My Card of The Month (The Sights, Sounds, and Feelings of My Cardboard World)
What's going on, all my hobby collectors? Welcome back to the #thehobbyexperience flagship series column. If you haven’t read my last article, I welcome you to #thehobbyexperience. As you go on this explorative journey with me, you will see and learn what #thehobbyexperience is all about!
Simply put: #thehobbyexperience is Me, You, and Us!
In this flagship series:
I will share what my hobby world looks, feels, and sounds like through my card of the month, cardboard hobby story of the month, lost and found card of the month giveaway, slab of the month, Friday Night Lights Hobby Reel of the month, and finally, PC Hobby Vlog of the Month (i.e., an experiential review of my PC sets)—Me.
I will highlight unique and nostalgic individual cardboard stories and community-centered cardboard experiences and share why collectors should experience them at least once—You and Us.
I will curate an exclusive and experiential-themed cardboard column series; my first column series is titled My 90s' Cardboard Love Story—Part I.
With that said, here is my card of the month for May: the 1971-72 Topps Basketball Wilt Chamberlain base card, number 70—I hope you enjoy it!
As a Philadelphia native, it's only fitting that my first card of the month column pays homage to one of the city's most iconic natives: Wilt Chamberlain.
My hobby experience with the 1971-72 Topps Basketball Wilt Chamberlain base card, at its best, has been a fun, engaging, and inspiring four-year journey. Also, at its worst, my attempted acquisition history for this card has taught me patience, to read the fine print, and that last-minute auction snipers are a part of the process. But let me unpack the positive side of my experience with this classic Topps Wilt Chamberlain card. However, before I do that, I must share my unwavering and unapologetic stance about The Big Dipper.
In our cardboard ecosystem and outside of it, I consider myself the "ULTIMATE" Wilt Chamberlain connoisseur, both as a collector of his cards and his Goliath-like basketball story—Here’s Why!
First and foremost, in the "most iconic card ever conversation," I think Wilt’s 1961 Fleer Rookie Card is the most iconic rookie card of the 20th Century and ever created.
Also, I believe wholeheartedly and emphatically that Wilt Chamberlain is the basketball GOAT—and I am willing to stand "ten toes down" debating with anyone about Wilt's status as the most dominant and greatest of all time. If you haven’t noticed, my emotional connection to Wilt's cards and overzealousness about his basketball career is REAL. It’s so real that whenever I read something about Wilt's goat status or a ranking list connected to his cards, I tend to be a "little" biased toward any opinionated assessments that downplay anything connected to his years on the hardwood. Don't believe me...? Here's a rant for the dramatics. A few weeks ago, when I reviewed The Cardboard Connection’s list of the top ten Wilt Chamberlain cards, I immediately scolded their list because I believe the top cards in Wilt's cardboard catalog should be from his playing days. While the two modern autos on the top ten of Wilt's list are “nostalgic,” I believe the second-best card in Wilt's cardboard catalog is his 1971-72 Topps Basketball card (PERIODT!)—No pun or harm intended to Cardboard Connection; I just wanted to put some RESPECT on Wilt's 71-72 Topps Basketball card.
As a vintage cardboard collector and a collector of Wilt Chamberlain's cards, his 1971-72 Topps Basketball card is hard to dislike or not love. Why? First and foremost, the card is the epitome of visual nostalgia and thematic pop culture. Since 2020, every collector I have crossed paths with, when I spoke about my desire to own my second favorite Wilt card, everyone would reference the Los Angeles letter font and the Wilt Chamberlain image. The collectors I spoke to describe the Los Angeles letter font as a visual homage to the psychedelic wave of the '70s' and the image of Wilt as an Adonis-like figure or the equivalence to the 8th Wonder of The World. These nostalgic descriptions heavily influenced why Wilt's 71-72 Topps Basketball card is the second-best card in Wilt's cardboard catalog and my Wilt PC.
If you are a fan and collector of Wilt Chamberlain and love visually nostalgic cards that pay homage to thematic pop culture. I encourage you to add this classic Wilt card to your PC because regardless of the card's physical condition or grade, I guarantee the visual nostalgia will take your breath away as it did me.
Keep Collecting,
Next On Deck for #thehobbyexperience—My 90s Cardboard Love Story—Part I
#thehobbyexperience: you and us—If you want to share a cardboard story or communal cardboard experience, please email me at thehobbyexperience12@gmail.com.
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