Lot # 2976: Extraordinary 1969 NBAP Member Basketball Original Box with 17 Players Including Chamberlain, Russell, and West

Presented is one of the most fascinating and incredible basketball-card relics that we have ever handled in the past 22 years: an original box featuring 17 different cards (out of 20 in the set) from the circa 1969 N.B.A.P. Member basketball-card series. For decades, this unusual series was one of the most mysterious basketball issues of the 1960s and, until this offering, no one knew exactly what company issued them, or even exactly how they were issued, although it was always clear they were cut from something (thought to be a Converse basketball shoe box). This box has now provided the answer collectors have long been looking for. This card set was issued by "Sport-Fun," a Los Angeles based toy company, on the side panels of their "official" basketball box. This original box has somehow survived intact, which itself is a miracle, and features the following seventeen 1969 N.B.A.P. Member basketball cards on five different panels: Elgin Baylor, Zelmo Beaty, Bob Boozer, Bill Bradley, Wilt Chamberlain, John Havlicek, Don Kojis, Jerry Lucas, Eddie Miles, Jeff Mullins, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Wes Unseld, Dick Van Arsdale, Chet Walker, Jerry West, and Len Wilkins. The cards feature black-and-white photos surrounded by light blue borders, with the player's name and "N.B.A.P. Member" printed below the image. The preservation of this original 1969 "N.B.A.P. Member" box is most improbable. This is the first example we have ever offered! The box displays extremely well overall, with moderate creasing throughout and a couple spots of paper loss. This is an extremely impressive collectible that would be at home in any advanced basketball-card or advertising collection.