Pistol Pete has officially cracked the top 5 pre-1980 card sales list. A 1970 Topps “tall boy” rookie card of Pete Maravich recently sold for $552K at auction.
The card, which was graded a gem mint 10 by PSA, is now the most expensive Maravich related sports card or memorabilia item of all time. The perfect condition card of the former Hawk is now the 5th most expensive vintage basketball card in history, trailing only a 1948 Bowman George Mikan rookie ($800K), a 1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain rookie ($670K), and a pair of Bill Russell rookie cards ($660K and $630K).
According to PSA records, the company has graded 128,783 Topps tall boy cards, with only 278 of those achieving a perfect 10 grade. That paltry 0.216% success rate has only added to the mystique of the oddly shaped series, as cards in above average condition have become increasingly rare to find in recent years.
Maravich was a 5x NBA All-star, and the 1977 NBA scoring champion. The Pennsylvania born shooting guard averaged 24.2pts/4.2reb/5.4ast on .441FG% over the course of his 658 game NBA career.
His number 7 has been retired by the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans, while his number 44 was retired by the Atlanta Hawks. A standout for the LSU Tigers, Maravich earned back to back National College Player of the Year honours, and is the NCAA Div 1 all time scoring leader.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: PWCC Marketplace.