This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/10/2021
This is the classic rookie card of basketball's first marquee player. When your nickname is “Mr. Basketball” and you were the foundational player in the history of the sport, what elite basketball card collection is complete without a George Mikan 1948 Bowman rookie card? It would be like having a baseball card collection and not having a significant Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson card in it.
Mikan’s highly important rookie card was issued in 1948 just as he was embarking on his great pro hoops career. He is more responsible than any player of his generation for making basketball a nationally recognized sport. Mikan had personal and team success as the game's first dominant big man, paving the way for future legends.
Mikan led his team, the Minneapolis Lakers, to five championships in six years and led the league in scoring on three separate occasions. He retired as basketball's career-scoring leader. Mikan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959 and returned to the game as the start-up ABA's first commissioner in 1967. He was named to the 25th and 35th NBA Anniversary Teams and was elected one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996.
This 1948 Bowman set was the first nationally distributed basketball issue. It includes pro cagers of the day in two series of 36 cards each, with this Mikan card in the tougher to get second series. It would not be until almost a decade later in 1957 when Topps issued the next national set. Mikan, pictured here with his trademark glasses, is the key card in the ’48 set, strangely wearing #21 rather than his better known #99. 1948 Bowmans are often found off-center with toning along the edges, making it tough to locate in high-grades, so a Mikan PSA NM-MT 8 is a rare cardboard treasure!
ESTIMATE: $125,000+