1969-1970 Topps Basketball Cards

Although not their first basketball set (they had produced the 1957-58 set and 1968-69 test set), Topps's real entry into the basketball card market began with their widely-collected 1969-70 series.

The 99-card set was composed of oversized, vertical cards (2-1/2"x4-3/4", a size which has given collectors and dealers headaches ever since). Each card depicted a player in a posed shot within an oval-opening frame showing the player's name, position, and team, with small illustrations on either side.

The main card in this set is of course the rookie card of Lew Alcindor, aka Bruce Lee's student (and onscreen opponent) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. This card was actually issued before he even played a single game with the Milwaukee Bucks; but Topps scouts knew that Alcindor would be a star quickly enough, and would even promote the fame of the sport itself. Such a card (depicting a player before his major-league career has started) would be unseen again until the 1980's.

There are no All-Star cards in this set. The 1969-70 Topps Rulers set (see which) was a small set of paper items inserted one per pack; these are often collected as a separate card set.