard the rumors on him being reclusive.

I actually got Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson at Rich Altman Shriner's Shows in Mass. Altman was the only Promoter Russell would sign for at one time.

Oscar made a joke about his Rookie being worth something and was i sure I wanted it signed? I chuckled nervously and said it was ok for him to sign it! lol I also paid $35 extra for him to add "Big O" under his auto. Well worth it!

Bill Russell did not even look up at me of course!

Those were the days!

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[vthobby]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Mind-boggling! How many in the set total?

Always nice to respond to Walter Johnson's grandson!

There are 66 total in the set Hank.

The first 30 or so are considered base cards. The last half of the set shows most of the low number base players in an In Action pose so most players have 2 poses in the set.

Thanks Hank and hope you are doing well!

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by jcmtiger

Wow!!!! How many years did it take to complete?

About 10 years or so.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by vthobby

Always nice to respond to Walter Johnson's grandson! There are 66 total in the set Hank. The first 30 or so are considered base cards. The last half of the set shows most of the low number base players in an In Action pose so most players have 2 poses in the set. Thanks Hank and hope you are doing well!

Thanks, Woody, I'm doing OK for an old guy. Threw out first pitches in Minneapolis and D.C. this summer to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1924 World Series. Your set reminds me of a complete signed Ted Williams 1959 Fleer set I saw in person once, just other-worldly cool! You ever see Tom?

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Thanks, Woody, I'm doing OK for an old guy. Threw out first pitches in Minneapolis and D.C. this summer to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1924 World Series. Your set reminds me of a complete signed Ted Williams 1959 Fleer set I saw in person once, just other-worldly cool! You ever see Tom?

Just sent you a PM!

[Bigdaddy]

Wow, that is amazing. Would you have pursued the set if there were no known Brauns?

And if you had a choice between a vintage ball point sig or a newer sharpie sig, which way would you go?

Again, congratulations.

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Wow, that is amazing. Would you have pursued the set if there were no known Brauns?

And if you had a choice between a vintage ball point sig or a newer sharpie sig, which way would you go?

Again, congratulations.

I have pursued the set for 10 years. I've gone through stages of selling excess and losing the #1 set spot on the Registry. I knew the collector who got the Braun (I sadly missed out on it because I did not know it was being sold).

I then negotiated with that individual for the Braun and others that I recently needed.

I prefer clean looking cards and clean autos either vintage or recent. Many of the players are deceased so most were signed years ago but I'm ok with a nice clean sig either way.

I've interacted with some in the set either in person, through the mail, or talking on the phone with a couple of players. It's been a fun pursuit!

As you can imagine I certainly lost my confidence along the way in ever being able to put the set together as for awhile there were ZERO Brauns slabbed so yes it tested my patience but it eventually paid off!

Thanks!

[TimGall13]

Quite an accomplishment. Carl Braun was very tough. When he was still living and lived near me in San Diego I befriended Ernie Vandweghe. Because of the Colgate & Knicks connection I once mentioned to Dr. Ernie how tough it was to get Braun's autograph for my personal collection. He said, "Oh, I'll get Carl to sign for you." NOPE!

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by TimGall13

Quite an accomplishment. Carl Braun was very tough. When he was still living and lived near me in San Diego I befriended Ernie Vandweghe. Because of the Colgate & Knicks connection I once mentioned to Dr. Ernie how tough it was to get Braun's autograph for my personal collection. He said, "Oh, I'll get Carl to sign for you." NOPE!

Tim, thanks for that personal account of Braun. It makes sense from what I've heard as well.

I've met many celebs and sports figures over the years and the only 2 that refused to sign for me were Jim Carrey (when he was filming Me Myself and Irene) and Bob Dylan. I was with my son at the time and saw Dylan fishing at a pond with his bodyguards near a very high end hotel in town. The hotel built the pond for guests to fish in and I saw Dylan's bus entourage so I knew he was clsoe by! Got lucky really that he was out in the open (with security of course).

Dylan was in town for a concert locally which was to take place the next day. Me and my son ambled over to him like we did not know who he was (my son was 4 years old or so and did not know who he was lol), Dylan said to his bodyguard "Let the boy fish", one bodyguard gave my son his fishing pole and with that minor distraction Dylan slithered away to his bus about 100 yards away. Absolute recluse and impossible autograph. We then waited by his bus for 15 minutes after and were escorted away by security. So much for Bob Dylan's auto. I wish I had at least taken a picture but I feel that his 2 bodyguards would have asked me to delete the pics. Fun stuff! "Let the boy fish" will always be in my memory when I think of Bob Dylan. Not gonna fib, he looked like a homeless guy. I knew exactly who he was but he does not like to stand out in a crowd or anywhere for that matter. Just my 2 cents

[calvindog]

[Rickyy]

wow that is awe and some. Congrats!

Ricky Y

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Amazing Jeff,

I looked at your collection. Simply stunning! I have some rare ones you don't have. Hit me up sometime and I'll send you my list.

Congrats on your collection of baseballs signed! Wow~!

[Hankphenom]

Is there a story, Jeff, and has Grad OK'd it?

[JollyElm]

Conspiracy theory alert:
Is it possible that the 'Z' looking flourish under his name is for "Zimmerman"??

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Is there a story, Jeff, and has Grad OK'd it?

One of Bob’s close friend’s is a friend of mine and he got me the ball. At some point I’ll get all the balls in my collection authenticated before selling them, but there’s hundreds of them.

[Collectorsince62]

Congrats on completing the journey. I wonder how Lenny Wilkens felt about signing a card that spelled his name wrong.

[B O'Brien]

That’s a crazy cool accomplishment! I bet tracking down the one of one was a great feeling!
Enjoy,
Bob

[bleeckerstreetcards]

As a fellow quixotic signed set collector this is inspiring and amazing. What a life accomplishment in this little hobby we have. So happy for you and hope you’re celebrating for quite some time. Well done!!

[Baseballcrazy62]

Awesome!!

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by calvindog

One of Bob’s close friend’s is a friend of mine and he got me the ball. At some point I’ll get all the balls in my collection authenticated before selling them, but there’s hundreds of them.

That's just crazy cool, and that's the best Bob auto I've ever seen. Bob's my man, the Shakespeare of our time with great music to boot. I've heard somewhere that he's a baseball fan ("Catfish"), but that's all I know.

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by Collectorsince62

Congrats on completing the journey. I wonder how Lenny Wilkens felt about signing a card that spelled his name wrong.

2 cards have wrong names:

The second one is Phil Jordon (spelled Jordan) on the card.

Spellcheck was not working in 1961 apparently!

[FromVAtoLA]

This is incredible! Especially after the ups and downs you felt chasing a dream for a decade. Are you working on something for a next act to follow it up?

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Collectorsince62

Congrats on completing the journey. I wonder how Lenny Wilkens felt about signing a card that spelled his name wrong.

Lenny is great. He'll actually sign through the mail. I've sent him a few cards to sign and he always sends them right back. He lives in Medina, WA. I can give you his mailing address if want to get one signed. I forget what he charges, but it's pretty cheap. Like $20 or $30 or something. Here's my 61 Fleer from my set that I had him sign for me.